With less than 100 days left until the start of the Brazil World Cup, four stadiums are still incomplete, and the local organizing committee has much work to do. However, the slow construction progress of the stadiums has not affected the Brazilian team's preparation rhythm. The match against South Africa was the final game before Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari announced his World Cup squad. Neymar recorded his second career "hat-trick" for the national team, bringing his total international goal tally to 30. Oscar and Fernandinho also scored one goal each.
Lionel Messi failed to score against the Romanian defense, and the Argentine team played to a scoreless draw against their opponents. In contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo's performance that day was much more dazzling. In Portugal's 5-1 victory over Cameroon, he scored twice, surpassing Pauleta (47 goals) with 49 goals to become the all-time leading scorer in team history. "I knew this moment would come eventually," said Ronaldo. "This is my tenth year with the national team, and it feels special; such achievements are the result of hard work."
Although two other powerhouse teams, England and Germany, failed to play at their expected level, they still managed to defeat Denmark and Chile, respectively, with identical 1-0 scores.
Karim Benzema and Blaise Matuidi each scored a goal to help France defeat the Netherlands 2-0, ending the opponent's 17-game unbeaten streak.
In other matches, Belgium drew 2-2 with Ivory Coast, Japan defeated New Zealand 4-2, and Russia beat Armenia 2-0.
