Pro Eleven Headline News

Ecuador vs Brazil Preview

Brazil coach Dunga believes Ronaldinho will be a key figure as his side visit Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier.
The 29-year-old's role will be doubly important because of the absence of his AC Milan team-mate Kaka due to injury.

"We have already played without Kaka and we did all right," said Dunga. "We have Ronaldinho, who is an outstanding player.

"Any coach in the world would love to have him in his squad.

"When he has the ball he will have absolute freedom. His creativity makes him indispensable."

Second-placed Brazil will have the altitude to cope with as they visit Quito, where the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa is located 2,850 metres above sea level.

And Ecuador coach Sixto Vizuete hopes to take advantage by stifling their illustrious opponents.

He said: "We're very motivated. The squad is united and we'll be aggressive, in the good sense of the word.

"We're going to put pressure on the midfield. I want to suffocate Brazil.

"We're going to use the first 20 minutes to put pressure on, because they will be adapting to the altitude."

Ecuador defender and captain Ivan Hurtado wants his side to make the most of home advantage.

"Every opponent is hard in the qualifiers, but Ecuador have always been strong at home and we're working hard to maintain that," he said.

"We're very strong now, but I don't want to discount Brazil's ability. I think it will be a close and hard-fought game." ESPNSTAR


Rooney and Beckham steal show for impressive England

Wayne Rooney and David Beckham stole the show as England swept Slovakia aside 4-0 on Saturday in a warm-up for the home World Cup qualifier against Ukraine next week.

Beckham became England's most capped outfield player while Rooney earned a rave review from coach Fabio Capello with a two-goal man-of-the-match performance in the 4-0 victory at Wembley.

"(Rooney) played very well. It was a very important game for him," said Capello, who had warned the striker in the build-up to control his volatile temper, which flared up once again playing for Manchester United last weekend when he was sent off in a shock defeat at Fulham.

"I thought we played well today and deserved the win. I thought we played very well the first half hour and could have maybe scored more than the one goal but we are delighted with the win and delighted with the four goals," Rooney said.

Capello said he was pleased with the way Beckham played after replacing Aaron Lennon at halftime to earn his 109th cap, taking him past the 108 won by the late Bobby Moore.

"David Beckham played like David Beckham, and it was a very important cross for Rooney's first goal. It was a very nice moment, and in general the team played very well. Their movement with the ball and all over the pitch was good," he said.

Beckham said: "I am very proud, you know. I think when you grow up you always dream of playing for your country and dream of playing at Wembley and I have been able to play at both Wembleys and have played for my country one hundred and nine times, so it is very special for me."

Capello said defender Rio Ferdinand and winger Shaun Wright-Phillips did not play because he did not want to risk them in a friendly.

Both should be fit for Wednesday's Group Six match, in which leaders England will be defending a 100 percent record, after nursing injuries picked up in training in the week.

Slovak coach Vladimir Weiss, whose team face an important Group Three qualifier against Czech Republic in Prague on the same day, said his side had "played naively".

"We were at the home of football and some of the players maybe did not realise that," he told reporters.

"England are one of the best teams in the world. They were very disciplined and very talented and I could never understand how they did not qualify for the European Championship last year." Reuters


Debutant Pazzini helps Italy beat Montenegro

Debutant Giampaolo Pazzini was on target to help Italy beat Montenegro 2-0 on Saturday and move two points clear at the top of World Cup qualifying Group Eight.

The Sampdoria forward, who came on for Vincenzo Iaquinta in the second half, headed in a Simone Pepe cross for the world champions' second in the 73rd minute.

Midfielder Andrea Pirlo had coolly chipped a penalty into the top corner to give Italy the lead in the 11th minute after handball by Radoslav Batak.

Italy have 13 points from five games, while second-placed Ireland have 11 after being held 1-1 by Bulgaria in Dublin. The two sides meet on Wednesday in a top-of-the-table clash in Bari.

"We didn't play too well in the first half. We had this gift of a penalty. We didn't deserve it that much," Italy coach Marcello Lippi told Rai television.

"But in the second half the team played with personality, had lots of chances and only risked conceding once so I'm satisfied.

"Now we have a two-point lead over them (Ireland) and we have the possibility to improve the advantage on Wednesday, although two points are already good."

Italy started without a host of injured regulars and suffered a further blow in the ninth minute when forward Pepe had to come on after his Udinese team mate Antonio Di Natale tumbled on the slippery surface and hurt his knee.

Their spirits were raised two minutes later after Batak gave away a spot kick by blatantly cutting out a cross with his hand.

The home side, without suspended captain Mirko Vucinic in attack, made the running during the rest of the first half.

But the Azzurri absorbed the pressure and Pepe should have extended their lead in the 24th minute when he blasted the ball over the bar from an excellent position.

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, however, had been lucky to get away with only a yellow card before that when he rectified an Angelo Palombo blunder by tripping Stevan Jovetic as he charged towards goal.

The visitors looked brighter at the start of the second half when Iaquinta mis-hit his shot with the goal gaping and a powerful strike from outside the box by midfielder Daniele De Rossi forced a save from Vukasin Poleksic.

The hosts had their best chance in the 67th minute when goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon produced an excellent save to deny Radomir Djalovic from short range.

Montenegro have two points and share the bottom spot with Georgia, who they visit in Tbilisi on Wednesday. Reuters