Neymar makes his mark – but there’s more to come Brazil 3-1 Croatia: five talking points from the World Cup 2014 opener When Neymar appeared to twist his ankle in the warm-up, a nation held its breath. Had disaster struck before a ball had even been kicked? After all the talk, all the hype and giddy excitement about what he might achieve over the next month, was Neymar’s World Cup already over? Was this going to be the sequel to the Ronaldo drama before the 1998 final? Well, no. Neymar was up again quickly enough, ready to take his place in the side, and an entire nation puffed its cheeks and relaxed. Everything was fine, panic over, time for Neymar to take centre stage and show the world why he is spoken of as Pelé’s heir and Barcelona spent all that money on him. Neymar has rarely been affected by pressure when he puts on that yellow shirt yet he is the only Brazil player who can aspire to one day be at the level achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, a global star surrounded by a solid support cast who are largely there to do his bidding. The forward is the only truly virtuoso talent Brazil possess and he is expected to sprinkle his stardust on a powerful but, at times, functional side yet Neymar was strangely becalmed in the early exchanges, almost as if he had been affected by the injury scare before kick-off. One stunning run on the right aside, he struggled to make his presence felt and a sign of his frustration came when he caught Luka Modric with an arm in the face. While a booking was probably correct because of the apparent lack of intent, Neymar was fortunate that the Japanese referee was not more hardline. Still, this was not in the script. Neymar was supposed to be the one running the show and instead he was being overshadowed by Croatia’s nimble midfield. But not for long. Shortly after picking up the first booking of the World Cup, Neymar found space in front of the Croatia defence and while his shot was not struck with great pace, its placement was enough to beat Stipe Pletikosa, whose dive was too late and too slow. Here was the moment we had all been waiting for, a goal from Neymar, and he did not disappoint. It is not just Brazil who need Neymar to shine, it is the entire tournament, and while he was occasionally erratic in his decision-making and passing, this was still a promising start. How relieved must he have been when that penalty snuck past Pletikosa, though? Dani Alves needs protection Defending has always been low on Dani Alves’s list of priorities. He tended to get away with the space his raiding style left for opponents to exploit when Barcelona were at the height of their dominance and his willingness to attack means that he is an asset going forward but he has become increasingly sluggish in the past three years and it does not require much tactical ingenuity to identify him as a weakness in the Brazil defence. Niko Kovac clearly told his players to target Dani Alves and it was not long before Ivica Olic was rising above him to head wide when he should have scored. That was a reprieve but Olic was soon causing havoc on the left again and when the right-back failed to close him down tightly enough, the winger’s dangerous low cross was turned into his own goal by Marcelo at the far post. The cameras might have been trained on the luckless Marcelo, who could not adjust his feet in time when the ball reached him, but his fellow full-back was just as culpable, while David Luiz was also guilty of losing Nikica Jelavic in the middle. In defence of Brazil’s defence, they may argue that needed more protection in those early stages when Croatia were such a threat. Brazil were horribly open in the move that led to Marcelo’s own goal and it was too easy for Croatia to pass through the middle, something that might not have happened if Fernandinho had been alongside Luis Gustavo instead of the more enterprising Paulinho. Yet Luiz Felipe Scolari is willing to take that gamble and perhaps he will simply remind his attackers of the value of pressing high up the pitch. It’s a team game. Fred seizes his one, very questionable moment Tournaments can be won without an elite centre-forward – France did it in 1998 with Stephane Guivarc’h and Spain did not even bother with a striker at Euro 2012 – but there is no point dressing it up: Fred is nowhere near the class of player that Brazil used to have in their attack. Of course, that didn’t matter at the Confederations Cup last year. Fred scored five goals in five matches, including two in the 3-0 thumping of Spain in the final, and he is the kind of striker who can be invisible for long periods, but deadly when a loose ball falls to him in the area. Fred was hardly involved on Thursday night – and then he won a highly debatable penalty for Neymar to score the winner, falling under Dejan Lovren’s soft challenge. Home advantage has its advantages. Rakitic and Modric set early tempo Croatia should not be too disheartened about an unfortunate defeat. They were adventurous, committed, played with enough quality to suggest that they can enjoy a successful tournament and will pose a greater threat in attack when Mario Mandzukic returns from his suspension for the second game. The Bayern Munich striker will be an upgrade on the willing but wayward Jelavic, whose sprightly movement and endeavour is let down by his shoddy finishing. Most encouraging for Croatia was the way that Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic were not overawed by the challenge of taking on Brazil in a game of football. These two delightful little midfielders ran the game in the first 20 minutes, constantly probing for angles and gaps in the Brazil defence, and while their influence waned as the game wore on, Croatia will feel that they should have enough to beat Cameroon and Mexico. Attack! Attack! Attack! Any fears that this World Cup was not going to live up to expectations have been dispelled by a terrifically entertaining opening match. While the last World Cup was ruined by a rubbish ball, negative football and vuvuzelas, the early signs are that this one is going to be great fun – how can it not be when anthems are being sung a capella? Brazil won but they did not have it all their own way. Croatia, who were excellent for long spells, were able to take the game to them because of Kovac’s decision to pack his midfield with creative players – no bus-parking here – and it made for a thrilling, end-to-end contest that could have been won by either side. More of this, please.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 12:13:12 +0000
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