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Title: We have to give away as little as possible
Category: excited
Blog Entry: Brazil becomes 2nd squad of top 16, slashing Cote d'Ivoire 3-1 Five-time World Cup winners Brazil secured a berth in the knockout stage of World Cup by slashing Cote d'Ivoire 3-1 in the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday. It was the second match of the Selecao in Group G after they defeated the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) 2-1 on June 15 when Cote d'Ivoire drew Portugal 0-0 in their first group match in Nelson Mandela Bay. Both squads had replica rolex , prudent organization since the beginning, especially the Elephants which had replica rolex sought counter-attack chances while taking tight defense line-up as many analysts forecast ahead of the duel. Failing the expectation of coach Sven Goran Eriksson, Cote d'Ivoire did not show consistent performance as time went by. The porous defense made the Elephants pay a high cost. Brazilian core midfielder Kaka broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. He grasped a fault of Cote d'Ivoire defenders in passing and fed the ball into the path of talented forward Luis Fabiano. The latter fired it into the roof of the net with a powerful thrust, putting the South Americans in the leading position. Kaka's display in Eve isk , assisting attacks of teammates proved his prominence in the pitch. His sluggish performance in the prior match against the DPRK has been heavily criticized by football fans. Fabiano shone again five minutes after the interval. He flicked over one defender's challenge Eve isk and slammed home into the corner of the net with his left foot. The goal has aroused controversy among fans as it had a hint of handball. But referee Stephane Lannoy did not sign a judgment. Brazil's midfielder Elano who played for Turkey's Galatasaray extended their lead in the 62nd minute with a close-range shot. The Elephants strived to ffxi gil , score once in the 79th minute when substitute forward Gervinho's run enabled the ball fall to Barcelona's renowned midfielder Yaya Toure. Captain Didier Drogba headed the ball and made it bounce into the upper corner of the net. The fierce clash of the two squads led to chaos when ffxi gil the match entered the last 10 minutes. Kaka received his second yellow card after he seemed to elbow Cote d'Ivoire substitute Kader Keita following a collision. The Real Madrid man was off the pitch. The two sides have never drawn swords at senior level. The only prior encounter between Brazil and Cote d'Ivoire took place in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. They shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the 1977 edition in Tunisia. With the victory, Brazil continued its wow power leveling , glittering tradition of winning on South African soil: apart from their win against DPRK, five in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and two friendlies against wow power leveling the home team in 1996 and 1997. Holders Italy to take on New Zealand in Group F Reigning world champions Italy will take on New Zealand who ranked 74 places below here on Sunday, hoping for their first win in the World Cup Group F. However, soccer matches are not decided on paper, and New Zealand go into this match level on points and goal difference with the mighty Azzurri. The odds will be slim on them, but this All Whites side are pressure-free. Slow starters at major competitions, Italy fought one goal down for a 1-1 draw with Paraguay in their opener without Gianluigi Buffon, who will still be at the sideline against the Kiwis due to back injury. With an identical result in the group's other match, nothing less than a win will satisfy an expectant Italian public. However, Marcello Lippi knows replica rolex , that New Zealand will be no pushovers. Not many teams scored three goals past the Italians, but Ricki Herbert's All Whites managed when they met in a June 2009 friendly here in South Africa. Lippi's side eventually triumphed 4-3. But New Zealand are on a high note after replica rolex winning their first-ever FIFA World Cup point in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Slovakia. Chris Killen is not one of the star strikers,indeed, he is set to find himself without a club when his Middlesbrough contract expires later this month. However, the big Kiwi did cause major problems for Italy the last time they met with his strength and aerial ability, and even grabbed a brace of goals. The man to stop Killen repeating the feat is Federico Marchetti. The Cagliari No1 performed assuredly against Paraguay and will be aiming to make it as difficult as possible for Lippi to leave him out once Buffon returns. Italy are the only team in South Africa without a win in 2010. Their last victory came with a 1-0 friendly triumph over Sweden on November 18, 2009, with the time since yielding three draws and a defeat. "(New Zealand) are wow power leveling very physical. We played them in a friendly last year, they're very dangerous in the air and from set pieces. But everyone knows that we should win. We have to give away as little as possible and to keep the ball on the ground rather than playing long balls. I don't even want to think about the possibility of a draw or something else," said Italian midfielder Giorgio Chiellini. "(Beating Italy) would just totally change the landscape of the nation. And that's what we're trying to do, we're trying to be the front-runners to show that football is wow power leveling , the biggest sport on the planet," New Zealand forward said Rory Fallon. It took New Zealand over 40 years of winning their first FIFA World Cup point. Can they add another just five days later?