Neymar shines in opener (June 13, 2014)Neymar lit the fireworks for Brazil's World Cup party to begin in earnest after inspiring victory for the host nation in the tournament's opening match against Croatia.
Neymar, Brazil's Barcelona talisman, proved the key for the 3-1 victory in a sparkling -- and controversial -- match that may well set the tone for a World Cup of thrills and skills.
Each Brazil goal, two scored by Neymar -- the second after a dubious penalty won by Fred -- and a third by Oscar was greeted by a flurry of fireworks bursting across the Sao Paulo skyline.
Croatia had had the impertinence to take the game to the hosts -- and score first courtesy of an own goal by Marcelo but the drive of Brazil not to fail on such an occasion proved decisive.
This was a game brimming with breathtaking technical skill, and not just from Brazil.
All eyes had been on the green and gold shirts in the days beforehand, but inspired by Luka Modric, it was those in red and white checks who had by far the better of the opening exchanges.
Croatia, displaying their own technical gifts, gave fair warning when Ivan Perisic's perceptive cross was met by his Wolfsburg team-mate Ivica Olic with a powerful downward header. Brazil held its collective breath but it bounced up past the angle.
That relief turned to dismay in the 11th minute as Olic took advantage of some wide open space down the left to fire in a cross that nicked off Nikica Jelavic's instep and bounced off the bewildered Marcelo to roll into the net.
"I stayed calm because if I let myself get down I would have hurt the team," Marcelo said. "It's not the first time that this has happened, so you have to stay relaxed to help the team."
This started to look serious: Brazil, the only country to play in every World Cup, were in danger of becoming the first host nation to lose their opening match unless it raised its game.
As it turned out, the shock of going behind was electrifying. Brazil began to attacked with gusto, Neymar's wonderful feet at the centre of the action.
The influence of Chelsea's Oscar began to grow, and his dangerous cross hung temptingly in the air but Neymar's acrobatic attempt failed to make the right contact.
Oscar then tried himself, bringing a terrific save from Stipe Pletikosa as the ball seemed to be curling into his top right-hand corner.
It was time for Neymar to take centre stage, after being only booked for what looked a forearm smash on Modric, he struck the equaliser in the 29th minute. Oscar was deeply involved in the build-up and though it may not have been the cleanest strike Neymar has ever hit, his shot went through the legs of a defender and in off the post.
The darkening skies around the Arena Corinthians lit up as a nation celebrated.
"It's important to start these tournaments with the right foot, with a victory," Neymar said. "I'm happy that I got to score, but the entire team deserves credit. We maintained our calm and showed we could battle back."
Croatia's touch deserted them, the task suddenly seemed too daunting, and there was a heady air of expectation among the home fans.
Into the second half and Brazil took a more patient approach, putting Croatia under increasing pressure.
Dani Alves fired a free-kick too high after Vedran Corluka had crudely chopped down Neymar, then Oscar picked out David Luiz but he couldn't keep his header down.
Then came the controversy. Fred manoeuvred for the ball in the Croatia penalty area, and Southampton centre-back Dejan Lovren laid barely a finger on his shoulder for the Brazil striker to fling himself down. Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura awarded the softest of spot-kicks, dispatched by Neymar despite Pletikosa getting his fingers to it.
"If that was a penalty, we should be playing basketball. Those kinds of fouls are penalized there," Croatia coach Niko Kovac said. "That is shameful, this is not a World Cup referee. He had one kind of criteria for them and another for us. The rules were not the same."
Croatia tried to respond, and had the ball in the net only for Olic to be penalised for a hefty challenge on keeper Julio Cesar, and it was left to Oscar to surprise Pletikosa with a steered finish with the toe of his boot to send the hosts into raptures.
"The team didn't give up," Brazil defender David Luiz said. "We knew it would be hard but we played well and got that first goal and then the victory."
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ESPN FCOribe Peralta nets winner for Mexico (June 14, 2014)Mexico got their World Cup campaign off to a perfect start with a 1-0 win over Cameroon -- but again the officials took much of the limelight.
The winner came just after the hour through Oribe Peralta, Mexico's top-scorer in qualifying, who pounced on the loose ball after Charles Itandje had saved well from Giovani dos Santos to slot into the empty net.
But Mexico should already have been well in control of the match, with Dos Santos having two goals wrongly ruled out for offside before the break. Replays showed he was behind the last defender when latching onto a cross to fire home. And then he was adjudged offside from a corner when the ball had flicked off the head of a Cameroon player.
"We could have scored more, but unfortunately we're not used to these conditions,'' Mexico coach Miguel Herrera said. "Frankly, the refereeing took away two clear goals, but at the end of the day you've got to work for it, and we get to the next match with three points and very high spirits."
