Defending champions Brazil got off to a winning start at the FIFA Under -17 World Championships in New Zealand on Friday but had to battle to keep Australia from pinching a late draw.

On a busy, and blustery day at the tournament, four matches were played, three of them in wet and difficult conditions.

Brazil beat Australia 2-1 with goals from Marquinhos and Ricardo in the opening match of group C in Christchurch and top the standings after the second match between Germany and Mali ended scoreless.

Both matches were played in soaking rain, as was the first match in Dunedin, also on New Zealand's picturesque South Island, later in the evening as group D kicked off with a 1-0 win for Burkina Faso against Jamaica.

The slippery conditions gifted Djibril Compaore a goal after just 12 minutes when the Jamaican goalkeeper Allen Whittaker could not hold an innocuous looking shot and succeeded only in palming the ball into his own net.

The sun came out after that in time for Paraguay to beat Qatar 2-0 in the other group D match to go top of the group with goal in each half.

All of the 16 countries at the FIFA U-17 World Championship have now seen action with only Mexico having a one-sided win, in beating Thailand 4-0 on Thursday.