Brazil shocks fans by giving away own goal 11th minute

Brazil's Marcelo (2nd R) scores an own goal during the 2014 World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia at the Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo  REUTERS

AFP/Sao Paulo

Brazil launched the World Cup on Thursday trying to put on a carnival atmosphere after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Sao Paulo opposed to the tournament.

But the five-time world champions shocked their fans by giving away an own goal 11 minutes into their first game against Croatia at the Corinthians Arena in front of 61,600 fans including 12 heads of state.

Defender Marcelo was almost in tears after he steered the ball into his own net from a Croatian cross. But Brazilian hero striker Neymar equalised in the 29th minute.

Brazilian police put up a ring of steel around the stadium to keep protesters away from the gala debut of the four-week spectacle that Brazil has spent more than 11 billion dollars to prepare for. 

But anarchist demonstrators in black shirts and masks lit bonfires of rubbish a few kilometers (miles) from the arena after armoured police sought to quell protests in the hours before the opener.

World Cup preparations have been dogged by months of protests, reflecting widespread public anger over the money spent.

But Sao Paulo and other cities largely went quiet as the game started. Yellow and green flags hung from many buildings. Gutemberg Santos, 42, said his t-shirts and flags had sold like hot cakes. "It has been a good day, everyone is happy," he said.

But protesters  who last year brought chaos to the Confederations Cup rehearsal tournament had vowed to march on the Sao Paulo stadium.

But riot police responded forcefully, chasing protesters up a main avenue and firing tear gas in the middle of oncoming traffic, forcing cars decorated with the Brazilian flag to weave their way through the chaos.

A cannister fired by police hit and injured a CNN journalist and an AFP correspondent saw one woman in tears clutching her arm.

In Rio de Janeiro, striking ground staff briefly blocked a road leading to the city's international airport.

Around 1,000 protesters also gathered in the city centre, a small group of them scuffling with police, who arrested four people.

Most of the other World Cup cities were calm. But some took no chances. In Belo Horizonte, shops were closed.

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has accused opponents of waging a "systematic campaign" against the World Cup and warned that a repeat of last year's violence would not be tolerated.