The FIFA World Cup host country walked away with the first win of the event on Thursday as Brazil beat Croatia with a 3-1 score.

The World Cup seemed to kick off to a less than inspiring start in others ways with construction on the stadium going on as late as Wednesday and a bank of floodlights temporarily going black during the first half of Thursday's game.

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However, Brazil's team more than made up for the hiccups in a game which shows just why the country is one of the favorites to win the 2014 World Cup.

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, commonly known as Neymar, has long been Brazil's poster boy and is a key component of this year's national team. The 22-year-old forward proved his mettle on Thursday by scoring the first two goals of the night and contributing heavily to the host team's 3-1 victory.

Neymar's two goals brought Brazil into the lead after defender and fellow teammate Marcelo Vieira put the ball in Brazil's own net, accidentally scoring the point for Croatia and putting the country in the lead within the first 11 minutes of the game.

Marcelo is the only Brazilian to have the misfortune of scoring an own goal at the World Cup. The goal was met with stunned silence by the home crowd who then regained their vigor when Neymar scored his first goal of the game a short time later.

Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior, known as Oscar, wrapped up the win by scoring a third and final goal in the last minutes of the match.

Brazil approached Thursday's match confident of a win as the nation is undefeated in 17 consecutive World Cup opening games. Marcelo's mishap and Brazil's sluggish start dampened some spirits and the match wasn't exactly what the host team would have wanted, nonetheless Brazil showed its true talent as the team worked cohesively together to bring the match back into their favor and win the game.  

TagsWorld Cup 2014, FIFA World Cup Brazil