There’s no team in the world that plays with more flair than Brazil. Millions of fans from across the world expect the samba boys to dazzle with their style, skill and individual brilliance.

Their opening match against North Korea started on a very sluggish note. The first half was a shocker for most fans as Brazil played a lethargic game. The media had put a lot of pressure on head coach Dunga because his strategy focused on winning matches but not on ‘futebol bonito’ or beautiful football which all Brazilians fans delight to watch.

This was evident throughout the game as this Brazilian team lacked the big guns that we are used to seeing. There was no Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or Adriano to delight the crowd with their individual brilliance.

The only big name for Brazil was Kaka who had a descent game but did not score for Brazil. It was only during the second half that the samba boys came to life and managed to beat the North Korean defense twice.

In the 55th minute, from an extremely tight angle, right-back Maicon scored the first goal and that got the Brazilians going. A little while later, Robinho set it up for Elano with a beautiful pass and Elano did the rest making the score 2-0.

Most people had no idea how the North Koreans will perform. They were an unknown entity for most people. The North Koreans showed that they are a committed team which plays a tough brand of football. With just a few minutes to spare, they managed to score a consolation goal, when Ji Yun-nam displayed some brilliant control over the ball and then hammered in a shot to make the score 2-1.

After the match, Dunga was reported to have said that “"It's all about efficiency. Everyone has to be efficient, in attack and defense. Without that you don't get anywhere. When they are completely closed, it's more difficult to play on the counter-attack and you have to keep plugging away."

The coach admitted that he expected his team to play better and score a lot more goals. The Brazilians have one of the toughest groups in the competition, as Group G has both Portugal and the Ivory Coast in it. Brazil will have to step up their game and expect more from their stars Kaka and Robinho if they are to finish on top of Group G.