Brazil increase their repertoire

On Sunday night, the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg witnessed Brazil's remarkable step forward in their quest to conquering a sixth World Cup title. After their 3-1 victory over Ivory Coast, Dunga's team guaranteed their spot in the second round and will very likely play against Portugal for first place of the group in their third match of the World Cup this coming Friday.

However, Brazil's victory brought more significant elements to the side than the three points. At certain times in the match, it was hard to believe that the exact same starting XI that had so much difficulty in breaking down North Korea were actually playing quite creative football against the much tougher Ivory Coast. Brazil recovered certain elements of their game that for a long time had been their trademarks and now appeared to be lost. For the first time, they were able to invent consistently while respecting Dunga's disciplined approach and defensive focus.

Luis Fabiano's first strike, a missile that goalkeeper Boubacar Barry barely saw, gave the team some badly needed confidence. In this case, the goal did not arrive through a set piece or a counter-attack but was the outcome of a well-built offensive play in which Kaka did well to get rid of two defenders and ended up setting up O Fabuloso.

This play could prove instrumental for Brazil's development during the rest of the tournament, as it put an end to Luis Fabiano's six-match drought with the national team, and gave Kaka the confidence to keep going at defenders and create chances for his team-mates after putting in some subpar displays following his injury.

"Nothing better than talent to break a good defence," Brazilian legend Tostao told Folha de Sao Paulo after the match. "The first goal was key for Brazil to dominate the flow of the game."

And, indeed, from that point onwards Brazil took control of the match, and kept possession, even if at times not making too much of an effort to go forward. At the beginning of the second half, just as Ivory Coast were starting to show signs of waking up, Luis Fabiano scored one of those goals that will be shown in every single 'Best Goals of the World Cup' programme from now on.

The fact that he controlled the ball with his arm was surprisingly overlooked by French referee Stephane Lannoy, but his amazing piece of skill with both legs (right to dribble two players, left to finish emphatically) deserved a goal. "When our players score using their hands, they do it much better than the Argentineans," Estado de Sao Paulo writer Marcos Caetano said, comparing Luis Fabiano's goal with Diego Maradona's against England in 1986, and not wasting the chance to provoke Brazil's archrivals.

After watching their first-choice striker grab the match by the scruff of the neck, the team felt so self-assured that they started to show a hitherto unknown passing game, taking advantage of Ivory Coast's apparent shock. The third goal duly arrived, again as a result of great link-up play, and delivered by Kaka to Elano, in another example of the confidence recovered by Brazil's iconic playmaker.

Once 3-0 up and with the match effectively over, Brazil made one of their few mistakes: Ivory Coast started to increase their physical aggressiveness on the pitch, especially after Kader Keita and Romaric entered the game, and the Brazilians did not keep their cool. In an unfitting finale given his excellent performance, Kaka was sent off after seeing his second booking for lightly pushing Keita away from the ball.

Dunga vented his frustration during the press conference: "It's difficult to play artistic football when the referee lets strong tackling and dirty faults go unpunished, as it was the case this evening."

Despite the disappointing ending for the Brazilians, seeing his biggest star red-carded and suffering an unexpected goal from Didier Drogba, this match gave a more optimistic feel to the campaign of the verde-amarela in this World Cup. Against a powerful opponent, the side reinforced their identity: the synchronisation between the back four is almost perfect, the defensive coverage provided by the midfielders to the full backs - especially to the impressive Maicon - happens with Swiss precision, and the forwards' talent appears often enough.

However, they have just added another weapon to their repertoire: the ability to manage the flow of the match with the ball, which makes them an even bigger candidate for the title than they already were.

"To most of the Brazilian journalists, this was the most difficult match of the first phase, and Brazil played their best football in a while. They have earned the right to dream of the title,"ESPN Brasil analyst Paulo Vinicius Coelho said. As is the case with any great side, one poor match can create national panic in Brazil, but a good showing puts the whole country in heaven - at least for another four days.

Brazil win to secure last 16 place

Brazil progressed to the knockout stages of the World Cup with an efficient rather than effervescent performance against a subdued Ivory Coast.

The scoreline may suggest otherwise but the South Americans lacked the vintage Brazilian sparkle - although they produced moments of brilliance during an incident-packed second-half.

Luis Fabiano scored twice - a fine first-half strike, then a second goal with a dubious hint of handball - and Elano slotted in ahead of Didier Drogba's headed consolation.

