Brazil vs China - 2002 World Cup Group Match

Home: World Cup 2002: Korea-Japan Finals: 1st Round: Match Report

Saturday June 8th, 2002

Brazil Stroll Into Second Round

World Cup debutantes China didn't seem overawed by four time World Champions Brazil and took the game to them right from the start.

They also defended in numbers to crowd out Ronaldo and Ronaldinho when Brazil attacked.

Xu Yunlong showed plenty of pace on the right to get past Roberto Carlos on a number of occasions, as China looked lively and appeared to be enjoying themselves; eve when they overhit the ball.

1:0
But China couldn't do anything about Roberto Carlos' left-foot free-kick in the fifteenth minute.

Ronaldinho was unfairly booked for diving in the 24th minute, when in fact Du Wei had clearly pulled his shirt.

2:0
Rivaldo extended Brazil's lead by volleying in Ronaldinho's cheeky chip in the area - 32 mins.

3:0
Brazil were awarded a penalty, just before half-time, when Ronaldo was pulled down by two defenders. Ronaldinho stepped forward to put his name on the scoresheet as well.

Half-time: Brazil 3 - China 0

China started the second-half a little slower and passed the ball around the back to try and limit Brazil's chances of increasing their lead.

4:0
China lost possession deep in the Brazilian half and Rivaldo floated a long ball out to Cafu on the right, who crossed for Ronaldo to tap in Brazil's fourth goal - 55 mins.

Five minutes later, China found themselves in plenty of space and Zhao Junzhe's shot from the left side of the area had Marcos beaten but cannoned off the right upright.

Bora Milutinovic gave some more youngsters a taste of World Cup football, in the latter part of the game, to see if they could come up with any fresh ideas.

With twenty minutes left, Marcos palmed away a curling free-kick as China still searched for their first goal in a World Cup finals competition.... maybe against Turkey.

A relatively easy win for Brazil as they make sure of their rightful place in the Second Round.

Final Score:
Brazil 4 - China 0

Man of the Match:
Rivaldo - His vision and long passes are always a joy.

Yellow Cards:
Ronaldinho (24 mins)
Roque Junior (69 mins)

The Teams

Brazil:
1 Marcos; 14 Anderson Polga, 2 Cafu, 3 L�cio, 6 Roberto Carlos, 4 Roque Junior; 8 Gilberto Silva, 19 Juninho Paulista (7 Ricardinho - 71 mins), 10 Rivaldo, 11 Ronaldinho (17 Denilson - 46 mins); 9 Ronaldo (20 Edilson - 72 mins).

China:
22 Jiang Jin; 4 Wu Chengying, 17 Du Wei, 14 Li Weifeng, 21 Xu Yunlong; 19 Qi Hong (6 Shao Jiayi - 66 mins), 15 Zhao Junzhe, 9 Ma Mingyu (3 Yang Pu - 62 mins), 8 Li Tie, 18 Li Xiaopeng; 10 Hao Haidong (16 Qu Bo - 75 mins).

Referee: Anders Frisk