The opening match of the 2014 World Cup featured no shortage of talking points, kicking off the tournament in a style we can only hope continues. Not all was positive, of course, but there was plenty of beauty from the beautiful game. Let's break it down.
The good
- For a bleary-eyed fan stumbling into their lounge shortly before kick-off - having attempted to accrue as much sleep as possible ahead of the 4am starts to come - the Brazilian anthem was the perfect wake-up call. Belted out acapella by the players and the 60,000 sun-soaked locals in Sao Paulo, it will be hard to find a more rousing rendition in the 63 games to follow.
- It didn't have the shock of Senegal over France, or a thumping goal like that from South Africa's Siphiwe Tshabalala four years ago, but this was a pretty impressive start. Both teams were willing to attack and, at 2-1 down, Croatia looked like they could snatch a point, before Oscar's brilliant toe-poke - evoking memories of Fat Ronaldo's winning goal in the 2002 semifinal - sealed the points.
- The kits. Surely two of the best at the World Cup?
The bad
- Speaking of evocations from 2002, how unpleasant it is to have a hometown decision feature so prominently so early. Unlike the officials carrying South Korea to the semifinals of their home tournament, Brazil hardly need any help with their hosting duties. But that's exactly what Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura provided. While Twitter quickly conjured conspiracy theories about the number of Brazilian footballers in the J-League, or the significant Japanese population in Brazil, this looked like a case of one man desperate to please the home crowd.
