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Nothing short of
victory is expected from five-time champions, Brazil, as they open
their World Cup campaign against the minnows, North Korea.

The Brazilians are
currently ranked number one in the world, while North Korea are 105th
the least position amongst the 32 countries competing at the World Cup.

David and Goliath

On paper there
should be only one outcome from this game, with the evidence in
disparity in pedigree of these two teams. Brazil is the only country to
have taken part in every edition of the global football showpiece with
the South Africa 2010 edition being its 19th appearance. For their
part, Korea DPR are returning to the world stage for the first time
since their debut appearance in 1966.

The Koreans would
however relish their heroics at the 1966 England World Cup where they
shocked the world with a 1-0 win over then two-time world champions
Italy before going out after an epic 5-3 loss to Portugal in the
quarterfinals. Here, they will be hoping to replicate that feat.

Blazing form

Under Dunga, the
South Americans booked their place in South Africa with three games to
spare while Coach Kim Jong-Hun’s side left it until the closing match
to seal qualification with a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia.
Brazil’s build-up has featured five straight friendly wins. Since their
successful defence of last year’s FIFA Confederation World Cup here in
South Africa, they have recorded eight wins in ten matches played. The
Koreans by contrast, were often found wanting in their eleven warm-up
matches, which yielded just two victories.

History

It should be also
noted that Brazil has not lost an opening match in the FIFA World Cup
since 1934, when they were stunned 3-1 by Spain. The Samba Boys have
also kicked off their campaign with a win in the last seven tournaments
from 1982 to 2006. This the first encounter between the sides at senior
level. Brazil and Korea DPR have however squared up twice in the FIFA
U-17 World Cup. On each occasion, the Brazilians have emerged victors.

Brazil has scored
four goals in both of its encounters against Asian sides at the FIFA
World Cup- 4-0 against China in 2002 and 4-1 against Japan in 2006.
With players such as Kaka, Robinho and Luis Fabiano in its fold, the
Brazilians look good enough to cause problems for any defence it
confronts.

Another debut

In the other match
of the day, New Zealand will be up against Slovakia. This is the first
meeting between these two sides at any level. This is only the second
time in their history that Slovakia has come up against an Oceania
team. In 2000 they ground out a 0-0 draw with Australia in Valparaiso,
Chile.

New Zealand makes a return to football’s flagship event following a 28-year absence.

Slovakia on the
other hand, is the only nation appearing at the World Cup for the first
time. The last two European sides to debut at the World Cup each lost
their opening matches-Slovenia in 2002 (3-1 to Spain) and Ukraine in
2006 (4-0 to Spain).