Brazil-Peru Recap

Brazil 3 Peru 0

This was a much improved result from the match in Quito. Dunga omitted Ronaldinho from the starting XI, inserting Kaka in his place. The Brazilian midfield played with much greater organization and controlled possession throughout the match. The other change in this match was Kleber starting for Marcelo. With Argentina’s shocking loss in Bolivia, plus a Chile-Uruguay draw, Brazil once again occupies second place in the qualifying standings. Brazil’s next qualifier will be on June 6th at the daunting Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay where Brazil has only won twice. Brazil will play also on June 10th against Paraguay, with first place possibly being on the line in that match.

One a bit of news from the qualifiers was Maicon’s leg injury, which will likely end his season. However, its likely he will be fit come June. Here are my player ratings from yesterday:

Starters:

Julio Cesar, 7, He had a great second half save of a shot from nearly midfield, other that he was never called upon to do anything.

Kleber, 6.5, He played well defensively; however coming up in the attack he looked extremely uncomfortable. His crosses were very poor.

Lucio, 7, He had a solid match, coming up in the attack with a couple of great runs.

Luisao, N/A, He went down early with an injury and was substituted for Miranda.

Dani Alves, 8.5, He was outstanding at both ends of the pitch. Alves had a couple of great crosses, one that Luis Fabiano should have easily finished. He assisted on the second goal. He was my man of the match, just edging out Kaka.

Gilberto Silva, 6.5, He did not have to do much in this match. He had a couple of decent tackles. One thing that is apparent when watching him in a game like this, against a weaker opponent, is that he has no pace.

Felipe Melo, 6.5, Score his first national team goal on a great run, through three defenders. He had a few bad giveaways, however a solid match overall.

Elano, 6.5, Rebounded nicely from a rough match in Quito. He had good touch on his passes, could have done better on a few free kicks.

Robinho, 6.5, Lots of flair and tricks, but not a lot of finishing. The ESPN commentator summed it up when he said “everyone knows that step over is coming.”

Kaka, 8, Although he was a little rusty, Kaka was and continues to be a game changer. He is so composed, rarely giving the ball up, outstanding with his passes. There is no player that is as critical to the national team as Kaka.

Luis Fabiano, 7.5, He scored two goals in this match, one off a PK. On his second goal he was offside, however the ref did not catch it. He could not finish a great ball from Dani Alves. Two goals are still two goals though.

Subs:

Miranda, 6, Played a ball poorly that almost lead to a breakaway chance, however was not called to do much. Dunga still should have called Alex for this match.

Pato, 7, He was a great spark off the bench in a match that was fading into boredom. He had a couple of great runs into the box.

Ronaldinho, 7, He came in to please the fans. He had a good chance on a free kick from just outside the box in which he forced a save.

Team Line-ups

Brazil 3: Julio Cesar, Kleber, Luizao (Miranda 12′), Daniel Alves, Lucio, Gilberto Silva, Kaka, Felipe Melo, Elano (Ronaldinho 77′), Luis Fabiano and Robinho (Pato 70′).

Peru 0: Leao Butron, Walter Vilchez, Amilton Prado, Alberto Rodriguez, Carlos Zambrano, Juan La Rosa, Carlos Fernandez, Reiner Torres, Pedro Garcia (Alexander Sanchez 62′), Piero Alva and Johan Fano.

Goals: Luis Fabiano (16′ and 27′), Felipe Melo (64′)

Referee: Sergio Pezzota (Argentina)

Venue: Beira-Rio stadium, Porto Alegre. Att: 50,000