Ireland v. Brazil

Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 3:05 ET
Emirates Stadium, London, U.K.
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Brazil travels to London on Tuesday for what may be the national team’s last match before the World Cup. Brazil faces a nearly full Ireland squad that was controversially left out of the World Cup mix with Thierry Henry’s Diego Maradona impression back in November.

Ireland is led by talismanic forward Robbie Keane and presents a formidable matchup for the national team. They bring a squad with 17 current English Premier League players. They are solid defensively, not surprisingly as they are managed by former Italian national team boss Giovanni Trapattoni. However, they become vulnerable on the left when Kevin Kilbane, a career midfielder, gets the nod at left back. Maicon should have a huge advantage throughout the match if this is the case, and should be a key part of the Brazilian attack.

For Brazil this match only presents two opportunities. First, it will give either Michel Bastos or Gilberto another opportunity to establish themselves as the national team left back. Secondly, it is another chance for the established starters to get a run out on the pitch together. Other than this, it’s probably a challenge for both teams to be highly motivated for match when nothing other than bragging rights are on the line. When this is the case, one thing is more probable than anything else…Robinho will play like garbage.

To keep Ireland off the score sheet, Lucio and whoever pairs with him in the central defense, will have to mark well Keane and effective forward Kevin Doyle. The forwards have combined for 20 goals for their respective teams during this club campaign.

It will be interesting to see who Dunga pairs with Lucio. Luisao has played well this year, and was named player of the year for his club. Thiago Silva has been in cracking form, and can make Lucio type runs down the pitch. Some people believe than Juan has the best central defender in Serie A this year. So basically Dunga really cannot go wrong here, but I would prefer Thiago Silva above anyone else.

Ireland

Keeper: Shay Given (Manchester City), Keiren Westwood (Coventry), Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe)

Defense: Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Stephen Kelly (Fulham), Kevin Kilbane (Hull), Kevin Foley (Wolves), Sean St Ledger (Preston), Paul McShane (Hull), Marc Wilson (Portsmouth), Greg Cunningham (Manchester City)

Midfield: Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Damien Duff (Fulham), Darron Gibson (Manchester United), Glenn Whelan (Stoke), Keith Andrews (Blackburn), Stephen Hunt (Hull), Liam Lawrence (Stoke), James McCarthy (Wigan)

Forward: Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Robbie Keane (Tottenham/Celtic), Shane Long (Reading), Leon Best (Newcastle)

Brazil

Keeper: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (Roma)

Defense: Maicon (Inter Milan), Alves (Barcelona), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (Roma), Silva (AC Milan), Luisao (Benfica), Michel Bastos (Lyon), Gilberto (Cruzeiro)

Midfield: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Josue (Wolfsburg), Kleberson (Flamengo), Ramires (Benfica), Julio Baptista (Roma), Elano (Galatasaray), Kaka (Real Madrid), Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim)

Forward: Robinho (Santos), Nilmar (Villarreal), Grafite (Wolfsburg), Adriano (Flamengo)

Possible Starting XI: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Thiago Silva, Michel Bastos, Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Ramires, Kaka, Robinho, Adriano

Prediction: 1-0 Brazil