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NATAL, Brazil –– Italy must find a way to shut down Uruguay striker Luis Suarez when the teams clash at the Dunas arena on Tuesday in a World Cup showdown which will decide who goes through to the last 16.

Uruguay, semifinalists four years ago, will arrive in Natal on an almighty high after Suarez’s double strike beat England and eased the pain of their opening 3-1 loss to Costa Rica — a match their totemic striker missed as he recovered his fitness.

Italy also lost to Costa Rica by 1-0 but their opening victory over England means the four-times World Cup winners need a point from the fixture, while twice champions Uruguay must win because of their inferior goal difference.

If there was any team you would back to shackle a goalscoring phenomenon, it would probably be Italy but they will need to be at their miserly best at the back to deny Suarez and his strike partner Edinson Cavani.

“They are a very strong combination in attack,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon told reporters on Sunday.

“This is not something we’re discovering now. They’ve established their reputation as a duo for Uruguay and on their own for their clubs.”

Italy’s coach Cesare Prandelli will almost certainly have to change his team with defensive midfielder Daniele De Rossi highly unlikely to play because of a leg injury.

Praised for his positive 4-1-4-1 system after the victory over England, and then pilloried for the same tactics after the Costa Rica defeat, Prandelli might switch to a 3-5-2 formation for the Uruguay clash.

Mario Balotelli would retain his place up front with the in-form Ciro Immobile joining him in a gamble on an untested strike partnership.

“It would be a novelty, with all the benefits and risks that are associated with that,” said Buffon.

“If this choice is made, what happens on the field will tell us if it was the right decision.”

With Suarez already confirmed as fit to play by the Uruguay team doctor despite pre-tournament knee surgery, and captain Diego Lugano still an injury doubt, coach Oscar Tabarez could stick with the same lineup that beat England.

He will be looking for another energetic performance from midfielders Alvaro Gonzalez and Nicolas Lodeiro, who he brought into the side after the lacklustre display against Costa Rica.

Italy and Uruguay played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the Confederations Cup in Brazil last year with the Italians claiming a third-place play-off win by 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out.

Buffon, who saved three penalties in that shoot-out, believes how well Italy recover from their disappointing defeat by the Costa Ricans will go a long way to deciding whether the Azzurri progress.

“When you come from a defeat like that,” the 36-year-old said. “You’ve got to find the energy over the next few days to put things right.”

“When we’re facing a challenge, that’s when we respond best.”

CURITIBA, Brazil — Spain will take on Australia in its final Group B match Monday in the knowledge that defeat will officially make its defence of the World Cup the worst in history.

Following two straight defeats for both teams, neither can qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup.

But Spain in particular has something to play for, despite having already made history of the wrong kind. It is the first defending champion in modern times to be eliminated after two matches, following a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Dutch and a 2-0 loss to Chile. In 1934 Uruguay did not defend its trophy while in 1950 Italy failed to get through a three-team group despite winning a match.

On Monday, Spain will seek to avoid notching another negative milestone.

No defending champion has ever exited a tournament without securing a single point. France came closest in 2002 when it finished last in its group, having only managed to draw one of its games in its goalless campaign in South Korea.

Following a six-year period of domination which has seen it win two straight European Championships as well as the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, Spain’s woes at the World Cup have come as huge surprise.

Many of the players that took the field in the opening two games are likely to be on the bench at the Arena da Baixada in the southern city of Curitiba.

In the wake of the Dutch thrashing, coach Vicente del Bosque already rang the changes in the second match against Chile when he dropped Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique from the start. Koke, for one, is expected to play against Australia, after he replaced Xabi Alonso in the Chile game.

“We’re going to put together the best line-up for that game,” said del Bosque. “All my players are potential starters without a doubt. We’ll try to put together the best team.”

Striker Fernando Torres, who has been a part of Spain’s success in recent years, said the players want to finish with a win as the team rebuilds ahead of the 2016 European Championship in France.

“We didn’t show our strengths in the first two games and now we have the chance against Australia,” said Torres. “We’re expecting a real tough game. It’s our last chance to win a game at this World Cup and to go back to Spain with three points and show everyone we have a lot of football for the future.”

