Draw/Brazil (halftime/fulltime): @11/4
The opening game is huge – Brazil playing back in Brazil at the world cup finals. I think it will start off slightly cagey, Croatia will not want to concede early but will be unlikely to want to commit forward too much and afford the hosts too much space in the middle of the pitch. Brazil will look to open the game up in the final third, but might find this difficult and revert to a slightly more rigid shape, although will most likely get a few chances. The second half will obviously require Brazil to go on and win the game, which you would ultimately expect to happen. It’s a gamble, hoping that Croatia will hold out until half time and that the break will signal the start of Brazil’s intent to push on and get the ball into the box. But I think it will take a half for the tempo of the game, which should initially be restricted to a low-intensity midfield battle, to pick up and mistakes to be made. Draw in the first half also covers the 1-1, incase the deadlock is broken early, in which case you would expect the other team to chase more intently. 11/4 appears like the best value in the ht/ft market to me. Could cover this with Brazil to win the match 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 @7/2 in case of an early goal.
The opening game in a World Cup isn’t really a great opportunity for betting, considering the fact that both teams are under pressure and are playing new opponents. No-one really knows how either side intend to lineup or play, and in terms of available bets its often a better option to wait until the match has kicked off and bet in-play.