The soccer world was shaken to its core yesterday when Croatia knocked favorites Brazil out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The two sides were deadlocked into a 0-0 draw going into extra time when Neymar scored Brazil’s first goal in the 106th minute. Brazil looked set to pull through but Bruno Petkovic scored for Croatia in the 117th minute to send the countries to a penalty shootout.
Croatia, already having won one penalty shootout against Japan, clinched the victory in this one too as four out of four Croatian players stepped up to score the first four penalties. On the contrary, Brazilians Rodrygo and Marquinhos missed, resulting in a 4-2 loss for Brazil.
Brazil is officially out of the World Cup ❌🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/E5IovLzYWL
— SHA3WAZA (@SHA3WAZA_3) December 9, 2022
A lot of social media posts showcasing the disappointment of Brazilian fans and players have surfaced online since then. Some of these posts show images of Brazilian players shedding tears on the pitch after their loss yesterday, while others highlight the heartbreak of the fans.
However, interestingly, one of the posts that surfaced on social media claimed that Brazil may well have borne the brunt of a curse, which resulted in their defeat.
Fans believe Brazil was cursed by a cat after the coach mistreated it
Ahead of the match between Brazil and Croatia, a strange incident occurred during Brazil’s press conference.
The clipping of the press conference that has surfaced online, shows Vinicius Junior, the Real Madrid winger, attending a press conference and answering a few questions here and there.
Another man was sitting next to Vinicius, who has since been identified as Brazil’s press officer.
As the presser was underway, a Qatari feline jumped atop the conference table. The press officer, without being alarmed, began stroking it, while Vinicius was entertaining the press.
For some reason, though, the press officer suddenly lost his cool when he grabbed the cat and dropped it down from the conference table. This act shocked the media personnel, as well as Vinicius Junior, who shot his press officer a confused and awkward look.
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Many on the internet have criticized the press officer’s actions have been poorly received online and labeled “cruel” and “cold-hearted.”
Moreover, after Brazil’s shock defeat and subsequent exit from the World Cup, fans have been quick to attribute it to Brazil’s loss. Many believe that Karma might be the reason behind Brazil’s loss.
Oxford study proven wrong as Brazil gets knocked out of the World Cup
The FIFA World Cup commenced on the 20th of November, 2022.
On 18th November, the official Twitter handle of the prestigious Oxford University in the United Kingdom posted a mathematical model that predicted the entire route to the men’s world cup, right down to the final game.
The model simulated the group stages one million times and took the most common outcomes.
The algorithm then simulated each knockout game 100,000 times.#WorldCup
— University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) November 18, 2022
The mathematical model propounded by the mathematicians of Oxford has been proven wrong. As per the model, Brazil was to face-off against Belgium in the finals and the prediction was that Brazil would win the FIFA World Cup 2022.
NEW: Oxford mathematical model predicts route to the men’s @FIFAWorldCup ⚽️🏆
The model – created by @OxUniMaths‘ @JoshuaABull – forecasts:
🏴 England to lose in the quarter-final
🇦🇷 Argentina vs Brazil in the semi-final
🇧🇷 Brazil to beat Belgium in the final#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/gm0IdIt8K6— University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) November 18, 2022
The university claimed that the model followed all international games since 2018. According to the university, it then simulated group stage games 1 million times and the knockout stages 100,000 times to derive the conclusion from the most common outcomes.
However, since Belgium was knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage itself, followed by Brazil’s exit yesterday, it’s safe to say that in an embarrassing turn of events, the study has gotten it completely wrong!