Prince Andrew stood proud as the hymn to His Mother rang
out loud around the Shizuoka Stadium
Ecopa.
England, in white, kicked off from left to
right and earned an early corner.... that Marcos punched away.
After five minutes, Brazil -- in blue --
found a little passing rhythm; deep in the English half.... Danny Mills breaking it up with a sound tackle on Roberto Carlos.
Both teams started a little wary of each other; Brazil
especially, didn't seem prepared to take any risks.
In the 14th minute, Roberto Carlos tried to canon in a
free-kick..... that ricocheted for a corner.
Rivaldo and Ronaldo combined well in the 19th minute to
test David Seaman's alertness. Even though Seaman seemed a little unsighted on the final
shot, he managed to collect cleanly and keep the game even.
-- GOAL -- 1-0
Just when both sides seemed to be showing too much respect for one another, Danny Mills
passed through the middle to Emile Heskey who chipped a long ball forward to his Liverpool
strike partner. A mistake by Lúcio gave Michael Owen the opportunity to
drag the ball into the area and sidefoot over the sprawling Marcos. Advantage England --
23 mins.
On the half-hour, Emile Heskey headed onto the roof of
Marcus' goal.... England were prepared to go for a second if the chance was there.
When Emile Heskey managed to get around Roque Junior in the
39th minute, the world could see just how suspect the Brazilian defence really was.
A minute later, Roque Junior clattered the Liverpool
forward and caused the heavyweight some pain.
Brazil tried to push up more towards the end of the
half.... but all their long-distance shots were blocked.
David Seaman made a brave attempt to catch the ball, above
the heads of Rivaldo and Sol Campbell, and came out of it a little hurt. Even the referee
took the opportunity to take on a drink of water.
-- GOAL -- 1-1
Into time added on...... and Ronaldinho breezed past Ashley Cole, in the middle, to slip
the ball out right to Rivaldo. The Brazilian number ten shot low between Sol Campbell
coming over to cover and to the right of the outstretched David Seaman.
Half-time: England 1 -- Brazil 1
-- GOAL -- 1-2
Five minutes after the restart and Ronaldinho scored from a free-kick,
far out by the right touchline. The ball spent so much time in the air that David Seaman
should never have been caught out from such a distance.
As England needed to show more creativity in attack, Svengali
brought on Kieron Dyer for Trevor Sinclair in the 56th minute.
Seven minutes after putting Brazil in front, Ronaldinho can't believe it as he is given a
red card for stamping on Danny Mills' right ankle.
The Brazil camp decided to replace the ineffective Ronaldo for
Edilson, with 20 minutes to go.
With fifteen minutes to go, England needed to take
more risks but it was still Brazil who were playing the ball around -- even with ten men.
Sven-Göran Eriksson had stayed cool for long enough and made
a crucial substitution in the 79th minute..... Darius Vassell on for Michael Owen and
Teddy Sheringham for Ashley Cole.
Paul Scholes dived on the edge of the area with six minutes
left. Felipe Ramos Rizo waved play on and Rivaldo took the advantage to put England under
pressure again.
A last minute corner... a last chance for England. Beckham
took it too quickly and Nicky Butt, under pressure from Rivaldo, failed to get a clear
header.
No excuses...... Brazil were better and are on the way to
their Penta -- fifth World Cup victory.
Final Score:
England 1 -- Brazil 2
