Maicon’s Sizzler gets Brazil off to Perfect Start

Five-time champions Brazil got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 2-1 win over North Korea thanks to goals from Maicon and Elano in Ellis Park on Tuesday evening.

The Koreans defended stoutly for the entirety of the game, frustrating Dunga’s side and restricting them to relatively few chances, preventing the huge victory which was expected by many pundits due to the difference of 104 FIFA ranking places between the two teams.

This great determination in Korea’s defence kept Brazil’s constant waves of attacks at bay until the 55^th minute, when Maicon’s sensational, swerving strike found the net from a near impossible angle on the right hand side of the box having picked up an Elano pass through the defence.

Maicon’s incredible strike finally broke the deadlock

This calmed Brazil down, and with 18 minutes left to play, the fantastic Robinho played Elano in on goal with a perfectly weighted pass, and the Galatasaray man took the chance exceptionally, tucking the ball neatly in the corner with his instep with a fine and composed first time finish.

Goals for Brazil were very much expected, but a goal for North Korea had not been predicted. However, this is was transpired as the brilliantly courageous Jong Tae-se, who cried during the playing the North Korean national anthem which summed up his immense commitment to his countries cause, cushioned a deft header back for Ji Yun-nam. Yun-nam took the ball expertly with a perfect first-touch and powered into the Brazil box and continued this with a confident effort which drilled past Julio Cesar in the Brazil goal.

The gutsy Tae-se was the only occasional threat to Lucio and Juan in the Brazil defence, as he constantly closed down his opponents and ran with the ball at pace at the defence whenever he could, as well as never giving up any lost balls.

Tae-se didn’t give the Brazil defence a seconds rest

The rest of the North Korea side lacked any sort of attacking force. Their system of two defensive midfielders protecting five defenders at the back was intended to restrict any Brazil attacks, which worked for the vast majority of the first half, as the South Americans were forced to shoot from range from the likes of Robinho, Maicon, Michel Bastos and Elano, although creating no real clear cut chances.

Brazil’s attacking prowess was reduced by a less than convincing display from the out-of-form Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano. Although Fabiano has an impressive international goals record, he hasn’t found the net in his last six games. His best effort was a left-footed strike which was blazed over after more impressive build up play from Robinho who has a constant creative influence.

The Manchester City forward, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Brazilian club Santos, was at the hub of Brazil’s attacks as everything went through him as he justified his inclusion in Dunga’s squad. He was the centre of the attacks rather than Kaka, who looks to be continuing his poor club season at Real Madrid with a highly disappointing start to the World Cup.

Kaka’s performance is one of the largest concern for Dunga

Brazil also seemed to lack poignancy in their forward plays by a lack of width created by the midfield; the wider midfielders Elano and Robinho were given license to roam, and so spent the majority of the match in more central positions, meaning that Brazil relied upon full-backs Michel Bastos and Maicon for width by booming forward. This appeared not to be working for most of the game, but lead to the opening goal.

Despite only winning this game by a margin which was much smaller than expected, Brazil did dominate this match with much higher figures of possession and shots than their Korean counterparts. North Korea also set up to frustrate Dunga’s men to such an extent that is unlikely to be faced again, so it would be unwise to remove Brazil as favourites to win the competition. They will have to disprove some doubters in their next game however, which will be a much tougher test against Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Ivory Coast.

BRAZIL 2 (Maicon 55, Elano 72)

Team: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos; Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo (Ramires 84); Elano (Daniel Alves 73), Kaka (Nilmar 78), Robinho; Luis Fabiano

Substitutes: Gomes, Doni, Daniel, Luisao, Thiago Silva, Gilberto, Josué, Ramires, Julio Baptista, Kleberson, Nilmar, Grafite

 

Booked: Ramires    

NORTH KOREA (Yun-Nam 89)

Team: Kim Myong Gil; Cha Jong Hyok, Ri Jun Il, Ri Kwang Chon, Pak Chol Jin, Nam Song Chol; An Yong Hak, Kim Yong Jun, Mun In Guk; Hong Yong Jo, Jong Tae Se

Substitutes: Myong-Gil Kim, Myong-Won Kim, Nam-Chol Pak, Song-Chol Nam, Kwang-Hyok Ri, K-I Kim, Yong-Jun Kim, Chol-Myong Ri, Kyong-Il Kim, Sung Hyok Pak, Chol-Hyok An, Kum-Chol Choe

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  Booked: None