We run the rule over the Brazil and Croatia players after the opening World Cup match.
BRAZIL
Julio Cesar – 6
Didn’t have all that much to do. Looked a tad shaky with high balls, but pulled off a nice save from Ivan Rakitic in the second half.
Dani Alves – 5
Wasn’t his usual assured self. Looked nervous especially early on and was caught out on numerous occasions by Ivica Olic.
Thiago Silva – 6
Looked comfortable with the ball at his feet, but his partnership with David Luiz will be of some concern for Luiz Felipe Scolari as they were constantly stretched.
David Luiz – 6
Was positionally poor for a majority of the game, but made some last-ditch blocks late in the second half.
Marcelo – 5
Very unfortunate with the own goal, but similarly to Alves was caught in behind by Perisic on numerous occasions.
Paulinho – 6
Unlucky not to score after Stipe Pletikosa brilliantly turned away his long-range strike. A typically industrious performance by the Spurs midfielder.
Luiz Gustavo – 7
Did well to restrict the excellent Luka Modric for most of the game and complemented the more attack-minded Paulinho well.
Oscar – 7.5
Scored a long-range toe poke to seal the match for the Brazilians, and was a constant threat to the Croatian defence.
Hulk – 5.5
Had a relatively quiet game by his standards and was substituted.
Neymar – 8
Was perhaps fortunate to escape a red card for an elbow on Luka Modric in the first half, but scored an excellent equaliser followed by a penalty that put Brazil ahead.
Fred – 6
Worked hard, but went down extremely easily for the penalty. Centre forward is definitely Scolari’s biggest problem on the pitch.
CROATIA
Stipe Pletikosa – 5.5
Began the game well making two decent saves and was confident with Brazil’s early crosses. Almost kept out Neymar’s penalty, but was too slow getting down for Brazil other two goals.
Darijo Srna – 5
Not one of his best games for Croatia. Found it difficult to contain both Hulk and Neymar in the first half, but improved in the second when dealing with Marcelo.
Dejan Lovren – 6.5
Gave away a penalty that never was, but apart from that was quiet solid. Contained Fred well.
Vedran Corluka – 6.5
Similar to his centre-half partner defensively, but was lazy on the ball at times and put the Croatian midfield under pressure with poor balls.
Sime Vrsaljko – 7
Impressive game at left-back for the right-footed defender. Defended well and overlapped when required.
Luka Modric – 7
Was under tight pressure from Luiz Gustavo for most of the match. Rarely lost the ball as per usual but didn’t have as much of an effect on the game as he would have liked.
Ivan Rakitic – 6.5
His technical quality was certainly evident, but without a holding midfielder behind him, Rakitic had to play much deeper than he would have liked.
Ivan Perisic – 6.5
Started the game brightly, but then drifted in and out.
Mateo Kovacic – 5.5
The dominance of Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho limited Kovacic’s influence on the game and was eventually replaced by Marcelo Brozovic.
Ivica Olic – 6.5
Worked hard as per usual and put in the cross that lead to the Marcelo own-goal. Tried one trick too many in Croatia’s defensive half and almost cost his team a goal.
Nikica Jelavic – 6
Battled hard as a lone striker, but didn’t have the pace to trouble the Brazilian defence.
COMMENTS