With a passionate crowd behind them, a savvy coach and a settled team enjoying a sparkling run of form Brazil are hot favourites to lift a record sixth World Cup this July.

After their quarter-final defeat to the Netherlands four years ago, coach Dunga was replaced by Mano Menezes who re-shaped the team and gave debuts to young, agile players such as Neymar, Oscar, Fernandinho and Paulinho.

In turn Menezes made way for old favourite Luiz Felipe Scolari in December 2012 and the man who guided Brazil to their fifth World Cup triumph in 2002 has since added both steel and guile to the undoubted flair in the squad. Crucially he rallied fans behind the team and, in just six months, turned Menezes's callow group of youngsters into one capable of great things.

The way they waltzed through the Confederations Cup last year, defeating Uruguay and Italy on the road to a 3-0 final drubbing of world champions Spain, was unforgettable and instilled a belief in the side missing for the best part of a decade.

Brazil have won eight games in a row and 14 of their last 15, and fans no longer wonder whether they can win the competition, they are expecting it. The worry, however, is whether they have peaked too early.

No team has won the World Cup after lifting the Confederations Cup a year previously. Brazil won the dress rehearsal tournament in 2005 and 2009 but a year later suffered crushing disappointment. Another pertinent question is how will they respond to the pressure of playing the World Cup at home in front of passionate fans desperate for success.

While every member of the 23-man squad has European experience few will have encountered the expectation about to be heaped on their shoulders. “It's different,” said Juninho, the former Vasco da Gama, Atletico Madrid and Middlesbrough midfielder who took home a World Cup winner's medal in 2002. “There's much more pressure. Representing your country is more important.” The only other time Brazil hosted the Cup was in 1950, and they lost out in the final to Uruguay.

Enormous pressure

That defeat scarred the nation and the enormous pressure to finally lift the trophy at the Maracana could be an issue if the team start slowly in their opener against Croatia and anxious supporters get on their backs.

So far, at least, the players do not appear overawed.

“We were unbeaten in winning the Confederations Cup, we did what Felipao asked of us in this match and I am certain we'll do a great job in the World Cup.” That confidence is not misplaced, but it must be accompanied by humility if there is to be no repeat of 2006 when, delirious with the form of the Four Rs (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos), Brazil thought the tournament would be a walk in the park. Instead they crashed out in the quarter-finals to France.

The feeling at home is the tournament is theirs to lose. A nation expects. — Reuters

men who will matter

Willian

Was a promising teenager when he went to Shakhtar Donetsk and disappeared off the radar as far as Brazil was concerned, but has belatedly staked a claim for a place in the squad. Ended a six-year stint in the east by signing for Chelsea last summer and his fine club performances have brought him back into contention.

Thiago Silva

Probably the most improved Brazil player from the squad that went to South Africa. His commanding performances for AC Milan won him a big-money transfer to PSG in 2012 and his form is such that Paolo Maldini declared him the best in the world. Will wear the captain's armband for the hosts.

Hulk

Got his name because of his powerful physique but there is more to his game than brute strength. Took time to win over the Brazil fans who knew little about him because most of his career was spent outside his homeland, but Scolari quickly saw the value of his phenomenal work rate.

SAO PAULO, June 9
The pressure to win the World Cup on home soil is enormous for Brazil but experienced coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has no qualms about shouldering the burden.

Scolari, 65, guided his country to their fifth triumph in the competition 12 years ago and has promised the fans more glory this time round.

“Every day I am more and more certain we are going to win the World Cup,” he told an audience in the capital Brasilia in February.

“I know we must respect other teams but generally speaking we are better.” Felipao, as he is known in Brazil, moved back into the hot seat in December 2012 after an interesting world tour of his own on which he coached Portugal for five years as well as having stints with Chelsea in England and Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan.

He returned to Brazil for a second spell with Palmeiras before taking over the national team again with the aim of transforming a group of highly promising youngsters into a more coherent unit, and to win back support from the country's demanding fans.

He has managed both with the consummate ease of a coach who has been there, done that and worn the tee-shirt.

The coach has unified the team and has his players performing for each other. It is reminiscent of the 'Familia Scolari' approach he adopted in 2002. “I think Felipao is the right man at the right time,” said former Middlesbrough playmaker Juninho, who was a member of the squad that won in Japan 12 years ago.

“He cares about what goes on off the pitch, how players behave, if they give their all, if they support their colleagues when they're on the bench. — Reuters

stadium delays force fans to switch tickets

More than 1,000 fans planning to attend World Cup matches in Brazil have been forced to switch seats after stadium building delays and changes to signage compelled a reconfigurement of some seating plans, local organisers said on Saturday. Emails were sent to 1,376 fans telling them to exchange their tickets for others of the same category but in a different section of several of the 12 tournament stadiums. The substitutions were forced upon organisers by the delay in completing the stadiums, a problem that has dogged preparations for several years and continues to do so less than a week before the opening match between Brazil and Croatia in Sao Paulo next Thursday.

