M-NEWS WORLD

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Neymar, Oscar star in Brazil's opening day win

Sao Paulo: A Neymar double and a brilliant performance from Oscar helped Brazil beat Croatia 3-1 in Group A and get their FIFA World Cup campaign off to a winning start at the Arena de Sao Paulo here Thursday.

Brazil's poster boy might have sent the shutterbugs into a tizzy after his two goals but the real hero for the hosts was Chelsea midfielder Oscar.

He assisted Neymar for his first goal in the 29th minute and played in the cross that led to the foul on Fred, giving Brazil a dubious penalty, which Neymar converted in the 71st minute.

Oscar capped off a match winning performance by toe-poking in the ball from outside the box in the 90th minute after a twisting and turning solo run.

But Oscar's real contribution was in the midfield where he bossed the game. The diminutive midfielder won some crucial tackles and was the main supply route for all the attacking Brazil did.

Neymar, on his debut in the World Cup, showed why he is rated as one of the biggest talents in world football today. The Barcelona attacker had four shots on goal out of which two he converted. His memerising trickery in and around theA

Croatia box had the defenders scrambling.

But it wasn't all rosy for the hosts as their susceptibility at the back was there for all to see. Attacking teams like Spain, Germany and Argentina would be licking their lips at the prospect of going up against this Brazil back four.

Luis Felipe Scolari's men were put under immense pressure in the latter part of the first half and if not for the ghost penalty they were awarded, things could have turned out to be a lot worse.

Earlier, as expected Brazil did score the first goal of the 2014 FIFA World Cup but unfortunately for the hosts it was an own goal by defender Marcelo.

A shell-shocked Marcelo trying to defend Olic's low cross deflected the ball into his own net in the 11th minute.

It was Brazil's first own goal in 94 World Cup finals matches.

After going down, the Brazilians clawed their way back and held most of the possession. They finally got the breakthrough thanks to Oscar's tenacity.

Having already shielded the ball while on the ground he managed to retrieve possession after being dispossessed, scrap his way past a pair of Croatian challenges and squeeze the ball through to Neymar who picked his spot -- in off the post -- from 20 yards out.

Brazil were very fortunate to take the lead. Fred controlled Oscar's cross in from the right, and the big striker, with his back to goal, fell under the slightest touch from Dejan Lovren.

That goal changed the complexion of the match as Croatia attacked the Brazil goal with great fervour.

Brazil escaped a couple of late scares, including a goal harshly disallowed for a foul on Julio Cesar. With three minutes remaining Scolari sent on Ramires, for the goalscorer Neymar.

And the impact was immediate as the Chelsea midfielder won the ball in midfield which his club-mate, Oscar, picked up and his early taken shot beat the Croatian goalie.

Brazil next take on Mexico Tuesday

Source : Mathribhoomi

brazil vs croatia world cup 2014 full play Video

Brazil 2013 - Road To Rio (world cup 2014)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRf2ocLnIBM&hd=1

Scolari predicts final against Argentina

Sao Paulo: Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has projected that Argentina will be the most likely opponent if the hosts can make it all the way to the World Cup final.

Scolari said on Thursday he and his staff analysed the tournament's bracket and predicted the two South American powers will meet in the July 13 final.

"From our analysis, the final we see happening is Brazil on one side and Argentina on the other," Scolari said at the team's training camp outside Rio de Janeiro.

The coach did not say specifically how they got to that conclusion, but noted that he is hoping the predictions are right because having two of football's traditional powers face each other in South America would be one of the event's great finals.

"Hopefully that will be the final," Scolari said. "It would be a South American final, with great players, a lot of quality."

The rivals cannot meet at the World Cup at least until the semifinals. If both teams finish first in their groups, they can only face each other in the final at the Maracana Stadium.

"I don't want to see Argentina being eliminated in the first round or the second round," Scolari said. "I want to see Argentina playing its football as usual."

The coach, a world champion in 2002, was quick to remind everyone that his main concern is about the Brazilian team.

"I have to get Brazil to the final," he said. "After that, whichever team gets there, it won't really matter. I have to make sure my team is in the final."

Argentina vs Brazil, Italia 1990

Caniggia netted Argentina's winner.

Brazil and Argentina have faced each other four times in World Cups. The only Argentine victory came in the round of 16 at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, when Diego Maradona and Claudio Caniggia secured a 1-0 result.

Brazil won 2-1 in the second round in 1974 and 3-1 in the second round in 1982. The rivals drew 0-0 in the second round in 1978, when the Argentines hosted the tournament and won the title.

