EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) \u2014 Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior had the ball at the penalty spot, a perfect chance to give Brazil the lead.<\/p>\n
And he handed it to Bruno Guimar\u00e3es.<\/p>\n
And by the time Neymar \u2014 in what he said was his final World Cup appearance<\/a> \u2014 took and made Brazil\u2019s second penalty kick, it was too late for the five-time champion.<\/p>\n Guimar\u00e3es had his penalty shot stopped by \u00d8rjan Nyland<\/a> in the 14th minute and Brazil couldn\u2019t get one past Norway\u2019s goalkeeper until deep in stoppage time, losing 2-1 on Sunday in the round of 16<\/a> for its earliest World Cup exit since 1990.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just have to apologize to the Brazilian people, to everyone that attended this venue and witnessed this match, and I think we have to learn from our mistakes,\u201d Brazil captain Marquinhos said. \u201cFor those that come in the new generation, I ask that the people will support them from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n The Brazilians will be left with four years of second-guessing, wondering why they chose not to have one of soccer\u2019s elite scorers take the penalty shot after Matheus Cunha was taken down by a sliding tackle in the box.<\/p>\n No foul was called originally, to the Brazilians\u2019 protest, but the penalty was awarded after a video review. Vin\u00edcius, who came into the game leading Brazil with four goals in four games, had the ball in his hands, and it appeared he would take the kick.<\/p>\n Instead, Guimar\u00e3es walked to the spot and Vin\u00edcius handed him the ball, then went and stood to the left of the box and watched as Guimar\u00e3es stutter-stepped, then fired the shot that Nyland dived to his left to knock away.<\/p>\n Guimar\u00e3es ended up the choice through a combination of analytics and injuries.<\/p>\n Coach Carlo Ancelotti explained that the Brazilians had compiled statistics on their best penalty takers for a year, and the best choices were Neymar and forward Raphinha. Guimar\u00e3es was next. <\/p>\n