My take on World Cup 2014 Opening game....

My views about yesterday's match..... Brazil were good...they exhibited character and bounce-backability... But the fortune tides blown towards their direction... They were a different side from that confident team that swept Spain aside in the Confederation cup final.. Neymar received all the adulation but Luis Gustavo remains my best player in the Brazilian setup yesterday.. He's the unsung hero for Scolari's side.. Brazil needs to improve and should do so very quick if they are to mount any serious challenge for the trophy For Croatia... The result was unfair to them as they played a wonderful game and really took the fight to the Brazilians.... Their swift counter attacking game really worked near to perfection especially in the first half... They very much exploited the defensive fragility of Brazil. They utilised effectively the space created by the always attacking Brazilian full backs.. (Alves and Marcelo) They however missed striker Mario Mandzukic's presence.. On such a day his link up play with midfield... His aerial qualities and instinctive runs would have been key... Jelavic did little in such a role yesterday... Croatia were undone by controversial decisions by Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura and can only draw positives out of the defeat.... Goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa should be asking himself questions as to why he did little to prevent Brazil's equaliser and even The third goal... He should have done better... Their central defensive pairing of Lovren and Corluka needs to improve in their subsequent games... Coach Niko Kovac with his side display last night has shown he has the tactical acumen to plan Croatia's way to the Round of 16... Referee Yuichi Nishimura... Had the first half of the game easily under his grips but it was a different scenario in the second... He should have been better... And simply put he couldn't live up to the hype et al..... Some contentious decisions::: Neymar's elbow on Modric... Was it a red card?? Fred's penalty... Was there adequate contact to merit such a decision?? Croatia's disallowed goal... Was Julio Cesar really fouled in the buildup to that goal?? All the same...it was a nice spectacle to witness and was a pleasant opening to the 2014 world cup... At the end one thing remains intact... Never has a home nation lost its opening game in a world cup history... Other interesting facts & Stats... World cup 2014 firsts 1st world cup to use goal line technology and vanishing spray 1st world cup own goal for Brazil after 98 matches 1st world cup for Neymar and Oscar and they scored on their debut... 1st South American world cup since 1978(Argentina) 1st yellow card...Neymar da Silva Santos jnr... 1st penalty conceded... Awarded against Dejan Lovren of Croatia.. Vs Brazil for a foul on Fred.. The last time Brazil hosted the world cup..they scored 4 goals.in their opening game against Mexico... (Brazil 4-0 Mexico) 1950wcup# Yesterday they scored 4 again but one went in favour of the opposition... Marcelo's OG (Brazil 3-1 Croatia) Nana Asare Kwaku Boadull