World Cup Daily Brief: An opener to remember, a pitch to forget and Ronaldo limps off

Throughout the tournament, we'll begin each day with our World Cup Daily Brief, bringing you all the highlights from the previous day's news cycle, while also looking forward to what you can expect from the day ahead.

Today, we'll keep the Pitbull jokes to a minimum, as we look at Brazil's come-back victory, a spray-painted pitch in Manaus, and Cristiano Ronaldo leaving training early with an iced knee. Or was it an iced tea?

After that, we'll look ahead to today's three matches, and discuss whether or not there are discussions about moving the 2022 World Cup to the U.S.A.

All that, and a whole lot more, coming up.

Brazil 3, Croatia 1: Neymar and Oscar power hosts to controversial win

What a great way to start the World Cup. While the first half of the opener foreshadowed drama, Brazil’s excellence (brought to you by Neymar and Oscar) took hold in the second half, undoing any promise of a Croatian upset with a 3-1 victory for the home side.

Croatia played as well as they could’ve hoped, but after Brazil's own goal, nothing much else went their way. While Brazil dominated the run of play, the final score was probably unfair to the Croatian side.

Awful pitch in Manaus is being covered with green spray paint

I don't think it's unfair to say there's always going to be elements of a facade whenever an enormous sporting event like the Olympics or the World Cup takes place. It's a spectacle, a phenomenon to be seen, as much as it is a competition. 

However, this might be a bit much. 

Organizers found a short-term solution for the unsightly pitch in Manaus, and resorted to spray painting the grass just days before the stadium hosts England and Italy for their opening match of the World Cup.

Ronaldo leaves Portugal practice early with ice pack on knee

The witch doctor strikes again. We all thought Cristiano Ronaldo was on the road to recovery, but he left Thursday's practice early and was seen with an ice pack on his left knee. Apparently, he only lasted about 15 to 20 minutes before walking away.

Coming Up

There are three matches today, but all eyes will be on the 3:00 PM ET rematch of 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. 

What Will People Be Talking About Today?

Who's hosting the 2022 World Cup?

Last night, it was reported that FIFA had advised the United States' World Cup organizing committee to be prepared in case the governing body decides to renege on their decision to award the tournament to Qatar.

However, a short while later, the president of U.S. Soccer categorically denied the report.

The mess is getting messier, and we're bound to hear more about these rumors today.

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