Brazil kicked off the 2014 World Cup with a 3-1 win over Croatia last night.
Chronicle Sports Reporter Jon Phipps will be taking a regular look at the tournament over the next month or so. Here is his opening gambit…
After all the waiting, sticker-collecting and stadium-won't-be-built-in-time-worrying we're finally off and running for Brazil 2014.
And we're off, as expected, with a home win.
But Brazil didn't have it all their own way in front of a packed house in Sao Paulo.
After the opening ceremony - starring, who else, but sports desk favourite* Pitbull? - and a passionate rendition of the national anthem, it took 11 minutes for a Brazilian to make the net bulge.
Only problem was that Marcelo had diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper and Croatia were in a shock lead.
The headlines this morning belong to Neymar, but it was referee Yuichi Nishimura who took centre stage.
When he wasn't causing some onlookers - not least my parents with whom I watched the first half - to gasp with his new fancy spray to make sure there's no encroaching at free-kicks, he was busy making three fairly shocking decisions.
Neymar was a lucky boy to avoid seeing a red card - although I do think it might be funnier if the ref uses his aforementioned spray to write "OFF" in front of a player rather than show the red card - for an elbow on Luka Modric.
Not long after that, he showed what Barcelona paid all that money for with a fine individual goal, albeit aided by some top-class backing off from the visiting defenders.
Croatia were certainly not out of it, but 19 minutes from time, Mr Nishimura took centre-stage.
My mum had claimed during the first half that the challenge on Modric wouldn't be enough to knock a man over - I did volunteer to demonstrate (although I wouldn't have, of course) - but I would have had to agree with her that Dejan Lovren's "challenge" on Fred was not enough to send any human spiralling to the ground in that style.
Bizarrely, though, the referee pointed to the spot - and I don't know if it was just me, but he pointed at that spot mightily quickly.
Stipe Pletikosa - a man who's face I've seen in sticker form far too many times - might have done better with the opener, and he definitely should have done better with the penalty, getting enough on it to keep it out but instead pushing it into the top corner.
Seven minutes from time came the third controversial decision when the Croats had a goal disallowed for a "foul" on Julio Cesar in an aerial challenge.
Even in the days of over-protected goalkeepers and football not really being a contact sport, it was a hard one to understand.
Oscar grabbed the third, a goal his performance deserved, and Brazil are off and running with three points, with Croatia boss Niko Kovac bemoaning his side's luck - and he had a point.
But, that's day one, done and dusted.
Now we get ready for the first three-game day of the tournament.
Mexico and Cameroon are first up, seeing who can strike the first blow for what is already a battle to finish second behind Brazil in Group A.
And then it's Group B, which begins with a repeat of 2010's punch-up, oh, I mean final, between Spain and Holland.
English interest aplenty there, not least as it's the first time Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea has taken the field, but also a chance to see new Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal's Holland team in action.
And finally, at 11pm UK time, it's Chile v Australia. Not quite as hard a sell as the 2am Japan v Ivory Coast jamboree after England's opener, but staying up into the early hours of Saturday for that one may prove tricky...
* - This digest contains traces of irony. This is a prime example.
