The strong teams appeared one by one. However, the opening game of this World Cup does not seem to be very good.

France were held to a draw by Uruguay. England was held to a draw by the United States. Italy were held to a draw by Paraguay. Portugal were held to a draw by Ivory Coast.

And then finally it was Brazil's turn. Their first opponent is the mysterious North Korea.

The last time North Korea made it to the World Cup was in 1966, when they shocked the world.

North Korea is a country that gives people the impression of being closed, poor, and backward.

In the 1999 Shanghai Four Nations Invitational Tournament, the North Korean team begged the hotel manager for candy to satisfy their hunger because they did not have a free lunch, and finally North Korea penetrated the Chinese team's defense twice! After the defeat to China, the North Korean players drank half a bottle of water discarded by the Chinese team and posed for photos with old-fashioned cameras.

In the 2000 Four Nations Tournament, North Korean players had 4-5 people who could afford to listen to Coke. Yan Shiduo, then chairman of the Chinese Football Association, cried on the spot after watching the training of the North Korean team.

Under such difficult conditions, North Korean football, which has been dormant for a long time, has finally ushered in spring. After 44 years of absence, North Korea is back at the center of world football, eager to shine on the World Cup stage.

Unlike other countries' internationals, who enjoy honors, flowers, luxury cars, and celebrities, the life of North Korean internationals is very difficult. It is said that their international players have a monthly salary of only 12 yuan. It is said that their daily diet consists mainly of whole grains, with a bottle of Coke for every 11 people. They stayed in budget hotels and rented golf courses in the slums. Their players don't have their own private cell phones......

In the previous warm-up matches, North Korea lost to Paraguay and Nigeria and drew 2-2 with Greece. Although they did not win, their tenacious style and ferocious attacking style won unanimous praise from the media.

In his pre-match press conference, Dunga was extremely confident.

"It's a pity that we haven't gathered much information about North Korea, and we don't know much about this opponent. We have never fought them in history. But we're going to stick to our style of football and I'm confident we can win. It's not about the opponent, no matter who the opponent is, we have enough confidence. Because we are Brazil, we have the best players in the world. ”

North Korea's head coach Kim Jong-hoon is low-key and humble, yet tough: "We came here with the attitude of learning from our opponents. We knew we were going to be playing against the best in the world, and my players couldn't sleep with excitement. Of course, we are not here to accept defeat, we will fight our own style, no matter how strong our opponents are, and we will not be afraid to be inspired by great leaders. ”

No one thinks North Korea can cause Brazil any problems. Some even predicted that Brazil would be able to kick North Korea 8-0.

But Ricardo said meaningfully in an interview: "Sometimes, the strength of the will is stronger than you think......"

On the evening of May 15, at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, the five-star Brazilian team made its debut.

Dunga continued to use the 4231 formation, goalkeeper Cesar, defenders he chose McConn, Lucio, Thiago. Silva and Bastos.

In midfield, Baptista and Felipe. Melo partnered in the back, Kaka in the front, Ricardo on the left winger, Rico on the right winger, Ronaldo on the single arrow.

Few people know that Dunga had discussions with Ricardo in the starting line-up.

Thiago. Silva and Baptista were the choices he made after listening to Ricardo.

Of course, no one will say this, and if the media knew that the head coach of the Brazilian team had discussed the starting list with a player, it would definitely cause an uproar.

But in fact, in Dunga's opinion, this is normal. Ricardo is the core player, and the player's tactics are based on Ricardo. So who does Ricardo want to cooperate with, of course, should be satisfied first.

The match was kicked off by the North Korean team.

Just four minutes into the game, Ricardo cut inside the left rib and fired a shot that almost broke the North Korean goal.

As soon as North Korea kicked off, Brazil grabbed the ball and went on the attack again, this time with a high-quality long-range shot from Kaka.

Two shots on goal brought the North Korean team to their senses. They are facing the best players in the world, at the slightest mistake...... No, there is no need to make mistakes, as long as the opponent plays normally, they are in a passive situation.

They can only rely on physical running and tenacious fighting spirit to compete with their opponents.

Soon they gave the Brazilian team a little color, and in the 11th minute, Zheng Dashi broke into the Brazilian team's penalty area and forced a shot with his feet, but Cesar confiscated the ball.

Although he didn't pose much of a threat, the fans still applauded him.

It's normal for a Brazilian player to put on a show like this, but it's amazing that the North Korean players can do that.

The mental outlook of the North Korean team is indeed refreshing, but the technical and tactical shortcomings are not so easy to compensate.

In the 16th minute, Ricardo ran to the middle to seek cooperation with Kaka, and after receiving Kaka's pass, he suddenly picked up a pass, Ronaldo shook off the North Korean player who was marking him, and without waiting for the ball to hit the ground, he volleyed cleanly.

North Korean goalkeeper Lee Myung-kook made a brave save, but Ronaldo's shot was too close and the angle he chose was tricky, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Brazil leads 1-0.

The North Korean team did not collapse.

They pounced with a more ferocious attitude than before.

After the Brazilian team took the lead, they leisurely fell to their feet, and the North Korean team had a hard time touching the ball, and in the eyes of the fans, this was the Brazilian team slipping monkeys in training.

But it's easy to keep the ball and it's more difficult to keep scoring.

The North Korean players are not skilled, but the bus will still swing. Even their attacking players spared no effort to return to the defense, creating a numerical advantage at the back and containing Brazil's attack.

As soon as Ricardo got the ball, there were often two or three North Korean players around him, and it was difficult for him to break through smoothly.

In order not to get injured in the first game, Ricardo always passed the ball quickly without trying to test the work ethic of his opponents.

There is no reason to be kicked and break your leg.

In the deliberate control of the tempo of the Brazilian team, the score of 1:0 remained in the middle of the field.

Entering the second half, the North Korean team still wants to continue to fight, but they are not supermen after all, and their physical fitness still has limits. After 60 minutes, their tempo slowed down significantly and they couldn't run.

Only then did Brazil go on the offensive again.

In the 67th minute, Kaka sent a through stopper, and Licardo successfully countered offside and scored the ball with a shot from a small angle.

In the 74th minute, Kaka made a gesture to pass to Ricardo, but changed direction at the last minute and flicked the ball to the right, and Baptista followed up with a low flat ball and shot from a distance, scoring the North Korean goal for the third time.

The tenacious North Korean team did not give up, and in stoppage time, Jung Dae Se finally found a chance to score a goal.

Brazil won their debut 3-1.