Goiania (Brazil): World Cup hosts Brazil strolled to a 4-0 win over Panama in their penultimate warm-up on Tuesday, with goals from Neymar, Daniel Alves, Hulk and Willian securing the win which barely satisfied their coach. After a tentative opening, the Selecao easily saw off limited opponents as Neymar, with his 31st international goal, set the ball rolling, rifling in a free-kick for the opener on the half hour.
Alves drove in the second five minutes before the interval and a cheeky Neymar backheel was enough to pave the way for Hulk to dispatch the third early in the second period before Willian put the icing on the cake 17 minutes from time. Luiz Felipe Scolari indicated that he saw room for further improvement. “I am still concerned. We are getting better — but we know we have a fair way to go,” indicated the man who lifted Brazil’s fifth Cup in Japan 12 years ago.
In Philadelphia, Greece and Nigeria battled to a scoreless draw Tuesday in an international friendly match that served as a World Cup warm-up for both teams. Greece had their fair share of chances, but couldn’t get past Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who made a superb double save on Georgios Samaras and Dimitris Salpingidis in the 8rd minute.
Greece had the majority of the opportunities in the first half as well, with Lazaros Christodoulopoulos firing a 30-yard rocket that just went high in the 21st minute. Early in the second half, Nigeria picked up their attack on the strength of Chelsea attacker Victor Moses, but his runs from the left wing came to nothing.
In the 90th minute, Moses belted a shot from just outside the box that went wide.
In Chicago, Bosnia boosted their confidence ahead of their first World Cup with a 1-0 friendly victory over Mexico on Tuesday that left ‘El Tri’ looking for answers. Galatasaray midfielder Izet Hajrovic scored the lone goal of the match in the 41st minute after a strong first half from Bosnia.
Senad Lulic tracked the ball down in Mexico’s area and slipped it through to Sejad Salihovic, who cut back to set Hajrovic up for the one-time finish. “It’s a good win for us,” said Bosnia and Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko.
