Brazil 3-1 Croatia: Neymar pulls Selecao back
Brazil conceded first and faced a ton of pressure. But from the danger, their number one hope: Neymar promptly shined to bring the Selecao back to the opening victory of the 2014 World Cup.
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| Brazil has passed the first hurdle. |
GOAL
Brazil:Neymar (29' ; 71', pen), Oscar (90')
Croatia:Marcelo (11', own goal)
The first image of the Samba dancers at the World Cup taking place in their homeland was not of determined fists, nor of screams. The 11 yellow-green warriors burst into tears to the majestic national anthem.
Unfortunately, the emotional moment did not last long. The brazuca had only been on the pitch for 11 minutes when Brazil conceded. Ivica Olic broke through to the wing where Dani Alves was defending and made a cross. In an attempt to save the shot, Marcelo ran right into the path of the ball and became the player who scored the first goal of the 2014 World Cup.
An own goal – what a terrible way to start a World Cup. Marcelo became the first Brazilian player in history to score an own goal at a World Cup.
However, it was from that psychological shock that we could feel that the Brazilians had prepared for all scenarios. After the goal, Selecao showed no signs of faltering. On the contrary, the first goal untied the psychological knots for the Brazilian team. The artistic steps began to dance.
Then what the whole Brazilian nation had been waiting for happened. In the 29th minute, Neymar was alone among a forest of Croatian players and suddenly fired a low shot from 23 meters away. The ball did not go hard, but was dangerous enough to defeat goalkeeper Pletikosa.
Unfortunately, the equalizer only made the stands less tense, but it did not create a brighter game for Brazil. Croatia was still cool and calm enough to control the Samba to a moderate level. Brazil, on the other hand, seemed to be stuck somewhere. They sent the ball out wide a lot but it was not effective.
But luckily for the host country Brazil, when Neymar, Oscar, Fred failed to create any scoring opportunities, referee Nishimura was the one who created the turning point.
In the 70th minute, Fred controlled the ball in the penalty area, Dejan Lovren made a light and tight pull. But that was enough to make the Brazilian striker fall in the penalty area. Penalty for Brazil and despite the tension, Neymar still scored from the 11m mark. The whole Brazilian nation breathed a sigh of relief.
The victory for Brazil was even sweeter when, in the 90th minute, Oscar took advantage of a mistake by the Croatian defense to score the winning goal, 3-1, for Selecao.
The head is down, will the tail be up, Brazil?
LINEUP
Brazil:Cesar, Alves, Silva, Luiz, Marcelo, Paulinho (Hernanes, 63'), Gustavo, Hulk (Bernard, 68'), Oscar, Neymar (Ramires, 88'), Fred.
Croatia:Pletikosa, Srna, Corluka, Lovren, Vrsaljko, Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Kovacic (Brozovic, 61'), Olic, Jelavic (Rebic, 78').
