Qatar World Cup: 5 things we learned on Day 20 - shout out for shootouts

Two quarter-finals and two penalty shootouts. For a team game, it's odd that it comes down to individuals.

Brazil's Marquinhos prostrates himself in despair after missing a penalty which allowed Croatia the shootout victory and progress to the World Cup semi-final. © AP/Pavel Golovkin

Value for money

There's a point where football becomes fantasy. Not necessarily in the skills we see but the endings. In the Brazil v Croatia game at the Education City Stadium, the Brazilians could not cut through Croatia until extra-time when some brilliance from Neymar broke the deadlock. And so the Croatians had to attack. And they did. And got the goal three minutes from the end of extra-time to level. They won the penalty shootout. Are they getting bonuses for the amount of time they spend on the pitch?

Why wait

So that's the second game in the knockout stages that Croatia have won after a penalty shootout. In the last-16 against Japan, goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved three of the kicks. He saved one in the endgame against Brazil and Marquinhos smacked his effort onto the the post. Onto the semi-final bonuses.

All that for that?

Pity the Netherlands. Trailing 2-0, they started their comeback against Argentina in the 83rd minute with a goal from Wout Weghorst. In the 11th minute of stoppage time, the 30-year-old Besiktas striker got the equaliser. And so into extra-time. And then penalties. The Netherlands missed the first two as the Argentines hit the mark. And Enzo Fernandez, with the chance to take the South Americans into the semis, missed. Frenkie de Jong scored with the Netherlands' fifth penalty to make it 3-3 which meant Lautaro Martinez bore the hopes of a nation. He scored and it was the Dutch out.

Neutral zone

Day 20 was one for the neutrals. The ups and downs of comebacks and shootouts from 1800 local time right up until the early hours of Day 21 was brilliant. Couldn't be made up. 

Reform

There were penalty shootouts in the last-16. The visceral horrors of  Japan and Croatia was followed by Brazil's 4-1 romp past South Korea and after Morocco's edge past Spain, Portgual whacked Switzerland 6-1. It's been rare to be faced with nothing but shootouts. And it does seem quite arbitrary to have best of five shots and then sudden death. There have been attempts to change a system that does come across as barbaric. But through the prism of all that has happened to stage the 22nd edition of the World Cup, it's a gentle folk dance.