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Brazil vs. Germany in major World Cup warmup
STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -- In a showdown between soccer giants, Brazil plays Germany on Wednesday night in an exhibition game that may suggest what awaits this summer at the World Cup. "They are beatable, they are not a superhuman team," German forward Jurgen Klinsmann said of the World Cup champions. "They have excellent individuals, like Ronaldo and Romario. We have a lot of respect for them, but we can beat them. Not only on Wednesday, but also at the World Cup, should we play against them."Germany, the European champion, is unbeaten in 22 games, one short of the team record set from 1978-81.
Brazil, a four-time world champion, is coming off a humiliating loss to the United States and a scoreless tie against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Even though Brazil was missing many starters, the defeat prompted Brazil to hire former star Zico as a consultant to coach Mario Zagallo.
"Germany-Brazil, that might well be the final of the World Cup," Zagallo said. "Germany is the favorite by large and far. They are playing at home, the temperature is under (50 degrees), some of my players are suffering from jet lag."
Germany, a three-time World Cup champion, is getting ready for its World Cup opener, against the United States at Paris on June 15. Vogts said Brazil, led by two-time FIFA player of the year Ronaldo, was the favorite Wednesday.
"The German team has always been very solid and successful. They score a lot," Ronaldo said. "Maybe they are not beautiful to watch, but they are very effective."
Brazil, which brought its regular starters, is 8-3-4 against Germany, which is missing only Matthias Sammer, recovering from a knee injury.
Eleven other exhibition games are scheduled for Wednesday: Hungary at Austria, Norway at Belgium, Macedonia at Bulgaria, Yugoslavia at Colombia, Ireland at the Czech Republic, Nigeria at Ghana, Slovakia at Northern Ireland, France at Russia, Denmark at Scotland, England at Switzerland and Jamaica at Wales.
England will be without Manchester United forwards Paul Scholes and Andy Cole, and brothers Gary and Philip Neville, both defenders. Also missing will be midfielder Paul Gascoigne and goalkeeper David Seaman.
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GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan