*matches in all competitions

Egypt last 5 matches: 

Egypt last 3 home matches: 

Brazil last 5 matches: 

Brazil last 3 away matches: 

FIFA World rank positions: Egypt - 29, Brazil - 5

Top friendly match on Monday with football giants Brazil taking on Egypt in a match that will be hosted by Qatar.

Although considered a home match for Egypt, this game will not be played in their country but to their advantage it will only be a short trip to Quatar, whilst Brazil will fly in from their latest encounter in Congo.

Egypt, clearly the underdogs in this one as their campaign in the African Cup of nations has landed them on the last spot of Group 7 in the qualifying round, leaving them out of the final stage of the competition, a real shock when considering they where one of the candidates for the trophy.

Brazil continuing their friendly world tour, managing no less than 4 straight victories in last games, starting with their big rivals Argentina and finishing last week with a 0-2 victory against Gabon.

The fact that this match will be so far from home should not affect them that much and especially against a struggling opponent, Brazil will most likely dominate from start to finish.

My pick:  Brazil to win ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Brazil last 5 matches:  

Brazil last 3 home matches:    

Ghana last 5 matches:

Ghana last 3 away matches:   

Brazil world ranking: 6

Ghana world ranking: 36

Friendly match on Monday with Brazil’s superstars welcoming Ghana, a match in which Brazil is considered as host but is to be played in London.

Certainly the fixture that will grab the attention as it’s the most important of the day, the second friendly for Brazil after the disastrous run in the Copa America.

Brazil lost against Germany last month in a spectacular 3-2 game and pressure is mounting on the team as fans are not used to these results. An important thing to watch for will be Ronaldinho’s return to the national side after 10 months.

Ghana in a slightly better shape that their opponents as they are already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations with one match remaining to be played in Group 9 of the preliminaries.

M. Essien will be their biggest player to miss out on this match due to an injury and this could have a great impact on their midfield play.

My tip:  Brazil to win ( over 2.5 goals )

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*matches in all competitions

Italy last 5 matches:  

Italy last 3 home matches:    

Spain last 5 matches:

Spain last 3 away matches:   

Italy FIFA ranking: 8

Spain FIFA ranking: 1

The biggest match to be played in this FIFA fixture day as Italy welcomes raining European and World Champions Spain for a friendly match on the 10th of August.

Italy will face the toughest opponent since it’s run by coach Cesare Prandelli after the poor display in last year’s World Cup and although a international friendly, motivation will not be an issue here as both teams will take to the pitch in search of victory.

Their 2012 Euro qualifying campaign is a success as Italy managed to gather 16 points in all 6 matches played, topping Group C of the preliminaries with a comfortable advantage over their rivals.

Spain is continuing it’s impressive domination over World football with 5 straight victories in latest matches, two of the in the Euro Preliminaries.

No problems for them as well in the Euro 2012 preliminaries as they register a perfect record and already qualified from the top of Group I. This will be Spain’s biggest test this year as well especially as they will have to travel to Italy and deal with their opponents though defense

My tip:  Spain to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Uruguay last 5 matches:  

Paraguay last 5 matches:

Uruguay FIFA ranking: 18

Paraguay FIFA ranking: 32

Copa America’s final on Sunday with Uruguay eager to profit on this opportunity and take home a record 15th title whilst Paraguay is aiming for the second one in their history.

Uruguay is the favorite in the eyes of the bookies but if one thing has been proven so far in this edition of Copa America, favorites rarely live up to their name as teams like hosts Argentina or the mighty Brazil have been knocked out early on.

Of the two teams, Uruguay is clearly the most spectacular but their game so far has been concentrating on defense rather than offense as they only conceded 3 goals and scored 6.

Paraguay already in the history books as the only team that managed to qualify to the final stage after all draw results, both their knock-out, quarter final against Brazil and semi-final against Venezuela where passed due to the penalty shoots.

With no goals scored or conceded in their last 2 matches in normal time Paraguay is expected to display a closed game and strike on the counter attack, no doubt a similar tactic to that displayed by Uruguay so far and  it can be assumed that the team who manages to strike first will get a huge advantage.

My tip:  Uruguay to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Brazil last 5 matches:  

Paraguay last 5 matches:

Brazil FIFA ranking: 5

Paraguay FIFA ranking: 32

Third quarter final of the Copa America Sunday night with big favorites Brazil taking on Paraguay for a spot in the semi-finals of the competition.

Brazil managed to qualify to the knock-outs after finishing top of Group B with a total of 5 points, same as second Venezuela but with a better goal ratio.

Rather modest results for them especially when compared to expectation as they finished in draws against Venezuela and Paraguay but managed to edge the qualification after an enthusiastic 4-2 victory over Ecuador.

Paraguay, another force of the competition, finished only third in the same group and advanced into this stage thanks to their better goal balance compared to Costa Rica.

All draws for them in the group stage, goalless result against Ecuador, two all with today’s adversaries Brazil and three all against Venezuela to bring them a neutral goal ratio.

My tip:  Brazil to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Colombia  last 5 matches:  

Peru last 5 matches:

Colombia FIFA ranking: 54

Peru FIFA ranking: 49

Final stages in the Copa America with Colombia welcoming Peru in the quarter finals on Saturday for a spot among the four best of the competition.

Colombia has a slight advantage heading in this quarter final knock out but the bookies odds seem a bit lower than they should as the team failed to deliver a solid performance so far.

They managed to finish top of Group A, with a total of 7 points, two above hosts and favorites Argentina giving them a huge morale boost and the confidence they can go all the way.

Peru an underdog in this stage of the competition as they finished only third in Group C below Chile and Uruguay and surprisingly above last in line Mexico.

They managed 4 points from their victory against Mexico and the one all draw in the face of Uruguay, a decent performance as compared with their opponents.

My tip:  Colombia to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Uruguay last 5 matches:  

Peru last 5 matches:

Uruguay FIFA ranking: 18

Peru FIFA ranking: 49

Copa America continues with Group C matches kicking off early Tuesday as favorites Uruguay take on the difficult team of Peru.

Uruguay is a classic favorite for this trophy with no less than 14 victories in the competition so far making them along Argentina the most successful teams ever.

Mixed results for them in the latest friendly matches as they lost to Germany, ended in a one all draw against the Netherlands and grabbed a morale boosting victory in the latest against Estonia. No doubt they will aim for the top spot of the group with their main opposition coming from recent Gold Cup winners Mexico and Chile as a team to look out for.

Peru at first glance the outsider of this group with little odds of advancing in the competition although their latest of 6 Copa America trophies having been won in 2005.

Only one victory for them in the last 6 matches played, all friendlies, and no less than 4 draws including the latest 3 played finished withouth any goals scored showing poor offensive strength but a decent defense.

My tip:  Uruguay to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Colombia last 5 matches:  

Costa Rica last 5 matches:

Colombia FIFA ranking: 54

Costa Rica FIFA ranking: 55

After the Gold Cup competition has ended, our attention is now drown South as the much spectacular and difficult Copa America is set to start this weekend.

Group A seems to be clearly dominated by Argentina, which in spite of some poor recent results, is expected to finish top and no doubt aim for the trophy as they host the tournament.

Regarding this match, Colombia is the clear favorite for a victory, having got a better group of players than their adversaries and a more homogeneous team.

Although the national team displayed some inconsistent results recently, their latest friendly adversaries where teams like Spain, Chile and Senegal.

Costa Rica recently ended their run in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, having been knocked out by Honduras only in extra-time in the quarter finals.

Although considered a decent team in the mentioned competition, they are given little chances here having to deal with opposition like Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

My tip:  Colombia to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Spain U21 last 5 matches:  

Switzerland U21 last 5 matches:

Although favorites from the start of the Under 21 Euro competition, the Spanish team didn’t have an easy ride but managed to qualify for the final where they will face Switzerland.

Spain’s Under 21 team finished Group B in the first place with a total of 7 points, victories against the Czech Republic and Ukraine and a one all draw against England in a match they dominated from start to finish.

Their superb display of football makes them clear favorites in lifting up the trophy at the end of this match but their struggled victory over Belarus, in the semi-finals, obtained in extra-time, has showed that their offensive play can be blocked effectively.

Switzerland is a relative surprise in this Under 21 Euro final, they managed to overcome some difficult opponents such as the Czech Republic and hosts Denmark.

As their current adversaries, they needed extra-time against the Czech Republic in the semi-finals managing the narrowest of victories to qualify. Their main advantage is their defensive strength as they conceded only one goal in all 5 matches of this final tournament.

My tip:  Spain U21 to win ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

United States last 5 matches:  

Panama last 5 matches:

United States FIFA ranking: 22

Panama FIFA ranking: 67

The Gold Cup reached it’s semi-finals with the tournament hosts United States welcoming Panama in the first match of the day.

This is the second time these two teams will go head to head as in Group C, Panama managed a surprising victory over the USA team with the score 2-1.

United States, no doubt, favorite once again but with a rather poor display of football in their quarter final against Jamaica, managing to win eventually 2-0 but with both goals in the second half, one of which an own goal.

Panama having to cope with the fitness disadvantage as they managed to eliminate El Salvador only after the penalty shoot-out and with Perez which is set to miss this one after a red card in the 90′ minute, after the controversial equalizing goal was scored.

They have showed a good organization in this tournament with neither the offense or the defense making the difference but rather a balanced game.

My tip:  USA to win ( under 2.5 goals )