NATAL, Brazil -- Before the arrival of new coach Adenor Bacchi, Brazilians were gloomy about their national teams prospects.Jeers were common when the Selecao was playing its 2018 World Cup qualifiers, broadcasts of its matches became less and less popular, and some fans even cheered when opponents scored.But in only two games and two convincing wins, the man universally known as Tite has changed everything. Now, many Brazilians cant wait to see their side play Bolivia on Thursday at the Arena das Dunas in the sunny northeastern city of Natal.When Dunga was coach, Brazil wasnt even among the top four positions in South Americas qualifying standings -- each of which is worth an automatic place at the World Cup in Russia. Many fans were worried that, for the first time, their team would fail to qualify for a World Cup tournament.But after beating Ecuador away and Colombia at home, Neymar and his teammates are now second in the standings with 15 points, one behind leader Uruguay. Bolivia is eighth, with seven points.Brazil fan Ana Queiroz, a 31-year-old teacher, wasnt expecting to be so excited about the Bolivia game. If this match were a few months ago, I couldnt have cared less. But after those wins, I made a very big effort to be in the stadium to see it, she said. All 31,000 tickets for the match were quickly sold.Real Madrids left-winger Marcelo and midfielder Casemiro, both injured, are the two notable absences in Tites side. Guanghzhou Evergrande midfielder Paulinho is suspended, but could return for the match against Venezuela on Tuesday. After more than a year away, Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva could be tested once again, but that is far from certain.Tite said his selection criteria will be coherence and respect, a language that he used as a winning coach at Sao Paulo giants Corinthians, and also a hint that he will not be changing his 4-1-4-1 tactics.The decision to play in Natal will also help Brazil during this period of change. Crowds in Brazils northeast are usually more welcoming than those in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in the southeast of the country.---URUGUAYAlso in this round, South American qualifying leader Uruguay plays last-place Venezuela in Montevideo. Some time ago, that would have been predicted as an easy win for the home side. Now, after Venezuela nearly beat Argentina last month, the predictions are being revised. The match against Argentina ended up as a 2-2 draw, but the Venezuelans were two goals ahead late into the second half.---ARGENTINAThird place Argentina, which is level on 15 points with Brazil, travels to face ninth-place Peru, with seven points. Argentina will again be without Lionel Messi as the Barcelona star recovers from a groin injury sustained in a Spanish league match last month.---CHILEThe toughest match on Thursday is likely to be in Quito, where former standings leader Ecuador, currently fifth, tries to climb back to the World Cup qualifying positions against Chile, the Copa America champion which is struggling in seventh place.Ecuador has 13 points, two points more than Chile.Chileans are so worried about their teams current position that their national soccer federation asked FIFA to be awarded three points after a 0-0 home draw with Bolivia in September. The federation claimed that Bolivia fielded an ineligible player, defender Nelson Cabrera.Elsewhere, Colombia travels to Asuncion to face Paraguay. Custom College Jerseys .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Cheap College Jerseys . 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Toronto won its third game in a row overall on Friday as Mark Buehrle tossed seven scoreless innings and Colby Rasmus belted a three-run homer in the Blue Jays 8-0 rout of Texas. The victory came one day after Toronto took a 3-1 decision in the series opener of this four-game set. "We just have to continue to play good baseball from here on out really," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said, adding that pitching would be what dictates how well this team plays. "Were trying to climb back into this thing. So they go out there every time and give us a chance to win. We have some veteran guys in our rotation that have been around that know what it takes to win; theyve been there before, and they have a lot of pride." R.A. Dickey is the next veteran starter to take the hill for Toronto. He will be looking to bounce back from a poor outing in which he gave up seven runs on 10 hits to the White Sox on Monday. The loss to Chicago came after Dickey lasted 8 1/3 innings without giving up a run to San Francisco. Dickey is 5-11 with a 5.11 ERA on the season after finishing 2012 with a 20-6 record and a 2.73 ERA. The 38-year old knuckleball pitcher has plenty of experience playing in Arlington as he spent the first five seasons of his major league career in a Rangers uniform.dddddddddddd Torontos offense was in sync on Friday as Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonifacio all registered a multi-hit game. Rasmus was not the only Blue Jay to homer as catcher J.P. Arencibia hit a solo shot in the fourth inning. The Rangers will hope to get a little more out of the bottom half of their lineup after a poor performance on Friday. The five- through nine-hole hitters went 0-for-14 and Elvin Andrus also struggled, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. "Thats like trying to hit a butterfly," Andrus said of Saturdays matchup against a knuckleball specialist. "Its tough, but weve faced a guy like that before in (former Boston Red Sox pitcher) Tim Wakefield, and you can go from there." Texas will hand the ball to right-hander Josh Lindblom on Saturday. The 26- year-old is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in two starts this season but owns a 3.56 ERA in his career. The Rangers are in danger of losing five consecutive home games for the first time since Sept. 2009. They are just 1-4 against Toronto this season but have won six of the past 11 meetings dating back to last year. ' ' '