The future of the Spanish national side remains uncertain. Though the Spanish Football Federation has indicated that it wants del Bosque to remain in place during the rebuilding, it’s uncertain whether the 63-year-old coach has the inclination to carry on.

For Australia, despite its two defeats, the World Cup can be viewed in a far more positive light.

Following a lackluster loss to Chile, Australia pushed the Netherlands during its narrow 3-2 loss. Australia will be without the suspended Tim Cahill, whose 20-yard left-footed volley against the Dutch could end up being the goal of the tournament.

“We came here to play football, and as a nation I think we have earned the respect of the world,” Cahill said. “I’m proud of this team, the kids. It’s one of the best football teams I have ever been a part of.”

TERESOPOLIS, Brazil — Brazil faces what should be a relatively simple task to advance past the group stage at its home World Cup — draw or beat a Cameroon team that is playing its last match before flying home.

But in a tournament already full of surprises, Brazilian players are wary ahead of Monday’s game in Brasilia.

They believe that playing a team with nothing to lose is certainly going to prove more difficult than most people expect.

“We will be facing a team that comes without any responsibility,” Brazil defender David Luiz said. “Their players will want to show that they can do better than they did in the first two matches. A victory against the hosts would be like a title to them.”

Brazil leads Group A with four points from two games ahead of the decisive matches of the pool phase. Mexico also has four points, but it trails on goal difference. Croatia, which plays Mexico in Recife on Monday, has three. For the hosts, the permutations range from winning the group to a shock exit, depending on results.

“We know the match will be very difficult because our rival will be playing without any pressure on them,” Brazil left back Dani Alves said. “They can’t advance but they will be playing against Brazil, in Brazil, in a World Cup.”

Elimination at this stage would be unthinkable for Brazil, a team widely considered as a tournament favourite to win the title. Along with the benefit of home support, Brazil came into the finals boosted by a triumph in last year’s warm-up event, the Confederations Cup, as well as victories in 15 of its last 16 matches.

But after early exits by defending world champion Spain and England, as well as surprises by teams such as Costa Rica, which has beaten Uruguay and Italy, Brazilians know better than to take things for granted.

“Cameroon will be playing for pride,” Luiz said. “Their players are still representing their nation and they will want to leave the World Cup by beating the hosts. We know that we will be facing a team that still wants to play well.”

Cameroon began the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Mexico and a 4-0 defeat to Croatia. Brazil opened with a 3-1 win over the Croats before being held to a 0-0 draw by Mexico.

“It’s going to be another difficult match because we know Cameroon still has a team with a lot of quality,” Brazil defender Marcelo said. “We need to respect them.”

The Africans will be without defensive midfielder Alex Song, who was red-carded against Croatia, and it remains unclear if striker Samuel Eto’o, the team’s best and most experienced player, will recover from a right knee injury.

To make things worse, Cameroon’s football federation said it could still punish some of the players for a scuffle late in the match against Croatia. Benoit Assou-Ekotto head-butted teammate Benjamin Moukandjo in what the federation described as “disgraceful behavior”.

“The recent acts of violence that took place during the match against Croatia do not reflect the values of fair play and respect as promoted by our federation,” it said Friday.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will be able to count on striker Hulk, who wasn’t fully fit for the match against Mexico because of a left leg injury. But Scolari has hinted he might make more changes to the line-up after the team’s disappointing draw against the Mexicans.

Brazil has four players going into the match with a yellow card, including Neymar and captain Thiago Silva. Another yellow against Cameroon would rule them out of the round of 16, when Brazil would face either South American rival Chile or the Netherlands, its nemesis from the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

AMMAN –– Wihdat upstaged Baqaa on Friday to win the 34th Jordan Cup final. Friday’s 2-0 win over Baqaa enabled Wihdat to win the cup for the 19th time in their history. Wihdat are also this year’s titleholders of the Jordan Professional League. Rafat Ali and Amer Deeb scored for Wihdat.