Source : malayala manorama

FIFA World Cup 2014: No-nonsense Scolari will bank on Brazil's defence

SAO PAULO: Brazil are seeking an unprecedented sixth World Cup title, this time in a tournament at home which provides as much hope as it invokes trepidation. In Sao Paulo on Thursday, the Balkan nation of Croatia dubbed by many as the Brazilians of Europe - will pose the first challenge to the home country's quest for the sixth title.

They show the direction to the rest of the world, but Brazil are acutely aware that 64 years ago they lost their way playing at Rio de Janeiro's gigantic Maracana Stadium in the final of the 1950 World Cup. A tragedy of war-like proportions, with 200,000 Brazilians witness to it, the Maracanazo has come to be a millstone around the national team's neck. Each time they play at the Maracana, the ghost of 1950 rises.

It is with the task of banishing this feeling that Luiz Felipe Scolari, an avuncular, no-nonsense coach who led Brazil to the title in 2002, was given charge of the Selecao for their most-important, pressure-soaked campaign. It is perhaps with this idea that Scolari decided to do away with traces of the past and recent history - only skipper Thiago Silva, Dani Alves, Ramires and veteran goalkeeper Juilo Cesar have survived from the 2010 squad that so spectacularly crashed and burned under manager Dunga.

All the retained names are defenceminded players - an anachronism in the established Brazilian scheme of things - but it points to a direction which indicates that the coach knows his mind. A pragmatic man, Scolari knows the art of disguising a functional set-up within the idea of fluid beauty. To the untrained eye, his Brazilian teams - most notably the one spearheaded by Ronaldo which won the title in 2002 - have that dash of the mercurial about them, but look beneath the hood and you will find a powerful, finely-tuned engine running the beast.

With Silva, the Paris Saint Germain mainstay, as Scolari's leader of the pack, it is for the first time in recent memory that Brazil's defence is being spoken about in assured terms rather than a brilliant midfield, like the one of 1982 or an assembly of supreme forwards (2006). Both in 1982 and 2006, the Selecao promised much but failed to deliver in the end. A flexible 4-3-3 formation that can slip into a 4-2-3-1 is more of a defence-based formula than an attacking one.

Yet, like in 2002, when Scolari stumbled upon a brilliant Ronaldinho - whom he ignored this time - to do the magic up front with a rejuvenated Ronaldo, the star of the show this time, without doubt, is Neymar. The slight 22-year-old wears his stardom in an easy, casual manner but is constantly made aware of his potential standing in the pantheon of Brazilian greats should he deliver the World Cup to them.

Scolari's detractors feel that the team is too fresh and too untested and that the success of last year's Confederations Cup should not serve as a yardstick for the real thing. Lack of playing time together could prove a deterrent but with most of his squad playing in top leagues of Europe till the final day of the season, the concept of functioning together should not be more than a niggle.

The same goes for Nico Kovac, Scolari's opposite number in the Croatian camp. His two key men - Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic - have been busy all season for their clubs, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and take the same form into the World Cup.

Kovacs will know a thing or two about the Brazilian way. Captain of his side when the two teams met in group clash in the 2006 World Cup, the ace up his sleeve will be the Brazilian-born Eduardo, who returns home in a very different manner - this time trying to halt the aspirations of his original homeland in Croatia's first step at making history.

Source : times of india

Suarez trains with Uruguay squad

Rio de Janeiro: Luis Suarez moved a step closer to proving his fitness for the FIFA World Cup by training with the Uruguay squad.

The Liverpool striker underwent keyhole surgery May 22 to repair meniscus damage in his left knee.

Despite a normal recovery time of a month for the procedure, the 27-year-old could return for Uruguay's World Cup opener against Costa Rica on June 14, barely three weeks after the operation.

During the team's open-training session at the Jacare Arena on Tuesday, Suarez looked uninhibited as he turned on his left leg and took shots at goal, Xinhua reports.

Uruguay's clash with Costa Rica will be followed by matches against England June 19 and Italy five days later. IANS

source : mathrubhoomi

more;

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/english/sports/suarez-trains-with-uruguay-squad-147570.html

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Jamaican pacers spark Kiwi batting collapse

Trelawny (Jamaica): The Jamaican pace trio tore their way through New Zealand's second innings to send them tumbling in a spectacular late afternoon batting collapse here on the second day of their three-day practice game.

Christopher Powell, Derval Green and Nicholson Gordon grabbed seven wickets as the visitors plunged to 65 on the second day of their three-day tour game against Jamaica select X1 at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Complex here Tuesday, reports Xinhua.

Green grabbed three for 10, Powell two for 17 and Gordon two for 23 in the final session of play adding to New Zealand's woes following a tough opening day in which they struggled to 203 for nine.

However, the bright spot for the Black Caps was the bowling of leg spinner Ish Sodhi whose consistent spell engineered the destruction of Jamaica Select X1's first innings.

