Preview: Brazil vs. Croatia

June 13th, 2006 | by: Daryl |

GAME DETAILS
Brazil vs. Croatia, Berlin, 21:00 CET

THE BIG PICTURE
We all know about Brazil, and we’re all waiting to see Ronaldinho in action, But there’s so much hype surrounding the World Cup holders and favourites that you wonder if any team could live up to expectations. Croatia will be a stern first test. Though no longer possessing the attacking threat of the 1998 semi-final team (Davor Suker, Robert Prosinecki et al) this is a team with a stern defence, and won’t give up goals easily.

Scout Report – Brazil

Strengths – This Ronaldinho fella is meant to be decent, while fellow superstar Ronaldo seems born to play in World Cups (3 more goals and he’ll pass Gerd Muller’s competition record of 14). Add the talents of Kaka, Robinho, Adriano, Juninho AND the Adidas Teamgeist ball and you’ve got a recipe for goals.

Weaknesses – Despite the undoubted talents of forward pairing Ronaldo and Adriano, neither has enjoyed successful domestic seasons. Ronaldo failed to pull his (considerable?) weight in a Real Madrid shirt, while Inter Milan fans have questioned Adriano’s mental state. Lucio hasn’t been his imperial self in central defence, and with ageing fullbacks Cafu and Roberto Carlos unable to resist going forward, some gaps could appear at the back. Croatia will need to get the ball first though.

Scout Report – Croatia

Strengths – Juventus defender Robert Kovac leads a mean 3 man defence, protected by a two man defensive midfield of Igor Tudor (a converted defender) and Niko Kovac, neither of whom are afraid of the rough stuff. Right midfielder Darijo Srna is often called the “Beckham of the Balkans” for his quality crossing and dead ball skills. 21 year old attacking midfielder Niko Kranjcar (whose father Zlatko is the coach) has touch, vision and creativity that have seen him compared to Zinedine Zidane.

Weaknesses – Glasgow Rangers’ Dado Prso will lead the forward line as the definite first choice striker, but he is notoriously injury prone. His strike partner will be either Ivan Klasnic, who seems unable to reproduce his Werder Bremen form in Croatian colours or Ivica Olic, who hasn’t been a prolific international goalscorer. Croatia’s success could depend on finding a winning combination up front.

Teams: Likely formation; shirt numbers, name, caps and goals; coach

Brazil (4-4-2): 1-Dida (86-0); 2-Cafu (145-0), 3-Lucio (50-2), 4-Juan (38-2), 6-Roberto Carlos (127-10); 5-Emerson (72-1), 11-Ze Roberto (79-5), 8-Kaka (34-9), 10-Ronaldinho (66-30); 9-Ronaldo (98-62), 7-Adriano (34-22) Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira

Croatia (3-4-1-2): 1-Stipe Pletikosa; 7-Dario Simic, 4-Robert Kovac, 3-Josep Simunic; 2-Darijo Srna, 5-Igor Tudor, 10-Niko Kovac, 8-Marko Babic; 19-Niko Kranjcar; 17-Ivan Klasnic, 9-Dado Prso. Coach: Zlatko Kranjcar

THE BOTTOM LINE
Bob sez: Brazil 3-2
Chris sez: Brazil 3-1
Sean sez: Brazil 2-1
Peter sez: 1-1
Nick sez: Brazil 2-0

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http://www.viuasfotos.com/euler.htm Euler

Man, I’m almost having a heart attack! I believe it will be a hard game, but Brazil will win. The score for this first game can be 2-1 for Brazil. Of course I hope Brazil to score much more than 2, but Croatia is a good team, so that is my prediction.
Bidemi

Croatia won’t give the Brasilians respect, in the sense that they will pressure them and not give them space to pull off tricks. They will man-mark them very closely. Brasil, will end up relying on Ze and Emerson more than Gaucho and Kaka in the midfield. Expect balls to be launched down to middle to big Adriano, and offensive bursts from the ageless Roberto Carlos.

With that said, I’ll go for a 1-1 draw. I think it’s pretty naive to think that Brasil only finds the net once, but I think it’s going to be one of those days. But I hope they prove me wrong.
BrendanLee

too much hype for brazil,though not by their own doing but by their reputation and the high expectations of their fans…no doubt the favourite to win not only this match but the cup too..!!Everybody knows they can play,but can they deliver and perform in the crucial moments.??
(..like the czech!)Samba’s the groove..!
http://www.pertinentverge.blogspot.com Darkoze

Oh, it hurts to write this, but Brazil 3-1…unless the Geritol runs out on the Brazilian sidelines and Roberto Carlos and Cafu start acting their advanced age. But the rest of the squad has enough energy to make up for the “geezers”. Perhaps if Croatia can just hold them scoreless in the first 20-25 minutes, a chance for a 0-0 tie may be present.
But, I’m not too hopeful about that. Hopefully, the tempoerature wil drop to the 5-8 Celsius range and the Brazilians will freeze up.
Likely, that!!?!!?
soze

I think (hope) a draw. 2:2. My heart is racing and I am super stoked. I have been singing Neka Pati Kome Smeta all morning.
http://brazil.worldcupblog.org/group-f/today-brazil-will-stop.html Today, Brazil Will Stop – FIFA World Cup 2006 – Brazil World Cup Team Blog

