SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Neymar showed why he is carrying Brazils hopes at the World Cup, scoring twice on Thursday to help the underwhelming hosts escape a disappointing start to the tournament. Xavier Sua-Filo Jersey . With Brazil struggling and down a goal against a spirited Croatian team, Neymar came through to lead his team to a 3-1 win in the opening match, scoring once in each half. The killer goal to make the score 2-1 was a hotly contested penalty awarded by Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura. "Things werent going well," he said. "The first match is always difficult, we were anxious, we were nervous. Im glad I was able to get the goals we needed at the time we needed them." "He is a special player and we know that," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "And he needs to know that we know that." Brazil got off to a slow start in its home tournament. Defender Marcelo found his own net while trying to clear a low cross by Ivica Olic in the 11th minute, stunning the crowd of more than 62,100 packing the Itaquerao Stadium. But Neymar equalized in the 29th, firing a perfectly placed low shot that went in off the post. He said he didnt hit the ball perfectly, "but it went in, its all that matters." "Its important to start these tournaments on the right foot, with a victory," said Neymar. "Im happy that I got to score, but the entire team deserves credit. We maintained our calm and showed we could battle back." The game turned on a controversial penalty awarded by Nishimura in the second half after striker Fred went down inside the area under minimal contact from defender Dejan Lovren. Neymar scored from the spot in the 71st minute, getting his 33rd goal with Brazil. Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa nearly saved Neymars shot, but it was struck hard enough to deflect into the net. The Croatians were furious. "If that was a penalty, we should be playing basketball. Those kinds of fouls are penalized there," Croatia coach Niko Kovac said. "That is shameful, this is not a World Cup referee. He had one kind of criteria for them and another for us. The rules were not the same," Kovac said. As Croatia searched desperately for an equalizer, Oscar added to the lead in the first minute of injury time with a toe poke from just outside the penalty area. A draw would have been a huge disappointment for Brazil, which had won its opening match the last eight times and is overwhelming favourite to win the competition. "The team didnt give up," Brazil defender David Luiz said "We knew it would be hard but we played well and got that first goal and then the victory." The tournament finally got underway as planned after months of talk about the preparation problems that plagued Brazil since it was picked as host seven years ago. The troubled Itaquerao, which wasnt fully finished for the opener, held up without major setbacks to fans or the match itself, although part of the lights atop the pitch went out a few times for brief periods in the first half. ------ Lineups: Brazil: Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho (Hernanes, 63), Oscar, Neymar (Ramires, 88), Hulk (Bernard, 68), Fred. Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa, Sime Vrsaljko, Darijo Srna, Dejan Lovren, Vedran Corluka, Ivan Rakitic, Nikica Jelavic (Ante Rebic, 78), Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Ivica Olic, Mateo Kovacic (Marcelo Brozovic, 61). Harold Landry Jersey . He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Luke Falk Titans Jersey .The team had a meeting prior to facing Russia at the world junior hockey championship and got the effort theyve been looking for by defeating the Russians 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals.PARIS - With low scores at a premium on Saturday, Kevin Stadler fired a third-round, 1-over 72 and he extended his lead to four shots heading into the final day at the Alstom Open de France. Stadler, who sits atop the leaderboard at 9-under-par 204, entered the day up by three shots, but the rest of the field could not shoot low enough to catch the American. Stadler is seeking his second win on the European Tour. The 34-year-old held a 3-shot lead over Frenchman Victor Riu after the second round, but Riu carded a 2-over 73 and dropped into a tie for second place at 5-under 208. He is tied with Thongchai Jaidee, who shot a 69 at Le Golf National. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer is alone in fourth place at 3-under 210 after shooting a 70 on Saturday. Matthew Baldwin (70) and Bernd Wiesberger (71) are both right behind Kaymer at 2-under. Defending Alstom Open de France champion Graeme McDowell is eight shots off the pace at 1-under and he is tied for seventh with Robert Karlsson (70), Damien McGrane (72), Michael Hoey (73) and Mark Foster (73). Saturdays lowest round was a 3-under 68 turned in by Julien Quesne, who is at even-par for the week. Stadlers lead was not always so comfortable on Saturday. In fact, Riu started his round off strong and was able to pull even with the leader at one point. Up by three shots to begin the day, Stadler parred his first two holes before dropping a shot with a bogey at No. 3. Riu made birdies at both five and nine, while Stadler rounded out his front nine with six straight pars. The duo, who were paired together, shared the lead att 9-under heading to No. Xavier Sua-Filo Titans Jersey. 10. Then the wheels started to come off for Riu, starting with a bogey on the par-4 10th hole. Stadler countered Rius bogey with a birdie to move two shots ahead. Riu picked himself up briefly with a birdie at 11, but back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13 put him three shots back. Riu made birdie at 14 before making three straight bogeys from 15. He made par at 18 to finish his round. Stadler, on the other hand, cruised to six straight pars before making his second bogey of the round at No. 17, dropping his lead to four. He too parred the 18th and finished with a 72. "I got about what I deserved out of my game today," Stadler said. "I didnt play that great, made a whole lot of pars and did not have nearly as many looks as I had the last couple days, but you cant expect to play that well for four days in a row." Stadler understood how tough the course was playing, so he was pleased with his round. "I knew I really didnt have to do anything crazy today," he said "A couple less would have been nice, but overall Im happy the way it went." Jaidee had one of the better rounds on the day, making four birdies at seven, eight, 13 and 16. He also made bogey at the third and 18th holes. NOTES: Just three players (Quesne, Jaidee and Wade Ormsby) were able to break 70 on Saturday ... Stadler is looking to become the first American to win the Open de France since Barry Jaekel in 1972 ... With no bogey-free rounds on Saturday, there have been just two all week (Stadler in round one, Victor Dubuisson in round two). Cheap Hawks Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Pistons Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Pacers Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys' ' '
Copyright ©2024
