Extra Time: What We Learned From Day 2

What a second day of action from the World Cup. Here’s what we learned from an exciting day of action:

Mexico’s good luck runs out, but still prevail

Mexico had the luckiest final two games in CONCACAF possibly ever. Needing wins in each game, plus help from the United States, everything went El Tri’s way and they were able to qualify for Brazil via the playoff. That luck ran out in their Group A opener Friday against Cameroon. They were stripped of two goals due to very questionable offside calls.

But Mexico overcame the adversity thanks to a goal from Oribe Peralta in the 61′ off a great feed from Giovani Dos Santos. For much of the game, El Tri controlled the game from Cameroon, and although the Indomitable Lions had their chances, Mexico overcame adversity and took a very important three points as they look to their next match against Croatia.

Cameroon not to be overlooked

Cameroon is arguably the weakest link in Group A with the likes of Brazil, Mexico, and Croatia hanging in their shadow. But Samuel Eto’o’s squad had their chances against a Mexico team expected to win. They still are in a hole and probably won’t make it out of the group, especially with their second match against heavily favored Brazil. But Cameroon will give teams fits and will not be a cakewalk.

Iker Casillas is done for Spain; Spain no longer intimidating

Who would have seen that result yesterday? Spain, reigning World Cup champions, who defeated Netherlands 1-0 in the final, embarrassed themselves in a 5-1 thumping by the Dutch. The most embarrassing moment? When Spanish stalwart Iker Casillas, goalkeeper of the 2010 World Cup team as well as their Euro 2012 championship team, misplayed a ball that Arjen Robben capitalized on and easily scored. Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s manager, has no choice but to sit his champion goalkeeper. Casillas does not even start on his club team Real Madrid. It’s time to say thank you for your service, but it’s time to move on.

Aside from Casillas, Spain just looked abysmal. They were not the World Cup champions everyone is afraid to play. After being thrashed like this, La Furia Roja have lost the immortal status in international soccer. They still are Spain and will be a challenge for anyone they play, but they are no longer invincible. Will Spain be able to recover and regroup from an embarrassing loss?

Netherlands class of Group B

The Netherlands were given the tough task to avenge their World Cup finals loss four years ago in the very first match of group play. To say they were still ticked off about that loss was an understatement. Oranje put up five goals (!!!) on Spain and embarrassed their nemesis Friday. Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben each scored twice. Van Persie stole the show, earning the nickname “The Flying Dutchman” thanks to his flying header.

After being down 1-0, Holland roared back proving that they are in fact the class of Group B. And with a match looming against lowly Australia, the Netherlands may very well solidify their spot in the knockout stage before their final match.

Chile is fun to watch; Australia not so much

Chile has the door wide open to get out of Group B thanks to Spain’s embarrassing loss. Chile took the three points it was expected to against Australia Friday night thanks to a 3-1 win. They scored two goals in two minutes thanks to their furious attack. Players shifted all over the field, causing Australia fits. They’ll have to do a better job on set pieces and balls in the air, and they must keep their furious attack throughout the entire match. But Chile is fun to watch, and should provide for some entertaining soccer as they go in to their two matches against Spain and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Australia are not exactly the furious attacking team that Chile is. In fact, they let Chile attack and wait for counter attacks. Those chances were rare. And when they did have those chances, they failed to take advantage. The Socceroos kept it close at 2-1 in the second half, but were unable to score in the final third on their rare opportunities.

Extra Time: What We Learned From Brazil’s Victory Over Croatia

Brazil’s Neymar celebrates a goal in their 3-1 victory over Croatia Thursday in Sao Paolo. Credit: ESPN FC

Brazil did not play as expected in their 3-1 victory over Croatia Thursday afternoon. Alas, a win is a win. And to Brazil and their fans, the three points at the end of the day are what matters.

