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SEOGWIPO, South Korea (Ticker) -- Ronaldinho converted a penalty and added an assist and Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo had first-half goals in Brazil's 4-0 rout of World Cup debutant China in a Group C matchup. Taking the field in a World Cup game for the 82nd time and having won a record four titles, Brazil outclassed China and clinched a second-round berth. Star striker Ronaldo capped the scoring 10 minutes into the second half as Brazil, the only team to compete in all 17 World Cups, won its first match against an Asian team during soccer's showcase event. South American teams have posted a 9-0-3 record all-time in World Cup matches against Asian sides. Despite the ease of their victory over an enthusiastic but substandard opponent, the Brazilians have regained their confidence after almost failing to qualify for Korea/Japan. "I believe I can now score a goal in every match, I feel great," said Ronaldo, who has collected two goals in as many matches. "I want to go to the final and I think the team is getting better. So I believe we can go to the final match." Meanwhile, China almost certainly will not advance to the knockout stages, making this the first of five World Cup teams coached by Bora Milutinovic not to advance to the second round. He accomplished the feat with Mexico in 1986, Costa Rica in 1990, the United States in 1994 and Nigeria in 1998. "I'm very happy with how we played. The players were very disciplined and I'm happy how they played tactically," Milutinovic said. "I am happier with today's match with Brazil (than with the 2-0 loss to Costa Rica) because of the way we played. "Normally we should have scored a goal. With Costa Rica, we made mistakes, but the players have learned so much." China battled from the start against mighty Brazil, attacking bravely during the opening quarter-hour. But after the underdogs conceded a free kick 25 yards from goal, Roberto Carlos unleashed a ferocious drive, which found its way inside the left goalpost and established Brazilian dominance. "We already knew that China would start the match with some pressure," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "So we decided to wait the first 10-15 minutes. We started to play our game and distributed the ball as we wanted. We knew we are technically superior to China and things went well." Rivaldo doubled Brazil's lead 32 minutes into the contest. Ronaldinho flipped the ball from the left side of the box for a waiting Rivaldo simply to poke home. The result effectively was decided just before the break when Ronaldo was pulled down in the area by Li Weifeng and the referee pointed to the spot. Ronaldinho calmly converted to make it 3-0. China was not at full strength for its matchup with one of soccer's superpowers. Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jiha were sidelined with an injured left foot and sprained ankle, respectively. In soccer terms, the Chinese players seem to realize that even a beating like this is an education for them at the World Cup. "Brazilian players were very skillful," said midfielder Shao Jiayi, who registered one of China's three shots on goal in the match. "We came here to learn. But we will do our best to pull off a win to the end." On Thursday, Brazil takes the field for its final Group C match against Costa Rica and the world's most populous nation tries to avoid a third straight scoreless outing when China meets Turkey. |
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