Brazil escapes opening game with 3-1 victory over Croatia

Brazilians put down their pitchforks for the moment

The World Cup kicked off today in an exciting and controversial manner. The opening match of this world cup was not elegant nor was it symbolic of the beautiful game the Brazilians so proudly tout. A slew of sloppy plays and questionable decisions by the referee ultimately led to a victory for a surprisingly underwhelming Brazilian side. Brazil got off to a very slow start and were punished deservingly so, when a whipped in cross was turned into his own goal by Marcelo. The goal seemed to wake up the Brazilians who started to impose their will on the game. A loose ball in the midfield was picked up by Neymar who ran at the defense and scuffed his shot at the goal from 20 yards, to the surprise of everyone in the stadium, the ball went in. The tie stood until midway through the second half, when a dubious decision by the referee awarded Brazil a penalty. After about 20 stutter steps Neymar was able to get his brace in a game where he was relatively quiet compared to his normal form. Oscar solidified the victory with an extra time toe poke goal; it was Oscars first toe poke goal since he was eight years old. Brazil should consider themselves lucky to get out of this game with a two goal victory. Brazil lacks a true passing center midfield to help connect the defense and attack, Hulk and Fred barely had an impact on the game and if they want to be considered serious title contenders their going to need to step their game up to a considerably higher level.

Man of the Match: Oscar

While it was Neymar who will get all the attention in this match, Oscar was the one who made the difference today for Brazil. Very active today, constantly working to attack the Croatian defense on top of that worked hard to get back on defense. Cemented a solid performance with an extra time goal to seal it for Brazil

Games to look out for Tomorrow

Spain vs. Netherlands- 3PM ESPN

Spain and Holland will kick of Group B play tomorrow with a rematch of the 2010 World Cup final. If the Spaniards want to announce themselves as serious title contenders this year, they can do it with a win over the Dutch.