The first match of the World Cup is in the books, and unsurprisingly, Brazil has come away with a 3-1 win, which Latin Post Sports actually predicted.


But the match featured a number of major moments that defined both sides and it certainly allowed the viewer greater insight looking forward. Here are the things we learned about Brazil and Croatia's World Cup opener:
1. Brazilian defense exposed on the wings

The opening goal was a textbook counterattack. The Croatians moved the ball up the pitch quickly down the flanks. Olic got past a lost Dani Alves, forcing Thiago Silva to commit and leave the middle of the box wide open. Olic crossed the ball in and it eluded every single player, eventually landing on the foot of left back Marcelo, who redirected it into his own net. Notice the two Brazilians mentioned: Marcelo and Alves. Both players are tremendous offensive forces, but they are notorious for getting caught up the pitch. And time and again the Croatians caught them out of position on the flanks and generated chances. Julio Cesar's big save was the result of a cross from the flanks. If Brazil is going to be beaten, you can bet that teams will be working on exposing their defense down the wings.

2. Oscar is the most important Brazilian player

Neymar will certainly get the press, but Oscar was the best player for the host team in the opener. He dominated Croatia's defense with not only terrific speed and technical skill, but also intelligent playmaking. Every single time he had the ball throughout the game he unsettled the Croatian defenders and opened up space for his teammates. At one point early in the second half Brazil's number 11 retained the ball while surrounded by three defenders; it took a foul to eventually get the ball off his feet.

He capped off a great night with a goal and will definitely be a player to look out for moving forward.

3. Croatia struggled to retain possession early, but rose to occasion later

Everyone knew that Brazil would dominate possession throughout the game, but few would have expected the European side to have less than 30 percent of the ball for most of the first half. The team looked good on the counter but often struggled to make a sequence of passes out of the back. The goal by Neymar was the result of a miscommunication error in the Croatian midfield. This is a team that looked solid defensively at the start of the game, but slowly unraveled as Brazil gained confidence. The result was that star player Ivan Rakitic did not see much of the ball in the first and his presence was barely felt throughout the opening 45 minutes of play.

The team improved about 10 minutes into the second half and started to assert itself offensively. If not for some good saves from Julio Cesar and some good defending from the hosts, Croatia could have easily equalized and taken home a point.

4. Should Scolari regret overlooking Diego Costa in favor of Fred?

The defining moment of Fred's night came when he managed to get the team a controversial penalty in the 70th minute. He received the ball in the box and, under pressure, he fell to the ground without any substantial contact. That was his finest moment of an otherwise embarrassing performance. He delivered for Brazil a year ago at the Confederations Cup, but was largely invisible for most of this game and could ultimately provide this team with a problem moving forward.

It is essential to remember that Fred is arguably the main reason that Diego Costa did not get a better look from Luiz Felipe Scolari and this may be a decision that the Brazilian manager comes to regret.

5. Brazil does not convince

Scolari's team entered the tournament as the favorites to win it all but after one game they do not look like top contenders. The team passed the ball around slowly at the start of the game and looked hesitant. For the first 20 minutes, Croatia looked like the more dangerous side and eventually capitalized on a transition play that Marcelo put in his own goal. The team woke up and started ripping up the Croatian defense but failed to truly unsettle a poised Croatian defense. Neymar's first goal was a misread by goalie Stipe Pletikosa; he did the same on the last Oscar goal. As for the penalty goal, Brazil was awarded a gift by an inept referee. Brazil did manage to look dangerous at times, but also looked a bit tentative on the back end as the game closed in on its grand finale. Croatia looked increasingly better and Brazil looked susceptible.

Man of the Match

Brazil - Neymar scored twice, but it was Oscar who carved out Croatia's midfield with terrific technical skill and creativity. He was the man of the match.

Croatia - Luka Modric was certainly the most noticeable player on the pitch for his club and got better and better as the game wore on. He nearly tied the game at one point and was constantly finding ways to open up space on the attack. He looks to have a tremendous tournament.

Flop of the Match

Brazil - Fred shares this honor with Dani Alves. As the game moved along, it was more and more noticeable that Croatia was choosing to attack along the left flank (Alves' side) and was finding tremendous room to make runs. If he does not tighten things up moving forward, Brazil's defense could find some trouble on that wing in coming games.

Croatia - Ivan Rakitic had a great pass to help setup Croatia's goal, but he had a few giveaways that resulted in plays in the other direction for Brazil. He was largely invisible in key moments and needs to a big game against Cameroon to help his nation moving forward.

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