Brazil stroll past Zimababwe in 3-0 win

Brazil barely broke a sweat as they beat Zimbabwe 3-0 in a friendly that generated huge excitement in the troubled African country.

The visitors made a sluggish start and Ovidy Karuru blew a chance to write his name in Zimbabwean sporting history when he ballooned over the bar with the goal gaping in the 19th minute.

A header from Knowledge Musona, the Kaizer Chiefs striker, in the 27th minute forced a save from the Brazil goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. The Tottenham Hotspur player replaced Júlio Cesár after the first-choice keeper went off with a back injury, although team doctors said it did not appear to be serious.

---

---

Brazil, nearly at full strength, coolly moved up a gear and Michel Bastos fired home a free-kick from 20 yards. Soon after Robinho ran on to a long pass from the right-back Maicon to score with a first-time finish from inside the area.

In the second half, Elano grabbed the third after a cross by the substitute Daniel Alves but Brazil, who made six substitutions in all, were unable to add to the tally in what resembled a training exercise.

---

Read more about Brazil stroll past Zimababwe in 3-0 win...

World Cup favourites Brazil arrive in South Africa

The World Cup is definitely ready to kick as favourites Brazil arrived today.

Brazil arrived in Johannesburg on Thursday to embark on a journey they hope will take them to a record sixth World Cup title.

Usually hot pre-tournament favourites wherever the quadrennial international football showcase is staged, Brazil have been downgraded by many bookmakers to second spot behind European champions Spain.

A crisp, clear dawn in the South African economic hub greeted the South Americans, who flew from Brasilia having been given an official send-off by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

---

---

Landing 12 hours after the Australia's team the Socceroos became the first qualifiers to reach South Africa, Brazil followed the same procedure of restricted assess to select TV crews and photographers and no interviews.

---

Read more about World Cup favourites Brazil arrive in South Africa...

Confident Brazil names 23 man squad.

Brazil's coach Dunga has named his 23 man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Brazil coach Dunga announced his 23 man squad directly following in the footsteps of Switzerland's Ottmar Hitzfeld in bypassing the provisional 30 man squad. His squad contained 20 Europe based players with Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Kleberson (Flamengo) and Robinho (Santos) the three selections who play in Brazil.

There will be no World Cup for Ronaldo either or his Corinthians team mate Roberto Carlos, both of whom harbored faint hopes of making the squad.

There were three surprising omissions, Ronaldinho, Adriano, and Alexandro Pato but the man who impressed in his side's shock 2009 Bundesliga triumph Grafite from VFL Wolfsburg made the squad.

Champions League finalists Inter Milan are themost represented club with three players, and there was a surprise place for Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, the only EPL player in the selection.

 

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter), Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham), Alexander Doni (Roma)

Defenders: Maicon, Lucio  (Inter), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Michel Bastos (Olympique Lyonnais), Juan (Roma), Luisao (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Kaka (Real Madrid), Julio Baptista (Roma), Josue (Wolfsburg), Kleberson (Flamengo), Elano (Galatasaray), Ramires (Benfica)

Forwards: Robinho (Santos), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Grafite (Wolfsburg)

Brazil gets World Cup boost as they oust Spain as top team

The Brazilian national team has got a boost ahead of the World Cup as the ousted Spain from the top of the FIFA ranking.

The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking has a surprise in store as it reveals that Spain’s five-month reign has come to end, with Brazil reclaiming pole position and pushing the reigning European champions back into second place. This is the seventh time that Brazil have claimed top spot on the global ladder, a position that they have held for a total of 142 months since 1993.

Other moves of note in the top ten include the progress made by Argentina (7th, up 2) and Portugal (3rd, up 1). Third place represents the highest-ever position for the Portuguese since the launch of the Ranking in 1993.

Only five matches have been taken into account in April’s edition, which was to be expected, given that there are only 43 days to go until the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, and many national leagues and continental championships are now entering the home straight. As a result, the international match calendar did not have a reserved date for international matches.

This means that most of the changes in this edition of the ranking are due to the devaluation of past results. Some teams have actually gained points due to the fact that the devaluation of poor results has led to a greater weighting of successful matches.

---

---

150 international matches have been played so far in 2010. There is likely to be significant movement in next month’s edition of the ranking, the last before the big event in South Africa, as the 32 teams start their preparations in earnest by playing friendly matches to decide on their best line-up. The World Cup is looming large and making things exciting – and not just in terms of the world ranking.

Fernando Torres may miss start of World Cup

Spain's chances at the World Cup took a knock as Liverpool striker is ruled out of the opening games by Liverpool medical staff.

