Neymar leads Brazil to 3-1 win over Croatia

Neymar gave Brazil a winning start to its home World Cup, scoring twice to lead the host nation to a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Croatia in the opening game. Brazil had a disastrous start when defender Marcelo found his own net while trying to clear a low cross by Ivica Olic in the 11th minute, but Neymar then showed why the nation’s high hopes are all pinned on him. he 22-year-old forward equalized in the 29th by clearing a defender near midfield before making a run toward the edge of the area and firing a low shot that hit the post before going in. Brazil was then awarded a disputed penalty in the 71st minute after striker Fred went down inside the area under light contact,

and Neymar scored the winner from the spot. Oscar slotted in the third in injury time. Those details, as well as the fact that the penalty was highly debatable, did not trouble the 60,000-plus crowd which exploded in delight as fireworks detonated outside."This is a dream come true, much more than I imagined," Neymar said afterwards. "But more important than anything is that our team won." Given the situation in Brazil, with ambivalence towards the World Cup and police tear-gassing protesters in Sao Paulo just hours earlier, the value of those goals could be high. When President Dilma Rousseff was seen on the big screen celebrating Neymar`s second goal, the crowd responded with a foul-mouthed chant. Protests around the country over the World Cup`s huge price have put a question mark over whether the tournament would be a success, despite the fact it is being played in football`s spiritual home. Neymar is Brazil`s undisputed star, adored for repeatedly snubbing European clubs before joining Barcelona and promoted so efficiently the phenomenon is known as "Neymarketing". He played like he had a point to prove, using his quick footwork to beat defenders and putting in a dangerous cross that could have brought the opening goal.Brazil went 1-0 down through Marcelo`s own goal in the 11th minute, and when Neymar was booked near the half-hour it looked like the evening could finish disastrously for the hosts.But almost immediately, Oscar found Neymar with space to run and his driven, left-foot shot, despite not being cleanly hit, had the accuracy to beat a diving Pletikosa.And when Fred won a controversial penalty in the second half, Neymar got his second despite theatrically checking his run-up and hitting a shot well within the goalkeeper`s reach.At the age of just 22, it brought his astonishing tally of goals to Brazil up to 33 in 50 games. After the match, wearing a baseball cap, earrings and bright green backpack, he gave thanks for the crowd support which included a spine-tingling pre- game rendition of the national anthem. "I have to give congratulations for the support, it motivated us a lot. They kept us going the whole time, and we needed it," he said.And Neymar did his best to quash the impression that he is not out to dominate the tournament. "I`m not focused on being the best in the tournament, thehighest goal- scorer... what I want is to win the championship," he said.

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Paulinho (Hernanes, 63rd), Luiz Gustavo, Oscar; Hulk (Bernard, 68th), Neymar (Ramires, 88th), Fred.

Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa; Darijo Srna, Vedran Corluka, Dejan Lovren, Sime Vrsaljko; Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic (Marcelo Brozovic, 61st); Ivica Olic, Nikica Jelavic (Ante Rebic, 78th).


Source: Agencies