I Dislike Your Favorite Team

Also admits it won't matter.

"We won't be at an ideal level," Parreira said. "But that's normal. It's impossible to begin the competition in perfect form. We have to remember the national team hasn't played since last October, in eight months. We can't make miracles."

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"We will be coming off a stage where you can lose but still advance," Parreira said. "It will require a lot of responsibility."


Of course, this may seem very presumptuous of a coach, predicting concerns about the 2nd round before the first round has even been played. But then again, Brazil ended up with Australia, Croatia and Japan, so maybe presumptuous isn't quite the right word. Common-sensical, perhaps.

Happy little fact in the story. If Brazil wins their group, which they will, and if the US manages to capture second in their group, they would play each other. Fucking awesome. Will Balboa climb down out of the commentator's box so he can just barely miss a wildly ambitious bicycle kick? We should hope for it. That's about the best thing that could happen in that match-up.