Dunga expects more troubles in World Cup qualifying

Brazil coach Dunga fears the rest of his team’s South American World Cup Qualifying campaign, following Sunday’s extremely hard-fought draw with Ecuador.

“We would like to get it over with but in the past, the World Cup qualifiers, with the exception of 2006, have shown us that it usually goes to the wire,” Dunga said at a press conference following the match.

“The tournament is point for point, with the teams very close to each other, until the end, so we have to concentrate hard and win at home.”

The 1994 World Cup winner added that altitude was to blame for Brazil’s lacklustre performance versus Ecuador: “The ball is different, the speed is different. This makes it different. Brazil’s strong point is our control of the ball and passing becomes more difficult. Every team which plays at altitude tries to slow the rhythm of the game. People aren’t aware of the difficulties.”

After 11 games, Brazil are in fourth place in a group of ten. Next Thursday, the Selecao host Peru in Porto Alegre.