Brazil’s progress to the knockout phase may have come courtesy of a sprinkling of samba style brilliance but the red card dished out to Kaka and the injury suffered by Elano undoubtedly peeled the gloss from last night’s 3-1 win over the Ivory Coast.

The decision to dish out a red card to Kaka as a result of the theatricals from Abdelkader Keita may have been ridiculous but it will nonetheless rob the Brazilians of the influential Madrid playmaker for the potential group decider against Portugal. Brazil have sealed their place in the last 16 but with a possible match-up with Spain on the cards for one of the two qualifiers from this group, Dunga’s side will likely want to manage their passage to the next round with care.

Kaka’s suspension is compounded by the fact that Elano could also miss out after being stretchered off with a nasty-looking shin injury against the Ivorians. The ex-City midfielder had earlier booked his place at the top of the midfield rankings in the McDonald’s game with his second goal of the tournament but could now miss out on the opportunity to boost his tally further in the final group game. According to Brazilian Doctor Jose Luiz Runco, Elano’s injury is not as serious as it looked; he has apparently given him a chance of making the encounter with Portugal.

The loss of Kaka and possibly Elano will now open up opportunities in the Brazilian midfield and offer us Fantasy Managers some new names to contemplate for the final round of group matches…

Looking at coach Dunga’s options as replacements and Daniel Alves looks primed for his first start of the tournament. Alves has appeared as a sub in both of Brazil’s games so far but will likely get the nod against Portugal and pose a threat from midfield as well as offering an alternative at direct free-kicks. He is classified as a defender across the various Fantasy games and is available for 7.8 in the McDonalds/FIFA making him a serious consideration.

Julio Baptista is the other name to mull over. He replaced Kaka from the bench in the pre-tournament matches and is available as a midfield option with a price tag of 7.3 in the McDonalds game. Ramires is another possibility open to Dunga he look to shore things up even further in midfield, while Nilmar’s selection would likely force a change of shape. If Dunga needs a win to top the group then Baptista would seem the more likely starter the, should Elano be ruled out, presenting us with a potentially cheeky little mid-price midfield differential for the decider with Portugal.

Brazil’s potential Fantasy points for the final group game could well depend greatly on today’s results with Portugal facing North Korea and Spain up against Honduras.. A shake-up of the possible group standings could dramatically change the mentality of both Brazil and Portugal going into Friday’s meeting, particularly if Spain look more likely to be forced into second-place in their group.