Slow start exactly what Brazil were planning

Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said that his team was operating at around 60 to 70 percent of their capabilities in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Croatia, which is exactly how he had planned it.

The world champions were unconcerned by their unconvincing start to the defence of their crown, insisting that the three points were always going to be more important than the performance in their first game.

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"If you play your best at the start, then there's no room for improvement," he said at one stage. "We're thinking big, we intend to play seven games here and we want to go better as we go on."

Tuesday's post-match verdict headed exactly in the same direction.

"It was an exceptional result for the first match," Parreira repeated on several occasions. "I can assure you that the performance of the team can improve and will improve."

UNBEATEN RUN

History tends to side with Parreira, whose team extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches and set a record by winning their eighth match in a row at the World Cup finals.  

The World Cup's past is littered with cases of teams who have made a flying start only to falter as the going gets tough, and others have lumbered away from the starting line and picked up momentum during the course of the tournament.

"It was a subdued performance, which up to a certain point is understandable for a first match," wrote former World Cup striker Tostao in his column for the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper's website.

"It was enough to pay the bill. We live in the hope that the great teams never show their secrets in the first match."

Parreira will have been happy that Brazil kept a clean sheet with Dida looking safe in goal and fullbacks Roberto Carlos and Cafu, who have a combined age of 69, showing no signs of wilting.

Central defenders Lucio and Juan also dealt well with almost everything that was thrown at them, Lucio looking typically robust and Juan playing with his more refined style.

The big question mark remains the attacking pair of Adriano and Ronaldo, both of whom appeared to be at odds with the ball on Tuesday night.

Ronaldo's performance, in a match listed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) as his 100th in a Brazil shirt, was arguably one of his worst.

Parreira has already confirmed the Phenomenal One will start Sunday's second game against Australia but it remains to be seen how long the coach's patience will last, especially with the fans and critics already starting to demand Robinho.