Croatia Coach Niko Kovac was furious with the referee. “If that’s how we start the World Cup, we may as well go home now.”
The Croatians had taken the lead in Sao Paulo with a Marcelo own goal, but Neymar’s brace and a late Oscar counter-attack gave Brazil the 3-1 victory.
Croatia Coach Niko Kovac was furious with the referee. “If that’s how we start the World Cup, we may as well go home now.”
The Croatians had taken the lead in Sao Paulo with a Marcelo own goal, but Neymar’s brace and a late Oscar counter-attack gave Brazil the 3-1 victory.
There were several contentious decisions from the Japanese referee during the game, most notably a soft penalty, a possible Neymar red card for using his elbow in the first half and a push on Julio Cesar.
“If that’s a penalty, then we can just stop playing football right now,” said Kovac after the final whistle of this World Cup opener.
“Let’s play basketball instead. It’s shameful. We talk about respect, but there wasn’t any respect for Croatia.
“If that’s how we start the World Cup, then we may as well give up and go home now.
“The players made an excellent impression with their performance and it is an honour to coach them.”