Brazil are different breed

Brazil 3 Ghana 0: Their Serb coach styled Ghana the Brazil of Africa prior to this game, but as events during it proved conclusively, life is just that much easier when you're the original of the species.

Afterwards Ratomir Dujkovic insisted he was intensely proud of his side's efforts to topple the five-times champions. But given he was sent to the stands for telling the referee at half-time he should be wearing yellow after Brazil's second goal, which was fractionally offside, there was clearly some bitterness too.

"That is what losers do," retorted his opposite number, Carlos Alberto Parreira, when he heard of the complaints, "they whinge and they cry."

It was, as Dujkovic observed, a funny game insomuch as Ghana had a slight advantage in terms of possession. And even Parreira was quick to concede the scoreline slightly flattered his side.

And yet, in the dying minutes Brazil might have scored another three goals en route to the last eight as the Africans, a man down and with the match beyond them, crumbled under increasingly playful pressure from their opponents.

A 6-0 win to match the one produced a couple of weeks ago by Argentina might have served as a thumping declaration of intent. Even three, though, against a side that accounted for the Czechs in their group, should not be taken lightly.

Ghana are a decent side and this was a tightly fought and largely even battle. But Brazil led from the fifth minute, and while they had to work hard at times to maintain their advantage, they always looked to have the edge. The West Africans were repeatedly shown up at the back by the quicker thinking of their opponents and up front by their own lack of bite.

Had they not been chasing the game from just five minutes in it might have been a different story. But Ronaldo dealt their hopes a terrible blow when he pounced to score the opening goal with a delightful step-over followed by a straightforward tap-in after Kaka had split the Ghanaian back four with a perfectly judged ball from midfield. The strike sends him one clear of Gerd Müller in the all-time World Cup scoring list.

There was also one on the stroke of half-time from Ronaldo's troubled striking partner Adriano. He was fractionally offside when Cafu hit the cross he turned home at the far post, but after a lamentable attempt to convert an earlier chance similar to the one Ronaldo had so stylishly put away ended with his being booked for diving, he was delighted to get on the scoresheet no matter how.

The third came toward the end from Ze Roberto after he sprang the offside trap. But by then the game was up - and over - for Ghana, who had had Asamoah Gyan dismissed a couple of minutes earlier - also as a result of a booking for a dive inside the area - and were simply searching for some consolation from a desperately disappointing afternoon.

Without Michael Essien to patrol in front of the back four, they were certainly more vulnerable to the combined fruits of Ronaldinho's and Kaka's labours. But it is difficult to see how they would have coped with the pair even if the Chelsea star had been available and at the top of his game.

Ghana, meanwhile, worked hard and rose to the challenge in midfield, where they denied their opponents time and space and so won plenty of ball.

Their skipper, Stephen Appiah, showed an impressive range of passes coolly executed under pressure, but Sulley Muntari, on whom the responsibility for winning possession primarily fell in the absence of Essien, handicapped himself unnecessarily by getting booked just 10 minutes in for a needless challenge on Lucio.

Their efforts to generate serious scoring opportunities were continuous but generally unsuccessful as their strikers, Gyan and Matthew Amoah, all too often received the ball with their backs to goal and then proved incapable of turning while being harried by Brazilian defenders.

When they did manage a shot it was generally rushed and wayward, although Haminu Draman and John Mensah did force Dida into making decent saves in the opening half.

The latter's attempt on goal consisted of a downward header from close range after Muntari's corner, and while the goalkeeper appeared to know very little about what was going on, he instinctively moved his right leg to make the block.

They never came as close to scoring again, and as the minutes slipped past with Ghana proving incapable of stepping up their challenge, Brazil grew steadily more relaxed and confident.

SUBSTITUTIONS

BRAZIL: Silva for Emerson (45 mins), Ricardinho for Kaka (83 mins), Juninho for Adriano (61 mins). Subs not used: Cicinho, Cris, Fred, Gilberto, Julio Cesar, Luisao, Mineiro, Rogerio, Robinho. Booked: Adriano, Juan.

GHANA: Boateng for Eric Addo (60 mins), Tachie-Mensah for Amoah (69 mins). Subs not used: Otto Addo, Adjei, Ahmed, Kuffour, Mohamed, Owu, Pimpong, Quaye, Sarpei. Booked: Appiah, Muntari, Pantsil, Eric Addo, Gyan.

Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)