Jennifer Lopez kicks off the World Cup and Neymar fires Brazil to comeback victory!

Jennifer Lopez kicked off the FIFA World Cup 2014 in style on Thursday, as she performed at the Opening Ceremony in Brazil.

The 44-year-old singer showed off her incredible figure in a sparkling leotard she sang the official FIFA song We Are One (Ole Ola) alongside rapper Pitbull and singer Claudia Leitte.

There had been initial reports that Jennifer was due to drop out, but by the looks of her energetic performance there was nothing that could have kept her away from the stage.

Dressed by the Lebanese Designer Charbel Zoe Khoury.

The song is the lead single from the World Cup album, and follows on from Shakira’s 2010 anthem Waka Waka.

The trio put on a spirited show as they jumped up and down on stage, swaying their arms and encouraging the screaming crowds to join in.

As they finished the song and walked around the stadium, Jennifer looked overcome with emotion and almost tearful as she mouthed ‘thank you’ to the crowds and touched her chest with her hand.

Neymar fires Brazil to comeback victory!

Neymar was the star of the show as Brazil came from behind to secure a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Croatia in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup™. The hosts’ star No10 equalised after Marcelo’s own-goal, and converted a second-half penalty after Fred had been fouled by Dejan Lovren.

Croatia had the ball in the net before the end of the game, but Ivica Olic was adjudged to have fouled Julio Cesar in the build-up, and Oscar made sure of the victory late on.

The opening goal of the 2014 World Cup was remarkable in itself, the first own-goal scored by a Brazilian in the history of the tournament. Ivica Olic received the ball on the Croatia left and ran unopposed into the Brazilian half. His low cross fizzed across goal and was turned in by Marcelo, who failed to readjust his feet in time. Ivan Perisic was ready to pounce if the Real Madrid man had not made the final touch.

The crowd were stunned, but they rallied behind their side, who were level before the half-hour mark. Oscar worked hard to regain possession for Brazil in the middle of the park, before passing the ball to Neymar. The Barça man skipped free of a Perisic challenge, steadied himself, and fired hard and low with his left foot across Pletikosa. The ball rebounded off the post, nestled into the back of the Croatia net and the Arena de Sao Paulo erupted.

The remainder of the first half saw Brazil dominate possession, with Croatia looking dangerous on the counter-attack.

After more Seleção pressure in the second-half, the hosts went ahead. The ball was played into the box towards Fred, who tried to swivel to hit it towards goal. He was impeded by Lovren and the referee pointed to the spot. Neymar stepped up, delayed his run-up, and hit hard to Pletikosa’s right-hand side. Croatia’s No1 got a hand to it, but could not stop it putting Brazil ahead.

Despite a valiant effort by Croatia, including their disallowed goal, Brazil wrapped up the three points when Oscar fired home from the edge of the box.

Brazil World Cup 2014: Neymar Leads Brazil Squad Bidding for Record Sixth World Cup!

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari announced his World Cup squad on Wednesday without any major surprises, choosing most of the players who won last year’s Confederations Cup.

Scolari’s 23-name list includes 16 players who were in the team that won last year’s warm-up tournament by beating world champion Spain in the final.

The team will mix talented young stars such as Neymar and Oscar with more experienced players such as Dani Alves, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Hulk.

Past stars such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the squad as expected.

The squad announcement was a high-profile event in Brazil, with television stations juggling their programing to broadcast it live. More than 700 journalists, many from abroad, were accredited for the event at a traditional concert house in Rio de Janeiro.

Kaka and Robinho — the stars in the 2010 World Cup — still had hopes of playing in the tournament at home but were left off the list, as were former AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato and 34-year-old Ronaldinho, the 2002 world champion who missed out on his chance of making it to one last World Cup.

Only five players from this year’s list were in the 2010 tournament — Julio Cesar, Silva, Alves, Maicon and Ramires. Fred didn’t make it to South Africa but was in the squad for the 2006 tournament in Germany.

7 alternates to be named

Scolari had already confirmed nine players on the squad — Luiz, Oscar, Ramires, Willian, Paulinho, Cesar, Silva, Fred and Neymar. He said there were only two spots remaining in the team, with the doubts related to the third goalkeeper and the fourth central defender, positions that were filled by Atletico Mineiro goalkeeper Victor and Napoli defender Henrique.

Seven alternates will be announced in the coming days.

Brazil’s starting 11 in the World Cup will likely be the same that played in the Confederations Cup. Brazil has won 13 of its last 14 matches, the only loss coming in a friendly against Switzerland after the warm-up tournament.

Scolari’s revamped squad is not filled with stars as in previous tournaments, but he managed to put together a squad that mixes talent and competitiveness. The team will be led by 22-year-old Barcelona striker Neymar, the player carrying most of the fans’ hopes.

The defense will have Silva alongside Luiz, with Alves on the right flank and Marcelo on the left. Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo will protect the defense, and Oscar will feed the attack that also has Hulk and Fred.

Scolari has already said that the starting goalkeeper will be Cesar, who is playing for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. Cesar’s mistake played a role in Brazil’s loss to the Netherlands in the 2010 quarterfinals. Brazil also was eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2006 in Germany, losing to France.

This year, Brazil is in Group A with Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon. It will open against Croatia on June 12 in Sao Paulo.