Sodhi took four quick wickets after lunch to finish with figures of five for 35 from 11.5 overs as the Jamaicans declared on 122 for nine, replying to the visitors' 203 for nine declared.

Opener Kennar Lewis top scored for Jamaica with 30, Cassius Burton contributed 27 while John Campbell whipped in with 24.

The homeside was off to a poor start after Trent Boult made an instant breakthrough by removing opener Horace Miller LBW in his first over without scoring.

Play started half an hour earlier than the scheduled 10am start due to yesterday's last session being lost to rain. IANS

more
http://www.mathrubhumi.com/english/sports/suarez-trains-with-uruguay-squad-147570.html

Sumitra Mahajan elected Lok Sabha Speaker

BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan has been unanimously elected the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked all parties for unanimous election of new Speaker. Senior leaders from all parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had moved motions on Thursday proposing Mahajan's name for the high office. Opposition leaders, including the Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, M Thambidurai (AIADMK), Sudip Bandopadhyay (Trinamool Congress), B Mahtab (BJD), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), H D Deve Gowda (JDS), Supriya Sule (NCP), Mohammed Salip (CPM) and Jitendra Reddy (TRS) are among the 19-proposers for Mahajan's name. 72-year-old Mahajan is an eight-term Lok Sabha member from Indore and has worked for long in the panel of chairperson of the house.

Groups clash inside Golden Temple complex, 7 wounded

At least seven people, including a child, were injured in a clash between task force volunteers of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and radical Sikh activists Friday on the 30th anniversary of the army's Operation Bluestar at the Sikh shrine complex here. Swords and sticks were openly used as scores of men from both sides chased each other outside the Akal Takht building inside the complex, which is home to the holiest of Sikh shrines - `Harmandar Sahib'. Many people could be seen running for cover to save themselves. Eyewitnesses said the clash occurred when activists of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) were stopped by the SGPC task force volunteers from brandishing swords and other traditional weapons and raising pro-Khalistan slogans inside the complex. This led to a clash between both sides just after the religious ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar had ended Friday morning. Tension continued to prevail inside the shrine complex. Even media personnel were manhandled during the incident. No uniformed police personnel were present inside the complex to intervene in or prevent the clash. Top SGPC functionaries, including its president Avtar Singh Makkar, and Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh were present inside the complex when the incident took place.

Heavily armed terrorists, led by separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, were flushed out of the Golden Temple complex by the Indian Army in its Operation Bluestar in June 1984. The then prime minister Indira Gandhi had ordered the army operation.Punjab had witnessed a bloody phase of terrorism between 1981 to 1992 as separatists demanded a Sikh homeland - Khalistan (Land of the pure). The terrorism phase left over 25,000 people dead, including hundreds of personnel of security forces.

Hottest June 6 in five years, Saturday might be worse

Delhi was like a blast furnace Friday with the mercury soaring to 45 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average, and making it the hottest June 6 in the last five years. The weekend might be worse as the temperature is forecast to touch 46 degrees. The heat wave coupled with the scorching sun made people's lives miserable and many chose to remain indoors, leaving the roads deserted during the day.'I tried to cover my face and arms with cloth and gloves, but it provided no relief. The sun burnt my skin and sucked out all my energy,' said Sangeeta Singh, a marketing professional who stepped out during the day. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Saturday will see clear skies and the sweltering heat will continue to wreak havoc on the national capital with the maximum temperature likely to hover around 46 degrees Celsius. The minimum is expected to settle around 30 degrees Celsius. The heat was unbearable today, and I see no respite in the coming days as well,' said Manoj Nair, an advertising professional. The day's minimum temperature was recorded a notch above the season's average at 29.4 degrees Celsius. Thursday too was hot with a maximum temperature of 44.7 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average. The minimum settled at 27.7 degrees Celsius, average for this time of the season.

Modi accepts Obama invite to visit US in late September

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted US President Barack Obama's invitation for a meeting in late September and the dates are being finalised. The invitation for the meeting came during the congratulatory call to Mr Modi by Mr Obama after the Lok Sabha election results were out. A date was offered by the US side for the meeting and both the countries are working on it,' official sources said. It is understood that Washington has proposed September 30 as the date for the meeting but the Indian side is looking at clubbing the bilateral meeting with Mr Modi's visit to the US for the United Nations General Assembly around September 26. Mr Obama was among the first foreign leaders to call up Mr Modi and congratulated him on his 'emphatic election victory' and said the largest democracy in the world has given a 'decisive mandate'. The US President also wished that under Mr Modi's leadership, India will contribute significantly at the global stage. Both the leaders had discussed the India-US Strategic Partnership and the prevailing global economic situation. The call was the first high-level contact between Mr Modi and the US leadership ever since 2005 when the Gujarat chief minister had been denied a US visa due to the 2002 riots in the state.