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According to Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil showed Chile too much cordial towards Chile during the World Cup quarter-final clash

Scolari: We were too polite in match against Chile

According to Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil showed Chile too much cordial towards Chile during the World Cup quarter-final clash

The population of the host nation of the 2014 World Cup were left happy as Brazil qualified for the quarter-finals after getting past fellow South American side, Chile.

However, elimination appeared to be on the horizon for the Selecao as a 1-1 draw led to penalty shootouts, one which the five-time champions nervously won 3-2.

Furthermore, La Roja outclassed Luiz Felipe Scaolari’s men for huge portions of the game but much to the relief of the home crowd, Brazil made it into the next round and will now face Caoalombia on July 4 for a semi-final spot.

After the end of the game, the Selecao’s 65-year-old manager argued “politness” was the reason his side failed to stroll to an easy win.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin will jet to Brazil next month to take part in a handover

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin will jet to Brazil next month to take part in a handover ceremony at the end of the World Cup finals, with Russia gearing up to host the next championship, a newspaper report said Wednesday.

Putin will attend an event following the July 12 final in Rio de Janeiro where his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff will pass on responsibility for the tournament to the Kremlin strongman, Izvestiya daily reported, citing an unnamed government source.

A Kremlin spokesman declined immediate comment.

Russia will hold the football extravanganza in 2018 and has pledged to pump some $20 billion into building stadiums and infrastructure around the country for tournament.

Putin has become increasingly isolated by the West on the international stage over the Ukraine crisis but has sought to strengthen ties with new economic powers such as Brazil, China and India.

Putin has used major sporting events to burnish his image at home and abroad, splashing some $50 billion dollars on transforming the Black Sea city of Sochi into a gleaming showcase for the Winter Olympics in February.

The Russian national team kicked off its participation in the Brazil finals Tuesday with a 1:1 draw against South

Labels:1-1,Brazil,Sport News,SuperSport

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has confirmed he had been ruled out of his team’s opening World Cup clash with England in Manaus

Italy's national goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Reuters

Agence France-Presse

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has confirmed he had been ruled out of his team’s opening World Cup clash with England in Manaus.

Buffon limped out of a training session on Friday after suffering the knock and after receiving treatment immediately had to undergo sessions of physiotherapy late into the night.

For more World Cup stories, visit our dedicated microsite – thenational.ae/worldcup.

On his personal Twitter page, Buffon urged fans to make light of his absence and support his replacement Salvatore Sirigu in Saturday’s Group D battle.

“Life is great ... and a missed match or another missed World Cup is not going to change my opinion on that !!” Buffon said.

“And, even if you’re not out on the pitch, there are other ways in which you can play an important role. So, go on Salvatore Sirigu !! Go on the lads !! Go on Italy !!”

The loss of Buffon, one of the world’s best goalkeepers and a pillar of an Italian side looking to make amends for their first-round exit in 2010 could be a huge blow for Italy.

The Juventus keeper played only one half in South Africa, coming off with a back injury and being replaced by Federico Marchetti.

Italy drew 1-1 with Paraguay, and with Marchetti between the sticks Italy stumbled badly in their next game, drawing 1-1 with lowly New Zealand.

Italy eventually crashed out thanks to a 3-2 defeat to Slovakia

Competition is tough Orlando Pirates

Orlando Pirates striker Lennox Bacela is eager to feature in tonight's Premiership clash with Bidvest Wits at Bidvest Stadium.

Bacela, who has struggled for regular game-time, will have bettered his prospects by netting as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Platinum Stars at the weekend.

He told his club's official website: “I am glad I got a run on Saturday – I personally felt it was important for me to come in and change the game and fortunately for me, things turned out just the way I wanted.

“We do not have much to fight for in the League apart from wanting to be in the top eight, but a match against Wits demands a lot from everybody. We have to stay focused and put our best foot forward.”

The ex-Bloemfontein Celtic man added: “Competition for places here is tough – we have very good players who can play in most teams in the country so, for me it is important to stay focused and put away the chances I get so that I increase my chances of being in the team every week.

“It is a tough job but with the help of God I will keep fighting to do what I’m here for.”

SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson said he was satisfied with just a point, considering Bloemfontein

SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson said he was satisfied with just a point, considering Bloemfontein Celtic came hard at the Pretoria side in the second stanza.

"We came with one point and we go home with one point," Johnson said after United squandered a 1-0 first half lead to draw 1-1 against a determined Celtic outfit.

"We should have pushed better after we got the first goal ... I thought they were vulnerable but then in the second half they could have won the game.

"We are happy with it but I thought we should have wrapped it up in the first half."

Johnson's decision to substitute the outstanding Bennett Chenene for Edwin Gyimah took the edge off the SuperSport attack and allowed Celtic to push forward.

"It looked like Bennie was running out of steam a little bit," said Johnson.

"We brought on Eddy to sort of close the midfield and we wanted Thato Mokeke to go forward as a false winger. It did work as he had a strike at goal and, in another instance, he opted for a pass when he could have taken a shot."

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Celtic coach Ernst Middendorp said he was happy with his team's performance, particularly in the second period.

"You know I am not easily satisfied but what I saw from my team in the second half was impressive," Middendorp said.

"We had a lot of problems in the first half, especially in the first 25 minutes where we didn't come close to the opponents.

"You must know you can't eliminate Mame Niang completely but in the end I think we sorted it out. Having had only three and half days to recover while the opponents played only last weekend, I think our team was impressive especially coming from a goal down."

