Brazil and Italy look to shine

Having got over their opening-game nerves, tournament contenders
Italy and Brazil will both be looking to make a statement of intent with
handsome victories on Sunday. The two sides boast a total of nine FIFA
World Cup

triumphs between them and will take on respective opponents
New Zealand and Côte d'Ivoire hoping to raise the quality of their play
another notch.
Five-time champions Brazil find themselves in the tightest-looking
section of all in Group G, but after edging their way past a tenacious
Korea DPR team they will be keen to slip into a more fluid gear.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's Côte d'Ivoire are unlikely to let them have it all
their own way, however, as they seek their first goals following an
opening stalemate with Portugal. In Group F, all four teams are locked
together on a point apiece, meaning Italy have little option but to
deliver a victory. They look well-equipped to see off New Zealand in
Nelspruit, but so too did Slovakia before the All Whites struck late on
to clinch their first ever FIFA World Cup finals point. Vladimir Weiss's
Slovakians will look to recover from that setback in their high-stakes
meeting with a Paraguay side noted for their defensive solidity and
fearsome counter-attacking credentials.
The matches
Slovakia-Paraguay, Group F,
Mangaung/Bloemfontein, 13.30
Italy-New Zealand, Group F, Nelspruit,
16.00
Brazil-Côte d'Ivoire, Group G, Johannesburg (Soccer City),
20.30
The big game
Brazil-Côte d'Ivoire
Frustrated for the opening 55 minutes of their opening encounter,
Brazil spared their blushes with a pair of finely worked goals in the
hard-fought 2-1 win over Korea DPR. If fans of O jogo bonito
('The beautiful game') were a little frustrated by the display, despite
the best efforts of a lively Robinho, Dunga's charges still got the
result they wanted and will next line up against an Ivorian side who
gave Portugal a difficult afternoon. With so many gifted individuals
peppered through the ranks of both teams, anything could happen at
Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg – even if most eyes will be trained
on Kaka and Didier Drogba, the former desperate to impress after an
under-par showing against the north Koreans and the latter still wearing
a cast on his arm.
In focus
Federico Marchetti (ITA) v Mark
Paston (NZL)
While Marchetti came into the tournament anticipating a stint on the
bench behind Italy's first-choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Paston
travelled to South Africa doubtless expecting a difficult time up
against the assorted marksmen in Group F. Events have moved in a
different direction with Cagliari custodian Marchetti due to fill in for
his injured colleague and New Zealand's No1 having put in a superb
display against Slovakia. Paston may well be the busier man on Sunday
but Marchetti will be desperate to make a good impression too.
What they said
"Sven Goran Eriksson has urged us
to play as a team and not just for ourselves. He's changed the mentality
of the side and everyone in it. We've always had good players but we've
never been able to play as a coherent unit and attack and defend
together,” Kolo Toure, Côte d'Ivoire defender.