At the moment of Suker's goal, the world erupted in cheers.
Many people believed that Ronaldo's World Cup goal record would remain unbroken for a long time.
But not long after Ronaldo's retirement, the emergence of players like Suker, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Messi became the main theme of this era, and they are not only active in this era but also creating new records.
Suker is definitely a record-breaker.
This is true for the Champions League, and it is also true for the World Cup.
From a small country in a corner to gradually stepping onto the world stage and showcasing his talent there, Suker's performance has never disappointed.
"Awesome!!! He's tied it!"
"15 goals! Oh my God! How did you do it?"
"He'll score even more!"
Croatia teammates also gathered around Suker, celebrating excitedly.
Don't be fooled by the seemingly small number of 15 goals.
Compared to Suker's usual 30-plus goals in the League, it's indeed not as stunning.
But this is the World Cup!
It's an intense tournament, and it's only 7 matches in total over a short month!
15 goals means Suker has to score one goal in every match, which is absolutely a phenomenal performance.
Of course, fans are already used to this.
In their perception, Suker seems to be just like that.
He's born to break all records!
Suker's expression was still calm; it wasn't that he was pretending, but rather that he genuinely didn't feel much.
Before tying the record, he thought he would be very excited and thrilled.
But none of that happened, there was some faint joy, but nothing more.
Perhaps in Suker's view, compared to this record, the World Cup itself is what he truly pursues.
"Alright! We should get back to the game!"
Suker proactively stopped the celebration, believing there was no need to continue celebrating and that maintaining this state was key.
After Suker's goal, this match almost lost its meaning.
Chile was already at a disadvantage, and now they were two goals down.
Under such circumstances, it was practically a death sentence.
Chile, of course, understood this, but as players, they still needed to fight.
However, the confusion in their hearts could not be hidden.
In normal time, they couldn't get offensive opportunities, and now, disheartened, their thoughts became even more chaotic.
Some players even started to have mental issues, and their technical movements began to deform.
Their passing decisions were no longer decisive, but hesitant, leading to turnovers.
Seeing this, many people understood that the match was already over.
Chilean fans were teary-eyed; they had excitedly made it through the group stage but were eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage.
In fact, they were mentally prepared.
After all, their opponent was Croatia, and they had considered the possibility of elimination before the match.
But when actually facing elimination, they still couldn't help but feel sorrow!
Chile didn't necessarily pursue amazing World Cup results, but there should have been some breakthrough, right?
But none of that happened!
This World Cup was still a year without Gains!
Time passed bit by bit, and both sides made frequent substitutions.
However, the course of the match remained unchanged.
Chile seemed to have somewhat accepted the defeat and began to focus more on offense.
They had already lost, so defense really didn't make much sense.
Under these circumstances, Croatia scored their third goal of this World Cup in the 79th minute through Modrić.
Chile also scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute.
When the 90-minute match ended, Croatia ultimately defeated Chile 3:1, securing victory in the round of 16 of the 2014 Brazil World Cup!
Croatia defeated Chile and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.
At the same time, they also successfully met with Brazil!
"The final whistle! Croatia secured a clean victory."
"Throughout the match, Croatia made almost no mistakes; they safely controlled the pace of the game, which also indicates that Croatia is maintaining excellent form."
"And they will carry this form into the World Cup quarterfinals, where they will face the host Brazil!"
At this point, Krauchivich's tone inevitably became more serious.
He knew very well that the upcoming matches would be completely different from before.
From the quarterfinals onwards, their opponents would become stronger and stronger.
Especially the five-star Brazil, with many good players like Kaka, Neymar, Pato, Marcelo, Silva, Oscar, is also a hurdle in front of Croatia.
The reverse is also true.
So this match is definitely the first strong showdown since the World Cup began!
This match marked the opening of the quarterfinals, which shows its intensity.
Without a doubt, the confrontation between Croatia and Brazil is absolutely the most anticipated match of the World Cup so far.
The match ended, and Croatia successfully won.
But they did not celebrate excessively; instead, they returned to the locker room early, not even accepting post-match interviews.
Bešić stated at the press conference that Croatia needed to prepare for the next match and then left early.
The reporters understood this, as for Croatia, the next match was indeed very important.
After returning to the hotel, Croatia, after resting for one night, immediately held their first tactical meeting.
"This Brazilian Team plays in a European style; you can see possession-based play and high pressing, while the unique football style of South America is much less, which is good for us!"
Bešić said.
In his opinion, Brazil Team's willingness to use European tactics is a familiar territory for them.
It prevents them from having to deal with and understand South American or even Brazilian Samba football.
