WC Opener
Brazil vs. Croatia:-
Well, well, well…That was a very insightful game to say the least! A very cagey open affair fitting the WC’s theme of uncertainty.
In the first stages of the game, everything was going according to expectations; with Croatia sitting deep and Brazil playing around with the ball.
Croatia fired their first warning with a classic counter-attack with Olić heading wide and less than 5 minutes later, the (to most people) unexpected happened when Olić sent a low cross from the right which Marcelo managed to place in the back of his own net.
From a tactical point of view, much of Croatia’s build-up to their goal was because of Dani Alves’ crazy decision to run all the way to the other end of the pitch chasing after the ball. He left a HUGE amount of space down the right side of Brazil’s defense which Olić utilized perfectly and the rest is history.
In our profiles, we spoke about the BIG question marks scattered over Brazil’s CB partnership and, today, there wasn’t a better demonstration of those weaknesses! Luiz was all over the place for large parts of the opening 20 minutes or so and the entire Brazilian back-line seemed like they were playing together for the first time.
The second part of the 1st half saw Brazil get into the rhythm of the game and gain a bit more control of it all; however, they were still lacking some real edge going forward. It wasn’t until Brazil’s midfield started exerting more pressure in Croatia’s midfield area that Oscar was able to steal the ball and feed Neymar who released a timid shot to make it 1-1.
It was a “so-so” first half from Brazil; a lot of possession with no real penetration. Luiz Gustavo’s stability and Oscar’s free-style approach were the only good things about which coach Scolari could be proud. Croatia, on the other hand, put in a respectable performance and were unlucky to concede a goal.
The second half saw Croatia playing with more flair offensively and Brazil still not being able to create any proper chances in attack given the considerable amount of possession they had.
Evidently, the Olić-Jelavić partnership was clearly not as effective as Coach Niko Kovač had hoped; both seemingly not being able to form a proper understanding when going forward.
Brazil’s passing in the second half took a nose dive in terms of quality and precision and it wasn’t until Hernanes AND Bernard came on that Brazil started to form a more harmonious and consistent passing rhythm. Hernanes offering Brazil extremely high dimensions with his dynamism and total control in midfield.
After Brazil went ahead (the less said about that “penalty” the better), Croatia tried to impose more pressure on them and force more bodies forward; opening up play in all areas of the pitch. However, the inexperience of substitutes Rebić and Brozović only hampered their chances of getting an equalizer.
The question at the end of it all is: Did we all just witness a WC-WINNING team in Brazil today? Personally, I would say no…
Man of the match: It was a toss-up between Gustavo and Oscar: But the Chelsea man slightly edges the DM for this one; due to his excellent all-round play in attack and the fact that he was involved in all of Brazil’s 3 goals. Great positional play and a wonderful performance all in all!
Well, well, well…That was a very insightful game to say the least! A very cagey open affair fitting the WC’s theme of uncertainty.
In the first stages of the game, everything was going according to expectations; with Croatia sitting deep and Brazil playing around with the ball.
Croatia fired their first warning with a classic counter-attack with Olić heading wide and less than 5 minutes later, the (to most people) unexpected happened when Olić sent a low cross from the right which Marcelo managed to place in the back of his own net.
From a tactical point of view, much of Croatia’s build-up to their goal was because of Dani Alves’ crazy decision to run all the way to the other end of the pitch chasing after the ball. He left a HUGE amount of space down the right side of Brazil’s defense which Olić utilized perfectly and the rest is history.
In our profiles, we spoke about the BIG question marks scattered over Brazil’s CB partnership and, today, there wasn’t a better demonstration of those weaknesses! Luiz was all over the place for large parts of the opening 20 minutes or so and the entire Brazilian back-line seemed like they were playing together for the first time.
The second part of the 1st half saw Brazil get into the rhythm of the game and gain a bit more control of it all; however, they were still lacking some real edge going forward. It wasn’t until Brazil’s midfield started exerting more pressure in Croatia’s midfield area that Oscar was able to steal the ball and feed Neymar who released a timid shot to make it 1-1.
It was a “so-so” first half from Brazil; a lot of possession with no real penetration. Luiz Gustavo’s stability and Oscar’s free-style approach were the only good things about which coach Scolari could be proud. Croatia, on the other hand, put in a respectable performance and were unlucky to concede a goal.
The second half saw Croatia playing with more flair offensively and Brazil still not being able to create any proper chances in attack given the considerable amount of possession they had.
Evidently, the Olić-Jelavić partnership was clearly not as effective as Coach Niko Kovač had hoped; both seemingly not being able to form a proper understanding when going forward.
Brazil’s passing in the second half took a nose dive in terms of quality and precision and it wasn’t until Hernanes AND Bernard came on that Brazil started to form a more harmonious and consistent passing rhythm. Hernanes offering Brazil extremely high dimensions with his dynamism and total control in midfield.
After Brazil went ahead (the less said about that “penalty” the better), Croatia tried to impose more pressure on them and force more bodies forward; opening up play in all areas of the pitch. However, the inexperience of substitutes Rebić and Brozović only hampered their chances of getting an equalizer.
The question at the end of it all is: Did we all just witness a WC-WINNING team in Brazil today? Personally, I would say no…
Man of the match: It was a toss-up between Gustavo and Oscar: But the Chelsea man slightly edges the DM for this one; due to his excellent all-round play in attack and the fact that he was involved in all of Brazil’s 3 goals. Great positional play and a wonderful performance all in all!
Ahmad Al-Omar - 12. Jun, 21:57
