What a way to kick off the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a match from the host nation Brazil vs Croatia. Croatia lacks the amount of world class players that Brazil has. Brazil’s back line is made up of four of the world’s best defenders, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, and Dani Alves. Croatia is led by Real Madrid’s Luca Modric while all eyes are on Neymar‘s ability to lead Brazil to World Cup glory.
Croatia knew that they had to play 100% from the moment the whistle was blown to start the first half. They kept pushing and attacking until Ivica Olic sent in a low cross which resulted in an own goal from Marcelo. Croatia kept pushing during the first half but they couldn’t finish the opportunities they had. It was on the 22nd minute where Brazil had a chance to tie it but Stipe Pletikosa managed to keep Croatia in the lead. Neymar received the first yellow of the tournament on the 27th minute from an elbow on Luca Modric. Croatia became angered from the foul but Neymar showed sportsmanship by giving Modric a hand.
Two minutes after he received his booking, the young Brazilian star netted the equalizer on the 29th minute. This was his first FIFA World Cup goal in his career. The Croatian goalkeeper dove for the ball but couldn’t manage to reach it. Brazil began the game with a very sloppy form of playing. It was Oscar that kept Brazil in the game with him having such a great first half controlling the midfield. After the match was tied up, Brazil woke up and went on the offensive.
The second half as evenly match for most of it. Both teams were both on the offensive trying to get the upper hand to win those three points. The first substitution of the game was on the 61st minute when Mateo Kovacic came out so that Marcelo Brozovic could take the field. Two minutes afterwards, Paulinho was subbed off for Hernanes. Vedran Corluka received a yellow card on the 66th minute. The young Bernard came in on the 68th minute in place for Hulk. It was on the 69th minute where soccer fans all around became enraged with the referee as he called a penalty kick on what he saw was a foul on the Brazilian striker, Fred. At first it looked like it was a foul but as the replays were shown, it was clear that Fred clearly “flopped” in order to get to get the penalty kick. While Dejan Lovren was booked for what the referee marked as a penalty, Neymar managed to put it in the back of the net just barely though. The Croatian goalkeeper managed to get a hand on the ball but there wasn’t enough power in his hands to prevent the ball from going in the goal. Antte Rebic came onto the pitch for Nikica Jelavic on the 78th minute. There were some arguments on the goal that was denied from Croatia on the 83rd minute. Some argue that Olic didn’t touch Julio Cesar. Luis Gustavo was booked on the 88th minute for a hard challenge. Neymar was subbed off on the 88th minute for the Chelsea man Ramires. Oscar managed to put one in the net when he took a quick shot in the 90th minute.
The top performers of the match were Modric, Neymar, Olic, and Oscar. It was the drive of from defense to offense that kept giving Croatia chances. Modric was the one leading Croatia with Olic and the rest of the offense that kept at it even though the Brazilian defense seemed impenetrable at times. Neymar created chaos for the Croatian defense. With his speed, technique and lethal shot abilities, it was no shock that they gave it their all to prevent him from performing at his best. Neymar managed to net 2 goals in today’s match which makes him the top scorer so far for the tournament. Another Brazilian that stood out today was Oscar. He gave great passes throughout the match and even netted a goal in the final minutes of the match. He may be small but that didn’t stop him from staying up when he would get challenged by the bigger players. Throughout the match it also seemed that Marcelo was the target of Croatia as he was showed getting fouled most of the match. Hopefully the other matches of the tournament have a way better referee than the one that was assigned for today’s match. Brazil takes the lead of Group A with 3 points as Croatia is left behind with 0 points. How will Brazil and Croatia manage against Cameroon and Mexico?
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