To be honest, if Brazil had continued to play in their original style, it might have been even more of a headache.
"Brazil's offensive structure consists of four players: Kaka and Oscar lead the midfield; they are always able to help Brazil Team create favorable attacking environments, especially Oscar, who also has the ability to threaten the goal from outside the penalty area, which requires Subašić to be alert at all times!"
Goalkeeper Subašić nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Kaka's characteristic is stable organization; he may not be top-notch in controlling the tempo, but his overall vision, awareness, and passing choices are all very exquisite; he is always able to find Neymar and Pato in the front field with his penetrating passes!"
"And then, in the front field, Neymar and Pato are key players that Brazil Team needs to focus on!"
"These two players have distinct styles; Neymar maintains the local Brazilian playing style; he is a technical player and also possesses excellent ball control and explosive acceleration."
"So when marking Neymar, you must pay attention to his feints; once he fakes you out, he can drive straight in!"
"Pato's style is simpler, but that doesn't mean his threat is not great; in fact, from a certain perspective, he is even more dangerous than Neymar; his explosive runs forward and sudden changes in rhythm with vertical breakthroughs always catch defenders off guard; we must pay attention to this!"
"These four players are our main focus areas; other players like David Luiz, Marcelo, etc., also need to be marked."
"This match is different from the previous few matches; I don't demand that you necessarily play with midfield control, but you absolutely cannot let Brazil play so comfortably in the midfield!"
"For both sides, the midfield is a crucial strategic battleground; whoever controls the midfield will be able to establish an advantage first!"
Bešić's voice was strong and powerful.
At the same time, Brazil Team on the other side was also preparing for the match.
Brazil Team's Head Coach Scolari looked at his players and said:
"This is the biggest challenge of this World Cup; I think you have also seen Croatia's performance; if we want to defeat them, we need to put in greater effort and performance!"
"As the host, I don't think anyone wants to lose at home, do they?"
Hearing this, the expressions of the Brazil Team players became serious.
Losing and being eliminated at home would be truly shameful.
Moreover, for Brazil Team, who boasts five World Cup titles, their goal is the World Cup.
Unlike other teams that dare not shout such slogans, the Brazil Team never hides its ambitions.
This is their heritage!
When they shout it, no one finds it abrupt; instead, it's taken for granted!
Of course, if they want to lift the trophy, they must overcome all obstacles.
And Croatia is the hurdle placed before them!
Marcelo turned his head and saw that Alves's expression was incredibly solemn.
As a right-back, Alves needed to contend with Suker on the flank.
At this moment, Marcelo couldn't help but feel fortunate that he was a left-back.
The current right-backs have been severely tormented by Suker.
Brazil's two main right-backs, Maicon and Alves, both of them have been taught a lesson by Suker.
However, compared to Maicon, Alves clearly has more experience.
After all, when he played for Barcelona, he constantly had to face the pressure brought by Suker. Whether he could defend him or not was uncertain, but his mentality was definitely the most stable and he was the most experienced.
Any greenhorn or rookie would definitely be dribbled past by Suker as if they were a pole; Marcelo knew this very well.
However, his task was also not light. Perisic's individual ability might not be particularly outstanding, but with the cooperation of Rakitić and Mandžukić, his combat effectiveness also increased linearly.
Croatian players all have a characteristic: their performance for the National Team is better than for their clubs.
This is thanks to these guys coming from the same club and having played together for many years in their youth.
Their coordination and chemistry are something many National Teams cannot achieve.
The Round of 16 matches were in full swing.
After Brazil and Croatia successively advanced, Colombia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Argentina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina also secured their spots.
Costa Rica failed to overcome the Netherlands and fell in the Round of 16.
But they battled the Netherlands for 120 minutes, playing a very exciting match, ultimately losing 1:2.
In this match, Costa Rica displayed a very tenacious defensive stance, almost dragging the game into a penalty shootout, but the Netherlands scored a goal in the second half of extra time, definitively ending the match.
However, Costa Rica's performance was still evident to all, especially given how they pushed the Netherlands into such a desperate situation.
And after this match, news quickly broke that Costa Rica's Goalkeeper Navas, who performed excellently in this World Cup, was in contact with Spanish giants Real Madrid. Next season, Navas is very likely to replace Casillas and become Real Madrid's starting Goalkeeper.
Besides that, the most exciting match was undoubtedly between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belgium.
This match originally didn't receive that much attention, but in regular time, Bosnia and Herzegovina, after falling behind by two goals in the first half, scored two consecutive goals in the second half.
They conceded another goal in the first half of extra time, but equalized again in the second half, successfully dragging the game into a penalty shootout, and completely breaking Belgium's mentality.
