 His importance diminished in late 2009, after the naturalization of Sporting Clube de Portugal's Liédson.Almeida was picked for the finals in South Africa.After the first match, a 0–0 against Ivory Coast, he replaced Liédson in the starting XI for the following match, with both players finding the net in the 7–0 routing of North Korea on 21 June 2010, in Cape Town.