Welcome to the first day of the Philosophers World Cup. The world’s top minds from throughout history have gathered in Brazil to determine which nation deserves to hoist the PWC trophy. Only one match takes place today, featuring host nation Brazil and surprise qualifier Croatia. Below, you can find the match report and score. As always, refer to the introduction for what this series is about.
Matches
Brazil vs Croatia
The random draw to determine which corpus this match will take place in comes out Spanish, which is a crushing blow for the Croatian side. This match could get ugly, of course that all depends on which philosophers are selected.
First Half: José Guilherme Merquior (BRA) vs Franjo Markovic (CRO)
The match gets off to a cracking start for the favored Brazillian side, able to play the ball forward to create early scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, Croatia looks out of sorts, with Franjo Markovic and the entire Croatian defense performing poorly, allowing José Guilherme Merquior to score twice, giving Brazil a comfortable lead heading into the half.
First Half Scores: Brazil 2, Croatia 0
Second Half: Paulo Freire (BRA) vs Ferdo Šišić (CRO)
Hopes were high for Croatian defensive midfielder Ferdo Šišić, one of the premier historians of the Middle Ages in Croatia, but like Markovic in the first half, Šišić misses his mark and allows Brazilian midfielder Paulo Freire to net two assists.
Second Half Scores: Brazil 2, Croatia 0
Final Score:
Brazil 4 – 0 Croatia
Recap
As expected, Brazil are off to a strong start. Their +4 goal differential puts the home team in a commanding position in Group A. The opposite is true of Croatia, who will now need to upset Mexico and crush Cameroon to have any hope of advancing.
Tomorrow looks to be more exciting, with three matches on the docket including a pivotal meeting between Spain and the Netherlands.
Imaginary Skyscapes 