20 June,2010 08:29 AM IST | | Agencies
Brazil striker Robinho believes the playmaker has all the ingredients to cook up a victory against Ivory Coast tonight Time to Shine: Kaka
JOHANNESBURG: Manchester City striker Robinho is convinced Brazil's hopes of landing a sixth World Cup rest on Kaka's shoulders.
The Santos loan star stole the plaudits during Tuesday's 2-1 victory against North Korea and ran away with the man of the match honours.
Kaka was left in the shadows, with his performance coming on the back of a season punctuated by fitness and form worries after his ufffd56 million move to Real Madrid struggled to bring the expected returns.
But Robinho insisted Kaka is still the main man for the Selecao.
"When Kaka plays well he can decide any game. He is very important to us," Robinho noted.
"I realise that we can all improve in the coming games. It was only the first one and what happened was fairly normal.
"The Selecao has excellent players and if we have to replace anyone we are reassured by the quality we have."
It certainly wasn't as many pundits predicted, but Brazil got their World Cup off to a winning start against North Korea last week.
The Selecao were faced by an unknown quantity in their opening match, but Cote d'Ivoire provide Dunga's men with an altogether more familiar foe in the second of Brazil's 'Group of Death' encounters.
There is little samba beat about this Brazil side, which has been partly chiselled in the image of their coach. Dunga, a World Cup winning captain, was not a player who showed great flair.
The holding midfielder in the 1994 team of world champions, the 46-year-old is a player to value industry and effectiveness on a par with intuition and entertainment.
Battles to watch out for...
Didier Drogba vs Lucio
The Ivorians will welcome their main marksman Drogba back into the starting lineup. Drogba will be like a hungry lion on the pitch having being forced to be relegated to the bench in the first match. Lucio, the Bayern Munich man, is as tough a defender as they come but he won't fancy taking on Drogba in this mood. Expect fireworks.
Kaka vs Yaya Toure
Coach Dunga has shown tremendous confidence in playmaker Kaka but the Real Madrid man was disappointing in the first match against North Korea. Yaya Toure has enough experience of playing against the Brazilian from his days in Barcelona. This duel will possibly decide which way the balance of the match swings.
