Amateurish Thoughts On Brazil 2014: Brazil vs Croatia

• The counter-attack system looked really deadly for Croatia. Their goal may have had some luck, but it was created by how well they broke down the wing. 
• It was refreshing to see a Brazillian side who kept their sense of flair in the game. That Brazil kept trying to create opportunities made the first half especially incredibly exciting. Brazil going a goal down did wonders for the attacking effort they put in. 
• Neymar's first goal was pure class. I can see why he's been hyped as one of the potential stars of the tournament. If that's how he's going to play, I hope Brazil can go all the way to the final. 
• The penalty looked soft on TV, though the angle shown made it look like there was something in it. No doubt Fred milked it. The angle I've seen in news reports makes it look a lot worse than how I remembered it live. 
• The penalty itself was anticlimactic, at least as far as the spectacle goes, as the battle between creative attack and resilient defence lost all momentum. 
• The game became really scrappy in the second half, lost the excitement and flair of the first half. Substitutions do that, I suppose. 
• Oscar's goal at the death was so audacious, yet so brilliantly taken. I suppose that's the kind of shot you can do being a goal up in injury time. I hope the world cup has many more goals like this. 
• Brazil were the better side on the day, and 3-1 seems like a fair reflection of the game. 
• That both teams (at least nominally) used 4-2-3-1 was slightly odd. Though both teams seemed to have the quality of players to pull it off, with Brazil making better use of wing-backs (especially Alves) out wide to have more play in the middle of the park. I wonder how Australia will do with that tactic tomorrow.