The Selecao’s manager, Dunga, may have had plenty of difficulty hiding his dislike of the media circus that accompanies Brazil wherever they go but, apart from concerns over Kaka’s form, their warm-up games have been successful and lucrative. Tanzania paid them close to $4m to turn up and beat them 5-1 in Dar es Salaam, although a similar fixture against Zimbabwe did see keeper, Julio Cesar, suffer a back injury that is unlikely to keep him out at Ellis Park.

When it comes to churning out propaganda, nobody does it better than the North Koreans. Despite a dodgy warm-up campaign in which they were beaten by first Paraguay and then Nigeria, their striker, Jong Tae-Se, remarked they were still favourites to qualify with Brazil. However, nothing they have done since making the World Cup suggests this is anything but wishful thinking.

Perhaps North Korea’s one great advantage is that so little is known about them, although their games against Paraguay and Nigeria will have been throroughly scouted by Brazil, who are likely to stick with the out-of-sorts Kaka. Korean tacitcs are likely to be based around going for a goalless draw and trying to snatch something on the counter-attack. However, they are likely to be overwhelmed. Verdict: Brazil to win.