By Christopher Elser
Spain and the Netherlands, which met in the World Cup final, moved past record five-time world champion Brazil to the top of FIFA’s world soccer rankings.
Spain moved up one place to the top ranking, while the Netherlands jumped two spots. Brazil, which lost to the Dutch in the quarterfinals in South Africa, is third.
Five of the top 10 slots are held by European teams, with No. 4 Germany, a surprise semifinalist, seventh-ranked England and Portugal, which dropped five places to eighth. Argentina is fifth, with Uruguay, the only non-European team to make the semifinals, rising 10 spots to sixth. That’s the highest-ever ranking for Uruguay, which along with No. 9 Egypt and 10th- ranked Chile was the biggest riser in the top 10.
“These three teams have benefited from disappointing performances by two giants of international football, Italy (11th, down 6) and France (21st, down 12),” FIFA said today in a statement. “The 2006 finalists pay the price for group-stage elimination in South Africa and, together with Croatia, no longer find themselves among the 10 best teams.”
Chile rose eight spots and Egypt gained three. Italy and France didn’t reach the knockout stages after failing to win any matches at the World Cup, which Spain won in a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands on July 11. Brazil was beaten 2-1 by the Dutch in the quarterfinals.
Croatia dropped five spots to 15th, while Greece in 12th, and the U.S., tied with Serbia in 13th, rose one place each. Paraguay, which lost to Spain in the quarterfinals, and Peru were the biggest gainers in the top 50, rising 15 spots to No. 16 and No. 38, respectively. Peru didn’t qualify for the World Cup.
South Africa, the host of the tournament, rose 17 spots to 66th while Ghana, which lost to Uruguay in the quarterfinals, was up nine places to 23rd. Nigeria fell 9 spots to 30th, and Cameroon declined 21 places to 40th.
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Showing posts with label brazil team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brazil team. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Netherlands stuns Brazil 2-1 to reach semifinals
Lesotho Soccer World Cup News: Netherlands stuns Brazil 2-1 to reach semifinals
Associated Press
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa — Brazil had never really been under duress in the World Cup until the quarterfinals Friday. How would it react, with resilience or agitation? Could it take a punch, or did it have a glass jaw?
Few could have imagined that a dominant first half would disintegrate into such a loss of composure in a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands. For a second consecutive World Cup, Brazil exited in the quarterfinals, its hopes of a sixth title shattered along with its equanimity and self-control.
As it crumbled, Brazil put a ball into its own net, grew unnerved by the diving of Dutch forward Arjen Robben, and played a man down for the final 17-plus minutes after committing an impetuous foul. One of the tallest teams in the tournament, Brazil gave up the winning goal on a header by Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder, one of the shortest men on the field.
As Brazil leaves unceremoniously, the Netherlands advances to the semifinals against Uruguay, which beat Ghana on penalty kicks. The Netherlands defeated Brazil for the first time in the World Cup since 1974 and the days of Johan Cruyff and gained redemption for defeats in 1994 and 1998, while also beginning to shed its image as a talented but underperforming team.
"Finally, finally, we won," Sneijder said.
While Dunga, Brazil's coach, faces caustic second-guessing for a style that favored muscle over beauty, Bert van Marwijk of the Netherlands gained validation for his assertion that the Dutch could win the World Cup for the first time.
"People mocked me for that," said van Marwijk, who became coach two years ago.
But if others doubted him, he did not doubt himself. "I said I'm not going to the tournament just to take part; I want to win," van Marwijk said. "I want the best prize. People might think (I am) arrogant. But if you beat Brazil, then you should dare to say this."
Felipe Melo, a Brazilian midfielder, will forever remain in the bull's-eye for everything that went right and wrong in this match for the departed co-favorites.
He re-entered the starting lineup for Ramires, who was suspended with two yellow cards. And in the 10th minute, Melo sent a pass through a yawning gap in the middle of the Netherlands' defense. The ball seemed to roll forever as if on a fairway after a tee shot.
The Netherlands had been forced to alter its starting lineup in central defense, when Joris Mathijsen injured his knee during warm-ups. Andre Ooijer replaced him, which led to early confusion that was harshly punished by Brazil. Robinho ran past Ooijer, and his partner John Heitinga, cocked his right leg at the top of the penalty area and swept the ball into the goal for a 1-0 Brazil lead.
His leg seemed to swing like a door closing on the Netherlands. Continue reading here...
Associated Press
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa — Brazil had never really been under duress in the World Cup until the quarterfinals Friday. How would it react, with resilience or agitation? Could it take a punch, or did it have a glass jaw?
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| Image source |
As it crumbled, Brazil put a ball into its own net, grew unnerved by the diving of Dutch forward Arjen Robben, and played a man down for the final 17-plus minutes after committing an impetuous foul. One of the tallest teams in the tournament, Brazil gave up the winning goal on a header by Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder, one of the shortest men on the field.
As Brazil leaves unceremoniously, the Netherlands advances to the semifinals against Uruguay, which beat Ghana on penalty kicks. The Netherlands defeated Brazil for the first time in the World Cup since 1974 and the days of Johan Cruyff and gained redemption for defeats in 1994 and 1998, while also beginning to shed its image as a talented but underperforming team.
"Finally, finally, we won," Sneijder said.
While Dunga, Brazil's coach, faces caustic second-guessing for a style that favored muscle over beauty, Bert van Marwijk of the Netherlands gained validation for his assertion that the Dutch could win the World Cup for the first time.
"People mocked me for that," said van Marwijk, who became coach two years ago.
But if others doubted him, he did not doubt himself. "I said I'm not going to the tournament just to take part; I want to win," van Marwijk said. "I want the best prize. People might think (I am) arrogant. But if you beat Brazil, then you should dare to say this."
Felipe Melo, a Brazilian midfielder, will forever remain in the bull's-eye for everything that went right and wrong in this match for the departed co-favorites.
He re-entered the starting lineup for Ramires, who was suspended with two yellow cards. And in the 10th minute, Melo sent a pass through a yawning gap in the middle of the Netherlands' defense. The ball seemed to roll forever as if on a fairway after a tee shot.
The Netherlands had been forced to alter its starting lineup in central defense, when Joris Mathijsen injured his knee during warm-ups. Andre Ooijer replaced him, which led to early confusion that was harshly punished by Brazil. Robinho ran past Ooijer, and his partner John Heitinga, cocked his right leg at the top of the penalty area and swept the ball into the goal for a 1-0 Brazil lead.
His leg seemed to swing like a door closing on the Netherlands. Continue reading here...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Lesotho Soccer World Cup: Brazil marched to the Quarter finals.
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniothomas |
Brazil knocked Chile out of the FIFA World Cup™ for the third time as Juan, Luis Fabiano and Robinho scored to set up a quarter-final showdown with the Netherlands.Highlights
Netherlands 2:1 Slovakia
Arjen Robben led the way for the Netherlands as they beat Slovakia 2-1 in Durban on Monday to book a quarter-final date with either Brazil or Chile.Highlights
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