June 12, 2014

Brazil 3, Croatia 1: And so it begins...the hosts fell behind early on a fluke own goal, then rallied behind two goals from debutant star Neymar, including a penalty off a terrible call, and clinching the game in injury time on a Mark Moseley-style toekick by Oscar.  Before anyone tries to draw any predictions based on this shaky start, please note that the last World Cup champs, Spain, lost their 2010 opener to Switzerland, and Brazil was itself unimpressive in its opener the last time it won, in 2002.  That game, a 2-1 victory over
Turkey, also featured an early deficit, an incredibly dodgy dive by a Brazilian player that led to the winning penalty kick, and an even sleazier bit of fakery that got a Turkish player sent off.  Good times....

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