But it was a mixed evening for Brazil's playmaker Kaka, who was harshly sent off late in the game after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession.

Kaka saw yellow in the 85th minute for pushing Yaya Toure and a minute later was sent from the field when Abdelkader Keita collapsed holding his face after an innocuous collision between the players which did not warrant a booking.

Prior to that, Kaka - who in the build-up had been the focus of much speculation regarding his lack of form - showed glimpses of the player who was named World Footballer of the Year back in 2007.

He put Luis Fabiano through for the striker's beautifully-taken opening goal and played a role in Elano's second-half strike which sealed Brazil's victory.

Drogba, a mere 16 days after breaking his elbow, started for the Ivory Coast to spearhead an attacking 4-3-3 formation, but the Africans added little oomph to the proceedings.

The Elephants manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had predicted his team would "create a surprise", yet there was little hope of that as they defended deep and allowed Brazil to play at their own pace.

There had been signs over the last few days that the World Cup had moved up a gear, but this game started with the tentativeness which had marred previous matches.

Luis Fabiano's goal thankfully lit up the first half. The Sevilla striker's back-heel to Kaka sparked a nice one-two which finished with a venomous shot into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

Ivory Coast changed their formation after the break with Drogba playing on his own in front of a five-man midfield, but they soon had a mountain to climb as Luis Fabiano struck again.

The striker flicked the ball over one defender, jinked beyond another to clinically finish with a left-footed shot from close range. There was suspicion of handball in his final movement but there were little complaints from Ivory Coast.

Brazil upped the tempo on the hour and Kaka should have finished the best move of the match with a goal but instead he shot straight at Boubacar Copa.

He made amends moments later as he shimmied past a couple of defenders and passed across goal for Elano to side-foot home for his second goal of the tournament.

Ten minutes before the end, Yaya Toure's ball over the top found Drogba who headed home into the corner for a goal which could prove to be significant to Ivory Coast's hopes of qualifying.

Pre-game: Brazil vs. Ivory Coast

Day 10, Match 3

Brazil vs. Ivory Coast, Group G

Date and Location

June 20, Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg

What's at stake

Brazil leads the group with three points following a 2-1 win over last-place North Korea. The Ivory Coast and Portugal battled to a 0-0 draw and are tied for second with one point apiece.

If the Portugal-North Korea match doesn't produce a winner, Brazil could wrap up a spot in the second round with a win in this game. A victory, or even a draw, would still allow them to retain their hold on first place and put them in a pretty strong position going into the final round of group games.

Portugal is expected to beat North Korea (and if they do, they'll have four points) so this really is a game that the Ivory Coast can't lose. They need to collect three points in order to have a realistic chance of claiming a second-round berth.

Suspension watch

Midfielder Ramires earned a yellow card in Brazil's previous match. If he picks one up against the Ivory Coast , he will be suspended for his country’s final game of the group stage.

Defender Guy Demel and Didier Zokora are in a similar predicament for the Ivory Coast.

Kaka – The Real Madrid playmaker is coming off an pretty average season and didn't exactly shine in Brazil's win over North Korea. People are starting to question whether he's still among the elite players in the wrld. A strong outing against the Ivorians would help silence the critics.Player to watch for Brazil

Player to watch for Ivory Coast

Didier Drogba —He came on as a substitute against Portugal while wearing a protective cast on his broken arm against Portugal but couldn't inspire his team. If he plays against Brazil, look for the Chelsea star to make something happen inside the box.

Key matchup

Yaya Toure vs. Kaka —In one-on-one situations, the Ivorian midfielder's physical attributes give him an edge. Toure is a tower of solid muscle and boundless strength, and he'll need every ounce of it to stop Kaka, who is looking to break out at this tournament.

The Brazilian perspective

"There is a difference when you play against the biggest teams, they go for the game, they want to win also and then that opens the game up." - midfielder Gilberto Silva

The Ivory Coast perspective

"We have to play the same as we did against Portugal: compact, as a unit, and to battle for every ball. We must on no account allow Brazil to play their natural game." –forward Salomon Kalou

All time head-to-head

Brazil and the Ivory Coast have never met at in international play at senior level.

Brazil global favourites to win World Cup: Poll

Spain may be the bookies' favourite to win the 2010 World Cup, but Brazil remains by far the world's most popular team, an international survey reveals.

