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.
The Nestel Cup 