No dancing now for Brazil after World Cup exit

DOHA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tears for souvenirs. Neymar - who never got to take a penalty as he looked for the glory of the final spot-kick - was the image of the Brazil side that crashed out of the World Cup on penalties on Friday night.

Croatia rode their luck at times and dug deep and perhaps they also gave the Brazilians a lesson in sportsmanship and humility.

There is no doubt that Tite's side were the pre-tournament favorites and they momentarily lived up to that billing with their first-half destruction of South Korea.

Wonderful one-touch football played at speed that cut their rivals to shreds, and with goals that came with a very Brazilian celebration: dancing.

Even coach Tite got involved, dancing with the players after Richarlison's 29th minute goal, which made it 3-0 and effectively put the game out of South Korea's reach. It wasn't the first time that the Brazilians have danced to celebrate goals in this World Cup and the celebration divided opinion.

Some commentators said it showed a lack of respect, while the Brazilians insisted it was "part of the Brazilian culture," and Vinicius Jr even posted on social media a photo of himself celebrating a goal saying "I want to see dance, I want to see happiness."

However, in football, one side's happiness is another team's sadness and frustration: the heartbreak of seeing your World Cup dreams destroyed and the sight of someone dancing next to you is unpleasant to say the least.

On Friday, it was Brazil's turn to suffer the heartbreak of defeat, the pain of seeing their hopes and those of their nation turn to tears. Losing is never nice and even less so when someone is rubbing it in your face by dancing next to you.

Maybe the next time they play, the Brazilian players will remember their heartbreak, remember how they felt.