Amazingly, they still can win it

The Brazilian Under-20 team has not been playing well at the Fifa U-20 World Cup in Canada this month. Still, it has managed to advance to the second round with a 1-2 record, after losses to Poland (0-1) and the US (1-2) and a tight win over the South Koreans (3-2). After avoiding an embarrassing early elimination, the team can still recover and win the entire thing, if it manages to play better in the elimination rounds. After all, Brazil was the worst of the 16 teams that still stand after three matches were played. It's going to be a tough task if the round robin stage is any indication, but the youngsters will give their best. Their next opponent will be Spain, on Wednesday.

Flamengo vows not to play in high altitudes again

After a heroic 2-2 tie against Real Potosi in Bolivia on Wednesday, Flamengo vowed never to play another game in high altitudes again. Playing at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level, Flamengo had trouble keeping up with the locals during its debut at the 2007 Copa Libertadores. However, despite falling behind 2-0, the team was able to come back and tie the game 2-2 in the second half.

On Thursday, the team released an official statement where it highlighted the heroics of the match, but at the same time criticized the tournament officials for allowing a game to be played in such a high altitude. "We will officially let the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, as well as the South American Confederation and FIFA, that we will no longer show up for matches scheduled to be played in altitudes above those recommended by sports medical professionals," says the note. According to the club, "playing sports in conditions that are not approved by sports medicine turns physical effort into a barbarian act, which degrades human condition and puts the athletes life in risk. Allowing matches to be played in these conditions is the same as letting doping to be used in the sport." The team will play again for the Libertadores next week, at home against Maracaibo from Venezuela.

The other Brazilian team to play yesterday in the Libertadores Cup was current runner-up and 2005 winner Sao Paulo, which went to Santiago in Chile and was held to a scoreless draw by Audax Italiano. On Thursday, Parana travels to Venezuela to play Maracaibo, while Gremio Porto Alegre faces Cerro Porteno in Asuncion, Paraguay. Internacional and Santos, the other Brazilian teams in the Libertadores, play their first game of the group stage next week.