Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is going back to the drawing board after Cameroon exposed deep flaws in his experimental team with a 1-0 win on Thursday to produce the first upset of the Confederations Cup.
A spectacular 82nd-minute volley by Samuel Eto'o, pouncing on a defensive blunder that illustrated Brazil's shortcomings, brought a deserved victory for the African champions in their opening group B game.
Brazil looked uncertain from the start. Missing star players like Ronaldo and Rivaldo, it rarely showed the fluidity and flair which brought its record fifth World Cup trophy last year.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cameroon's defense, under the masterly guidance of captain Rigobert Song, easily held its adversary at bay while Eto'o and Mohamadou Idrissou, a 22-year-old striker with Germany's Hannover making just his second appearance for Cameroon, used their pace and muscle to unsettle the Brazilian backline.
"I don't doubt they deserved the win because they had a good defense and they held Brazil well," Parreira said. "We've got to look at what went wrong and change it."
Cameroon's German coach Winfried Schaefer was delighted at claiming Brazil's scalp.
"Brazil is a very great team and we admire them," he said, "but we enjoy beating them even more."
Eto'o, who plays for Spanish club Mallorca, sneaked between two Brazilian defenders hesitating over the ball and hit a first-time volley over Dida from outside the penalty area for victory.
The game turned into another dramatic defeat for Brazil at the Stade de France where it lost to the host nation in the 1998 World Cup final.
Parreira gambled on Adriano in a pairing with Ronaldinho Gaucho to cleave the opposition defense.
But neither Ronaldinho, currently a hot transfer target for FC Barcelona and Manchester United, nor the 21-year-old Parma forward could make much headway against the tactically astute Cameroon defenders.
Brazil will need to show much better form in its other two group games against Turkey and the United States if it is to advance to the semifinals.
Parreira, who guided Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title at the Rose Bowl, is using the tournament to gauge the talent he has on hand for South America's qualifying games for the 2006 World Cup, which open in three months' time.
Parreira selected only seven players from the roster that snared Brazil's record fifth World Cup championship last year. Four of the players here are making their debut on the national team.
Schaefer's Cameroon team is also a work-in-progress. He is looking to renew the side after its miserable first-round World Cup exit but Song and Manchester City's Marc-Vivien Foe provided vital know-how.
"We knew the Cameroon team would be difficult because of its experience and the quality of its players," Parreira said.
Cameroon knocked Brazil out of the 2000 Olympic Games on their way to becoming gold medal winner.
The game was a mostly disappointing encounter, full of half-chances and scrappy midfield play.
Eto'o almost got a second goal in added time but Dida dived at his feet as the African entered the penalty area. The ball skidded across the open goalmouth to groans from the majority of Cameroon fans in the 46,719 crowd.
Ronaldinho only once displayed his flair, going on a solo run in first-half added time and tapping the ball just wide of the post.
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