PORTO ALGERE, Brazil –– Algeria scored its first World Cup goal in 28 years in its opener and will hope the offensive floodgates have opened in a crucial Group H match against a leaky South Korea on Sunday.

With dark horse Belgium sitting atop the group standings and Russia and Korea joint second after an opening 1-1 draw, Algeria will be fighting for their World Cup lives on Sunday at Porto Alegre’s Beira Rio Stadium.

Back in the World Cup for the fourth time, the “Desert Foxes” have never made it past the first round and will need a result against the Koreans if they are to extend their stay in Brazil.

The only Arab nation present at the tournament, the Algerians arrive at this gritty port city believing a place in the last 16 is within their reach after going down 2-1 to highly rated Belgium.

Confidence and mood, however, will not be as high in the South Korean camp after sloppy play in their back end cost them a victory against Russia.

After yielding 11 goals in five World Cup warm-ups, the Koreans again looked vulnerable at the back in their opener and Algeria’s coach Vahid Halilhodzic will be plotting to add to their woes.

When Sofiane Feghouli converted a spot kick to give Algeria a 1-0 lead over Belgium, the Arab nation celebrated their World Cup finals goal since 1986 and were on course for a famous upset until the Europeans struck twice in the last 20 minutes.

“We could have won,” lamented Halilhodzic. “We were heroic in the first half. At half-time I was sure we would make it. We’ve missed a major opportunity. But I don’t want to blame anyone. You can say I am the one to be blamed, as usual.

“Belgium is one of the best teams in Europe. My team gave as much as they could in the present time.”

South Korea, fourth place finishers in 2002 on home soil, also see the contest as a must-win with group favourites Belgium looming on the horizon.

“We have to defeat them to get to the Round of 16,” said Korean midfielder Koo Ja-cheol. “We’ll concentrate on doing whatever it takes to win.”

Korean coach Hong Myung-bo, the elegant sweeper who led Korea to the 2002 semifinals, will want to see a better effort defensively but is also considering his attacking options.

A team that plays with plenty of offensive flair and ambition Hong could keep Park Chu-young as his main striker against Algeria or bring in Kim Shin-wook or Lee Keun-ho, a sergeant serving in the South Korean military who earns less than $150 per month.

MANAUS, Brazil –– A wounded Portugal, still smarting from a 4-0 defeat by Germany, is fervently hoping that talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo is fit when it take on US in its second World Cup Group G game on Sunday.

The thrashing was the biggest ever loss the Portuguese have suffered at a World Cup and their misery deepened as central defender Pepe was sent off while Ronaldo struggled for form as he battled a knee injury.

The world player of the year will need to be back to his best for the clash with the Americans, who surprisingly beat Ghana 2-1 in their opening game.

Rumours about Ronaldo’s condition have been swirling across the Internet and officials were forced to deny reports that his personal doctor had advised him to quit the tournament.

A few days’ rest seem to have helped and his teammate Miguel Veloso said the player appeared to be in good shape.

“I’m not a doctor but from what I see, Ronaldo is fine,” Veloso told reporters after a training session in Campinas.

“He is training, he is jumping and he is shooting. There is not much else to say.”

Ronaldo, who was suffering from tendinosis in his left knee several weeks before the 32-nation tournament, was photographed walking out of Wednesday’s training session early with an ice pack on his left knee.

Also of concern to coach Paolo Bento is the need to find the right replacements for the suspended Pepe and injured left back Fabio Coentrao whose involvement in the tournament is over.

Goalkeeper Rui Patricio and striker Hugo Almeida were also nursing knocks but have been ruled fit to play, although the latter could be dropped for Helder Postiga after a lacklustre performance against Germany.

Inspired display 

The US will hope to reproduce the inspired display from the 2002 World Cup when they beat Portugal 3-2 in the group stage, a win which helped them advance to the last 16 at the expense of their rivals.

Coach Juergen Klinsmann, who was in charge of his native Germany when they beat Portugal 3-1 in the 2006 tournament’s third-place match, said he expected Ronaldo to fire on all cylinders in the hot and humid city of Manaus.

Klinsmann also hopes that his walking wounded recover, in particular Clint Dempsey who broke his nose after taking a boot to the face against Ghana shortly after scoring inside a minute.

“Now [Portugal] are going to come into Manaus pretty angry and I don’t know how Ronaldo is going to perform when he is angry. We need to show Portugal how good we are,” he said.

Klinsmann might ponder whether to start John Brooks, who scored the winner against the Ghanaians on his World Cup debut after coming on as a substitute for Matt Besler, while striker Aron Johansson is set to replace the injured Jozy Altidore.

“You have got to deal with injuries,” the 49-year old former international striker said. “It will happen more often in this World Cup. Players need to be ready.” 

RIO DE JANEIRO — The king is dead. The World Cup will have a new champion.

And the Netherlands look increasingly like credible pretenders for that newly vacated crown.

Just like France in 2002 and Italy in 2010, defending champion Spain is going home tail between its legs.

Chile delivered the mortal blow to an uninterrupted six-year era of dominance for Spain, the European and world champions whose dazzling footballers ran out of puff in Brazil. They were made to look vulnerable last week in losing 5-1 to the Netherlands and then simply plain ordinary in a 2-0 loss to a physical and quick Chilean side.

The Netherlands, 3-2 winners against Australia on Wednesday, and Chile are now both sure to advance to the next knockout round having won their two first matches. They will now play each other Monday to determine which of them tops Group B and avoids a possible encounter with host Brazil in the first knockout game on June 28.

In Wednesday’s evening game, Croatia ensured Cameroon won’t go further, delivering a 4-0 thumping to the African side whose injured star, Samuel Eto’o, didn’t come off the bench. This is shaping up as another tough World Cup for Africa. Only Ivory Coast has won so far — its opener, 2-1, against Japan. It plays Colombia in Group C on Thursday, with the other matches Uruguay vs. England in Group D and Japan vs. Greece in Group C.

With strikers Mario Mandzukic and Ivica Olic both scoring and midfielder Ivan Perisic getting a goal, too, Croatia presents a tough challenge for Mexico in their last Group A match next Monday. Mexico needs at least a draw to guarantee a place in the last 16. In the other Group A match, Brazil should have little difficulty against the feeble Cameroon side that was reduced to 10 men after 40 minutes against Croatia when Alex Song was shown red.

At the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, fevered Chile fans yelling “It’s over! It’s over!” taunted Spanish supporters, some of them in tears, bitterly contemplating the end of an era for one of football’s greatest ever teams. Its success — back-to-back European titles and the World Cup in 2010 — has provided succor in brutal economic times for Spaniards.

“The only happiness we’ve had in recent years has been football,” said Beatriz Corral, who came to Rio from Madrid to cheer for Spain. “Now the crisis is complete. We don’t have bread or the circus.”

Demolishing Spain last week showed the Dutch can be spectacular. Toughing out a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against Australia showed them to also be resilient and cool under pressure — vital qualities for the knockout rounds.

Arjen Robben opened the scoring for the Netherlands before Tim Cahill brought the sides level a minute later with a stunning volley, one of the best strikes so far in the tournament that has seen 60 goals in 20 games.

Mile Jedinak then converted a 54th minute penalty and Robin van Persie equalised for the Netherlands with his third goal of the tournament. A goalkeeping blunder by Maty Ryan then handed substitute Memphis Depay his first international goal, the winner for the Netherlands.

With no points from its first two games, Spain will play only for pride when it meets Australia — also winless in its first two games — in their last match Group B match.

Then it will be “adios” and a return home to the inevitable post-mortem of how a team that played like clockwork in defending its European title two years ago could fall so far, so quickly.

In Brazil, the advancing age of key players, grievous mistakes from captain Iker Casillas and others, and coach Vicente del Bosque’s failure to read the writing on the wall fatally threw the Spanish machine out of gear.

Spain’s demise was also a reminder of how difficult it is to retain the World Cup and for coaches to keep teams fresh and motivated in the four-year gap between tournaments.

Only Italy — winners in 1934 and 1938 — and Brazil — champions in 1958 and 1962 — have won back-to-back World Cups.

