An own goal by Marcelo gave the Croatians a shocking 1-0 lead early on, but Neymar evened the score in the first half and scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 71st minute. Oscar added an insurance marker in injury time to cap an excellent performance of his own.
Key play
A frantic Brazil threw men forward after Marcelo’s unlucky own goal in the 11th minute, and finally gained the lead 20 minutes from time, when Neymar scored his second goal of the match from the penalty spot.
Croatia has a right to feel hard done by. It was a dubious call from Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura. Croatian defender Dejan Lovren was jostling with Brazil’s Fred when the latter seemed to fall of his own accord. But Nishimura pointed to the spot, gave Lovren the card, and Neymar cooly blasted the ball past Stipe Pletikosa for the match-winner.
Man of the match
Neymar. The man with the most pressure on his shoulders at the World Cup delivered when his country needed him the most, and that means good things for the hosts.
It was a good day for…
Oscar. It was a magnificent performance by the Brazil midfielder, who nearly overshadowed Neymar. He set up Neymar’s first goal, regularly barreled his way through several Croatian defenders at a time, and scored a deserved insurance marker.
It was a bad day for…
Marcelo. The Brazilian defender has the dubious distinction of scoring Brazil’s first own goal ever at the World Cup. You read that right. Ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment