Not quite Brazil yet

Ronaldo has a serious problem. And so will Brazil if they persist with him. Robinho was typically bright and energetic and Fred deserved the break he got for the goal.

• Brazil are improving, if slowly and by degrees. Not just in the number of goals they score per match but in their overall passing, ball skills and commitment.

• Brazil play at their best when they believe in themselves; so far in this tournament it has come when they are a goal to the good, and the pressure has been relieved, but soon the habit of winning matches will create its own momentum.

• They have serious problems in midfield and defence, however; Australia beat them for pace time after time, though things got better when Emerson was replaced by Gilberto Silva. With Cafu and Roberto Carlos near-liabilities in defence, that puts a lot of pressure on Lucio (who again had an outstanding game) and the midfield holding pair. It obviously won’t happen in this World Cup but they need new full-backs.

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• Still on speed: Brazil will win this group, and should have no problems in the next round, when they are due to face any of Italy, the USA, Ghana or the Czech Republic. They should not face too many problems with them but they are due to meet Spain in the quarters. That should be fun.

• Australia sacrificed some of their physical, bruising football to concentrate on playing the game, and they were much the better for it. Their speed and energy levels were incredible, and the tireless efforts of Kewell, Emerton and Bresciano — and Viduka, the captain, who was tracking back with every Brazil attack — deserved at least one goal.

• Had Bresciano’s wonderful overhead kick gone past Dida, it would have been the goal of the tournament (or perhaps the second-best!)

• Ronaldinho is still unable to impose himself on matches in this tournament the way he does for Barcelona but Kaka is gathering steam. His speedy runs down the right unsettled Australia’s tidy defence and his linking up with Ronaldinho, still a work in progress here, could be the key to their progress in this tournament.

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• Finally, this: If Brazil improve, Argentina, Germany and Spain continue to play like they are, this World Cup could be very good indeed.