He is the pin-up boy of the 2014 World Cup and he has the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders. Many would crumble under the pressure but Neymar stood tall thanks to his decisive double that helped Brazil secure a hard-fought victory. Neither of the Barcelona forward’s goals were hit with particular conviction, but both found the back of the net at a time when Croatia were looking as though they could pull off an upset. His tally is now 33 goals in 50 games for Brazil, and you have to think there will be much more to come from his supremely talented forward.
With goal-line technology introduced, this was meant to be a World Cup with little controversy. Yet Yuichi Nishimura’s decision to award a soft-looking penalty to Brazil made sure that it was referee’s in the limelight after the opening game. There was a furious backlash after the game both from the Croatian players and football fans around the world if you look at the comments on Twitter. True, it may have been a poor decision but sadly it is nothing new and we’re certain there will be plenty more to come.
Goals galore, let’s hope for more
Four goals in the very first game of the Brazil World Cup is a very good sign. Brazil were not at their free-flowing best but still looked dangerous thanks largely to Oscar and Neymar. But perhaps even more promising was the performance of Croatia who played with much freedom as Luka Modric caused havoc in the opening stages. They played with plenty of confidence and little fear. Let’s hope for more games like this one.
See the Sport360 dteam discuss some of the talking points from the Brazil vs Croatia game in the video above
Full-back issues for Brazil highlight defensive frailties
When discussing Brazil’s chances of winning a home World Cup, naysayers have pointed out that their defence could be an issue. Despite boasting the two most expensive centre-backs in the history of the game, David Luiz and Thiago Silva, it is on the flanks that Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side looked exposed. Marcelo’s own goal set the tone but it was Dani Alves who looked horribly out of position on several occasions as the 34-year-old Ivica Olic caused him all sorts of problems. Could this be an issue for the home side?
Opening ceremony own-goal
Strange costumes, bad lip-syncing and an array of twirling performers – this was an especially strange opening ceremony. It’s never an easy task to keep football fans entertained through song and dance and this proved no exception. There were purple men on stilts and people dressed up as trees, while the World Cup song was perhaps the lowest point of all. J-Lo appeared to forget the words or not even bother trying to lip-sync, while Pitbull…well the less said probably the better.
