Party crashers

World champ Brazil beaten at home by Paraguay

FORTALEZA, Brazil (Reuters) -- Overconfident Brazil were beaten 1-0 at home by Paraguay in a friendly international on Wednesday -- their first match since winning the World Cup on June 30 in Japan and their last under coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Paraguay striker Nelson Cuevas outshone the renowned three "R" trio of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho as he scored the only goal in the 28th minute to hand Brazil their first defeat in 15 games and their first at home since March 1998.

Cuevas, who scored twice for his country at the World Cup, slipped past Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva and fired a low shot in off the post from 25 metres as Paraguay beat their bigger neighbors for the second time in three meetings.

The friendly international defeat gave an unhappy send-off to give Scolari, who lifted Brazil from the doldrums and led them to their fifth world title in only 14 months.

"Big Phil" is resigning to dedicate more time to his family and attempt to continue his career in Europe.

Brazil striker Ronaldo, in the middle of a protracted soap opera over his future with Italian club Inter Milan, looked slow and lethargic in his first game since he scored twice in the World Cup final against Germany 52 days ago.

He was taken off after only 33 minutes looking exhausted after producing just one good effort in which he sidefooted a shot over the bar from the edge of the penalty.

Sad performance

Otherwise, he was a shadow of the player who scored eight goals at the World Cup, his sad performance epitomized when he dived theatrically in a desperate attempt to win a first-half penalty.

Brazil picked the same squad that played at the World Cup -- minus injured defenders Roque Junior and Lucio and midfielder Juninho -- and also brought in Emerson, who was due to captain the team at the finals until he dislocated a shoulder on the eve of the opening match against Turkey.

Emerson, often criticized for his physical approach, came on as a halftime substitute and within seven minutes produced a vicious, scything tackle on Cuevas. He escaped with a yellow card, the only one of the match.

Brazil had arranged the game to celebrate their fifth world title and although Rivaldo went close in the fifth minute, it was quickly clear they had badly underestimated their opponents.

Despite missing regulars Jose Luis Chilavert, Carlos Gamarra, Francisco Arce -- who has retired from international football -- and Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguay, under caretaker coach Anibal Ruiz, played their usual bread-and-butter game -- neat, simple and effective.

Ploughed field

On a pitch that resembled a ploughed field, Brazil goalkeeper Marcos had already saved one effort from Cuevas before the goal in the 28th minute.

At the other end, midfielder Kleberson had Brazil's only other decent first-half effort when his shot was punched over by Ricardo Tavarelli.

Brazil, who made seven halftime substitutions, showed more bite after the break and nearly equalized when Vampeta clipped the bar in the 70th minute.

But the visitors came closest to another goal when Aristidis Masi and Jorge Campos both failed to finish off counterattacks in the last five minutes.

Brazil's last defeat was against Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier last November. Their last home loss was in a friendly against arch-rivals Argentina in March 1998.

Lineups:

Brazil: Marcos (Dida, Rogerio Ceni), Cafu (Belletti), Anderson Polga, Edmilson, Roberto Carlos (Junior), Gilberto Silva (Emerson), Kleberson, Ricardinho (Denilson), Rivaldo (Kaka), Ronaldinho (Vampeta) and Ronaldo (Luizao)

Paraguay: Ricardo Tavarelli; Nestor Isasi, Celso Ayala, Julio Cesar Caceres e Denis Caniza; Carlos Bonet (Borinigo), Carlos Humberto Paredes, Roberto Acuna, Jorge Campos; Nelson Cuevas e Jose Cardozo

Referee: Oscar Ruiz (Colombia).

Scolari dismisses Paraguay defeat

"I started losing and finished losing but these defeats will be forgotten thanks to the Penta [fifth world title]," said the man known as Big Phil, whose reign began with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.

"The game was a celebration. Seven or eight of the team who started are still in preseason training, so a 1-0 defeat was a good result. It was worthwhile for meeting the players and the national team staff again."

Scolari, who wants to coach a club in Europe, did not want to talk about Brazil's future.

The five-time champions may have to start their qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup as early as next July.

They have often found the qualifiers more difficult than the finals themselves, losing sixth of their 18 matches on the way to Japan and South Korea and only clinching a place in their last game.

"Whoever is picked ought to bear in mind that we always have difficulties and they should try and keep their feet on the ground. The Penta should be forgotten," he said.

"For Brazilian football, the image that remains is one of a strong group which chased its targets with discipline."

Scolari took over Brazil with the team in disarray in June last year and led them to the world title only 13 month later. He finished with a record of 18 wins, one draw and six defeats in 25 games.

Venezuela defeats Bolivia 2-0 in friendly

Daniel Noriega opened the scoring in the 19th minute off a pass from Leonel Vielma. Hector Gonzalez widened the lead off a deep pass from Ricardo Paz in the 20th

The Bolivian offense faltered, with the midfielders struggling to complete their passes and the defenders often overwhelmed by their rivals.

Bolivia is undergoing restructuring and didn't train for this match. Coach Vladimir Soria brought in several rookies and some veterans, including Marcos Etcheverry, who has returned to the team after a two-year absence.

Venezuela, for its part, has kept in shape and is trying to spark this South American country's interest in soccer. Baseball and basketball are the favorites, and soccer matches are sometimes played before near-empty stadiums.

That situation began to change in the South American World Cup qualifiers, where Venezuela displayed its best performance in history.

Although it was the first team to be eliminated, Venezuela had four unprecedented wins, including victories over finalists Bolivia (4-2), Paraguay (3-1) and Uruguay (2-0).

Venezuela ended the qualifiers with a record 16 points out of 54 possible.

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.