[...] If anything, we have a lot of questions about Brazil right now. Brazil does have many of the best players in the world, but does that make the better team? Is the Ronaldinho Gaúcho we’ll see the same Ronaldinho Gaúcho who played on Barcelona? Are our team’s defense mistakes fixed? Will Cafu perform like a 20 year old runner (like he did during training matches) or will he get tired too soon? Is Ronaldo fit for long matches, or will he be substituted by Robinho on the second half? Will we get the chance to see Juninho Pernambucano’s perfect free kicks? Will the team start in full swing and walk over Croatia, or will it have to start slowly and gain confidence during the group stages, like it did on 2002? Can we actually be considered favorites, after having only beaten poor teams in the past few months? Are we living a daydream, a clever plot created by Argentina and Germany to make us think we’re the favorites while they’re keeping a low profile and they’re the actual contenders? Or is the hexa inevitable? Or even still, like Daryl said on the match preview, with so much hype surrounding a team, how can any team live up to expectations? [...]
http://brazil.worldcupblog.org/group-f/today.html Today, the Country Will Stop – FIFA World Cup 2006 – Brazil World Cup Team Blog

[...] If anything, we have a lot of questions about Brazil right now. Brazil does have many of the best players in the world, but does that make the better team? Is the Ronaldinho Gaúcho we’ll see the same Ronaldinho Gaúcho who played on Barcelona? Are our team’s defense mistakes fixed? Will Cafu perform like a 20 year old runner (like he did during training matches) or will he get tired too soon? Is Ronaldo fit for long matches, or will he be substituted by Robinho on the second half? Will we get the chance to see Juninho Pernambucano’s perfect free kicks? Will the team start in full swing and walk over Croatia, or will it have to start slowly and gain confidence during the group stages, like it did on 2002? Can we actually be considered favorites, after having only beaten poor teams in the past few months? Are we living a daydream, a clever plot created by Argentina and Germany to make us think we’re the favorites while they’re keeping a low profile and they’re the actual contenders? Or is the hexa inevitable? Or even still, like Daryl said on the match preview, with so much hype surrounding a team, how can any team live up to expectations? [...]
Petar Skoc

idemo hrvatska!
Hex

Bob is probably going to be in the front row for this game. :)
http://www.melissagalitz.com Melissa

tough call, im going to go with Brazil 2-1.
Vin

I believe Bidemi’s analysis is correct. Brazil is in for a physical game, Eastern European-style. I’d imagine it will be difficult to Samba dance when there is a red and white shirt on top of you.
https://cwanderer.wordpress.com/ Cerebral Wanderer

Of course Brazil!
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

Darkoze:

I have to give you credit, you pretty much nailed the USA-Czech result.

Today i’ll go with Brasil 2-1, Croatia’s a reasonably tough opponent but Brasil should be better. Too early for the European curse to kick in….
http://sports.godblessthefreaks.org Philip

Woohoo! CCTV-5 working for me. Here come the teams!
larsen

brazil will win 3-0
larsen

Strengths – This Ronaldinho fella is meant to be decent, while fellow superstar Ronaldo seems born to play in World Cups (3 more goals and he’ll pass Gerd Muller’s competition record of 14). Add the talents of Kaka, Robinho, Adriano, Juninho AND the Adidas Teamgeist ball and you’ve got a recipe for goals.
Nanna

im going with brazil 4-0 always the best!
Keat

HOping brazil to score more !!!!

MAybe 3-0 will do……..
Nick

I think that brazil will win either 2-0 or 2-1 somewhere around there;)
Aneeza

gr8 Game…..I knew Brazil Will win…Croatia played very well as well…
hrvatska

Proud to be Croat
Mario

yeah wat..let me see any other country in the tournament to play as well as croatia did against brazil..they did lose but not by much croatia didnt let them have the ball much…im a croat and i knew they would lose but not 1-0..they were better than i tought…man the fans are awsome..love u hrvatska
Stalin John Manuel B

Brazil games is not so much what all expected. But anyhow croatia fight well. Brazil 1 – 0 Croatia

Stalin BalBoa
TamilNadu
India
Siddharth

I think ppl are least bothered if croatia or brasil win, the whole world is waiting for India to play the football worldcup some day and see them win………It’ll surely happen someday……………………………

Proud to be Indian
http://brazil.worldcupblog.org/group-f/sheesh-get-off-our-back.html Sheesh, Get Off Our Back – FIFA World Cup 2006 – Brazil World Cup Team Blog

[...] You know, Daryl’s words on the preview of Brazil’s premiere match against Croatia have become quite prophetic: “there’s so much hype surrounding the World Cup holders and favourites that you wonder if any team could live up to expectations”. [...]
azzroy_7304

The Brasilian team should play very2 well agaist Ghana, coz this the knock out round. the brasilian coach should make some substiton. coz i`m the one of the milion brasilian fan. and i hope Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka can co-operatif to work together and brings the world cup back for 6 times. hope so….
GO THE ROOS

C’MON AUSSIE C’MON
malla

kaka is just the bomb man
but who cares i want nepal
once to be qualified for the world cup
http://croatiavsbrazil Nicola

guys croatia,is the best soccer team and thats a fact no1 can beat them and if they have its because croatia has been uncoordinated!!!! PROUD TO BE A CROAT!