MX23RW : Tuesday, November 5 04:52:37| >> :600:418464:418464:
[monks data]
Attendance: 62,103
Brazil national football team
World Cup | Group Stage
Jun 12, 2014 at 9pm UK
 
Croatia national football team

3-1

Neymar (29', 71' pen.), Oscar (90+1')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Marcelo (11' og.)

Preview: Brazil vs. Croatia

Sports Mole previews Thursday's World Cup opener as hosts Brazil take on Croatia in Sao Paulo.

The greatest show on earth starts on Thursday as the World Cup gets underway with hosts Brazil taking on Croatia in Sao Paulo.

Brazil are expected to go far at the tournament thanks to a wealth of talent that includes Neymar, Oscar and Dani Alves, and they will be desperate to start positively by beating the Croats inside the Arena de Sao Paulo.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side head into the match having won 15 of their last 16 games in all competitions.

Croatia reached Brazil by coming through a qualification playoff against Iceland, with a 2-0 aggregate victory eventually seeing them through.

The teams' only previous meeting was at the 2006 World Cup in Germany when a goal from Kaka gave Brazil a 1-0 win in the group stage.

Despite an injury scare for Neymar earlier this week, the Brazilian talisman has been passed fit for the hosts, who have no other fitness worries.

Danijel Pranjic and Ivan Strinic are both unlikely to feature for Croatia due to injury, while Mario Mandzukic will be forced to miss out through suspension.

Recent form

Brazil: WWWWWW

Croatia: LDWDWW

Possible starting lineups

Brazil: Cesar; Alves, Luiz, Silva, Marcelo; Paulinho, Gustavo; Neymar, Oscar, Hulk; Fred

Croatia: Pletikosa; Srna, Corluka, Lovren, Vrsaljko; Modric, Rakitic; Eduardo, Kovacic, Perisic; Jelavic

Sports Mole says: 2-0


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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Netherlands Netherlands32107
Q Senegal flag Senegal32016
3 Ecuador flag Ecuador31114
4 Qatar Qatar30030

Group B

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Q England flag England32107
Q United States USA31205
3 Iran Iran31023
4 Wales flag Wales30121

Group C

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Q Argentina Argentina32016
Q Poland Poland31114
3 Mexico Mexico31114
4 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia31023

Group D

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Q France France32016
Q Australia Australia32016
3 Tunisia Tunisia31114
4 Denmark Denmark30121

Group E

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Q Japan Japan32016
Q Spain Spain31114
3 Germany Germany31114
4 Costa Rica flag Costa Rica31023

Group F

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Q Morocco Morocco32107
Q Croatia Croatia31205
3 Belgium Belgium31114
4 Canada Canada30030

Group G

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Q Brazil Brazil32016
Q Switzerland Switzerland32016
3 Cameroon flag Cameroon31114
4 Serbia Serbia30121

Group H

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Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Republic of Korea South Korea31114
3 Uruguay flag Uruguay31114
4 Ghana flag Ghana31023


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