Hello and welcome to our live updates between Brazil and Ivory Coast. Potentially the best match of the World Cup group stages so far as "The Elephants" and "The Samba Boys" come head to head at the Soccer City stadium.
All the pre-match talk has been about the injury situation of Didier Drogba. The good news for Ivory Coast is that Drogba is fit enough and has been handed a start by Sven-Goran Eriksson as "The Elephants" go in search of their first victory of the 2010 World Cup.
Brazil, meanwhile, has had some problems as well. The form and fitness of Kaka was worth a debate or two amongst the world media and back home in Rio De Janeiro but the Real Madrid man gets a start again. The two goal-scorers from the North Korea game - Elano and Maicon - also start as Brazil look to seal qualification to the knockouts ahead of their mouthwatering encounter against Portugal.
The detailed team news:-
Brazil Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos, Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Elano, Kaka,Robinho, Luis Fabiano.
Ivory Coast Boubacar Barry, Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Guy Demel, Siaka Tiene, Didier Zokora, Yaya Toure, Cheik Tiote, Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba, Aruna Dindane.
Just to shift your attentions a little bit. The French football world has turned on its axis and is now suspended in thin air. Nobody really knows what is happening there. Yesterday Nicolas Anelka was sent home for hurling expletives at coach Raymond Domenech. Today, >the players - in support of Anelka - refused to train.
A penny for the thoughts of Republic of Ireland and Thierry Henry - who was a peripheral substitute against Mexico and an unused one against Uruguay - would not do to bad in the stock market, methinks.
The Italians, the defending champions of the World Cup, did not cover themselves in glory either. >In what was probably viewed as three-point banker by everyone - fans, punters and players alike - they came up a cropper against a very spirited New Zealand side who came away with a share of the spoils.
Is this the World Cup of the minnows? Switzerland has created the upset of the tournament so far but New Zealand, with their latest great act, is not far behind.
It just goes to show that France and Italy, sans Zinedine Zidane and Francesco Totti, who were the stars for the respective teams in the last World Cup, have struggled to replace them.
Back on track after dilly-dallying on the fortunes (or the lack of it) of France and Italy.
We are about twenty minutes from kick-off. The world's most famous football team up against the rising upstarts of African football.
Some more on the Ivory Coast team news. Gervinho, who drops to the bench to accommodate the incoming Drogba, was arguably their most impressive player against the Portuguese but Sven has gone for the strength of Dindane.
Just 15 minute odd minutes from kick-off.
It has the potential to be a cracker. But it could also be a damp squib if Ivory Coast look to park the bus looking to go away with a point.
The teams are coming out of the tunnel. We are minutes before kick-off.
Rise, for the national anthems.
The anthems have been sung. "The Elephants" form a huddle and er... don't really know what they are talking. But who really cares... Ivory Coast has kicked-off. And they will be playing from left to right.
1st minute With Brazil breaking quickly from an Ivory Coast free-kick, Robinho - who has two passing options - decides to try a 40-metre piledriver. But it goes over. He should have gone for the simple option rather than trying to become an instant hero.
4th minute Ivory Coast has a second free-kick in these opening minutes but waste it. With Drogba back at the helm, they should be using these better.
6th minute A quick pass trying to release Drogba does work and Cesar pouches it.
9th minute Ivory Coast has the ball for a sustained period for the first time before Tiote, from the left, tries to find Drogba. But it is nowhere near the hitman. A lot of those aimless balls might be fired in today.
Some more on the Ivory Coast team news. Gervinho, who drops to the bench to accommodate the incoming Drogba, was arguably their most impressive player against the Portuguese but Sven has gone for the strength of Dindane.
12th minute A scene which could have happened at Arsenal's training complex ground couple of years back. Eboue wins a free-kick of GIlberto. The free-kick, taken by Drogba, goes wide.
15th minute Another free-kick for the Ivorians, this time from the right. Flighted in Eboue, it did cause some alarm before Cesar clears it.
Both teams not able to keep the errors out of their passing. Ivory Coast has had a couple of sighters from long-range free-kicks. Brazil has not really strung anything of note to cause alarm to Barry after Robinho's effort.
18th minute Maicon wins a corner while trying to wriggle free in the right.
19th minute The corner is never really cleared and GIlberto tries his luck from the lose ball but it is blocked. The rebound, taken by Robinho, flies over the bar.
21st minute Brazil has a second corner in quick succession. But Barry is confident and pockets it with ease.
23rd minute Maicon, in an advanced position, tries to release Fabiano but Kolo Toure marshalls the ball out of play.
25th minute Brazil 1-0 Ivory Coast. Kaka and Robinho combine delightfully before the former's pass finds Fabiano free of the last man. With the angle just against him, he lashes in an effort from well inside the penalty box which slams into the roof of the net. Emphatic finish. Fabiano played a great little back-heeler to Kaka before Kaka set him up.
More attacking intent from Brazil. Ivory Coast needs to hang in there and should not concede anymore if they have aspirations to get anything out of this game.
31st minute Tiene goes into the book for a challenge.
Lots of possession in the last 10 minutes for Brazil.
37th minute Demel puts in a cross from the right but it goes to straight to Cesar.
38th minute Frenetic activity. A cross from the right frinds Dindane whose first-time shot from just outside the six-yard box is blocked. At other end, Brazil break forward in numbers but they can't make a telling final pass. Dinadane has an other effort, this time a long-ranger, but Cesar holds it.
