How dull was that opening ceremony? So, so dull. For a country with such a carnival atmosphere it was disappointing. Anyway, I'm here to talk about the football. Brazil v Croatia; the opening game of the 2014 World Cup.
It was clear from kick off that Croatia were not going to go all out attack. They sat off the Brazilians, and allowed them to have the ball. Going toe-to-toe with the hosts was not going to have the outcome they desired. Niko Kovac opted to play on the counter, drawing in the Brazilians and then releasing Olic and Perisic on the gung-ho minded Brazil defence. Their two centre midfielders, Modric and Rakitic are their star men and play at the very highest level. Modric for Real Madrid and Rakitic just signed for rivals Barcelona. They had the quality to pick out the spaces left behind by Marcelo, David Luiz and Dani Alves, all who love to maraud forward. It worked to great success in the beginning, as the Croats broke down the left with Olic numerous times and this is also where their goal came from. Rakitic laid it off to Olic, he broke down the left wing and his low cross found Jelavic whose weak shot went through the legs of David Luiz and bounced off the unlucky Marcelo into Julio Cesar’s net. Defeat for the hosts and favourites on opening day? Surely not.
The rigidity of the Croatian tactics and formation required Brazil to be patient. David Luiz and Thiago Silva patiently played the ball along the half way line while Croatia stationed all 11 men inside their own half, and rarely pressed. Despite Niko Kovac’s pre-match press conference stating that ‘Croatia won’t park the bus’, he did.
Unfortunately the Croatian bus wasn't locked and the Brazilians got in. Neymar, the host’s poster boy and shining light, repeatedly found space despite the tight Croatian set-up and eventually he popped up with the equaliser. Although he was lucky to still be on the pitch after an elbow on the baby-faced Modric. Neymar danced in to the space between Croatia’s midfield and defence. He skipped away from Perisic and let fly. His left footed drive bobbled awkwardly before glancing off Pletikosa’s post and into the net. The stadium exploded, the fans went mad and the players let out a huge sigh of relief after opening their account. Neymar stepped up when his country needed him, and the carnival began.
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| Neymar, Brazil's saviour |
He stepped up again, this time to hit a controversially awarded penalty after Lovren was punished for allegedly bundling the burly Fred to the ground in the penalty area. At this stage the game was a bit more open which suited the Brazilians. Neymar slotted the spot kick to his left. Pletikosa guessed right and got a hand to it, but it still ended up in his net. He should have done a lot better, but his chocolate wrists melted in the pressure.
Croatia scored again! But the Japanese official ruled it out for a foul by Olic on Cesar. It was soft, it was wrong. The referee bottled it. The Croats had every right to feel aggrieved but they continued to pile on the pressure firing men forward. Brazil sent on Ramirez for Neymar to help weather the storm, and it proved effective.
Ramirez nicked the ball off Modric in the dying minutes and set free young Oscar who toe-poked it in to make it 3 – 1 to the home country. The samba was in full flow. Pletikosa should maybe have been expected to do better with that too, he must of had his eye on a busty Brazilian beauty.
The referee ended it soon after. A final score of 3 – 1 seems harsh on Croatia as the game was much tighter than it suggests, Brazil escaped unscathed, but there were some worrying signs that could be exploited by better teams. Especially if the referee doesn't have a Brazil shirt on too.
Brazil 3 - 1 Croatia
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