JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Brute force and hand balls aside, Brazil has achieved its first objective at the World Cup: advancing out of Group G.
Luis Fabiano scored a pair of goals, one with the aid of touches with his arm and his hand, while Elano added another as Brazil beat Ivory Coast 3-1 Sunday to secure a spot in the second round from Group G.
In a physical match that saw Brazil star Kaka ejected with two late yellow cards, the five-time champions showed they can deal out the rough stuff with the pretty plays.
“It’s true, the ball really touched my hand and then my shoulder,” Luis Fabiano said of his second goal. “But it was involuntary. It was one of the greatest goals I’ve scored in my career.”
Luis Fabiano got his first goal in six matches for the national team with a powerful right-footed shot in the 25th minute after a pass by Kaka between defenders. He jumped over defender Kolo Toure before firing into the top of the net from a difficult angle.
Luis Fabiano added to the lead in the 50th with his left foot from near the penalty spot after beating two defenders inside the area - helped by his sleight-of hand.
Ivory Coast Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was livid that that the second goal counted.
“It shouldn’t have been allowed,” Eriksson said. “They got a goal free. That’s a 2-nil goal - that changed everything.
“It’s even more difficult if he’s allowed to use his hands. Of course it’s a hand ball. It’s not once, it’s twice.”
Elano scored Brazil’s third goal in the 62nd after another setup by Kaka. Elano hurt his right shin a little later and left the field on a stretcher.
Kaka then received his two yellow cards late in the game and will be suspended for Brazil’s next match, against Portugal. Kaka got into an altercation with Kader Keita near the end of the match.
“The red card was completely unfair,” Brazil Coach Dunga said.
Kaka did not want to talk about the ejection, but complained of rough play by the Ivory Coast players.
“It was a tough match,” he said. “It got violent in two or three plays there.”
Didier Drogba, playing from the start for the first time after breaking his right arm in a warmup game,scored the lone goal for Ivory Coast with a header in the 79th.
The victory gives Brazil six points from two matches, and left Ivory Coast with one point and in difficult position to advance from the group stage. Portugal and North Korea play today in Cape Town.
It was a physical match at Soccer City, with hard fouls from both sides and players confronting each other at times. Brazil had plenty of chances to scores more, but mistakes on the final pass cost it on a few occasions.
Brazil has won all six matches it played against African nations at the World Cup. The previous victory was 3-0 over Ghana in the round of 16 of the 2006 tournament in Germany. Drogba’s goal was the first Brazil conceded to African nations in soccer’s biggest showcase.
“I think Brazil can go all the way,” Eriksson said. “To beat Brazil, you must be almost perfect.”
Luis Fabiano hadn’t scored in more than nine months for Brazil since connecting twice in a victory against Argentina last September in a World Cup qualifier.
Kaka, coming off a season plagued by injuries, again was far from his best, but showed his poise on Sunday by setting up Luis Fabiano’s first half goal and Elano’s third in front of 84,455 fans.
Brazil made some uncharacteristic passing mistakes in
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arkansasonline.com/worldcup the beginning and was not able to take control of the match, allowing the Ivory Coast to threaten on counterattacks and free kicks. Yet Ivory Coast put nearly all its players on defense when Brazil held possession, leaving Drogba alone up front. The striker is playing with a special protective cast approve by FIFA.
ITALY 1, NEW ZEALAND 1
NELSPRUIT, South Africa - Defending champion Italy was held to a second 1-1 draw, this time by lowly New Zealand in the latest World Cup stunner.
The 78th-ranked All Whites took the lead after only seven minutes of the Group F match when Italy’s 36-year-old captain Fabio Cannavaro made an error that handed a goal to Shane Smeltz. A long free kick from Simon Elliott sailed deep into Italy’s area, off Cannavaro’s hip as he fell and directly toward the waiting Smeltz for the tap-in.
It was New Zealand’s only shot on goal the entire match.
Riccardo Montolivo hit the goal post for Italy in the 27th, then Vincenzo Iaquinta tied the score two minutes later with a penalty kick. Tommy Smith was given a yellow card for tugging down Daniele De Rossi inside the area on a corner kick.
Iaquinta appeared to celebrate as if he were blowing a vuvuzela, the plastic trumpets that have become a symbol of this World Cup.
At the final whistle, however, the celebration was located in one corner of the Mbombela Stadium, where a small section of New Zealand fans marked their country’s result by taking off their shirts and waving them around deliriously.
Paraguay leads the group with four points, Italy and New Zealand have two points each and Slovakia is last with one point.
Italy meets Slovakia in its final group match Thursday, and New Zealand faces Paraguay. All four teams could still advance.
PARAGUAY 2, SLOVAKIA 0
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa - Enrique Vera and Cristian Riveros scored and Paraguay beat Slovakia to move closer to advancing.
Playing with a three-man front line spearheaded by Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguay controlled the tempo from the start at Free State Stadium.
Vera broke through for La Albirroja in the 27th when forward Lucas Barrios slipped a pass into the box and Vera angled it past Slovakia goalkeeper Jan Mucha with a one-time shot.
Sports, Pages 13 on 06/21/2010