Group A - BRA | CRO | MEX | CMR

Match threads in here.

TAB have Brazil as favourites to qualify, and Mexico and Croatia equal next.

I'm picking Brazil and Croatia.

Ditto. Mexico to drop points against Cameroon, but take a point of Croatia. 

Croatia against Latino opponents:

1998

Argentina 0-1 Group Stage

2002

Mexico 0-1 Group Stage

Ecuador 0-1 Group Stage

2006

Brazil 0-1 Group Stage

It's about time to stop this... OK, not tomorrow, but in game 3. 

So excited.

And the World Cup has started. The kickoff sent shivers down my spine

Lets hope the rest of the refs in this WC are better than this.

Fixed.

That is what everyone will be saying now.

A few contentious decisions going against Croatia. Home advantage I suppose.

Unfortunately the spectre of FIFA will hang around this result. The refereeing was just too suspicious.

Brazil look pretty ordinary tbh. Struggled in the air defensively. Was Fred and Hulk even on the pitch?

Oscar was brilliant though. Ref made some shocking calls. Plenty to talk about at least!

From TAB:

BRAZIL V CROATIA

Turnover on the match was very strong $460,000

88% of the money on the head to head market was on Brazil

$10,000 on Brazil at $1.28 was the biggest bet – returning $12,800

Brazil 3-1 was paying $12, one lucky punter had a $1,000 on this for a return of $12,000

THE OWN GOAL

The own goal as the method of first goal scorer was paying $22 – there were 9 lucky winners

Ordinarily own goals don’t count in the 1st goal scoring market - meaning Neymar’s was the first goal scored.

But as we have a lot of new customers who weren’t aware of that, as a goodwill gesture TAB has paid out on both Neymar and Marcelo as a one off

Really enjoyable and exciting game. Croatia were really unlucky. Penalty was a real home penalty and I'm sure the ref would not have given that to Croatia. And the keeper should probably have kept out all 3 goals. Unlucky with the penalty bit did get a pretty strong hand on it. And the first and third goals were from far enough out and travelling slow enough that he should have got there. I felt Croatia's 2nd goal should have stood too, that was never a foul on the goalkeeper. They both went for the ball, no elbows were up and Olic just won it. Decisions like that really annoy me as a keeper as I'd never get given that, I'd just get told to toughen up and that I should have won the ball.

Also Neymar should have been sent off for the deliberate elbow a minute before he scored too. But imagine the riot that would have ensued.

Agree it wasn't a foul on Cesar either. Not sure if it would have been a goal as all the players stopped once the ref blew his whistle.

1 game down, already a shambles from the ref. which game is Ben Williams officiating? (so I can avoid it)

Ha ha AJ, you beat me to it.

Appointements have only be made for the first 4 games so far.

Atrocious start, Croatia ought to feel incredibly bad done by. That doesn't seem to be the message I'm reading in the media though...

That was a dodgy ref for sure, wonder if he'll get sent home now (or Ref the next Brazil game)..  No way a penalty, Foul in the build up to the 3rd goal before it broke to Oscar, Croatia 2nd goal, never a foul (tho they may not have scored had the whistle not blown) and i might be in the minority but i reckon Neymar should have been sent off for his elbow on Modric.. took a look then bang..

That's what made it malicious/red. Whether the ref had that view of it or not...?

I really enjoyed the game, I must admit I went into the game expecting it to be a boring affair as most opening games are. But thanks to that own goal I think that made it a bit more exciting and Brazil had to work harder to get the win.

Penalty to Brazil was soft and agree with the call that it wasn't a foul on the keeper, but even though it went in the back of the next you can't say for sure they would have scored if it wasn't blown. Really it didn't appear Crotia had done enough to derserve to win.

Those who lumped on Neymar to win the Golden Boot must be feeling merry!

Turns out having Nishimura, who reffed when Brazil lost to the Dutch in 2010, wasn't as bad an omen as the hosts thought.

Any Indian bookies seen at the game? Wait till our favourite Australian referee shows up, he'll prove beyond all doubt that standards really can be that low.

or Peter O'Leary

I love this quote in the stuff article of Croatia coach slams "out of his depth" referee

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/10154144/Croatia-coach-slams-out-of-his-depth-referee

''I'll never eat sushi again,'' said Goran, a Croatian fan who attended the game as he ate dinner afterward.

I thought Oscar was excellent today, and  pity he does not play like that for Chelsea. Have never seen him perform as well as he did today.

Probably because he's told to defend all game.

The commentator is John Helm, who has worked for the BBC and ITV, but he's pretty average and not one of the Worlds best. He's worked for FIFA for quite a while, doing commentary at World Cups. Pretty sure NZ get the cheapest TV package available, so we're stuck with him every 4 years. He's not even at the games: pretty sure he works out of an international media centre, hence his supernatural ability to " see " and " commentate " on heaps of games. Also,Was it just me, or does the sound from the stadium seem muffled and distant? El cheapo package which suits the NZ TV head honchos...

He has had 24 EPL appearances  for 8 goals and 2 assists--- hardly defending all game.

he usually plays like that for brazil and has been their best player for the past year, he's just like a little kaka.

A kakariki?

I'll get me coat.

He does pretty much every World Cup, men's, woman's, youth and Olympics etc..  I don't mind him really, he spends a lot of time researching all the sides he commentates on, always has a lot of good stuff to say for kiwi sides, even gave a shout out to my mate who died of cystic fibrosis not long before the last women's u17 World Cup (a few of the girls he coached himself)