Chilean Player Commemorates Missed Shot That Could Have Sunk Brazil At World Cup

The moment might be one that a normal person would prefer to forget.

Instead, the Chilean striker, Mauricio Pinilla, chose to commemorate it. On his own body.

With less than a minute to go in overtime during Chile’s Round of 16 match against host nation, Brazil, the 30-year-old who plays for Cagliari in Italy nearly won the game with a shot that slammed against the crossbar and bounced out.

Then, Pinilla and enough of his teammates missed enough of their penalty kicks or had them stopped to give Brazil a 1-1 (3-2) victory.

But should the Chilean ever need to explain to his grandchildren just how close he came to pulling off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, all he’ll have to do is show them his lower back.

That’s where he had an image of his miss tattooed before leaving Brazil along with the English words, “One centimeter from glory.”

He also had the words “Blessed for life” inked into his hairline.

Had Chile won, it would have been the first time since 1962, when the country hosted the World Cup, that it advanced to the quarterfinals.