JOHANNESBURG -- To appease the world's most demanding soccer fans,
Brazil had to do more than simply beat North Korea in its World
Cup opener on Tuesday. The Selecao had to win with flair, as
Brazilians have come to expect from their handsomely decorated national
team.
Bundled against a frigid Johannesburg night in long sleeves and gloves,
the Brazilians handily dominated possession but struggled to pierce
North Korea's wall of defenders, who for 55 minutes cut off lanes to the
goal and clogged the space in front of it.
As a result, what could have been a comically one-sided match, with the
world's No. 1 soccer team squaring off against its No. 105th, turned
into a genuine tussle -- one that elevated North Korea's international
soccer standing while raising doubts about Brazil's legitimacy as a
favorite to win a sixth World Cup here in South Africa.
In the end, Brazil strode off with a 2-1 victory after a scoreless first half, with Maicon
delivering a goal that defied the rules of geometry and Elano following
17 minutes later with a deftly struck shot.
With one minute remaining, North Korea's Ji Yun Nam sent a blast past
acclaimed Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar to avoid the shutout and do
his part to deliver on Coach Kim Jong Hun's pre-match pledge to "bring
great happiness to our leader Kim Jong Il and show that people of Korea
DPR have a strong mentality."
Thousands of miles away in Brazil, the narrow victory over a lightly
regarded, little-known North Korean squad no doubt only heightened
consternation that the prodigiously gifted Selecao isn't sufficiently up
to par.
The broad contours of the matchup suggested dismal entertainment, with
Brazil's vaunted defense taking on a North Korean team with no apparent
offense, having qualified for its second World Cup (and first since
1966) with a scoreless draw against Saudi Arabia.
Still, given the nations involved, it promised a rich study in
contrasts.
Brazil is the only nation to qualify for every World Cup. And its
universally admired style of play is mirrored by its fans -- exuberant,
creative and flamboyant in its virtuosity.
North Korea, given its decades-old isolation from the world, entered the
tournament as an enigma. And, as the only World Cup team to set up its
training camp outside South Africa, choosing Zimbabwe instead, North
Korea seemed determined to remain inscrutable. What scouting reports
surfaced about the team suggested the squad was dogged, defense-minded
but hardly a scoring threat.
One highly regarded coach predicted North Korea would fail to score a
goal the entire tournament.
Through the first half of the teams' first meeting Tuesday, it seemed
that North Korea might just manage the unthinkable and draw with Brazil
-- a result that would rank as one of the greatest stunners in sports
history.