Russia’s Brazil-born right-back Mario Fernandes said he had apologized to his teammates for the failure to score a penalty during the in the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Croatia.
The Croatian national football team entered the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, knocking out hosts Russia in the quarterfinals match on Saturday night in Sochi with the 4-3 penalty shootout win following 2-2 draw in the regular and 30-minute overtime period.
Fernandes tied up the score just over five minutes left in the extra time and saved the team from immediate elimination, but failed to score during the penalty shootout.
“I apologized to the team. I made a mistake, and had to act like a man and admit my fault. I know that I’m responsible for the missed penalty kick, but what’s done is done and cannot be fixed,” he said.
Fernandes said he tried to support Fyodor Smolov, whose shot was also saved by Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
“I came up to him and tried to cheer him up. Everyone can make mistakes. He needs to stay calm,” Fernandes said.
Earlier on July 7, Team England also cleared the quarterfinal round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over Sweden at the stadium in Samara. England is now set to meet Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 11.
Russia is staging its first-ever FIFA World Cup, which kicked off in Moscow with a spectacular opening show at Luzhniki Stadium on the evening of June 14 and will end on July 15.
