David Seaman
                                                   
 
        Danny Mills*                        Rio Ferdinand             Sol Campbell                   Ashley Cole
                                                                                                                                      (Teddy Sheringham 79)

       David Beckham                  Nicky Butt                     Paul Scholes                Trevor Sinclair
                                                                                                                                   (Kieron Dyer 57)                               

                                                 Emile Heskey                   Michael Owen
                                                                                           (Darius Vassell 78) 

The Brazilian team that played was:
 

                                                                         Marcos
                                                   
 
                                         Lucio                     Edmilson                   Roque Junior


           Cafu                             Kleberson                           Gilberto Silva                            Roberto Carlos
                                                                       

                                  Ronaldinho                   Ronaldo                   Rivaldo
                                                          (Edilson 69)

England's high hopes of reaching the World Cup final were dashed by an underrated Brazilian side who showed that they could defend well in addition to proving that they are the best attacking side in the tournament. England scored first but Brazil equalised just before half time. Ronaldinho scored from a free kick five minutes into the second half and although he was sent off soon afterwards, Brazil defended well in the heat and a tired looking England team could not reply.

Michael Owen and Paul Scholes were injured in the 3-0 win against Denmark in the last game and did not begin training again until the day before this match but they did start the match as expected. After the 2-0 win against Belgium a more defensively minded midfield player Kleberson replaced Juninho for Brazil.

                                 
                                  Michael Owen scores the first goal for England

England matched Brazil early on in the game and in the 23rd minute of the game England were 1-0 up. Emile Heskey received the ball from Danny Mills in central midfield and hit a long ball towards Michael Owen. Inside the penalty box, the ball came off Lucio's leg and fell kindly for Owen who chipped the ball over the Brazilian goalkeeper Marcos (as he went to ground) and into the net.

Just after the goal David Beckham needed attention to his aching foot but returned to the pitch a couple of minutes later. After half an hour of the game, Heskey (who was the best England player in the first half) had a good chance to score but headed over. Then a minute later Roberto Carlos had a chance in a dangerous position on the left side but put his shot into the side netting of the England goal.

A minute before half time, David Seaman injured his back when running out from his goal line and catching a high ball outside his six yard area. It look a couple of minutes for him to get up again but he eventually said that he could continue.

In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Brazil equalised to bring the half time score line to 1-1. England were attacking when David Beckham challenged for the ball on the right side of midfield - for some reason (probably his aching foot) he pulled out of the tackle when he should have put the ball out of play. Brazil then moved the ball forward to Ronaldinho who ran at the England defence (past Ashley Cole) to the edge of the box before passing to Rivaldo on his right side. From just inside the penalty area, Rivaldo hit an excellent shot across David Seaman and in at the far post.
 

         
    Ronaldinho takes the free kick and scores over Seaman's head          Ronaldinho gets a red card
 

England did not start the second half well and after five minutes Scholes gave away a free kick nearly forty yards out from goal. Ronaldinho took the free kick from the right side of midfield and David Seaman moved forward from his goal line thinking he could catch the ball as it curled away from goal. Seaman then had to move backwards as the ball's flight straightened and to everyone's shock it went over his hand and in the top corner of the net at the far post to give Brazil a 2-1 lead.

Although Ronaldinho said after the match that he meant to score this way, David Seaman was in a good starting position just a yard off his goal line near the far post and team mate Juninho later said he thought that Ronaldinho meant to cross the ball rather than score. Whether this goal was a fluke or not, England were now behind in a match for the first time in the tournament.

After 56 minutes of the match, Ronaldinho went in for a tackle on Mills with his studs showing and caught his ankle. He was sent off by the referee Felipe Ramos Rizo (from Mexico) but it took a while before he left the pitch.

England now had a man advantage but the heat was tiring them and Brazil began to show that they could defend in numbers and keep possession well. Kieron Dyer came on for Trevor Sinclair on the left wing but preferred to cut inside rather than cross with his left foot and he could not change the game in England's favour.

With just over ten minutes to go, England had not troubled the Brazilian goalkeeper in the second half and so strikers Darius Vassell and Teddy Sheringham came on for Michael Owen and Ashley Cole. Rio Ferdinand was then put up front as another striker leaving just Danny Mills and Sol Campbell at the back. England still found it hard to get the ball and had only one good chance towards the end of the game - in the 90th minute Nicky Butt headed the ball over the Brazilian bar from a David Beckham corner.

Brazil could have extended their lead in extra time as England pushed forward but the final whistle went and England were out of the tournament.

After a good first half, the second half performance from England was below par but Brazil defended their lead well with ten men. As with the game against Nigeria, the England players tired in the afternoon heat and could not play their usual game of closing down players and breaking quickly for attacks. Brazil are now odds on favourites to lift the World Cup as they now play either Senegal or Turkey in the semi final followed by a final against either Germany, Spain or South Korea.
 

Who played well:  Emile Heskey had a great first half but tired in the second half and was not as effective. Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell showed their class in central defence and Danny Millls also had a good game at right back.

Who could have played better: David Seaman was at fault for the second goal and was in tears after the match as he thought he had lost the game for England. In the second half it was clear that Paul Scholes and Michael Owen had only just returned from injury and they were not the usual driving force for England. David Beckham too looked like he was suffering from the old foot injury more than usual and could not therefore give a captains performance.

After this match the England captain David Beckham said that although he didn't tell anyone he thought before the tournament started that England could go all the way. He said that as they had been knocked out at the quarter final stages England needed to work harder at the things that have gone wrong.

When asked about Brazil's second goal David Seaman said that "I was expecting a cross but he mis-hit it and I've misread it and its got to be down to a goalkeeping error". He said that he blamed himself and wanted to say sorry to all the fans.

The England manager, Sven Goran Eriksson later said that England had a big big chance to win but were unlucky with the goal which made the score line 2-1. He also said in the second half  "England fought and tried but were not strong enough to do it in a proper way". He also said that "we showed in the tournament that we don't need to be afraid of anyone" and that England could "play equal with any team in the World today".
 

To see the final review of how England performed in the World Cup 2002 please click here.

 
Click here to see all England's results since Euro 96

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Note: This England World Cup 2002 website is also available using  http://clik.to/england 

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