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FULL TIME: Final score from Sao Paulo, it’s Brazil 3 – 1 Croatia
Brazil celebrate, and it is an opening day win that was promised, and has been delivered. Croatia will rue the second goal, and Brazil will be assured they have survived the toughest game in Group A with three points.
Mexico and Cameroon to meet tomorrow. Join The Roar for more live blogs. You’ll see me next covering the Group B clash between Chile v Australia game tomorrow morning.
Brazil‘s journey towards lifting a sixth World Cup begins with a clash against Croatia. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 6:00am (AEST).
Make no mistake, the minimum requirement of the home fans is that the Selecao perform a victory lap at the Maracana Stadium on July 14. Anything less will be deemed as failure.
With a squad of 23 that all ply their trades at the very summit of club football, it will be difficult to predict exactly how Luis Felipe Scolari will line-up his team.
It is likely that Brazil will heed to local calls for an attacking presence, with Neymar, Fred and Hulk all likely to start, while starting with a back three and employing both Maicon and Dani Alves as wingbacks.
Local fans will undoubtedly be thrilled at the attacking mindset, however this may cause defensive instability, and see the Braziians outnumbered in the midfield battle for possession. Should Scolari opt for a more conservative approach, the likes of Fernandinho, Ramires and Luiz Gustavo are all ready and waiting.
But regardless of what shape the Brazilians take, only one result is tolerable.
So within this prism of Brazilian dreams, where does Croatia fit? A case can be made that in a relatively simple Group A, the two best teams on paper are on deck first up.
Croatia’s creative outlets come via their Real Madrid maestro Luka Modric, as well Sevilla playmaker Ivan Rakitic. One player to keep an eye out for is Inter midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who is a rising gem.
But up front is where Vatreni’s quality is telling, with Mario Mandzukic top of the pack, along with a fine supporting act of Ivica Olic, Eduardo da Silva and Hull City’s Nikica Jelavic.
And no Australian fan dare forget Darijo Srna’s superb free kick from 2006. Underestimate him with a dead ball at your peril.
The danger for Croatia is that a loss makes progression a much harder assignment, as they will be playing catch-up to Mexico and Cameroon for the rest of the group stage. On that basis, Vatreni’s former captain and now coach Niko Kovac (he who scored a goal so horribly spilt over the line by Zeljko Kalac in 2006) may employ a pragmatic approach to prevent any opening day setback.
In short, Brazil are at home and should win a game to help satisfy the pre-tournament hype. Look for a ravenous Brazilian crowd to spur their team on in attack, and potentially Croatia to pose a threat on the counter. Croatia will know they have the quality to play spoilsport and leave Sao Paulo with three points.
The only question is if the Brazilian perspective has considered this, or whether their expectations are so high that it renders Croatia as simply irrelevant within their grand plans.
KICK-OFF: Brazil & Croatia are underway! The wait is over. #joinin #WorldCup #BRACRO – http://t.co/xxtmLp3e67 pic.twitter.com/7rCzdPSU2m
— FIFAWorldCup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 12, 2014
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