As Brazil kicked off the 2014 World Cup as the host nation, the roars of excitement and anticipation within the Arena Corinthians were deafening. However, those soon turned into gasps as Marcelo steered the ball into his own net in the 11th minute to give Croatia the lead. That definitely wasn’t in the script. The goal didn’t come without warning though. On two previous occasions, Croatia broke forward with ease and comfortably got crosses in. In the 8th minute, Ivan Perisic crossed deep for Ivica Olic who headed wide. Just three minutes later, Croatia countered again and Olic’s delivery was deflected into the net for the opening goal. Brazil were all over the place in the first quarter of an hour. They naively flooded forward, losing their shape and were lazy when having to track back. Their full-backs were unnecessarily adventurous so early in proceedings and left them vulnerable to the counter-attack, to which they soon succumbed. However, Croatia have their own defensive issues and as Brazil went on to dominate possession, they began to find openings. Niko Kovac made the brave call of playing all three of his creative midfielders against one of the favourites in the competition and while they caused their opponents problems, they also cost them defensively. The unadulterated creative presence of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Rakitic made for a lightweight Croat midfield and therefore a soft core. That weakness was exposed in the build-up to the equalizing goal. Oscar won the ball amongst all three Croat central midfielders and played in Neymar who could run at the unprotected back four and place his shot past Stipe Pletikosa in goal. The second half started without incident but Croatia continued to look dangerous from crosses, highlighting Brazil’s good fortune that Mario Mandzukic missed the encounter through suspension. The Bayern Munich forward would have enjoyed the lackadaisical marking of the Brazilian center-backs. That good fortune was only made more prominent for the hosts when Fred was awarded a penalty as Dejan Lovren was adjudged to have brought him down. The contact was in fact minimal, rendering it a soft decision. Neymar stepped up, performed an overelaborate run-up and struck his effort too close to the keeper who, despite getting both hands to it, couldn’t keep it out. Having taken the lead, the Selecao only grew nervier at the back. Julio Cesar proved to be just as uncomfortable with crosses as his center backs when he was beaten to the ball by Olic in the air. Rebic struck the loose ball but David Luiz made the block before Perisic steered home the rebound. However, the whistle had already gone, as the referee deemed Olic`s knock down a foul on Cesar. Croatia were denied a late equalizer but continued to push forward and were caught on the break. Once again, their lack of muscle in midfield cost them. Rakitic was nudged off the ball by the substitute Ramires who slipped in his Chelsea teammate Oscar. The 22 year-old then produced a magnificent toe-punt to finish before the keeper could set himself, making it 3-1 to Brazil. It was a well-deserved goal for the youngster who delivered a great performance on the night. Neymar may have bagged two goals but Oscar was heavily involved in Brazil’s attacks, grabbing a goal and an assist. He was also quick to track back and win the ball, justifying his place in the team ahead of Willian. With a couple of controversial decisions going against them, Croatia have every right to feel aggrieved not to at least get a point out of the fixture. Brazil were far from convincing but perhaps an early scare in the tournament is just what they needed to get a grip on reality. They aren’t going to have things all their own way and will have to work a lot harder than they did in the opening game. They have to be a lot more committed to defending their lines and covering for each other if they’re going to be world champions. Source: goal.com Brazil get an opening win but also an early wake-up call
As Brazil kicked off the 2014 World Cup as the host nation, the roars of excitement and anticipation within the Arena Corinthians were deafening. However, those soon turned into gasps as Marcelo steered the ball into his own net in the 11th minute to give Croatia the lead. That definitely wasn’t in the script. The goal didn’t come without warning though. On two previous occasions, Croatia broke forward with ease and comfortably got crosses in. In the 8th minute, Ivan Perisic crossed deep for Ivica Olic who headed wide. Just three minutes later, Croatia countered again and Olic’s delivery was deflected into the net for the opening goal. Brazil were all over the place in the first quarter of an hour. They naively flooded forward, losing their shape and were lazy when having to track back. Their full-backs were unnecessarily adventurous so early in proceedings and left them vulnerable to the counter-attack, to which they soon succumbed. However, Croatia have their own defensive issues and as Brazil went on to dominate possession, they began to find openings. Niko Kovac made the brave call of playing all three of his creative midfielders against one of the favourites in the competition and while they caused their opponents problems, they also cost them defensively. The unadulterated creative presence of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Rakitic made for a lightweight Croat midfield and therefore a soft core. That weakness was exposed in the build-up to the equalizing goal. Oscar won the ball amongst all three Croat central midfielders and played in Neymar who could run at the unprotected back four and place his shot past Stipe Pletikosa in goal. The second half started without incident but Croatia continued to look dangerous from crosses, highlighting Brazil’s good fortune that Mario Mandzukic missed the encounter through suspension. The Bayern Munich forward would have enjoyed the lackadaisical marking of the Brazilian center-backs. That good fortune was only made more prominent for the hosts when Fred was awarded a penalty as Dejan Lovren was adjudged to have brought him down. The contact was in fact minimal, rendering it a soft decision. Neymar stepped up, performed an overelaborate run-up and struck his effort too close to the keeper who, despite getting both hands to it, couldn’t keep it out. Having taken the lead, the Selecao only grew nervier at the back. Julio Cesar proved to be just as uncomfortable with crosses as his center backs when he was beaten to the ball by Olic in the air. Rebic struck the loose ball but David Luiz made the block before Perisic steered home the rebound. However, the whistle had already gone, as the referee deemed Olic`s knock down a foul on Cesar. Croatia were denied a late equalizer but continued to push forward and were caught on the break. Once again, their lack of muscle in midfield cost them. Rakitic was nudged off the ball by the substitute Ramires who slipped in his Chelsea teammate Oscar. The 22 year-old then produced a magnificent toe-punt to finish before the keeper could set himself, making it 3-1 to Brazil. It was a well-deserved goal for the youngster who delivered a great performance on the night. Neymar may have bagged two goals but Oscar was heavily involved in Brazil’s attacks, grabbing a goal and an assist. He was also quick to track back and win the ball, justifying his place in the team ahead of Willian. With a couple of controversial decisions going against them, Croatia have every right to feel aggrieved not to at least get a point out of the fixture. Brazil were far from convincing but perhaps an early scare in the tournament is just what they needed to get a grip on reality. They aren’t going to have things all their own way and will have to work a lot harder than they did in the opening game. They have to be a lot more committed to defending their lines and covering for each other if they’re going to be world champions. Source: goal.com
Post a Comment