Del Bosque came to Brazil with a goalkeeper, Casillas, who is no longer undisputed No. 1 at his club, Real Madrid, with a midfield playmaker, Xavi Hernandez, who at 34 is passed his peak, and with a new striker, Diego Costa, who has been a major disappointment, not finding the net once.

“We have no excuses,” said del Bosque. “We were too slow, timid from the start today. It’s a sad day for all of the players. Time to think about the future.”

MANGARATIBA, Brazil — Costa Rica’s 3-1 impressive win over Uruguay was one of the biggest surprises in the opening matches of the World Cup.

It certainly got Italy’s attention.

“That alarm bell could be an advantage for us,” Azzurri midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. “It should help us enter prepared like we did against England. If they had lost 3-0 or 4-0 to Uruguay maybe we wouldn’t. But now I’m sure that won’t happen.”

Coming off an impressive 2-1 win over England, Italy faces Costa Rica on Friday at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife.

Costa Rica entered the World Cup ranked 28th and was expected to be the doormat squad in Group D alongside three former champions that have accounted for seven titles between them — four for Italy (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), two for Uruguay (1930, 1950) and one for England (1966).

“It’s a squad that surprised everyone,” De Rossi added. “Nobody expected them to beat a big team like Uruguay so handily.”

Costa Rica and Italy each have three points but the central American side tops the group on goal differential. A win for either Italy or Costa Rica would just about assure a spot in the next round.

Italy will be wary of Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell, the 21-year-old who scored one goal and set up another against Uruguay.

“I faced Campbell with Olympiakos in the Champions League and he already impressed me then,” Italy goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu said.

While Sirigu performed admirably against England, he could return to the bench with captain Gianluigi Buffon working his way back from left ankle and knee injuries.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will also probably make a change in defence, with Giorgio Chiellini moving over from left back to take over for Gabriel Peletta in the centre and Ignazio Abate coming on at fullback. In midfield, Brazilian-born Thiago Motta could replace De Rossi, who had neck pain after the England game.

The match will kick off at 1pm local time (Noon EDT/1600 GMT) and — depending on the weather — that could mean playing under a scorching sun.

“Last year we played Japan in Recife at 9pm and we were dying,” De Rossi said, recalling how the Azzurri struggled to overturn a two-goal deficit and beat Japan 4-3 in a wild Confederations Cup match. Costa Rica is “more accustomed to this climate but I think both squads would accept time outs”.

Italy was upset that time outs were not invoked during the England game in Manaus, although FIFA explained that the heat level wasn’t high enough to warrant breaks.

The Italians combatted the heat in Amazon jungle city by relying on a high-percentage passing strategy and minimal running. Expect more of the same against Costa Rica, which also boasts PSV Eindhoven forward Bryan Ruiz at playmaker.

“Their forwards are very agile and physical like England’s,” De Rossi said. “We need to play a similar match to the one we played against England. They know how to defend in one unit and they have quality up front, especially at centre forward.”

Indeed, Costa Rica conceded just seven goals in 10 matches of the final CONCACAF qualifying phase.

It’s only the second meeting between Italy and Costa Rica, with the Azzurri having won a friendly 1-0 before the 1994 World Cup. But helped by Costa Rica’s performance against Uruguay, Italy is studying its next opponent attentively.

LONDON –– Brazil failed to win for the first time in 11 games with their own lacklustre midfield as much to blame for the 0-0 draw with Mexico as the inspired goalkeeping performance of Guillermo Ochoa.

Brazil started Tuesday’s World Cup Group A match with a midfield trio of Paulinho, Luiz Gustavo and Ramires, who started on the right in place of usual starter Hulk. Oscar played slightly further forward between the midfield and attack.

But Ramires was taken off at halftime and Oscar was also substituted before the end, while Paulinho looked out of sorts and was lucky to last the whole 90 minutes in Fortaleza.

Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said he took Ramires off because “he’s an impetuous player who had a yellow card and we didn’t want him getting a red”.

But he cannot have been happy with the way defensive midfielders Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho gave the Mexican attackers far too much space.

The Mexicans let loose with shots from outside the box on several occasions and while most of them flew over they were getting into dangerous positions.

