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Struggling Mighty Brazil can't explain poor play
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Nerves, fatigue, injuries, overconfidence. None of Brazil's traditional excuses seems to explain its less-than-exemplary showing so far in 2002 World Cup qualifying. Brazil is foundering, with just two victories in five matches and no sign of improvement. After losing 2-1 loss to Paraguay on Tuesday -- the first time it had lost to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying, fans are openly asking the unthinkable: Could the only team to qualify for every World Cup fail to make the next one? "Something is missing but we don't know what," manager Wanderley Luxemburgo said. "Either we give a positive answer and show some competence, or we won't be prepared to play in the World Cup." Almost everything seemed missing against Paraguay. The Brazilian defense again was a sieve, giving up a goal in the sixth minute when Carlos Humberto Paredes outjumped everyone in the penalty area for an indefensible header. The midfield was slow and uninspired, as Luxemburgo again went with defensively minded Flavio Conceicao, Cesar Sampaio and Ze Roberto plus the individualistic Rivaldo. The attack was simply inoperative. Franca, Guilherme, Marques and Djalminha -- the midfielder from Spanish champion Deportivo La Coruna improvised as a striker -- were equally ineffective. In five games, the front line is goalless. Worse, the four-time World Cup champions looked flustered and had trouble getting the ball out of their own end. Captain Cafu, a veteran of two Cups, was justly expelled for a violent tackle, leaving Brazil with 10 players before the half. "We were beaten, mainly, because we lost Cafu," Luxemburgo said. Luxemburgo also could have blamed his untested defense of Edmilson and Roque Junior, starting because Antonio Carlos was out with a one-game suspension and Aldair was dismissed for poor play. Midfielder Emerson also was suspended, and injuries had sidelined striker Ronaldinho Gaucho -- as well as veterans Ronaldo, Romario and Amoroso. Brazilians are unconvinced. "Shame!" "Fiasco in Asuncion," and "Rope Around Our Neck," read headlines Wednesday in Rio newspapers. O Globo called it the "worst game of the tournament." Besides being Brazil's first loss to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying, it was only its second ever in qualifying. The other defeat was to Bolivia in 1993, when Brazil played in the thin air of 3,660-meter (12,000-foot) high La Paz. The defeat left Brazil in fourth place in the South American standings with eight points, four behind Argentina, two back of Uruguay and one behind Paraguay. Ecuador and Colombia, which played Wednesday night, both had a chance to pass Brazil. Only four South American teams are guaranteed a place in South Korea and Japan in 2002. A fifth must enter a two-leg playoff with the Oceania winner for another berth. Luxemburgo has a week to get ready for his biggest challenge when Argentina comes to town. Although he said he was "100 percent certain" that Brazil would qualify for the Cup, his team has done little to reassure fans. "We still have no team, Wanderley is lost and Argentina is coming," sports analyst Marcio Guede said.
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