Brazil fans admire North Korea grit

Dubai: For a change, the noisy vuvuzelas were drowned out by hordes of bubbling sheesha smokers as I strolled into the Tche Tche café by Jumeirah Beach Residence.

The multiple plasma screens allowed unparalleled coverage of each crunching tackle, exquisite through ball and shoe-string shot.

The haze of smoke soon began to clear in anticipation of the Brazilians to start their World Cup campaign. Unsurprisingly, most of the fans were Brazilians given the worldwide popularity of this team and the insular nature of their opponents, North Korea.

Pre-game conversation centred predominantly on coach Dunga's revamped Brazilian squad; one embracing a shift from juego bonito to pragmatism, underlined by the exclusion of fan-favourite Ronaldinho. But some believe there is a method to Dunga's madness, stressing unity over individuality.

"I think Dunga gets Brazil to play as a team. Style over substance is his mantra," said fan Salman Jamshed.

With the tournament thus far lacking in flamboyance, a prevalent feeling among purists is that a World Cup officially hasn't begun until Brazil take to the pitch. "I have very high expectations for the samba men. We don't see beautiful football until the Brazilians play!" said Ahmad, a staunch Brazilian fan.

With the previous group match ending in an anticlimactic goalless draw between Portugal and Ivory Coast, pressure was on Dunga's eleven.

As the match progressed, an unyielding North Korean backline made life trying for the Brazilians, but when Maicon dismantled their resistance with a stunning goal in the 55th minute, the anxious Brazilian constituency finally exhaled. "Easily the best goal of the tournament so far, you felt it was going to take a special goal the way the North Koreans were playing," said Englishman Brian Hunter.

Elano's 72nd minute finish looked to wrap up proceedings before an 89th minute Ji Yun Nam screamer kept everyone glued to their seats until the final nerve-racking second. Despite the glaring absence of any North Korean support, their gutsy performance against the five-time winners did not go unnoticed.

"They played their hearts out and after tonight Portugal and Ivory Coast won't be getting a full-night's sleep, that's for sure!" said Salman.