The 22-nation opinion poll, conducted prior to the tournament kickoff by the US-based Pew Research Center, shows Brazil is the people's favourite in 14 countries, including three whose own teams are playing in the Cup. Of the rest, support for Brazil is next only to their home teams. The poll results were released on Thursday.

In India, 19% of the respondents felt Brazil would win. However, the poor understanding of football among Indians in general came through in the poll with Australia being the next-favoured team — 14% of respondents said the country had the best chance of winning the Cup. Australia was the second favourite in Pakistan as well.

Among countries playing in the Cup, Brazilians were the most confident of their team's chances — 75% of respondents in Brazil predicted their country would be the eventual victors. Self-confidence was also high in Spain, where 58% saw a Spanish victory in this year's Cup, followed by Argentina (43%), Germany (36%) and Nigeria (35%).

In Britain, just 20% felt England would emerge as world champions. Almost an equal number of Britons felt Brazil would win (18%). Similarly, Brazil was nearly as popular a pick in France (22%) and the US (12%) as was the home country. It was the overwhelming favourite in South Korea (43%) and China (31%).

The Japanese were the least confident of their team's chances with just 4% thinking their country will win the World Cup. South Koreans, who co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with Japan, also had low expectations of their team, as did Americans; only 11% and 13%, respectively, named their own countries when asked who will win this years tournament.

After Brazil, most people named Spain and Argentina as most likely to win the tournament.

The poll was part of Pew Research Center's global attitudes survey.

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Maicon wonder goal fires Brazil to victory

On a night where the sub-zero chill seeped into every sinew, Brazil struggled to warm the senses as their bid for a sixth World Cup began with a narrow victory. North Korea, making their first World Cup appearance since 1966, offered solid resistance in the first half but appeared to be wilting in the second following goals from Maicon and Elano. But as the match entered injury time they earned a consolation for their unceasing commitment when Yun-nam Ji ghosted past two defenders and fired in.

North Korea lined up with five at the back, with Ri Jun-il as a marshalling sweeper and An Yong-hak as the chief protector in central midfield. The system, as closed as the country itself, had worked well in qualification, where the Koreans kept 10 clean sheets, but it was put under immediate pressure in the opening five minutes.

First Robinho lollipopped down the left before nutmegging Jong Hyok-cha and passing to Kaká, only for Brazil's No10 to be tackled as he lined up to shoot. Then Elano's shot from distance flew over the bar. The pressure continued to build as Robinho – showing plenty of early energy – cut inside before shooting wide from a central position.

But as the half went on, the North Koreans grew more comfortable and while Brazil had more possession – 66% to 34% according to the official Fifa stats – it became apparent that this would not be the walkover football's World Cup casuals, the folk who swallow the myth of joga bonito neat every four years, had assumed.

The North Korean keeper Ri Myong-guk had amazingly little to do. A Maicon chip floated into his arms. A Robinho shot was safely held. And only a curling shot from Maicon from the right flank, which he pushed unconvincingly wide, seemed to trouble him. But most Brazilian efforts seem to fly high over his bar.

Brazil's coach, Dunga, has been a pragmatist per excellence in charge of the seleção, and there was no change of his approach for this game: again he employed a 4-5-1 formation with Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo sitting in central midfield and Elano, Kaká and Robinho behind the lone striker Luís Fabiano.

But with Silva and Melo failing to break beyond the strikers, and Kaká struggling to find his best form, it was left to the full-backs Maicon and Michel Bastos – who often plays as an attacking midfielder for his club side Lyon – and a seemingly revitalised Robinho to carry the attack. Indeed Robinho was Brazil's best player, looking far sharper than he did at Manchester City earlier in the season and delighting the crowd with his tricks and interlinking play.

Perhaps we should not have been surprised that Brazil struggled to break down North Korea. In qualification Brazil took only one point against Bolivia, who also play five at the back, and six of their 18 qualifying matches finished 0-0.

In the build-up much of the media attention was focused of Jong Tae-Se, the North Korean striker who plays in the J-League, drives a humvee and is nicknamed "Inminui Rooney" – the People's Rooney.

He did not disappoint. When his anthem was played he was in floods of tears, apparently overwhelmed by emotion. And he was North Korea's main attacking threat in the first half, dribbling cleverly past Maicon before, much to the excitement of his team's 100-or-so fans in the stadium, shooting high past the far post.

Despite needing treatment for cut on his thigh after a collision with Maicon, Jong Tae-Se continued to be muscular and robust in leading the line. And on the half hour he boldly took on Lucio and won a corner from which Kwang Chon-ri shot wide.

