Although whoever tops the group could meet Spain in the second round,
any suggestion that either side might connive to avoid the European
champions has received short shrift."In Brazilian national football
our duty is to win every game," defender Lucio said on Wednesday. "We
play for the honor of the Brazilian shirt and the Brazilian public. We
don't pick our opponents."Brazil coach Dunga does not like to meddle
with his team but will have to replace playmaker Kaka, who is suspended
after his red card in Sunday's 3-1 win over Ivory Coast.Julio
Baptista or Dani Alves are likely to step into midfield, where another
change might be needed after Elano was on the wrong end of a dreadful
tackle on Sunday.Unlike the Brazilians, who have two wins, the
Portuguese could still mathematically be overhauled by the Ivorians for a
last 16 spot despite Monday's 7-0 drubbing of North Korea.That is
highly unlikely given the nine-goal swing that would be required for
Ivory Coast to catch Portugal assuming they beat North Korea and the
Portuguese lose to Brazil.Any thoughts of Portugal
playing for the draw that would guarantee their progress will, however,
be tempered by the memory of the 6-2 thrashing they got in their last
meeting with the five-times world champions in a 2008 friendly."It
was a big defeat for us and now have chance to beat them," Portugal
playmaker Tiago said."It's not revenge, we are two great teams in a
World Cup. Both teams want to go through and want to win the game. So
it's not revenge, just a game to play."Thrashing North Korea on
Monday transformed Portugal's World Cup prospects after an opening draw
with Ivory Coast and coach Carlos Queiroz is likely to start with the
same lineup.Deco, one of three Brazilian-born players in the
Portuguese squad, might offer Queiroz an extra option if he has
recovered from a hip injury but Tiago's fine form should secure his
place after he scored twice against the North Koreans.Another boost
in Cape Town was Cristiano Ronaldo breaking a two-year goal drought in
competitive internationals, admittedly with the rather fortunate sixth
goal, which team mate Ricardo Carvalho thinks might be significant."He
was a little bit disappointed because he wants to score in every game,"
said the defender. "It's important for him to score and for us as well
because the more confidence he gets, the better for us."
