Brazil World Cup Tickets

Friday, July 2, 2010

Dunga predicts 'beautiful' match

Brazil coach Dunga says he anticipates a "beautiful game" when his side take on the Netherlands in Friday's FIFA World Cup™ quarter-final.

"We expect it to be very open," said Dunga. "At this knock-out stage we can't expect a closed, defensive encounter. From now on each game is a World Cup Final. All the players are first class, I expect a beautiful game against the Dutch."

Kaka is one of ten players going into this mouth-watering encounter already on a yellow card and risks missing out on a potential semi-final should he get a second booking. The Real Madrid playmaker had to sit out Brazil's closing group game against Portugal after being sent off for two yellow cards in the 3-1 win over Côte d'Ivoire.

Dunga confirmed Elano, who has scored twice, will miss the game with an ankle injury, while defensive midfielder Felipe Melo, who was suffering from the same problem, had trained normally at Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University stadium earlier. "We will have to see how Felipe is," Dunga said.

Dunga was on the pitch on the last two occasions Brazil met and beat the Dutch, in the 1994 quarter-finals and the 1998 semi-finals, when the Oranje lost out on penalties. Dunga recalled: "That penalty shoot-out win was very important, very decisive. We wanted to confirm our victory in 1994. In the end we couldn't win the Final, but it was still an excellent result. We didn't play as well as we had done in the Final itself but we did give our best up to the last minute."

In a stifling room in the bowels of the stadium full to the rafters with journalists hanging on his every word, Dunga concluded the briefing as he had started it, with another prediction. "The tendency has always been for us to improve [in a competition]. Our players' confidence levels are increasing, so yes, the tendency is for our level of play to improve."

Ticket4Football.com is the most specialized and fully dedicated football ticket website offering the best place to buy all World Cup Tickets. You can buy World Cup Final Tickets,World Cup Semi Final Tickets and World Cup Quarter Final Tickets online through our secure and guaranteed online booking system. You can also sell World Cup Football Tickets here!. Ticket4Football offers 100% safe and secure online booking system for World Cup 2010 tickets.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Elano's a miss for Brazil

Brazil will be without Elano for Friday's FIFA World Cup™ quarter-final against the Netherlands.

The team's medical staff said the former Manchester City midfielder has not recovered from an ankle injury and could be out for the rest of the tournament.

Elano, 29, suffered the injury in a challenge by Côte d'Ivoire defender Cheik Tiote in Brazil's 3-1 win and limped out of a training session yesterday.

Brazil's team doctor Jose Luiz Runco told reporters: "I'm not saying that he won't be able to play again at this World Cup but he won't be ready for Friday.

"He has bad bruising and it was after he trained on Sunday that he said that he was having problems.

"The bone is swollen and we have to release the pressure on it so he will do nothing strenuous for the rest of the week."

"We still hope he can play next week but I can't say that he will be able to categorically."

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Gilberto Silva: Brazil hungry for glory

Gilberto Silva has spoken of Brazil's hunger for a sixth FIFA World Cup™ crown, insisting all the players are desperate for success in South Africa.

The South Americans sealed their place in the quarter-finals last night after coasting to a 3-0 win over continental rivals Chile in Johannesburg. And the former Arsenal midfielder is backing A Seleção to now go all the way.

"I believe we can win," he said. "The mood in the squad is very good at the moment, everyone is enjoying a lot what we're doing for our country. Everyone is hungry to achieve one more trophy for Brazil. This is what we talk about all the time."

Goals from Juan, Luis Fabiano and Robinho helped Brazil take their record at this years finals to three wins and a draw, which came against Portugal. Their last eight opponents, the Netherlands, have won all their matches so far and are one of the form sides at the tournament.

"Everyone is hungry to achieve one more trophy for Brazil. This is what we talk about all the time."Gilberto Silva

Gilberto continued: "It was good how the team reacted, especially from the last game as we didn't really have a very good game against Portugal. All of us know at this stage that there is no time to make mistakes as we did in the last game, and we worked very well today (Monday).

"We expect a very hard game because Holland have got a quality team with very good players. We know that we give them space it will be very difficult for us and we could have a problem. This is what we want to avoid. We have played against Holland in these big World Cup matches before and it will be an emotional game. But I'm sure we will do our job as we did tonight against Chile."

He was also pleased by the way they have played as a unit so, especially the defence - widely seen as a weak point in the team. "It's important to be very strong at the back and we have been," he added. "Of course it helps our attacking players a lot because if we defend well we are sure that they will do their job up front. This is the kind of balance that we need until the end of the competition."

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Brazil inflict more misery on Chile

Brazil completed a hat-trick of victories over Chile at the FIFA World Cup™ by beating their South American rivals 3-0 to set up a mouthwatering quarter-final meeting with the Netherlands.

Dunga's side took control of the Round of 16 contest with two goals in quick succession in the last ten minutes of the first half through Juan and Luis Fabiano. Robinho added the third to inflict further punishment on the Chileans who may have ended a 48-year wait for a FIFA World Cup win in South Africa but evidently have not worked out how to better their old nemesis.