Milan fire coach Seedorf, replace him with Inzaghi

AC Milan fired coach Clarence Seedorf on Monday after less than five months in charge and replaced him with youth team boss Filippo Inzaghi, a move that had been on hold for two weeks. "AC Milan have dismissed coach Clarence Seedorf and handed over the first team to Filippo Inzaghi until June 30, 2016," the Serie A club and seven-times European champions said in a statement. Former Netherlands midfielder Seedorf, who had no previous coaching experience and spent 10 years of his playing career at Milan, quickly fell out of favour despite overseeing a significant improvement in results. — Agencies

New Delhi, June 9
India qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in the coming decades is not even a dream — it's a wild fantasy. A country in which cricket is a religion is anonymous in the world of football.

It's not that Indian football does not have a World Cup history. India did qualify for the World Cup in 1950, withdrew from the event due to a variety of reasons, including not understanding the importance of the tournament. Sixty-four years on, the big question that's unanswered is — When will the world’s second largest populated country make it to the World Cup?

A recent study by Goldman Sachs revealed that India, along with China, is unlikely to participate in a World Cup final in the next 20 years. The report cited poor infrastructure, competition from cricket, weak administration and lack of training as reasons for dismal state of football in India.

A grim scenario — India is at No. 147 out of 207 countries in the latest FIFA world ranking, and 28th in the Asian rankings.

Much smaller countries such as Senegal, Botswana, Ghana, Rwanda, Gambia and Haiti are ranked much higher than India.

Indian captain Sunil Chhetri spelt out the way forward to wake up the “sleeping giant”, as India was described by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

“Last edition, there were five teams who played the World Cup from Australasia, even North Korea was there. This year, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Iran are playing. Generally 4-5 teams from Asia play the World Cup. So, if you want a chance in the last 4-5, you have to come in the first 10 of the Asian region. Realistically, if we keep playing friendlies, India can crack into top-20 in Asia,” Chhetri said.

“From 20 to get into the top-10 is a tough job, but once you come near the top-10 in Asia, then you have a chance of being in the first five. That’s what we should think about. For us, we need to be at par with teams like Qatar, Uzbekistan, Yemen and the UAE. You need to come closer to these nations in terms of competition. When you come at par with these teams, then you start thinking of top tier teams in Asia which are Japan and South Korea,” added Chettri, who was in the capital to launch the “What's UP Germany”, a football e-magazine by the German Embassy here.

“The federation, fans, corporate houses...everyone has to give their best to improve the Indian football. We need more support to improve as a football nation,” he added.

BRASILIA, June 9
Anti-World Cup protests are not the only problem Brazilian security authorities will face during the soccer tournament. They are also bracing for an invasion of Argentine hooligans.

The soccer fan clubs called “barras bravas” in neighboring Argentina are notoriously violent and Brazilian police are taking no chances.

Brazil plans to beef up security in and outside stadiums where arch rival Argentina will play, deploy undercover cops and bring in Argentine police officers to spot troublemakers, police officials in some host cities said.

“I don't care what they call these people. Brazilian police will be tough in responding to anyone who comes here to commit crimes,” said Andrei Rodrigues, Brazil's security chief for the World Cup.

More than 50,000 Argentine fans are expected to come for the World Cup. Although deadly incidents are rare at World Cups, Argentine barras bravas have a history of violence, from stabbing English fans in Mexico in 1986 to fighting each other during the last tournament in South Africa four years ago. Like fans from all over, many Argentines were unable to secure tickets to World Cup games and will be milling around outside the stadiums. That could spell trouble if the barras bravas run into local fan groups, or “torcidas,” which are blamed for growing violence plaguing Brazilian soccer.— Reuters

The hague, June 9
An explosive start by the world No. 1 and reigning champions Australia cemented their position as pool A winners as they cracked in four goals to defeat India 4-0.

But Australia coach Ric Charlesworth was concerned to see his captain Mark Knowles leave the field on a stretcher following a neck injury sustained in a collision with SV Sunil.

The defeat for India means Terry Walsh’s men finished fifth in the pool — Spain beat Malaysia 5-2 later in the day to take fourth position – and they will face either Korea or South Africa for 9th/10th place.

Australia opened their account in the third minute of the game with Kieran Govers scoring from open play.

Another worry for Australia was the early exit from play by Jamie Dwyer, who also sustained a slight injury.

In the 12th minute PR Sreejesh pulled off a great save as Matt Gohdes unleashed a fearsome shot, but even he was unable to stop the pin point precision of Chris Ciriello (16’) who made it 2-0 from a low drag-flick.

A run up field by Mandeep Singh was overturned and the ensuing penalty corner was turned to 3-0 by Jeremy Hayward (20’). Two minutes later, Ciriello scored his second of the match, another drag-flick that lodged in the bottom corner of the goal.