And in the penalty shootout, the mentally unstable Belgium Team missed three penalties, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with their tenacious will, actually defeated Belgium and entered the World Cup quarter-finals!
"Oh my God! It's painful to watch!"
"This match dragged on for so long, my head hurts just watching the replay!"
"Two awful teams, they had so many chances but just couldn't capitalize!"
Suker and Modrić watched the match replay, shaking their heads.
In their opinion, the match was intense, but also very ugly.
Mainly because too many chances were missed!
Belgium was still fine in the first half, but after conceding the first goal in the second half, their mentality started to change, and then the second conceded goal completely made them fall apart.
There was no cooperation to speak of, and their playing style became ugly.
As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, they were tenacious enough, but their ability to seize opportunities was too poor!
"I remember Bazić used to shoot with his feet, and he even scored an overhead kick. How is it that now, it seems like he has no other way to score except with his head!"
Suker saw several times that Šuker Bazić was fumbling with his feet in front of the goal to adjust, and the fumbling was simply an eyesore.
Did he need so many adjustments?
If it were Suker, he would either shoot directly or adjust once.
But Šuker Bazić adjusted four times.
Fortunately, his aerial prowess was still there, and with the cross passes from guys like Džeko and Boame, he continuously helped the team equalize.
"I feel like Belgium had internal conflicts!" Modrić said.
"They definitely had internal conflicts!" Suker shook his head; "You see several of their players are no longer passing to each other. This is definitely internal conflict, but this is Belgium, it's not surprising!"
Belgium and Netherlands are the two teams most prone to internal conflicts.
Even to the point of their own players fighting each other!
However, the Netherlands' current state, constantly winning, means there are no contradictions to speak of.
But Belgium was different. When Bosnia and Herzegovina repeatedly equalized the score, their internal conflicts flared up again.
If contradictions cannot be completely eradicated, even if they are well hidden, they will explode like a ticking time bomb whenever the situation is unfavorable or their mentality is unstable!
Therefore, this match could be said to have been won by Bosnia and Herzegovina through sheer tenacity, but it could also be said that Belgium themselves threw the match away.
Especially during the penalty shootout, everyone could see that the Belgium players' mentality had completely collapsed.
"I remember Bosnia and Herzegovina didn't advance from the group stage last time, right?" Modrić said.
Suker nodded: "That's right, and this time they're directly in the quarter-finals!"
"But their quarter-final opponent is Argentina!"
Both of them understood that Bosnia and Herzegovina reaching this point was already their limit, and going any further was almost impossible.
Moreover, their opponent was Argentina.
Argentina in this World Cup was still very strong.
"It's our turn soon!"
The Round of 16 ended, and Croatia versus Brazil was the opening match of the quarter-finals.
It was also played at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
And with Brazil as the host, it was foreseeable how many Brazilians would flock into the 200,000 capacity of Maracanã Stadium.
It could be said that Croatia was essentially playing an away game in this match, and the pressure would definitely be immense.
And they needed to overcome this pressure.
Suker also nodded seriously.
The Brazil Team had many of his old friends and old rivals.
Kaka, Marcelo, Alves, Maicon, Pato, etc., these were all Suker's teammates or opponents.
Suker knew them very well, and therefore understood their strength, so he naturally needed to maintain sufficient vigilance for this match.
Just as Bešić had said before, this was Croatia's biggest challenge in this World Cup.
They needed to defeat the host in Brazil; only then could they continue to advance proudly in the World Cup.
The entire Brazil Team, led by their Head Coach, arrived in Rio de Janeiro.
With their arrival, the so-called Manchester United atmosphere also completely spread out.
The entire city became an ocean of joyous Brazil fans.
Previously, when playing against other teams, Croatia could still receive cheers from Brazil fans, who were simply enjoying the match itself.
But this match was different; Croatia became the opponent, and Brazil fans would not share their cheers with them.
It couldn't be called hostility, but the fact that Croatia was their opponent was unchangeable.
Both teams were also preparing intensely, and they both knew what this match meant to them.
Moreover, this would be fundamentally different from the previous four matches.
Firstly, the intensity of the match would directly rise to another level.
Secondly, both sides needed to be sufficiently meticulous; any slight, even tiny, oversight would be exploited by the opponent.
And with all these factors combined, the pre-match preparation phase became extremely important.
Not only physical preparation, but also mental preparation.
They had to force themselves to relax their nerves; only then could they maintain sufficient concentration when needed.
Otherwise, in a 90-minute high-intensity match, once the string breaks, the opponent's offensive would surge like a tsunami.