The 26-year-old is recovering from surgery to repair knee cartilage torn in the 4-1 win over Benfica on 8 April.

"Whether he will be fit for the first game or not is uncertain," said Peter Brukner who is overseeing his recovery.

"But, if he continues to progress the way he is, he should be fit to play at some stage during the World Cup."

Spain, current European champions and one of the pre-tournament favourites, play their first match in Group H is against Switzerland on 16 June.

Games against Honduras on the 21 June and Chile on 25 June then follow.

If they progress to the knock-out stages, Spain will play a second-round match against one of Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast or North Korea on the 28 or 29 June.

Boss Vicente del Bosque also has injury concerns over midfielder Xavi who is playing through a calf tear that may see him ruled out of the World Cup.

The 30-year-old is playing on in an attempt to help Barcelona hold off Real Madrid's challenge and win a second successive Spanish league title.

But del Bosque said although he was worried about Torres, expectations for his recovery were good.

"I am sure that when the moment comes all the players will say they are fine but we are the ones who have to evaluate and decide the risk that should be taken," he said at a Spanish soccer federation event in Madrid.

---

---

"We cannot go to South Africa with four or five doubtful players," he added. "We have good hearts but we have to listen to our heads."

Bruker, who was appointed as Liverpool's head of sports medicine and sports science in March, believes there is a balance to be struck between the demands of club and country for Torres.

"He is certainly tremendously committed to his rehab, as are the staff here, and if anyone can recover from an injury, he can," he said.

"Hopefully we can get a compromise where he plays in the World Cup and he is fit and well for Liverpool next season."

Torres spent a month on the sidelines after a knee operation in January and was hampered by a troublesome groin injury before Christmas.

Despite the disruption, the former Atletico Madrid forward has scored 22 goals in his third season for the Reds, including 18 in 22 Premier League appearances.

Torres has an impressive record at international tournaments, scoring three goals in four games in the 2006 World Cup and the winner against Germany in the Euro 2008 final.

---

Read more about Fernando Torres may miss start of World Cup...

Japan's samba star is ready for the World Cup

Marcus Tulio Tanaka Japan's Brazilian born defender has vowed to give all for his country in the forth coming world cup

Japan's Brazilian-born defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka has vowed to make his first World Cup a bruising battle he can remember with pride as a hard man among the Blue Samurai.

"I don't want the World Cup finals to be like food that I can't remember the taste of," the J-League Nagoya Grampus player said.

"It would be fantastic if our hard work from the World Cup tastes like strawberries but there is also a possibility it could taste nasty," he told Kyodo news agency in an interview published Wednesday.

"Even if we get hammered and it is not a nice feeling, I want to feel it completely in my body. I don't want to come back home wondering maybe if I could have given a bit more," said the 185-centimetre (six-foot-one-inch) player.

Tulio, who turns 29 on Saturday, is seen as sure to be selected alongside Yokohama F Marinos' Yuji Nakazawa as the main centre backs when Japan face Cameroon, the Netherlands and Denmark at the World Cup group stage in South Africa.

He has scored seven goals in 37 international appearances.

Despite being crowned the 2006 J-League Player of the Year, Tulio was ignored by Japan's then-coach Brazilian legend Zico for the squad that made an early exit from the 2006 World Cup in Germany after losing to Australia and Brazil and drawing with Croatia.

---

---

"Maybe I won't have another chance to play at the World Cup and I just want my whole body to react when someone mentions the tournament in 70 years time, if I'm still alive then," Tulio said.

Tulio first came to Japan, his father's homeland, aged 16, to enrol at a high school as an exchange student and football player. He joined the J-League Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2001.

He moved to Urawa in 2004 after a year on loan to a second-division side and helped the country's best-supported team win the AFC Champions League title in 2007. He signed with Nagoya in January.

Tulio, who obtained Japanese nationality in 2003, will become the third Brazilian-born player to represent Japan at the World Cup, following Wagner Lopes in 1998 and Nagoya team-mate Alessandro Santos in 2002 and 2006.

He admitted he was at first sceptical of Japan coach Takeshi Okada's ambitious goal of a semi-final spot in South Africa.

"To be honest I also thought 'what?' first of all, but we have played against a number of strong opponents and I see no reason why we can't achieve that," he said.

Wolfsburg Grafite eye's World Cup with Brazil

Wolfsburg's Brazilian striker Grafite hopes his current run of form can secure him a place in Brazil's World Cup squad.

Grafite boosted his chances of a place in Brazil's World Cup squad by scoring the second goal as German champions VfL Wolfsburg won 2-0 at struggling Nuremberg on Sunday.

