SB Nation International Friendlies
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Brazil and Ghana face off on Monday in an international friendly from London, England.
It's been an eventful and physical first 45 minutes of play at Craven Cottage, with Brazil leading Ghana 1-0 at the end of the first half. Despite the fact that this is a friendly, there have been reckless challenges galore, with one player already going off injured and another getting himself sent off. Leandro Damiao's late goal is the difference between the two evenly matched teams, but with Ghana having to play the rest of the match with ten men, they're unlikely to be even much longer.
Paulo Henrique Ganso, Brazil's playmaker sustained what appeared to be a hamstring injury less than 10 minutes into the game, forcing Mano Menezes into a substitution. Elias of Sporting Lisbon took his place, and he was initially average at best. However, he came more into the game as the half went on.
In the 33rd minute, Daniel Opare committed a foul on Lucio and was shown his second yellow card, reducing Ghana to 10 men. His foul looked unintentional and was not dangerous, and referee Mike Dean probably should have used a little discretion. However, Opare was very physical for his entire time on the pitch and arguably committed other yellow card offenses that were not called.
Brazil finally found a goal just before the stroke of halftime, thanks to Leandro Damiao. He was dangerous throughout the first half, but finally found a payoff thanks to a great ball into space from the previously under-performing Fernandinho. Between Luis Fabiano's age, form and fitness, Brazil have been looking for a new No. 9 since the conclusion of the 2010 World Cup, and it looks like they might have finally found their man in the 22-year-old Internacional star.
The cool thing about international breaks is that the games get spread out a bit. On days where you assume there's no football to watch, you flip over to ESPN3 and see "Oh, Brazil and Ghana are playing!" And if you don't want to watch that, you probably just don't like footy. Here are the lineups.
Brazil lineup: Julio Cesar; Daniel Alves, Lucio, Silva, Marcelo; Lucas Leiva, Fernandinho, Ganso; Ronaldinho, Neymar, Leandro Damiao
Ghana lineup: Kwarasey; Pantsil, Opare, Jonathan Mensah, Vorsah; Agyemeng-Badu, Inkoom, D. Boateng, K. Asamoah; J. Ayew
Neither lineup is completely clear and both could take a few different shapes. However, Ghana's lineup looks like a 4-5-1 with Jordan Ayew as a lone striker and Samuel Inkoom on the wing instead of the right back position he normally plays at club level. Brazil will likely be playing a 4-3-3 variation with Ronaldinho and Neymar on either side of Leandro Damiao, while Ganso plays in front of a double pivot of Lucas Leiva and Fernandinho.
Kickoff is at 2:45 pm ET, 7:45 pm local time from Craven Cottage in London. We'll have coverage of the game here in this StoryStream, and you can watch the match on ESPN3 in the USA.
Between the 2011 Copa America and Brazil's most recent international friendly match against Germany, things are not currently going well for Brazil manager Mano Menezes. He's being given time to put together a young squad that plays attractive football, and the FA seems understanding that this might take a while. Still, things will have to pick up soon if he wants to keep his job through the 2014 World Cup. On Monday evening, Brazil should get a lighter test - but a test nonetheless - when they take on Ghana at Craven Cottage in London, England.
Ghana are without their superstar Michael Essien, but the center of their midfield is deep with physical and athletic players. There might not be another central midfielder in the squad who can pass quite as well as Essien, but they're talented in that area regardless. Against a team like Brazil, the center of the pitch is likely to be key for Ghana.
After their win against Swaziland on Friday, Ghana are all but qualified for the 2012 African Cup Of Nations. Their match against Sudan in October will determine who qualifies automatically, but their current record of 13 points from five matches should be good enough to get them through as one of the best second placed teams in qualifying.
Star striker Asamoah Gyan scored a goal in that game against Swaziland, but was substituted off at halftime with an injury. News has since come out that the injury was not serious and that the substitution was purely precautionary. Gyan should be available tonight, at least as a substitute, and will be available for Sunderland this weekend barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Brazil's team is an interesting mix of veteran stars and emerging youngsters. Neymar and Ganso from Santos are both in the team, along with Internacional striker Leandro Damiao. Porto star Hulk is also in the team, as is Ronaldinho, who has enjoyed a career resurgence with Flamengo in the Brasileiro this season.
The match kicks off at 2:45 pm ET, 7:45 pm local time and can be seen on ESPN3.com in English in the USA, as well as on ESPN Deportes in Spanish. The game is streaming on FIFA.com internationally and is on various ESPN properties throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Brazil Vs. Ghana, 2011 International Friendly: Full Time, Brazil Wins 1-0
For the first 33 minutes of the match, Brazil and Ghana entertained everyone. At that point, Daniel Opare was sent off and things got a little dicey. Leandro Damiao scored a nice goal in the 45th minute, but things were all downhill from there. What ensued in the second half was hardly flattering to either side.
Ghana proceeded to commit constant dirty fouls on Brazil, targeting Neymar in particular. A few of Brazil's players have (possibly unfair) reputations as divers, but there was no diving taking place on Monday evening at Craven Cottage. Ghana was hacking away at Brazil constantly, and it looked legitimate every time a Brazilian player went down.
At the same time, Mano Menezes' side lacked a killer instinct in the final third, outside of Damiao. Both Ronaldinho and Neymar showed off some individual skills, but neither could do much to create scoring opportunities for themselves and their teammates. Once Ganso went off with an injury and Elias was introduced, Brazil didn't play like Brazil.
Brazil walked away from Craven Cottage with a 1-0 victory, but there are probably more questions about the future job security of Menezes than there are about Goran Stevanovic.
Sep 05 5:06p by Kevin McCauley - 0 comments