“Brazil need to mark, cut down space and not even let Mexicans think they can take the game to Brazil,” former Brazil player and TV Globo commentator Casagrande said midway through the second half.

“They’re shooting from far out. They’ve been doing this since the start but they’re doing it a lot more in the second half and they are getting a lot of space. The Mexicans are using the space well but Brazil aren’t even getting in a position to shoot.”

Scolari agreed and said he was also having trouble convincing his own players to follow suit and let fly with long-range efforts.

“Sometimes we passed instead of shooting,” Scolari told reporters. “I tell them they sometimes need to have a go, they need to believe in their shooting.”

With a solid looking defence and the attacking trio of Neymar, Fred and Hulk, who had been nursing a thigh problem, appearing set, Scolari’s dilemma ahead of the final Group A match against Cameroon in Brasilia on Monday is who to play in midfield.

Paulinho looks jaded after a disappointing first season in England with Tottenham Hotspurs and Luiz Gustavo also struggled to make an impact against the impressive Mexicans.

He may not want to risk Ramires and a second yellow that would lead to a one-match suspension but he will surely be tempted to give a run out to either Willian or Fernandinho, two players whose English Premier League form last season helped them force their way into the squad at the last minute.

RIO DE JANEIRO — England’s players felt a bit uneasy about being praised back home despite losing their World Cup opener. From now on, they know it’s the results they’ll be judged by, not the entertaining value of their games.

“I don’t want to go home early performing well but not getting results,” Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge said Monday. “It’s the results that count, it’s not about the performances and we realise that as a team as well.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean the team is ready to abandon the attack-minded philosophy employed by coach Roy Hodgson in the 2-1 loss against Italy in Manaus. Avoiding defeat against Uruguay on Thursday in Sao Paulo should keep England’s Group D hopes alive, but a victory will put the team in a more advantageous position going into the final match against Costa Rica.

“I don’t feel we need to change much,” Sturridge said. “I just feel as though maybe we need to get those little bits of luck, a little bit of a break.”

Sturridge started up front against Italy in the central position where Wayne Rooney can thrive. With Rooney on the left flank in the first half, and the right after the break, his bearing on the game was limited apart from setting up Sturridge’s goal. The failure to hit the target extended Rooney’s scoreless run at World Cups to three tournaments, and he looked stone-faced while talking on the training pitch with Hodgson on Monday.

“It could be quite frustrating at times for anyone playing out of position but that’s football and you’ve just got to deal with it,” Sturridge told a briefing at the team’s training camp at the Urca military base in Rio de Janeiro.
“I know Wayne is experienced, he can handle pretty much every situation as he has been through a lot in his career. You say he’s playing out of position but he’s played there plenty of times for Manchester United. He is accustomed to that position.”

Wherever he plays, Rooney will have a “massive impact” against Uruguay, England and Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck predicted, despite recent performances in the England shirt suggesting otherwise.

“All the forward players at England, they’ve all got the flexibility to move in and around and interchange positions,” Sturridge said. “Obviously Wayne was on the left in the first game and in the second or third game he could be in a different position.

Uruguay gun for ‘unlucky’ England

Still smarting from a shock opening defeat, Uruguay’s coach and captain said on Monday they were working on how to annul England’s speedy strikers in a “life-or-death” Group D clash.

Although last World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay ended surprisingly well beaten 3-1 by Costa Rica, many considered England hard done by in a 2-1 defeat by Italy after one of their best attacking performances under coach Roy Hodgson.

“England deserved better luck,” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez told reporters after a training session at the team’s hotel in rolling countryside outside Sete Lagaos town.

“The English attackers showed their great technical potential. They’re fast in decision making and running. We have to limit them, because they are going to repeat that offensive style against us,” he added.

Also known for their attacking prowess, Uruguay’s Tabarez declined to confirm if striker Luis Suarez would start against England. The Liverpool forward has recovered from knee cartilage surgery but is short of match fitness and practice.

“It’s a possibility he will play, I can’t say more,” said Tabarez, known as “El Maestro” or “The Teacher” at home.