Despite Johnson expressing satisfaction with a point, the draw would have come as a blow for Matsatsantsa who would have moved into fourth place on the log had they seen out a victory.

Labels:1-0,1-1,Sport News,SuperSport

Emmanuel Adebayor shows lack of self-awareness by criticising Arsenal ahead of Spurs derby

Adebayor shows lack of self-awareness with Arsenal criticism

Emmanuel Adebayor has been having a pop at Arsenal ahead of the big derby on Saturday, claiming that the Kings of North London can’t handle the pressure.

Well, he clearly didn’t call them the Kings of North London, that would involve him being in touch with reality.

The former Arsenal man said: ’Arsenal are a good team when they have the ball. When they don’t, they are not that good. When you put them under pressure, they can’t handle it.

‘They don’t have a lot of physical presence. Apart from Flamini, I don’t see anyone who puts themselves into a proper battle.

‘Rosicky is not that type of player, Cazorla is not the type of player who defends. Arteta is trying to do it, but that’s not his job.

‘They don’t have anybody who can say, ‘if I have to kick, I will kick. If we have to fight, I will put myself at the front of it’. That’s how we have to play. Push them and force them to make errors.’

What he fails to take into account is how, when the pressure is on him, any time he has faced Arsenal he tends to completely lose his head.

There was the stamp on Robin van Persie’s face when he played for Manchester City, the red card for a crazy tackle on Santi Cazorla at the Emirates not that long ago, and, of course, his complete lack of significant impact the last few times he has faced Arsenal.

Then there’s the fact that Arsenal have just come back from facing Bayern Munich, a team much more capable than Spurs of pressuring any side in the world, with a 1-1 draw from the game on the night.

Should they manage to beat a severely weakened Arsenal side… they will no doubt see their season as a success. DVDs will be produced

There is no doubt that Adebayor and the rest of his shadow-dwelling team-mates will be well up for the game on Sunday. It’s their cup final and all they seem to actually care about.

He also said as much, adding: ‘We know how good we are at home when it comes to Arsenal and we won’t have to motivate anybody for this game.

‘The is the game that everybody will be talking about in London from this point. Tottenham v Arsenal: The North London derby.

‘So I cannot see anybody telling me, “Manu, you have to run. You have to give 100 per cent”.

‘No one will need to tell me that. I know. And people like Aaron Lennon, who has been here for ages, you won’t have to tell players like him anything either.

‘He knows how big it is for the club and the fans.’

Should they manage to beat a severely weakened Arsenal side who, if Kieran Gibbs isn’t playing, will be without all the players who account for 53 per cent of their goal tally this season, they will no doubt see their season as a success. DVDs will be produced.

Arsenal, on the other hand, know that victory on Sunday will keep them in the hunt for yet another league and cup double.

That’s the pressure Arsenal are under, Ade, and we’ve proven in the past that we can handle it a lot better than Spurs.

Tottenham are staring elimination in the face after the first round of last

Porto and Benfica fly the flag for Portugal while Betis stun Sevilla - Europa League in pictures

Thursday's Europa League action didn't disappoint. Indeed, the first legs of the round of 16 provided an abundance of both drama and goals.

Betis achieved a famous away win over city rivals Sevilla, while Fiorentina claimed a fine 1-1 draw at Juventus. Elsewhere, there were big wins for Olympique Lyonnais and Valencia but the night arguably belonged to Portuguese duo Porto and Benfica, who saw off Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.

Goal takes a look at Thursday night's Europa League action in pictures ...

Labels:1-1,and,Benfica,goals,Olympique,Porto

Arsenal reach FA Cup semis

London - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saluted Olivier Giroud after the French striker came off the bench and scored twice in Saturday's 4-1 win over Everton in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Giroud has been used sparingly in recent weeks - amid stories about his private life in the British tabloids - and started on the bench against Everton, with Yaya Sanogo given a chance to lead the line.

With Romelu Lukaku having cancelled out Mesut Ozil's seventh-minute opener at the Emirates Stadium, the score was 1-1 when Giroud entered the fray in the 61st minute.

His first major contribution was one to forget, as his encroachment into the penalty area forced Mikel Arteta to retake a penalty that he had scored to apparently put Arsenal ahead.

However, the Spanish midfielder made no mistake with his second attempt and Giroud fully atoned for his indiscretion by claiming a late brace.

The former Montpellier striker has now scored 18 goals in all competitions this term and Wenger hailed his contribution.

"It was important because he was on the end of things and shows that, when a player comes off the bench of that quality, it can make a difference," said Wenger, whose side are bidding to end a nine-year trophy drought.

"He was on the bench for what reason? He has played many games. For the rest, he has come on and showed he can score goals when he comes on."

Wenger, whose side will seek to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Bayern Munich next week, felt that the hosts were deserved victors.

"We had a quality performance from the first to the last minute against a good side," he said.

"Everton started the second half well and had a good moment in the game where they had the chance with (Ross) Barkley after, then we scored the second goal and then we controlled the game well."

Everton manager Roberto Martinez was left to rue a chance that Barkley fired over the bar shortly before Gareth Barry fouled Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the incident that led to the penalty.

"I felt the key moment of the game was going to be the second goal as we had made it a really uncomfortable game for Arsenal," he said.

"We had a great chance and, in nine out of 10 situations like that, Ross Barkley will hit the target.

"I can see why the referee gave the penalty, although I don't agree with the decision completely, because there is contact, but the ball is challenged (for) by both of the players.

"After that, we gambled a bit and the final scoreline does not reflect what happened in the game."