[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Group A

Brazil 2, Croatia 2

A wild opening match of the 2014 World Cup saw the hosts dominate Croatia but fail to take home all three points.

Neymar gave the hosts a dream start, burying a Fred rebound in the 18th minute to bring the Sao Paulo fans to their feet. Veteran striker Ivica Olic then drew the Croats level in the 44th minute, when he placed a strong header past Julio César just before the stroke of halftime. Olic then gave the Croats a shock 2-1 lead in the 68th minute, when he headed home yet again, this time off of a Mario Mandzukic rebound which was poorly spilled by César. But, the upset of the tournament was not to be written on opening night, as Neymar drew the host Brazilians level in the 86th minute, when he volleyed an Oscar free kick in to salvage a point for the hosts, who outshot Croatia 13-6.

M.O.T.M. - Neymar, Brazil (2 goals)

Mexico 3, Cameroon 2

Thanks to a man-of-the-match performance from Gio Dos Santos, Mexico reversed a two-nil deficit to take all three points off of their African opposition.

Cameroon got off to an incredible start, courtesy of none other than national legend Samuel Eto'o, who ripped a shot from twenty-five yards out past the Mexican 'keeper Corona in the 7th minute. Eto'o then doubled the Africans' lead in the 30th, when his free kick from just outside the Mexican penalty area bounced off the crossbar and in- all seemed in order for the Camerouni at halftime, as they led two-nil and had outshot Mexico 7-1. However, Chicharito got the Mexicans on the board in the 53rd minute, when he headed home beautifully from a corner kick, and the ball started rolling for the CONCACAF champions. Gio Dos Santos, formerly a failed prospect at Barcelona, tied the match for los Mexicanos in the 74th minute, smashing home a rocket from close range. Dos Santos then scored in injury time to snag all three points for the Mexicans, capitalizing on a poor defensive turnover from Cameroon's Chedjou. Final shots counted twelve apiece, and a draw probably would've been a fairer result.

M.O.T.M. - Gio Dos Santos, Mexico (2 goals)

Group B

Spain 1, Netherlands 1

Spaniards obliterate Dutch, but late Strootman equalizer steals point for De Oranje.

It wasn't pretty, but Louis van Gaal's Netherlands side managed to steal a point off of rivals Spain. Xavi put the defending champions up in the 27th minute, when he finessed a beautiful curled effort into the top corner of the Dutch net past Michel Vorm. Spain continued to press, but Vorm made four or five incredible stops, including one diving stop off of his own goal line! Against all odds, Kevin Strootman intercepted an errant Sergio Ramos pass in the 78th minute before slotting home past Iker Casillas to somehow draw the Dutch level, as it would stay until the final whistle. Shots tallied 19-2 in favor of the Spanish, who will feel they've been robbed of two points.

M.O.T.M. - Michel Vorm, Netherlands (11 saves on 12 shots on target)

Australia 1, Chile 5

Flying Chilenos deliver crushing blow to embarrassed Socceroos via Vargas, Sanchez.

What a huge game-changer, in their first games of the tournament. The Chileans came out of the gate ramping up the tempo, and Australia were at their mercy all afternoon. Alexis Sanchez got the party started for Chile just twelve minutes in, burying a loose ball with a one-timed blast that glanced off of the Australian goalpost before going in. Sanchez struck again in the 28th minute, slotting home into a virtually-empty net after a great goalmouth feed from Eduardo Vargas, and the Chileans were firmly in control. Australia showed their only sign of life in the 40th minute, when Brett Holman made a fantastic run on the counter-attack to cut the lead to one. Chile scored a backbreaker in first half injury time through Eduardo Vargas, on a shot from distance that, in all honesty, should've been stopped. Chile would add goals from Vargas and Jorge Valdivia late on, and the embarrassment of the Socceroos was complete.

M.O.T.M. - Eduardo Vargas, Chile (2 goals, 1 assist)