CAMPANA, Argentina // Brazil were a minute away from losing their Copa America group stage meeting with Paraguay before managing to salvage a draw.
Alexandre Pato, the striker, said Mano Menezes's side must learn from their mistake tonight at La Plata, with Brazil having been drawn to meet Paraguay again in the quarter-finals.
Menezes spent part of Friday getting his reserve squad to mimic as near as possible Paraguay's style of play in training.
However, after the Brazilians finally "woke up", as their media put it, in beating Ecuador to win Group B, they must start favourites with the in-demand Santos striker Neymar and Pato, from AC Milan, in their ranks.
Both scored twice against Ecuador, although Menezes will be aware that the Paraguayans are unlikely to allow them as much space coming forward.
Pato said that Brazil must be ready from the first whistle, unlike last week, when Fred's last-gasp effort saved a 2-2 draw.
"It will be a tough game and different from the last one in that this time there is no margin for error," said Pato. "But we're confident we can win it."
Given the form of Neymar and Pato, the firepower issue is set to tip the balance away from the Paraguayans, particularly with Roque Santa Cruz, who netted in the group match, doubtful through injury after going off in the 3-3 thriller with Venezuela.
"We are hopeful," Gerardo Martino, the Paraguay coach, said of Santa Cruz's chances. "We will give it another day and wait on the results of tests."
Santa Cruz, the Manchester City forward who needs one more goal to become his country's all-time top scorer with 26, had to go off shortly before half time against Venezuela after straining a leg muscle and was replaced by Nelson Valdez.
Martino, who is due to step down after the tournament, is confident that his side has a good chance of reaching the last four as they look to secure a first Copa title since 1979.
"We traditionally do well against the stronger teams," he said, adding that he believes Ganso, not Neymar, is Brazil's most dangerous player. "It is very important that we don't give him any space," Martino said.
While Paraguay fret over Santa Cruz, Brazil's injury concern is the defender Thiago Silva, who has a similar problem and had a session with the physio rather than take part in training on Friday.
If the AC Milan player does not recover his place will go to Benfica's Luisao or the less-experienced David Luiz, of Chelsea.
Maicon, Brazil's right-back, has warned his teammates that they have to keep on improving, having shown only flashes of their true talents in the final group game after two earlier draws.
"We know that we cannot just turn up and expect to win games because we are Brazil," he said. "We will only get the results we want if we are at our very best."
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The five pillars of Islam
Company%20profile
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Plata O Plomo, Carlos Lopez, Susanne Berneklint.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
