Brazil vs Croatia star of the match: Neymar rules, but Oscar shines

Given that Brazil have still not managed to convince the world or their own people that they can host the World Cup, it was vital that they at least convince them that they can win football games. And while a lot was made of Neymar and how the responsibility lies on his slender shoulders, it was another lithe man in midfield who shone brighter than Brazil’s pin-up boy as they beat Croatia 3-1 in the opener. [caption id=“attachment_1568423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  His goal in added time was another sign of what is to come from this exciting midfielder. AP[/caption] Oscar was the driving force from midfield in a setup which demanded that Brazil’s attackers track back to aid a defence which looked shaky and leaked an own-goal in just 11 minutes. Not only did Oscar prove efficient at regularly breaking Croatia’s counter-attacks — his tackle on Luka Modric as the Real Madrid man threatened to break away the best example of it — but he crossed, passed and shot with much more confidence than Neymar. His goal in added time was another sign of what is to come from this exciting midfielder. As soon as Neymar was taken off, Oscar was given the freedom to roam forward and before long he broke forward and toe-poked a goal with sublime ease. The Chelsea man danced through Croatia’s defence multiple times (seven out of 11 successful take-ons), created three chances, got an assist, made five blocks, completed 83% of his passes and 67% of his tackles and also scored a goal in an all-round midfield show which may make him more important than Neymar as Brazil advance in the World Cup.  Oscar’s take-ons in the match