With room to spare BRAZIL booked their place at the 2010 World Cup with a comfortable 3-1 win which further dents Argentina's hopes of reaching the finals in South Africa. An unmarked Luisao met Elano's free-kick to head the visitors in front and Luis Fabiano tapped in from close range after Maicon's shot was spilled. Brazil keeper Julio Cesar denied Maxi Rodriguez from close range before Jesus Datolo scored with a spectacular drive. But Kaka released Fabiano, who dinked the ball home to seal his side's win. The top four teams in the South American zone qualify automatically, while the fifth placed team meets the fourth placed team from Concacaf qualification in a two-legged play-off. Brazil top their zone on 30 points, three clear of second-placed Paraguay and 10 above fifth-placed Colombia. With three games left to play, that means Dunga's men are guaranteed a place in South Africa. "Argentina have great players such as Lionel Messi, who could be elected world player of the year. They have a very strong team. But Brazil's technical qualities won out," said the coach. "I am satisfied to see that we have done our work well, to see the enthusiasm of the Brazilian team and the pleasure with which they played." Brazil were scheduled to welcome Chile on 9 September and then finish with a double-header against Bolivia and Venezuela. Argentina, meanwhile, are hanging on to fourth place after only their second ever home defeat in World Cup qualifying. They have 22 points, with Ecuador and Colombia both just two points adrift. Argentina benefited from Colombia's 2-0 victory over Ecuador on Saturday because had Ecuador won, it would have moved them up to fourth. Diego Maradona's side face a daunting trip to Paraguay on Wednesday before hosting Peru on 10 October and travelling to seventh-placed Uruguay on 13 October. The man who led Argentina to victory in 1986 admitted his side face a battle to ensure they do not miss out on the finals for the first time since 1970. "It's going to be complicated for Argentina after this defeat, but we will keep on plugging away," he said. "We have to go to Paraguay to see if we can win the three points. It's going to be tough, complicated and all the more so after today's defeat. "It's always horrible to lose to Brazil. It always causes you to have a little crisis of confidence but we have to keep working, we mustn't give up." The home fans showed their displeasure at the manner of the defeat by chanting Dunga's name late in the game. The under-pressure Maradona said he was not worried about his position, adding: "Dunga is doing well and he has very good players. But I am not bitter, I am calm with my players and this will not break me. "There were moments where we could have got on top - we mustn't jump down their throats. I take full and exclusive responsibility for the loss." The hosts looked to attack Brazil from the outset in Rosaria, Lionel Messi going wide with a left-footed shot in the 13th minute to rouse the home crowd. However, it was the visitors who took the lead 11 minutes later when Luisao found himself in acres of space and powerfully headed a Kaka free-kick past goalkeeper Mariano Andujar. Brazil doubled their lead after Andujar failed to hold on to Maicon's strike from Kaka's pull-back and Sevilla striker Fabiano pounced on the rebound. Argentina almost reduced the deficit seven minutes later when Rodriguez steered Carlos Tevez's right-wing cross goal-bound but Cesar was equal to it. Andujar spared the home team further embarrassment with a number of fine saves before they hauled themselves back into contention when Napoli midfielder Datolo marked his first international start by beating Cesar with a rasping effort from about 30 yards. Argentina's optimism was short-lived, however, as Fabiano met Kaka's slide-rule pass and lifted the ball over an advancing Andujar. Several chances came and went but Argentina's first home World Cup qualifying defeat since 1993, when they lost 5-0 to Colombia in Buenos Aires, was never in doubt. Al Sadd's added Brazilians QATAR side Al Sadd have confirmed the signing of Middlesbrough's Brazilian striker Afonso Alves. Alves, 28, was pictured on Al Sadd's website on Friday wearing a club shirt and scarf, but Boro insisted the deal had not yet gone through. However, Al Sadd say he is now their player, having agreed a three-year deal. Alves, 28, joined Middlesbrough from Dutch side Heerenveen for a club record fee of �12.7m in January 2008. He scored 13 goals in 37 starts. Speaking about his move, he said: "It's a great honour for me to join a good team like Al Sadd. "I have heard a lot about football in Qatar from my compatriot Felipe Jorge, who is playing also with Al Sadd. I'm looking to be the top scorer of the Qatari league next season. I'm happy to have two other Brazilians in the team and hopefully we will be a successful trio in the league. "I want to have great success with Al Sadd, just like I did with Heerenveen in Holland in 2007 where I scored a lot of goals and I hope that I can do the same with Al Sadd." The Brazil international made headlines in Europe with a prolific spell at Heerenveen in the Dutch league, scoring 34 goals in his first season, following profitable spells in Sweden with Orgyte and Malmo. He again continued his rich form for Heerenveen the following season, earning full Brazilian honours and notching seven of his club's nine goals in the 9-0 defeat of Heracles Almelo. A move to Teesside was brought about in January 2008, and Alves initially impressed, scoring twice against Manchester United in a 2-2 draw and grabbing a hat-trick against Manchester City in an 8-1 rout on the final day of the 2008-09 season. Alves struggled in his final season on Teesside, scoring just seven goals in 33 appearances and was injured against Newcastle, which forced him to miss the final two games of a season in which the club were relegated from the Premier League. Flintoff and DVT FORMER England Test all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has suffered a complication following surgery on his injured knee. After bowing out of Test cricket after England's Ashes win, the 31-year-old Flintoff had surgery, but now his right calf has minor deep vein thrombosis. The England and Wales Cricket Board said: "This will require a simple course of treatment and will not complicate his recovery from surgery." No timescale has been given for a possible return to action for Flintoff. But he is expected to be sidelined for a minimum of six months. Flintoff signed off his Test career by helping England reclaim the Ashes from Australia, courtesy of a 197-run victory at The Oval which clinched the series 2-1. He is still committed to representing his country in one-day and Twenty20 internationals, but recently revealed there was a possibility he might be unable to play again. Former Australia captain Steve Waugh suffered a deep vein thrombosis in his right leg after tearing a calf muscle during the 2001 Ashes series in England but made a full recovery and was able to continue his international career. Jamaicans cheat FOUR Jamaican athletes have admitted to taking a banned substance. The four are Yohan Blake and Marvin Anderson, who train with triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt, as well as Allodin Fothergill and Lansford Spence. "The athletes have admitted they took a banned substance," said Jamaican Anti-Doping Appeals Tribunal (Jadco) chairman Ransford Langrin. "We have to decide what is the sanction we apply -- the minimum sanction is a reprimand or up to a two-year ban." Relay runners Blake, Fothergill, Spence and Anderson as well as Sheri-Ann Brooks were withdrawn by Jamaica from the World Championships in Berlin last month. They tested positive for methylxanthine at Jamaica's championships in June, but were initially cleared by a disciplinary panel on the basis it was not on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) banned list. But Jadco then appealed against the verdict stating the substance had a similar structure to tuaminoheptane, a banned stimulant according to Wada. Brooks, the Commonwealth 100m champion, was cleared in August on a technicality because Jadco tested her B sample without her knowledge. Lincoln Eatmon, a member of the athletes' legal team, added: "We have no control over what World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) or the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) might do. "Even if the athletes are found not guilty, the prospect of them facing a lengthy, expensive battle to go to arbitration on all that, it was felt that we should try to resolve the thing as amicably as possible." Blake, who won bronze in the 100m at the world junior championships in 2006, is Olympic champion Bolt's training partner and has recorded the fifth-fastest time over 100m this year. Anderson is also a 100m runner, while Fothergill and Spence compete in the 400m. Jadco is due to announce its punishment for the four athletes on 14 September.
