Brazil Advances to Semi-Finals

Brazil, with a history of four World Cup championships, advanced to the semi-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup by defeating England 2-1. Over 47,000 spectators at the Shizuoka Stadium in Japan witnessed a spectacular match between these two football giants. England took the lead in the 23rd minute with a goal from their star forward Michael Owen, who dribbled past Brazilian player Lucio to score. In the dying moments of the first half (47th minute), Brazilian player Ronaldinho broke through the English defense and passed the ball to Rivaldo on the right, who scored the equalizer. This was Rivaldo's fifth goal in the 2002 World Cup. In the 50th minute, Ronaldinho scored a beautiful free-kick that curled over the hands of David Seaman into the English net. Shortly after this stunning goal (57th minute), the referee sent Ronaldinho off for a foul on an English player, leaving Brazil to continue the match with ten players. However, the English team failed to pose a serious threat to Brazil's goal, and the game ended 2-1 in favor of Brazil. Ronaldinho will miss Brazil's semi-final match against the winner of the Senegal vs. Turkey game due to this red card. Nevertheless, many experts still consider Brazil the main contender for their fifth World Cup title in history, even without Ronaldinho.