The much-anticipated 2014 FIFA World Cup kicked off today 12/06/2014 with the hosts and favorites Brazil facing Croatia in a rematch of their 2006 opener which the Brazilians won. Not surprisingly, the Croatians were not intimidated by the pro-Brazil atmosphere of the Maracana and almost scored in the 7^th minute of the game. Thankfully for the Brazilian fans the shot went wide. Four minutes later though, the home crowd was stunned as Marcelo turned the ball into his own net to give the Croatians a shocking 1-0 lead. Brazil knew that they had to respond quickly and Paulinho came close to equalizing in the 21^st but the Croatian goalie Pletikosa was equal to the task. In the 30^th minute though, parity was brought back to the game as Brazilian Golden Boy Neymar brought the hosts level with a brilliant strike. It was game on now. Not surprising, it was the Brazilians who dominated the ball-possession. The South Americans had a whopping 64% of the ball as opposed to 36% and had outshot their opponents 10-3.  At the half though, the score was Brazil 1 – Croatia 1.

At the resumption it was Brazil who tried to assert their authority from early on. They were awarded a free kick in the 51^st minute but the Croatian defence held firm to clear away the danger. In 56^th Perisic tried his luck from distance for the Balkan team but his effort was too high. Croatia was the first team to make a substitution with Brozovic replacing Kovac in the 61^st minute. Brazil followed suit with Hernanes replacing Paulinho in the 63^rd. As the game went on, Brazil became more frustrated by the Europeans. Brazil got another chance in the 66^th though, but Corluka had no choice but to foul Neymar earning himself a yellow card. Brazil would waste the resulting free kick opportunity however. In the 70^th Brazil coach Scolari replaced Hulk with Bernard. Then came a turning point in the match. Brazil were awarded a penalty in the 71^st after Fred was taken down in the Croatian penalty area by Lovren. The Japanese official Nishimura promptly pointed to the spot much to the delight of the raucous home crowd. Neymar stepped up to take the kick and sent the home team into the lead for the first time in the match. Although Pletikosa in the Croatian goal did make a valiant attempt at stopping it by getting a hand to the ball, Neymar was not to be denied. In the 77^th Brazil almost made it 3-1 but David Luiz’s header went just wide.

 Time was winding down on Croatia and they continued to fight valiantly. They were awarded a corner with six minutes to go. Unfortunately they wasted the opportunity and Brazil continued to hold on. Modric had a long range shot which Cesar took no chances with and brilliantly pushed to safety. In the 89^th minute Neymar was replaced by Ramires with the three points almost secure. Brazil were living dangerously and Croatia were looking to equalize. Suddenly a quick counter attack from the five time World Champions produced the assurance goal with Oscar getting on the score sheet after weaving his way through the Croatian backline. At the final whistle Brazil ran out 3-1 winners. It was a brilliant start for the hosts who are seeking an unprecedented sixth World Cup title. And it surely is a warning to their opponents that they really mean business.