Brazil defeated Chile in the 1962 semi-finals and at this same stage of the 1998 tournament in France, scoring four goals in each game. They also beat La Roja home and away in qualifying for South Africa and even in the goalless opening 33 minutes at Ellis Park, there was scant evidence of a different outcome. Although Chile, playing in all white, had a larger share of possession in the opening quarter-hour, Brazil carried the greater goal threat from the off.

Luis Fabiano had an early sniff of goal when breaking down the inside-right channel in the fifth minute but dragged his shot past the far post. Four minutes later Gilberto Silva drew a full-length stop from Chile custodian Claudio Bravo with a 25-yard strike and from the ensuing corner, Kaka – back from suspension – had a sight of goal but fired wide. There was another nervous moment in the Chilean penalty box when Lucio took a dramatic tumble under Pablo Contreras's challenge and it came as no surprise when Brazil made the breakthrough in the 34th minute as Juan rose high to bury a header high past Bravo from Maicon's flag-kick.

Four minutes later Dunga's men had their second as Luis Fabiano got on to the end of a slick counter-attack to hit his third goal of the finals. Robinho surged down the left and slipped the ball infield to Kaka, who split Chile's central defence with a first-time pass to put Luis Fabiano in the clear. With Chileans appealing in vain for offside, the Sevilla marksman rounded Bravo and slotted home. Chile produced only one or two promising moments in the final third in the opening 45 minutes. And when Humberto Suazo, making his second start of the finals, had a sight of goal, he failed to trouble Julio Cesar with his shot from the edge of the box – their only effort on target before the break.

Marcelo Bielsa's side had begun the match showing four changes from the defeat by Spain, three enforced by the suspensions of Marco Estrada, Gary Medel and Waldo Ponce. And they began the second half with two more changes as Bielsa sent on Rodrigo Tello and Jorge Valvidia in place of Contreras and Mark Gonzalez. But though they tried to increase the pressure on Brazil's back line, their own defence was breached again just before the hour. Ramires strode forward from midfield, leaving two white shirts in his wake, and played in Robinho to curl a shot past the left hand of Bravo. It was Robinho's eighth goal in six matches against Chile and he came close to adding another with a low shot that Bravo tipped behind.

At the other end some of Chile's approach play was slick and they began belatedly to create chances. Valvidia flicked up the ball on the edge of the box and lifted a shot narrowly over the crossbar. With 15 minutes remaining Suazo then produced a smart turn to escape the shackles of Lucio but his shot was comfortably dealt with by Julio Cesar. He got even closer with a sliced effort that looped on to the top of the crossbar but it was not to be. Brazil march on.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Dunga predicts championship match

Brazil coach Dunga is expecting a real "championship match" when his side tussle with Chile in their South American derby at the FIFA World Cup tonight. The Selecao have enjoyed plenty of success against their opponents over the years with their 65 meetings yielding 46 wins for the five-time world champions, while their rivals have come out on top just seven times.

With the latest winning sequence dating back nearly 10 years, Dunga believes there is plenty of motivation for their opponents to try to change the record. "I think that the motivation of any sportsman is to actually try to breach a pattern," he said. "We cannot spend our time comparing ourselves with our opponents. We have to try and improve as much as possible and that is exactly what Chile will do."

The Brazil boss is not expecting any motivation issues for his players. He continued: "My players always know that it's the next game that is the most important one. For now our next game is going to be against Chile, so we will prepare as we do against any other team. In the knockout stages it's all or nothing. Every game can be counted as a championship game.

"In the knockout stages it's all or nothing. Every game can be counted as a championship game".Dunga, Brazil coach

"Chile has been improving a lot with coach (Marcelo) Bielsa. Since he's taken over, it's a competitive team. It's a team that really fights until the very end and is able to get the best out of its players. So they are a difficult opponent and what's happened in the past is finished."

Dunga also felt that five teams from South America in the last 16 showed that football on the continent was in a healthy state. He added: "There are five South American teams playing in the round of 16. Uruguay are already in the quarter-finals which leads us to believe that South American football is extremely competitive and has great players."

Opposite number Bielsa felt there was no point for his side to sit back at Ellis Park, saying they would rather go out attacking against a team they have recently struggled against. "Our match tomorrow is an all or nothing match and we will do our very best to ensure the game is played in a manner that is convenient for us," he said. "We hope we can win. I think the psychological aspect is always very important in a competition. It's more of a factor of motivation for us in my point of view. We have the chance to reverse a historical negative trend for Chile."

Asked whether he was worried about the threat posed by Kaka, he added: "Of course, we have to be extremely careful with him. All the players in Brazil are very good and Kaka is an emblem for them. So no team playing against Brazil can ignore him, but I stress, Kaka has extremely talented team-mates playing with him."

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Brazil stalemate suits Portugal

The Brazilian carnival rolled into Durban on Friday, turning the sunny Indian Ocean coastal city into Copacabana beach for a day. However, the South Americans were unable to reward their vociferous support with goals, drawing 0-0 with Portugal – a result that takes both sides through to the Round of 16.