Cameroon almost snatched a last-gasp equaliser but Guillermo Ochoa saved well from a firm Benjamin Moukandjo header.
Mexico join Brazil on three points at the top of the group, after the hosts beat Croatia 3-1 in the curtain-raiser on Thursday in which the referee came in for much criticism.
Both Mexico and Cameroon had entered the competition with question marks over their readiness.
Mexico -- having had four coaches in the past year and only qualifying via a playoff against New Zealand -- boasted little form having lost recent friendlies to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Portugal.
And Cameroon's preparations had been chaotic with the squad arriving in Brazil a day later than planned after a row over bonuses with their national federation. The African players had also been under fire from their fans and media after failing to accept a symbolic flag from their prime minister.
Those issues seemed to be hampering Cameroon as they started poorly and rarely threatened to improve upon a record that has seen them win just once at a World Cup finals since 1990.
Mexico quickly made an impression with Miguel Layun firing over and Hector Herrera shooting at former Liverpool goalkeeper Itandje from distance.
The first moment of controversy came when Dos Santos brilliantly turned in a cross from Herrera on the volley only to see a flag raised. Replays suggested the striker had been unlucky, although it was a marginal call.
Eric Choupo-Moting put the ball in the net as Cameroon finally started to show some life, but there was little doubt about the offside decision that denied him.
In a good spell for Cameroon, Tottenham's Benoit Assou-Ekotto charged down the left to tee up Samuel Eto'o but the Chelsea forward's shot grazed the post.
Choupo-Moting was unlucky again when he headed straight at Ochoa and Mexico eventually scrambled clear.
Cameroon's purple patch proved brief and Mexico were denied by a flag again when Dos Santos stooped to head in from a Layun corner. The ball was diverted into his path by Choupo-Moting and not flicked on by a Mexico teammate, leading to more furious appeals from the El Tri players.
The first half ended with Stephane Mbia escaping a booking for connecting with a forearm to the head of Alex Song. It was one of a number of robust challenges which Roldan dealt with leniently.
Mexico maintained their tempo after the break and Peralta was denied by a good Itanjde block.
Cameroon's next chance came from a set-piece as Assou-Ekotto had a free-kick deflected narrowly wide.
Mexico deservedly made their breakthrough just after the hour. Dos Santos raced through but was denied again, this time by Itanjde, but Peralta seized on the rebound to stroke the ball home.
"I want to score as many goals as possible," Peralta said, "to take advantage of every opportunity that I get because I want to be a world champion again.''
Peralta made way for Hernandez soon after as Mexico looked to his fresh legs to make the win secure.
Cameroon also made a forward change as they searched for an equaliser, sending on striker Pierre Webo for former Arsenal midfielder Song.
Rafael Marquez blocked a shot from Choupo-Moting and Francisco Rodriquez needed to stretch to intercept as Eto'o threatened.
Ochoa then did well to keep out Moukandjo's header but Hernandez should have made it 2-0 when he missed the target in injury time.
The loss leaves Cameroon needing a victory over group rival Croatia before closing first-round play against Brazil.
"We have five days to recover,'' Cameroon coach Volker Finke said. "We will analyse this together because the match against Croatia is very important if we want to stay alive."
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ESPN FCHolders routed by Dutch (June 14, 2014)Dutch maestros Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben inspired the Netherlands to a stunning, unthinkable 5-1 win over defending champions Spain in a thrilling encounter that will go down in World Cup history.
The Dutch -- coached by incoming Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal -- avenged their defeat by the same opponents in the 2010 final in outrageous style, with four unanswered goals in an irresistible second-half display in Salvador.
Van Persie and Robben scored two apiece, with each man's first a minor classic in its own right. Defender Stefan de Vrij scored his side's third.
Vicente Del Bosque's side, who also lost their opener against Switzerland four years ago, had actually taken the lead through Xabi Alonso's disputed penalty -- a lead they held until Van Persie's instinctive flying header levelled matters just before the break.
After that, the Netherlands were rampant, laying a big marker down for the remainder of the tournament and raising the prospect of a Brazil-Spain second-round clash.
The Netherlands should have taken the lead after just eight minutes, but Wesley Sneijder botched a wonderful opening.
Robben produced the pass that sent Sneijder bearing in on goal but he snatched at his lofted shot and allowed Iker Casillas to thrust his right glove up and make the save. Spain rallied quickly from that scare and soon began to stamp themselves on the game.
By 20 minutes the Dutch were being dictated to by Xavi, Iniesta, David Silva and Xabi Alonso, with Ron Vlaar producing at least two desperate blocks.
The controversial penalty followed in the 26th minute, starting with Xavi's beautifully weighted pass for Costa.