But Croatia gave Brazil fits and looked dangerous for most of the match. They attacked Luiz Scolari’s side early, even taking a 1-0 lead thanks to an own goal by Marcelo. Croatia had their chances, but failed to bury the ball in the back of the net enough (obviously…)

Here’s what we know after match day one:

Neymar and Oscar Shine

Neymar is good. Like, really good. Two goals in his first ever World Cup match in front of his home fans is nothing to brush aside, even if one was a penalty (we’ll get to that later). He was the best player on the field for the Selacao. As soon as Croatia scored to go ahead, Neymar demanded the ball be at his feet and powered his team to victory. And to think people were worried about his knee in warmups…

Oscar also had a fantastic game, scoring the third goal to seal the victory. He also assisted on Neymar’s tying goal. These two players will take on the grunt of the workload offensively for Brazil to succeed.

Brazil Defense Not the Strongest

Brazil look suspect on defense, and that’s to say the least. For the first 20 minutes of the match, they let Croatia attack right down their throats. There were gaping holes in the back line by the fullbacks. Brazil’s fullbacks like to attack, but that leaves them vulnerable and Croatia exploited this.

Goalkeeping Woes

Croatia goaltender Stipe Pletikosa allowed three goals to an offensively talented Brazil side. No big deal right?

Except the three goals allowed were stoppable. On all three, Pletikosa looked as if his feet were stapled to the ground. He was slow to react on both the first goal by Neymar and the third by Oscar. On the second, a penalty shot, he got both of his hands on the ball and just pushed it into the top right corner, an unfortunate bounce. Still, if Pletikosa removed the velcro attached from his boots to the grass, this could have gone Croatia’s way. Meanwhile, Brazil goaltender Julio Cesar looked fine in net, although he was slow to react on shots as well. He made a big save in the late stages of the game on Ivan Perisic in the 90′ in a 2-1 game. This save led to a counterattack that instantly saw Brazil seal the win with a goal. The 34-year-old Cesar made a big mark on the game.

Croatia are pretty damn good

We’ll see who the second best team of the group is Friday, but Croatia made a very strong statement against Brazil. Manager Niko Kovac’s side attacked Brazil from the start, choosing to stand tall against the hosts instead of withering in the spotlight of the host nation’s party. Ivan Perisic and Nikica Jelavic ran wild on the Brazil defense, pressuring the hosts most of the game. In the early stages, Perisic placed a beautiful cross to Ivica Olic, whose header just missed the far post. They almost tied the game on a shot by Perisic, and played the hosts hard the entire game. They earned respect, and should definitely be a challenge for Mexico and Cameroon.

Oh, and they get their best player back in time for their second match against Mexico in Mario Mandzukic.

Referee Yuichi Nishimura points to the penalty spot in the 71′ of Brazil’s 3-1 victory over Croatia on Thursday. Will bad refereeing continue through the entire tournament? Credit: Fox Sports

Pleaseeeee don’t be a World Cup full of bad refereeing. Please.

We’re off to a horrible start with refereeing. And we only played one match.

In the 71′ of a 1-1 game, Dejan Lovren got tangled up with Fred for merely a half-second. It was just coincidental contact. Yet Fred flails to the ground as if he was just tackled by an American football player. And Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed directly at the penalty spot, running to the end line signaling a penalty kick, all while a plethora of Croats ran and screamed at him. It was an absurd call, one that changed the complexion of the match and ruining an enticing opening match. If this is a sign of things to come, then we can expect to see some interesting scenarios via the referees in the coming month.

Brazil relieved of opening match jitters

Ultimately at the end of the day, Brazil took the three points it needed. And their slow play isn’t to say Brazil will play like that the entire tournament. As long as Brazil improve each match, they will be just fine. In 2010, Spain lost their opening match to Switzerland before eventually winning the World Cup. In 2006, Italy tied the United States en route to their title. And in 2002, Brazil needed a late goal against Turkey after a slow start in their opening match before ultimately winning the World Cup.