41st minute Eboue sees a yard of space and shoots but it takes a deflection and goes behind for a corner, or it should have been. The referee orders a goal-kick.
45th minute A promising build-up breaks down as Kaka's cross into the six-yard box is cushioned down by an Ivory Coast defender for Barry.
The whistle blows for half-time.
Brazil will be happy that they have managed to get their underperforming stars Fabiano and Kaka to combine for a lovely opening goal.
Drogba has been lost, it's like he has been on a different part of the pitch which has remained inaccessible to the rest of his team-mates for the best part of the opening 45 minutes. Sven will have to change that immediately if Ivory Coast has get back into the encounter.
Join me in about five minutes for all the second-half action.
Welcome back folks. Been a first-half were boththe teams couldn't manage to keep the errors out of their game. Drogba looked a like a lost child while the Brazilians have not really managed to saunter and swagger from mid-field.
Sven knows that he needs to get at least a point here if the Elephants are to have some realistic chances of qualifying to the round of 16. Will he freshen it up by bringing on someone like a Gervinho? Will the Samba Boys sit back knowing that they can play on the counter and finish the game?
All the answers coming up.
The teams have kicked-off for the second-half.
More possession football in the early minutes from Brazil.
50th minute Brazil 2-0 Ivory Coast. Joga Bonito from Brazil. Luis Fabiano does keepy-uppy of the football and beats three defenders before putting in a left-footed effort past Barry. Doubts about whether he handled the ball during his keepy-uppy. He won't care. Brazil won't care. Not exactly keepy-uppy as he allowed the ball to bounce a couple of times but still a very technical goal. He flicked the ball over two defenders and not three. Apologies for that. But the question lingers: Did he handle?
54th minute That's the closest they have come to scoring a goal today. Drogba has a glorious opportunity to beat the keeper from six-yards but his header goes wide. The cross was supplied by Dindane
Gervinho replaces Dindane.
59th minute Gervinho is lively. He plays a cute pass before going for the return but is marshalled away from the return quite expertly. That was lively movement from the substitute.
62nd minute Brazil 3-0 Ivory Coast. Moments after Kaka had an opportunity to make it three, Elano makes it three. The protagonist of the earlier attempt, Kaka, makes a great run down the left before cutting back from the left byline. The cross, brilliantly put across the six-yard box, has a "put me in the back of the net please plea" written all over it and Elano does not disappoint who slides it past Barry.
The goal-scorer of the third goal, Elano, is writhing around in pain and he is stretchered off.
Keita comes on for Kalou.
69th minute Eboue tries to get on the end of an overhit pass but Cesar beats him to it.
70th minute Maicon wants to get in here. He crashes in an effort from about 20-yards but it goes wide, missing Barry's left hand post by a good couple of inches.
71st minute Drogba and Lucio tangle before the latter pushes the ball behind for a corner. Those two have not had any coming together's tonight - which also explains why the scoreline reads 3-0.
72nd minute Romaric, who has just come on for Eboue, stings the hands of Cesar with a cracking effort from 30-yards.
75th minute Daniel Alves, who replaced the injured Elano, has an effort saved by Barry.
79th minute Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast - Drogba pulls one back. Gervinho is on a one-man counter attack and as he sprints almost the length of the pitch he runs into a cul de sac at the end of the Brazil penalty box and passes it to Toure down the left, who's just at the start of the attacking third. Toure plays an inch-perfect cross to Drogba who makes a move - which no one picks up - and steers the ball with his head into the net. Consolation or Inspiration, only time will tell. The Brazilian defenders expect the flag to be up but Drogba was onside.
Flurry of tackles and heated-exchanges. Kaka gets a booking. Meanehile, Fabiano is also tackled and Dunga is not happy.
87th minute An accident waiting to happen has erupted. Kieta pushes against Kaka, who pushes back with a tap in his ribs. Exaggerated theatrics ensue, Kieta goes down. It's handbags all over the place. Kaka, already on a yellow, sees his second yellow of the night and is off.
Keita, if more than anything, did run into Kaka and fell down in a heap clutching his face. Kaka is bemused but the referee's decision stands.
Stoppage Time: Three minutes
90+1 Keita does not give-up on a lost cause and chases and puts in a decent pass from the right byline. But Cesar gets a palm on it and the second-ball does not fall to an Ivorian.
Robinho is replaced by Ramires.
90+4 Alves has the final chance of a game, a free-kick from 30-yards out, but he hits it straight to the keeper.
The final whistle blows at the end of what has been a very good contest but the last 10 minutes were a bit over the top completely ruining the game.
Fabiano inspired a Brazil side lacking the firepower up front with two good goals. Kaka set up Elano for the third with a sublime pass. Ivory Coast hauled themselves back into the encounter, albeit belatedly, through a Drogba header.
It was here that the match got nasty. Handbags and tackles were flying everywhere. Kaka got sent-off because of the theatrics of Keita. It was a just coming together - more like Keita into Kaka - but Keita went down like he had been shot. The referee, possibly with the help of the fourth official, doled out a yellow, Kaka's second.
It was just sad that a good game of football has been spoilt because of some farcical display of gamesmanship at the end of it all. Brazil's victory will be tempered because of the sending-off.
Brazil has now qualified for the round of 16.
Ivory Coast's fate now lies with Portugal, which takes on North Korea today from 17:00 IST. My colleague Raoul Roy will be bringing the live updates for that. Do join in for that. I have enjoyed bringing live updates to you. Good night and sleep tight.