Brazil had the first chance of a cagey, stop-start first half with a long-distance effort from the tireless Dani Alves, featuring in place of the injured Elano on the right flank. But the Barcelona star hardly troubled Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo as his try trickled harmlessly wide of the post. He had another chance on the quarter-hour mark from a similar distance, with the keeper collecting easily.

Those efforts set the tone for much of what would follow. With Robinho on the bench and Kaka suspended, Brazil were reduced to trying their luck from long range as Juilio Baptista proved unable to get much going in the space behind strikers Nilmar and Luis Fabiano. Up the other end, Cristiano Ronaldo was ploughing a lone furrow in a defensive scheme set up by Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz. Fabio Coentrao was the most dangerous man on the park for the Portuguese, bursting up the left flank and delivering inch-perfect crosses that caused the Brazilian defence some concern in the opening period. Neither Tiago nor Ronaldo could take advantage of the best chances the Benfica wide man carved open, however.

The half-hour mark brought the clearest opening of a hard-fought first half, which produced seven yellow cards. A sneaky ball across the six-yard box from Luis Fabiano found Nilmar lurking at the back post. He rounded Ricardo Carvalho only to be denied by the upright from a tight angle. Seven minutes before the break Luis Fabiano then had a golden chance with a header from a similar position, but was unable to do justice to Dani Alves's cross.

Real Madrid ace Ronaldo, who got the biggest roar from the crowd at the start, began to get himself into some dangerous areas after the restart, forcing the Brazilian back line – captain Lucio in particular – into some last-ditch tackles. His deflected free-kick from distance in the 51st minute had the fans in yellow feeling a little nervous as Portugal began to look more positive in their approach. With substitute Simao pulling the strings, Queiroz's side nearly took the lead on the hour. Ronaldo broke free on the right of the area and when Lucio made the tackle, the ball fell for Raul Meireles, who could only manage to fire wide from close range.

In the end, though, a 0-0 draw was enough for both sides to move on, Brazil as Group G winners and Portugal as runners-up, pipping third-placed Côte d'Ivoire by a point. The Brazilians will now meet the second-placed team from Group H – in action later in the day – with Portugal taking on that section's winners.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Brazil put Elephants in the shade

Brazil booked their place in the Round of 16 with a game to spare after a convincing 3-1 victory over Côte d’Ivoire at Soccer City.

Two goals from Luis Fabiano and a third by Elano secured the second victory for Dunga’s side in South Africa – a result that guaranteed them one of the top two places in Group G even before Portugal's meeting with Korea DPR on Monday. It was not all good news for the South Americans, though, who finished the game with ten men after Kaka received a late red card after a clash with Kader Keita. It was Kaka’s second yellow card and came after the Brazilian appeared to dig an elbow into the chest of Keita, who went down clutching his face.

For Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Elephants, this was a sobering evening despite Didier Drogba’s late headed reply. Although Drogba was fit to start his first game of this FIFA World Cup™ – Gervinho the man to make way – Côte d’Ivoire did not trouble Brazil's back line until it was too late and they will now go into their final group game against the Koreans on Friday with just one point to their name.

This much-anticipated meeting of the five-time world champions and Drogba's Elephants – seen by some as potentially Africa's biggest hope before the finals – began with a shooting opportunity for theSeleção inside the first 60 seconds as Robinho broke forward. But, ignoring the yellow shirts on either side of him, he flashed a shot over the crossbar from outside the box.

Robinho had a hand in the opening goal after 25 minutes, some lovely interplay between him, Kaka and Luis Fabiano preceding Kaka's through-ball to the No9 which left him clear to lash a spectacular shot high inside the near post. The Elephants had managed only one shot on target in their goalless draw with Portugal and it took them 38 minutes before Aruna Dindane tried his luck from distance, driving a shot straight at Julio Cesar.

Within five minutes of the restart, Brazil had their second goal as Luis Fabiano struck again. After lifting the ball over Didier Zokora on the edge of the box, he worked his way past two more defenders, controlling a bouncing ball before firing in a low shot that Boubacar Barry got a hand to on its way in. The Ivorians came close to a response soon after only for Drogba to steer a header wide of Julio Cesar’s left-hand post after rising between Maicon and Lucio to meet Dindane’s centre from the right. That would be Dindane's final contribution as he made way for Gervinho, yet the force remained with Brazil.

Kaka had a shot beaten away by Barry in the 61st minute but within 60 seconds he had created the third goal for Elano. The Real Madrid playmaker broke down the left and running at Kolo Toure, found the space to drill in a low cross that Elano turned home for his second goal of the finals. Sadly for Elano that was his final contribution as, soon after, he took a kick on the shin from Ismael Tiote and left the field on a stretcher.

Julio Cesar was finally called into meaningful action when Ivorian substitute Romaric drove in a low shot that the Brazil custodian got down low to block. Eleven minutes from time, however, Drogba did restore a measure of pride for the Elephants when, following Gervinho's lung-bursting forward run, the substitute laid the ball back to Yaya Toure whose precise cross was nodded home by the Chelsea striker. That was the end of the scoring, although for Kaka, the night did not end as he would have wished as tempers flared in the closing minutes.