Robinho scored two goals and Kaka added another as Brazil easily defeated Tanzania 5-1 on Monday in their last warmup before the World Cup.
Robinho scored first with a shot from inside the area in the 10th minute and added to the lead with a header in the 33rd at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Substitute midfielder Ramires scored his first two international goals in the 52nd and in injury time, while Kaka chested in a cross in the 76th.
“There is still something missing. But we still have a week to go before the opener and we will work to get better,” said Kaka, who came into the match nursing a thigh injury but played the entire match.
PHOTO: EPA
Tanzania’s lone goal was scored by Jabir Aziz from a corner in the 87th.
Brazil hadn’t conceded a goal in five matches, since a 2-1 loss to Bolivia in October in a World Cup qualifier in the high altitude of La Paz.
Brazil started the match with all regular starters with the exception of goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who is nursing a back injury and didn’t even travel from the team’s training camp in Johannesburg. Julio Cesar, who was replaced by Tottenham goalkeeper Gomes, hadn’t missed a game in two years and had played 26 consecutive matches for Brazil.
Brazil are in Group G at the World Cup and start their campaign against North Korea on June 15 before facing Ivory Coast on June 20 and Portugal five days later.
With Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete watching, Robinho gave Brazil a 1-0 lead with a low shot from inside the area after a through ball from Kaka. He found the net again with a header after a cross by left back Michel Bastos.
Ramires eluded one defender before dribbling into the area and scoring his first international goal. Kaka made it 4-0 from inside the six-yard box, receiving a cross from Maicon and turning the ball into the net with his chest.
Ramires’ second goal was a header into the far corner in injury time against the 108th-ranked Tanzania.
Dunga made six substitutions and tested a new formation in the second half, with right back Daniel Alves replacing Elano in midfield in a more attacking setup.
“I summoned players with different characteristics, so I have a lot of options,’’ Dunga said.
Thousands of fans were kept away from the game by high ticket prices with plenty of empty seats in the 60,000 capacity stadium.
“How do you expect ordinary Tanzanians to pay up to 200,000 Tanzania shillings [US$144.5] to watch the match? This is totally unfair,” said Michael Urasa, a taxi driver, who said he could not afford to watch the match at the stadium.
The Tanzania Football Federation said ticket prices were high in order recover appearance fees paid to Brazil.
Also See: US star DeMerit takes road from Southall to S Africa
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946