Neymar hit two goals to guide Brazil to a 3-1 victory over Croatia in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup football in Sao Paulo last night.

Croatia took a shock lead when Marcelo scored an own goal in the 11th minute. But Neymar pulled his side level with a strike just before the half-hour, sending the crowd into raptures. Neymar also converted a penalty to goal to put Brazil ahead. Oscar scored a brilliant individual goal to seal the crucial victory in Group A.

Earlier, the FIFA World Cup carnival began in Sao Paulo with a grand opening ceremony, which encapsulated the colour, culture and nature of Brazil. Thousands of football lovers from across the world thronged the Corinthians Arena and watched the spectacle unfold.

A giant LED ball, placed at the centre of the stadium, displayed the welcome message in different languages, and hundreds of artistes started to trickle in. Dressed as trees, plants and flowers, they represented the nature of the country with background music, which had no drum tunes as yet.

Three matches are scheduled for later tonight. In Group-A, Mexico will take on Cameroon at 9:30 PM Indian Time, while in Group-B, defending champions Spain will clash with the Netherlands at 12:30 AM, and Chile meet Australia at 3:30 AM.