Edin Dzeko became the Bundesliga's top scorer with 19 goals after putting Wolfsburg ahead in the 66th minute. His strike put him one goal ahead of Schalke 04's Kevin Kuranyi and Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling.

Europa League semi-finalists Hamburg SV sneaked a late 2-1 win at VfL Bochum to end a four-match winless league run in Sunday's other game.

Wolfsburg, eighth with 46 points from 30 games, went ahead when Zvjezdan Misimovic found Dzeko with a diagonal pass and the Bosnian scored from 15 metres.

---

---

Twelve minutes later, Makoto Hasebe was given too much space on the right and delivered a pinpoint pass for Grafite to head in at the far post for his 10th goal of the season.

Grafite was overlooked by Brazil last year, when he was the Bundesliga's topscorer with 28 goals, but was given a surprise call-up for last month's friendly against Ireland, when he made only his second international appearance.

---

Read more about Wolfsburg Grafite eye's World Cup with Brazil...

World Cup Draw Reaction : Portugal

Carlos Queiroz the Portuguese coach was unperturbed by his team ending up in what has been tagged the Group of Death reacting after the Draw held in Cape Town, Queiroz said


"I’m pleased. It’s a fantastic group for world football. And we’ve got North Korea too, a team that triggers good memories of the 1966 World Cup (when Portugal came back from three goals down to beat Korea DPR 5-3 in the quarter-finals). All we’re missing now are Hungary, Pele and Eusebio!"

"Deep down, I hope that we’re already qualified by the time we face Brazil in our third match, but counting on that would be to show a lack of respect for our other two opponents. When one of the teams in the group is Brazil, who’ve won five world titles, I’ve no hesitation in saying that they’re the favourites. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka being together at Real Madrid will be interesting, but it doesn’t stop there. Look at Chelsea, for instance, who’ve got both Portuguese and Ivorian players. I think there’s going to be an intriguing atmosphere at a number of clubs."

He also reacted to earlier comments from Bazilian coach Dunga who had likened the match between Brazil and Portugal as a match between Brazil and Brazil B. Queiroz repsonded "As for the match between 'Brazil A and Brazil B', I think that’s an amusing way of looking at it. But anyway, I’m sure that just as many of the Brazilians have Portuguese grandparents or great-grandparents, so I think that makes us even. The only thing that’s certain is that it’ll be a great contest."

World Cup Draw Reaction : Cote d'Ivoire

Last Saturdays draw saw possible the worst outcome Cote D'Ivoire could have imagined. With with Group G opponents Brazil, Portugal and North Korea the football world has wasted no time in tagging this group the group of death and it seems Ivorien coach Vahid Halilhodzic agrees.

Speaking after the draw he lamented "To be honest it’s a terrible group. Very, very difficult. Brazil are second in the FIFA World Ranking and Portugal are fifth. It’s hard to imagine anything worse than that. Before the draw I said: “I’ll take anyone except Brazil or Spain.” I think a black cat must have followed me here in Cape Town."

"But there’s no point cursing our luck now. We’re here and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got. I know that my team are capable of springing a surprise, even against Brazil or Portugal. I even think that the fact we’re facing these teams could motivate my players more. I really hope that we can cause an upset."

It is the second straight Group of Death the Ivoriens have featured in. In the last World Cup in 2006 they were grouped with Argentina, Netherlands and Serbia & Montenegro in what was the 2006 World Cup Group of Death.

World Cup Draw Reaction : Brazil

Brazilian coach Dunga says their World Cup group of Brazil, Portugal and Noth Korea is not a Group of Death even though the media and fans had tagged the group as such.

Speaking after the Draw Dunga said, "I don’t like all that 'Group of Death' stuff. If you look at the draw, you’ll see that all the groups, perhaps with the exception of Spain’s, are very even. North Korea are, in theory, a weaker side, but it’s tricky playing against a team you don’t know much about. For us, our opening game is the most difficult one."

"Then it will be our second game and so on. Côte d’Ivoire are going to make us work very hard. Most of their players are at big European clubs and they have [Didier] Drogba, who is one of the world’s best strikers. African teams no longer fit with people’s preconceptions; they’ve allied competitiveness to their technical ability."

"And of course we’ve got a huge rivalry with Portugal. We’ve played twice against them recently, winning one and losing one, but this will be a different story altogether – it’s the World Cup. They’ve got three Brazilians (Pepe, Deco and Liedson) in their team so it’s going to be like Brazil vs Brazil B. What’s more, it’s going to be nice to see the healthy rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, two of the best players on the planet who play for the same club side."

"It’s a balanced group but that’s what we expected. From a logistical perspective, it’ll be interesting to play our first two games in Johannesburg."