So that’s a 0-0 victory for Croatia in the first half. Its team produced a couple of chances in the half, including one quite dangerous one in the first 15 minutes, and it has methodically defended Brazil out of doing the sorts of things it wants to do.
That will frustrate Brazil’s coach, his players and the overwhelmingly pro-Brazil crowd at Education City. And it will give hope to the Croatians for the second half. The problem, if you are Croatia, is that Brazil will be relentless in knocking on the door until it opens. That can happen in an instant, and then be very hard to stop.