Brazil – Croatia
12.06.2014 22:00 CET
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In the World Cup kickoff match, the hosts will play the part of favorites. However, Croatia might have more than one surprise for the opponents up her sleeve. Who will get the first points of the tournament? More
The first match of this year’s World Cup will see the host team from Brazil take on the Croatians at the Arena de Sao Paulo. To date, the teams have played each other only two times (the last time being in 2006) – Brazil took the win once, and the other match ended in a draw.
Despite the Canarinhos being the default favorites in the opening match, it is a common trend at big tournaments for the up-and-coming teams to turn out to be a surprise. Will that be the case with the Croats?
Brazil
The Brazilian national team is one of the world’s top squads in terms of held titles. They are the only team who has won the World Cup five times. The last time this happened was in 2002 at the World Cup Korea/Japan, but since then they have dropped out of the championships as early as the quarterfinals. This time around, with the extra pressure and elation of fighting on their own pitches, the Canarinhos will try to go the extra mile
The squad’s fans are waiting for Neymar’s guaranteed phenomenal performance. The FC Barcelona player is the team’s best, and has already played 49 national squad matches, during which he has scored 31 goals.
Experts worry whether the team’s coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, will be able to motivate them enough to a world championship. He has succeded once, in 2002, and two years ago he returned to the squad to help them do the same.
Croatia
Before the tournament started, the Croats were amongst those teams that might be the surprisingly triumphant underdog of the World Cup. In the FIFA ranking they are currently in the 18th spot, and they advanced to the Brazil tournament after difficult elimination rounds against Belgium (who is also participating) and Serbia.
The Croatian team did not play in the previous South African World Cup in 2010, and exited the two previous tournaments at group stage. Their last major success came in 1998, when they managed third place and their striker Davor Šuker got the Golden Boot trophy for scoring 6 goals in 7 matches, and the Silver Ball for being the second-best player overall, behind only Ronaldo.
This year, the squad with the likes of Luka Modri?, Ivan Rakiti? and Dejan Lovren on board is a menacing opponent. Admittedly, the team’s (still) Bayern Munich-based star Mario Mandžuki? will not play after a red card exclusion in the qualifier against Iceland. The squad’s Niko Kova? will have to help the team manage without him in the opening game.
Summary
According to many, the result of the Brazil match will open up the host team’s passage to the finals. Any other result will be considered sensational, and will make Group A rivalry get much more exciting than expected. Will the Canarinhos take Thursday’s challenge head on and win, or will the Croats steal at least a point off them and surprise football fans worldwide?
Find out more about the disposition and history of your Brazil 2014 favorites. Go to our match center and learn about this year’s World Cup participants!
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