Brazilian midfielder Kaka kicks ball during game with Croatia

Defending World Cup football champion Brazil has defeated Croatia, 1-0, in the opening match for both teams in Germany. Kaka scored in the 44th minute Tuesday for the only goal of the Group F game in Berlin.

Earlier in Group G, South Korea defeated Togo, 2-1, in Frankfurt while France and Switzerland played to a scoreless draw in Stuttgart.

South Korea battled back from 1-0 half-time deficit for a 2-1 win that sent the Asian side to the top of the group standings with three points. Togo captain Jean-Paul Abalo was sent off in the 53rd minute after receiving his second yellow card. Lee Chun-soo and Ahn Jung-hwan scored for South Korea.

The Swiss and French teams sputtered to their third draw in as many encounters.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.