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Rivaldo, Ronaldo Lead Brazil Past Belgium  |
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Rivaldo and Ronaldo led four-time world champions Brazil past Belgium 2-0 to set up a quarterfinal clash with England at the World Cup finals on Monday.
"It was great to see the whole stadium full of yellow," Ronaldo said after the victory, "It was something marvellous."
"The Cup starts now, every match is going to be a final. We must think about England. I think the match against England is going to be better because they play better football." said Ronaldo, who now shares the top position on the scorers' list with German Miroslav Klose with 5 goals.
It took the much fancied Brazilians 67th minute to score their first goal at the round of 16 when Rivaldo volleyed home a left-football.
Ronaldo kept his one-goal-per-match promise, beating Belgian goalkeeper Geert De Vlieger at the 87th minute after a quick counter-attack.
Among the famous Three R's of the Brazilian team, it was Ronaldinho who was the most dangerous man. He had several attempts at the Belgian goal, including an overhead kick which just flew over the crossbar.
The first half saw the Belgian team took an upper hand as Marc Wilmots posed a constant threat to the Brazilian defence. He even scored a goal at the 36th minute only to see it disallowed by Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast.
"We played a great match but made one mistake in defense that preceded the first goal," said Belgian midfielder Bart Goor, who plays in German club Berlin Hertha.
Asked about the disallowed goal, Goor said: "It was a great goal. I'm not sure whether that was a foul."
But TV replay showed that Wilmots elbowed Brazilian defender Roque Junior in the air.
Mbo Mpenza also had a couple of chances but his shots were either blocked by Brazilian goalie Marcos or wide off the target.
The Belgian defence was well organized until the first goal. Rivaldo's shot changed direction after hitting a Belgian defender's foot and the full-stretched Belgian goalkeeper failed to put a hand on it.
After conceding the goal, the Belgian team forced forward, trying to get an equalizer. That gave the Brazilian forwards more space to display their attacking flare.
Second half substitute Kleberson launched a quick counter-attack as he dribbled down the right flank and found Ronaldo unmarked within the penalty area with a pin-point cross, Ronaldo beat the desperate Belgian goalkeeper with a right-foot thunder.
Editor: May
Source: Xinhua
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