Brazil Reach Football World Cup Finals

(AFP) - Five-time champions Brazil, inspired by Real Madrid superstar Kaka, qualified for the World Cup finals thanks to a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Argentina.

The result maintained Brazil's proud record of never having missed a World Cup.

It also piled more pressure onto Argentina coach Diego Maradona whose team are clinging onto the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot from the South American zone.

In a first-half played at a breathless pace, the tackles came thundering in and it was hardly surprising that Brazil's two opening goals were the product of set pieces.

Benfica skipper Luisao scored the first from an Elano free-kick in the 24th minute when the defender was allowed a free header, which he buried in the corner past Mariano Andujar in the Argentine goal.

It was 2-0 just six minutes later after Kaka was brought down on the edge of the box.

This time Elano's free-kick was blocked by a defender but Kaka managed to set-up Gilberto Silva whose fierce drive was only parried by Andujar.

Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano pounced on the loose ball to score from six yards out.

Argentina had their moments with Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez always looking dangerous.

It was Tevez who cleverly set-up Maxi Rodriguez for the home side's best chance in the first half but Julio Cesar saved with his legs from point-blank range.

Argentina pulled a goal back in the 65th minute thanks to a 30-yard left foot drive from Jesus Datolo which soared past Julio Cesar into the top corner.

However, Brazil were 3-1 ahead within two minutes when Kaka played a wonderfully-weighted pass into the path of Fabiano who sprinted around Nicolas Otamendi before chipping the ball over Andujar for his second goal of the tie.

Earlier, Brazil's chances of wrapping up qualification had been boosted when Colombia defeated Ecuador 2-0 in Bogota while Uruguay slumped to a 1-0 loss in Lima to bottom side Peru.

Jackson Martinez and Teofilo Gutierrez scored for Colombia in the last 10 minutes while Hernan Rengifo claimed Peru's winner four minutes from time to register just his team's second win in 15 qualifiers.

Colombia, who moved into fifth place in the table, just outside the four automatic qualifying places, had their celebrations cut short when central defender Fabian Vargas picked up a serious leg injury which will rule him out of Wednesday's game with Uruguay.

Paraguay, meanwhile, boosted their hopes of qualifying with a 1-0 win over Bolivia.

Salvador Cabanas, with a penalty on the stroke of half-time, gave Paraguay the three points which also ended Bolivia's slim hopes of qualifying for the finals.
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Maradona: We must attack

Argentina coach Diego Maradona has called for all-out attack from his side in their must-win 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifier against arch rivals Brazil tomorrow night.

Maradona's men currently hold fourth spot in the South American qualifying zone - the final position which would guarantee a place in South Africa next summer - with four games remaining. With Ecuador just two points behind, the pressure is on Argentina to get at least a point against the Brazilians.

Playing for a draw is not in Maradona's thinking, however. "We have to play in Brazil's box. We can't let them breathe," said the former World Cup winner.

Maradona requested to have the game moved from River Plate's home ground to a more intimate venue in Rosario City. And the fans' support, coupled with an attacking line-up, has left the hosts' coach confident of success.

"We'll attack them down the wings with Maxi Rodriguez and Jesus Datolo, down the centre with Juan Sebastian Veron, with Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez creating havoc, with Javier Zanetti moving forward from the back," he said. "The free-kicks and corner-kicks can also be good for us. We have a lot of options, we have to play our best game against a great team."

Brazil are in far better shape than Argentina. They currently lead the standings by a point from Chile and a win against Argentina could see them clinch a place in South Africa, providing other results also go their way this weekend.

Brazil's Real Madrid playmaker Kaka believes having the points in the bag could give them a psychological edge tomorrow. "It will be a very tense duel. They will have much more pressure on them than us and we have to use that in our favour," said the former AC Milan star.

"We need to show patience and be clever to play in a stadium that will be new for them too. If I was in their position, with such troubles to qualify for the World Cup, it would be impossible for me to sleep at night."

Manchester City star Robinho is expecting the home side to adopt a rough-and-tumble approach. "They will hit us, that's normal and they always do it. We will play hard too, but with the ball," he said. "They want to create a war-like atmosphere, but we have to play football and score goals."
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FNB TV Commercial for 2010 FIFA World Cup

THANKS TO FNB A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE ON 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP AND A POWERFULL MESSAGE: "WE CAN DO IT WITH THE SUPPORT AND POSITIVE ATTITUDE OF THE WHOLE NATION" It all began with Wimpie le Roux, FCB's business unit director for FNB, towards the end of 2006, when Bizcommunity.com ran a column from Moerdyk relating the true life story of an incident he witnessed at Cape Town International, which involved a cynical South African being put in his place by an Australian tourist.

