Brazil Back in Business: Group H Gets Underway
By Peter Rutherford
(Reuters) - World Cup hosts Brazil are back in the spotlight with the chance to get one foot in the last 16 when they face Mexico in Fortaleza on Tuesday, while Group H gets underway with Belgium facing Algeria and Russia taking on South Korea.
After their thrilling 3-1 win over Croatia in the Group A opener on Thursday, Brazil will look to build on the feel good factor against Mexico though they may be without forward Hulk due to a thigh injury.
Neymar scored twice against Croatia, underlining his status as one of the most exciting young players in world football, but Brazil must be wary of Mexican forward Giovani dos Santos, who had two goals disallowed before setting up their winner in a 1-0 victory over Cameroon.
Victory for Brazil would be their 11th consecutive win and virtually assure them of a spot in the knockout stages.
In Group H, highly-rated Belgium get their campaign underway against Algeria in Belo Horizonte.
Many pundits' tip to go all the way in Brazil this year, the Belgians boast a world class squad of players plying their trade in some of European football's top clubs and will expect to make short work of the Algerians.
The other group game sees Fabio Capello's Russia take on South Korea in Cuiaba, who have endured a woeful buildup to the tournament in Brazil with four losses in five games, including a 4-0 hammering by Ghana in a friendly last week.
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