It wasn’t a particularly good evening for Diego with the Brazilian national team on Wednesday. In a 0:0 draw with Argentina in the South American World Cup qualifying round, Werder Bremen’s playmaker wasn’t picked to start for the ‘Selecao’ but trainer Carlos Dunga introduced Diego after 33 minutes when Andersson had to go off with an injury.
There wasn’t to be a happy end though in a match throughout which both sides disappointed. In front of a 52,527 strong crowd at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Dunga decided to take out the Werder man again in the 78th minute. The whole Brazilian midfield appeared to be lacking in ideas but put up a much more convincing battle than they did at the weekend when they lost 0:2 to Paraguay.
Following their second game in a row without a goal, Brazil will now have to battle hard for their place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They are currently lying in fourth place on nine points. Only the top four can qualify directly for the tournament and Brazil have Uruguay breathing down their next in fifth place, one point adrift and with a better goal difference.