He surged into the area and took two touches before turning De Vrij, who appeared in real time to trip him.
By the time Xabi Alonso had buried the spot-kick, replays showed Costa apparently initiating contact.
The Netherlands responded positively but needed Jasper Cillessen to paw clear Silva's instinctive lob after a glorious pass from Iniesta in the 43rd minute.
That paved the way for Van Persie's leveller, the Manchester United man reading the space perfectly as he leapt to head Daley Blind's hanging cross high over the helpless Casillas.
The reaction was rampant, not least from the high-fiving Van Gaal on the touchline.
"It was a great goal, I have to be fair," Van Persie said. "Considering the circumstances, it must be the goal of my career."
The celebrations were even better eight minutes into the second half, when a piece of Robben magic gave them the lead.
Van Persie's chip picked out his team-mate, but he had plenty still to do as he controlled the ball brilliantly with the outside of his boot before turning Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos, converting with a slight deflection off the latter.
Things might have unravelled completely for the holders had the referee spotted Costa's apparent headbutt on Bruno Martins Indi, but the incident went unseen.
There was no holding the Netherlands back, though, Van Persie cracking a volley against the crossbar on the hour before De Vrij made it 3-1 from Sneijder's curling free-kick.
Casillas came to claim but failed, with De Vrij on hand to bundle home at the far post.
The pace only increased from there, Silva's close-range finish chalked off for offside before the Netherlands extended their lead to three in the 72nd minute.
Casillas was wholly culpable this time, turning a harmless back pass into one dreadful touch and an open goal for the alert Van Persie.
Robben completed Spain's misery with 10 minutes left, collecting Sneijder's pass and then reducing Casillas and his defenders to a floundering mess as he made room for an emphatic finish. The Netherlands might have scored two more had they been more clinical, and Spain's Fernando Torres made a woeful blunder from close range, but their statement was already well made.
"They were better than us in the second half, you have to recognize that,'' Del Bosque said. "It's a delicate moment for us. We need to find solutions now."
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ESPN FCBeausejour wraps up win (June 14, 2014)Chile held off an Australia fightback to open their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over the battling Socceroos in Cuiaba.
The South Americans had threatened a rout after goals from Alexis Sanchez and Jorge Valdivia in a whirlwind opening 15 minutes at the Arena Pantanal.
But Australia, the Group B outsiders, showed fighting spirit to reply through inspirational veteran Tim Cahill and they went close to equalising before Jean Beausejour secured the points in stoppage time.
pain's surprise hammering earlier in the day potentially opened up a route through the group for the highly rated Chileans, and they began as if it were all too easy.
Australia, by contrast, were ragged and cut open with regularity in the early stages. Their goal was breached for the first time in the 12th minute.
Challenges were few and far between as Sanchez found Charles Aranguiz and he was allowed to cross for Eduardo Vargas.
Vargas failed to make clean contact with his header but Australia failed to clear and Sanchez calmly picked his spot and lashed home from six yards.
Chile doubled their lead less than two minutes later as they powerfully swept forward once again.
Sanchez brilliantly turned Mile Jedinak and raced into space as Vargas drew the defence with a well-timed run.
He picked out Valdivia on the edge of the box and the finish, into the roof of the net, was clinical.
"Early on, we were probably just overawed by the whole thing," Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said. "In the end, we gave away a two-goal start and that's what killed us."
The game seemed beyond Australia at that early stage and Chile looked likely to increase their lead as they maintained their tempo for much of the opening half-hour.
But Australia gradually began to settle and Cahill dragged them back into the game with a trademark header.
Chile captain and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo invited pressure with a poor clearance. His defence did appear to repel any threat but Ivan Franjic won the ball back for Australia, exchanged passes with Mathew Leckie and whipped in a dangerous cross into the area.
Former Everton star Cahill timed his leap perfectly to plant a firm header past Bravo.
The game then opened up considerably.
Mauricio Isla was released by a fine pass from Vidal but was denied by a superb challenge from Jason Davidson.
Early in the second half, Cahill headed past Bravo once again, from a Leckie cross, only to be frustrated by an offside flag.
Bravo produced a brilliant save to keep out a powerful first-time shot from Mark Bresciano from a Davidson cross.
Play switched quickly to the other end where Alex Wilkinson cleared off the line after Vargas dinked the ball over Maty Ryan from another defence-splitting Sanchez pass.
Bresciano continued to get forward from midfield in search of an equaliser and fired wide. Cahill's presence in advanced positions also gave Chile continuing problems.
Cahill appealed for a penalty after going down in a challenge from Gonzalo Jara with two minutes remaining but nothing was given.
The task proved beyond the Socceroos and substitute Beausejour, of Wigan, wrapped up the scoring after Ryan saved from Mauricio Pinilla.
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