Last week, a number of nations who shall be participating at the upcoming World Cup locked horns with one another in friendly tests, with some matches giving us a slight taste of what’s to come in Brazil.

RONALDO IS CURRENTLY THE WORLD’S BEST

– Ronaldo will probably be continuing his current red hot form onto the World Cup, having scored two goals in Portugal’s 5-1 victory over Cameroon, taking the player past Pauleta’s national goal tally to become the leading goalscorer for his country.

ITALY AND THEIR FITNESS ISSUES

– When it comes to fitness, not all teams are quite there yet, as painfully showcased during the Spain and Italy encounter. Whilst the Azzurri did hold their own having only lost by a goal, the speed and strength of the Spaniards was something the Italians couldn’t keep up with. Head coach Prandelli will be hoping that there will be enough time between the end of the club seasons and the World Cup for players to regain their full fitness.

BRAZIL DON’T NEED DIEGO COSTA

– Although Diego Costa has chosen to represent Spain in the nationals rather than his country of birth Brazil, that does not mean that the Selecao will suffer without his services. With Neyman’s current form, the Brazilians have an ideal striker in their hands who has also improved since his move to European football.

ARGENTINIAN LACK OF CREATIVITY

– Whilst Argentina may boast the most star studded attack in the tournament, their lack of a creative force in midfield was evident in their friendly against Romania. Although the Albiceleste dominated in possession, they rarely managed to create any thing telling during the 90 minutes. They will need the creative midfielder they once had in Riquelme to hope for any success in Brazil.

SNEIJDER IS NOT WHAT HE USED TO BE

– One of the best players during the 2010 World Cup seems to have lost his touch with both club and country, and that player is Wesley Sneijder. Apart from being past his peak, the 29-year old managed to lose possession several times during the Netherlands’ match against France, leading pundits to question whether the player still deserves his ticket to Brazil.

With friendlies managing to give us a slight taste of what is yet to come in Brazil, stay tuned as more instances such as these could determine certain outcomes once the World Cup commences this June.