But even on these rare occasions when Korea entered Brazil's half their organisation was apparent, with coach Jong Hun Kim ensuring his side kept four men back at all times.

At the start of the second half, Brazil were given the opportunity to open the scoring when Pak Chol-jin was wrongly adjudged to have brought down Kaká just outside the area. However Michel Bastos's shot, though hard and true, flew five yards wide. Two minutes later, Robinho chanced his arm from a similar distance but his shot failed to find the target by a similar margin.

But Brazil finally found a way through after 55 minutes when the overlapping Maicon took Kaká's pass and, from what looked like an impossible angle on the touchline, curled a low shot into the far corner. As Maicon celebrated, the Korean keeper Ri – who had left a gap by his near post – lay prostrate on the turf , his face one of howled anguish.

Ri had more problems a few minutes later, unconfidently parrying another Bastos shot from distance. And Luís Fabiano really should have made it 2-0 just after the hour when he chested down Robinho's pass only to shoot over.

But the second goal eventually came on 72 minutes when Robinho's pass bisected four defenders and Elano ended his clever back-post run by slotting it across the advancing Ri.

At this stage it threatened to turn into a rout. More Brazil chances came and went, with North Korea rarely getting the ball into their opponent's half until, just before full-time, Yun's shot powered home – much to his, and his coach's delight.

In the context of the tournament, where few teams have laid down a marker, Brazil will be happy with this win. But tougher tests lie ahead, starting with Ivory Coast next week.

© Guardian News and Media 2010

Champion Brazil begins Winning march...

Brazil secured a 2-1 win against Korea DPR but they were made to work extremely hard to secure maximum points after the Asian outsiders showed impressive resilience. The Koreans kept the Brazilians scoreless until ten minutes into the second half when Maicon scored a stunning goal from an outrageous angle. Elano doubled the lead midway through the second half and it appeared all over, but a late goal from Ji Yun Nam saw Brazil endure some nervy moments in the final minutes.

On paper the contrast between the pair could not have been starker in what was the first match between the two nations. Five-time world champions Brazil, are currently placed at the top of FIFA Coca-Cola World Ranking while Korea sit at 105. The Koreans coming into the contest on a run of eight outings without a victory, while Brazil conversely, had won their previous four matches.

The first half was largely all Brazil though they had very few clear sights of goal and Korea DPR weren’t without their own lively moments going forward. Defender Cha Jong Hyok fired a shot well wide while Japan-based striker, Jong Tae-Se, who had tears streaming down his face as the national anthem played, looked particularly keen to offer drive in his role at the point of the attack.

Kaka made a dangerous run into the penalty in the opening minutes in what seemed likely to set the tone for the match, but a Korean side which conceded just seven goals in their 14 qualifying matches are known for their swarming defence in their own third.

The nearest Brazil came to scoring in the first half was a Michel Bastos drive from distance which clipped the roof of the net but in truth the shot never looked like dipping under the crossbar.

Korea DPR went into the half-time interval looking relatively comfortable despite conceding 63 per cent of possession. No doubt the Koreans allowed themselves at least brief thoughts of repeating the heroics of their nation’s famous defeat of Italy at England 1966.

Brazil opened the second half brightly and a Bastos’ free-kick from a central position early in the second period looked dangerous but the blistering effort curved wide of the mark. Robinho did likewise with a snapshot moments later with Brazil often forced to resort to shooting from distance.

Ten minutes after the interval came the game-breaker and it took a moment of brilliance from Maicon to break the deadlock. There appeared little danger as he chased down a slightly overhit pass into the penalty area and with the ball just about to roll over the byline, Maicon blazed a shot between Ri Myong Guk and the near post, in a goal reminiscent of fellow right full-back Josimar at Mexico 1986.

The goal opened up the match as the Koreans started to show more endeavour with numbers going forward. Luis Fabiano looked set to take advantage midway through the second half after being set up by Robinho but could not find the target.

The contest appeared over as Elano comfortably finished past an exposed Ri Myong Guk with 18 minutes remaining, with Robinho providing an exquisite pass that checkmated the entire Korean defensive quartet.

It was A Selecao who looked more likely to score but with two minutes remaining Ji Yun Nam burst into the penalty area and drove past Julio Cesar with a memorable strike for Korea DPR's first goal at a FIFA World Cup™ for 44 years.