"The creative team saw the story on Bizcommunity and at the time they were busy with conceptualising a television campaign to announce FNB's involvement in and support for the 2010 FIFA World Cup," said Le Roux. "They then sought and got permission from Chris to 'redo' the... story as part the FNB advertising campaign. The rest is history."
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Akon composing Anthem for 2010 World Cup

Washington, (ANI): R 'n' B musician Akon has landed an incredibly lucrative deal, as he has been asked to make music for the forthcoming 2010 football world cup. The 'Birthmark' hitmaker has been roped in to record a theme song for the football world cup event, which will take place in South Africa next year, and oversee performances throughout the tournament.

Akon is thrilled about the offer and is working hard on his music. He revealed that he was honoured to get hired to direct the music for a big event like forthcoming football world cup.

"I've been hired as musical director for the World Cup. I will be overseeing the World Cup anthem and music at the ceremonies and I'm off to South Africa this week for meetings. I love soccer, so it's a great honour," Contactmusic quoted Akon as saying. Read more ...

Second Phase of Tickets Sales Begin

The second ticketing phase for the 2010 FIFA World Cup has started on Monday, 4 May 2009 at noon (CET, SAST). Approximately 100,000 tickets are available for this phase, excluding the two semi-finals and the final (matches 61, 62 and 64). From now on, the tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications can be made at First National Bank (FNB) branches or via the FIFA website (www.FIFA.com).

South African football fans who wish to apply at FNB branches will have to present a valid form of identification, while foreigners are required to show their passport. Those who wish to apply on behalf of friends or family will have to provide the details of these persons, including their identity numbers, names, dates of birth and nationality. Each applicant can apply for up to four tickets per match and up to seven matches in total. Ticket prices start at USD 20 (ZAR 140). You will be informed within ten working days whether or not your application has been successful (fully or partly). Read more ...

Second Phase of Tickets For FIFA 2010 WC

After a successful first phase of FIFA 2010 World Cup tickets the second (2nd) phase is going to start from 4th of May 2009. And will continue till November 2009. This phase will operate on a first come, first served basis.

Two more sales phases - a random selection followed again by a first-come-first-served phase - will follow the World Cup Final Draw, in which the 32 participating teams will be drawn into eight groups for the tournament. The first of these sales phases will run from 5 December 2009 to 22 January 2010, and the second from 9 February to 7 April 2010.

Finally, if there are still any tickets left over, these will be sold in a "last minute" sales phase running from 15 April to 11 July 2010.

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FIFA Reports Huge World Cup ticket demand

GENEVA (AFP) — FIFA said on Friday that ticket demand for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was booming but voiced caution about the impact of a prolonged economic crisis.

"There are at least 28 matches of the 64 that are sold out. The demand is huge," said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke after a meeting of the executive committee.

Some 800,000 ticket requests had been made since tickets were made available for sale online on February 20, he added. The strongest demand came from the United States and England.

Most of the stadiums in South Africa will be ready for a hand-over by June this year and the Confederations Cup.

But Cape Town's stadium will only be ready in February 2010, while Confederations Cup ticket sales were much slower, the executive committee was told.

Valcke said major World Cup sponsors showed no sign of reconsidering despite fears about the impact of corporate cost-cutting on sports sponsorship.

FIFA has so far weathered the financial turmoil due to the sale of broadcasting rights for the 2010 World Cup and marketing rights and the way its accountants played the money markets, which altogether accounted for 85 percent of its revenues last year.

The governing body reported an increase in its annual financial result in 2008 to 184 million dollars - compared to 49 million dollars the previous year.

The governing body's equity also grew for the fifth consecutive year and already exceeds its target for the end of 2010.

FIFA's stock of cash reached 902 million dollars in 2008, against 643 million dollars in 2007, according to its financial report.

But that cash stock was "particularly vital in times of crisis, and all the more so in the current financial crisis," according to the report.

Finance chief Markus Kattner voiced caution since 95 percent of FIFA's revenues over its four-year financial period - 2007 to 2010 - depend on a successful World Cup.

"The financial and economic crisis is not yet over," he commented.

Many countries are not forecasting an economic recovery until late this year or next year and unemployment is rising.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter admitted that the game was feeling the pinch even if the governing body was in a "rather comfortable situation".

"Football will also be affected and has been affected, particularly when it comes to sponsorship," Blatter said.

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