The second half was a much more subdued affair. Charlesworth explained that with three members of the squad on the bench with injuries, there were less players to rotate.

Walsh said: “Just because we didn’t concede in the second half that doesn’t mean that we were significantly better in that half — the heat had just gone out of the game.” — Agencies

TODAY’S MATCHES

• Argentina vs SA (2 pm)
• Germany vs Korea (4.30 pm)
• New Zealand vs Netherlands (11.15 pm)

Paris, June 9
After his amazing ninth title win in the French Open, Rafael Nadal declared — in sometimes imperfect language — that the most important thing for him is to fight hard to win and find solutions to the problems he’s facing on the day.

Excerpts:

Are we going to change the name of Roland Garros to Nadal Garros?

Well, thank you very much. The name is very nice, Roland Garros, so... (Laughter.) Don’t need to change nothing.

Today you played 43 winners; one more than Djokovic. Played many forehand on his forehand down the line. You always play much more on the backhand?

I know to play against him I need to play to my limit, I need to play aggressive. To play aggressive and to play that shots, you need to be with confidence, you need to feel the ball. Sometimes you don’t have that great feeling. It’s more difficult to produce these kind of shots, no? The match start very equal, but I felt that the match was more in his hands at the beginning. I was winning more points from his mistakes than from my winners, and I need to change that. I think in the second set that the dynamic of the match changed. I was able to play more aggressive. I did better things.

You’re the first person to win five in a row at Roland Garros. You equal Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slam victories. How important would you rate this victory?

I think I always said the same, that I don’t like the comparisons. For me, the most important thing is win Roland Garros. We will see when we finish my career how many Grand Slams I have. But the most important thing today is I won the most important tournament of the world in clay, probably the most important tournament of the year for me.

Talk about your ability to solve problems on court, your mental strength. Is that one of your strongest qualities?

I don’t know. I think everybody who is able to do what we are doing, you know, is because we are able to find solutions. But most important thing is not the solutions. You find solution because you really want to do it, because you really want to fight, you really want to find it, you play with the right motivation all the time. — Agencies

Montreal, June 9
Australian Daniel Ricciardo celebrated his first Formula One victory on Sunday in a Canadian Grand Prix that put Red Bull back on top of the podium and dealt Mercedes a first defeat of the season.

An afternoon of high drama ended behind the safety car after Brazilian Felipe Massa’s Williams smashed into the back of Sergio Perez’s Force India as they entered the final lap.

Ahead of them, Ricciardo cruised to the chequered flag with championship leader Nico Rosberg second for Mercedes after starting on pole position in what turned out to be a thriller in Montreal.

Last year’s winner Sebastian Vettel, the quadruple world champion, was third for Red Bull. “I’m still a bit in shock,” beamed Ricciardo from the podium, where he was interviewed by 1995 Canadian GP winner Jean Alesi. “It’s an amazing feeling right now.” Rosberg still stretched his lead to 22 points after team mate Lewis Hamilton, his closest rival, retired with a rear brake problem. — Reuters

Kingston, June 9
Kane Williamson’s sixth Test hundred and a battling 83 by opener Tom Latham put New Zealand in control at 240 for two at stumps on day one of the first Test against the West Indies on Sunday.

Justifying captain Brendon McCullum’s decision to bat first on a pitch devoid of grass, Williamson, who resumes Monday on 105 in partnership with former skipper Ross Taylor (34 not out), put on 165 for the second wicket with Latham.

It came at the expense of a revamped West Indies bowling attack from the one that featured in the Caribbean side’s last Test six months ago against the same opponents. Fast bowler Jerome Taylor impressed on his return after a four-and-a-half year absence through a series of injuries, taking the early wicket of Peter Fulton.

Brief scores: New Zealand 255/2 (Williamson 109*, Latham 83). — Agencies

BRIEFLY

Thulasi, Akshay-Pradnya win titles in Sri Lanka Open
New Delhi: Young shuttler P C Thulasi and the mixed doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Pradnya Gadre made it a double delight for India in the Sri Lanka Open by winning the titles in Colombo. Sixth seed Thulasi came back from a game down to edge out Singapore’s Jiayuan Chen, seeded fourth, 17-21 21-15 21-18. Fourth seeded combo of Akshay and Pradnya prevailed over the Malaysian pair of Vountus Indra Mawan and Prajakta Sawant 21-16 21-18 to clinch the mixed doubles title. Anand Pawar failed to tide over Korea’s Hyun Lee, losing 21-17 10-21 15-21 in the men’s final.

Indian women spank Malaysia 5-0 in first match
Kuala Lumpur: Forward Rani struck twice as the Indian women’s hockey team thrashed Malaysia 5-0 in their opening match of the six-Test series, here today. The series against Malaysia is part of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games 2014. Rani (19 min and 50 min), Ritu Rani (27 min), Gurjit Kaur (42 min) and Ritusha Arya (67 min) were the goal-scorers for India. — Agencies