BRAZIL v GHANA - MATCH REPORT
Report by Pez

Brazil won this game in an efficient, if not lucky manner as Ghana had the more heart, and chances to win this match. Brazil's clinical strikers were the key, namely Ronaldo as he broke another record.

Ghana found themselves in real trouble after just five minutes. With the Africans playing a strangely high line, Ronaldo would surely have scored had he not wrongly been offside. But it only took a simple slide rule Kaka pass, a perfectly timed Ronaldo run and a correct linesman decision to give the Real Madrid hitman his chance. With the full half of the pitch to run in to, he used a couple of mesmeric step-overs to deal with 'keeper Richard Kingston, and passed in to the empty net to became the outright leading goal scorer in World Cup history.

Ghana didn't seem to take much notice of their poor offside trap, and when Adriano was let loose to bare down on Kingston, there was surely only one outcome. With Ronaldo to his left, Adriano tried to round the keeper, but feeling the faintest touch of Kingston's knee, went down to the ground. The whistle blew, but rightly so, it was Adriano picking up the booking as he went looking for a penalty and Ghana breathed a sigh of relief.

The game evened up somewhat after that chance, Haminu Draman fired over as a warning shot, and for a while Ghana were dominating. Matthew Amoah just failed to get on the end of Stephen Appiah's through-ball, and it was Amoah who was troubling Brazil's defence. He should have hit the target from the edge of the area when he found space, and he should have scored when given a golden chance 25 minutes in. Sulley Muntari played him in, but he somehow dragged wide with only Dida to stop him.

Asamoah Gyan had his chance to score as well, good work on the right wing took Emerson out of the game, and when Gyan was played in, he could easily have won a penalty but stayed on his feet, and off balance skied his shot over the bar. Amazingly Brazil were hanging on, and John Mensah went so close from a corner. Rising and powering his header downwards, the ball simply rebounded of Dida's leg too safety, the 'keeper knowing nothing about it.

When Brazil bagged their second Ghana had every right to feel hard done by on the balance of play. A counter attacking move saw Kaka, Cafu and Adriano break, and when Kaka gave Cafu room on the right his wicked cross took a deflection, and was bundled in at the far post by Adriano.

Ghana still had lots of the ball going in to the second half, but all their neat build up play couldn't be converted to real chances. Brazil had the best chance of the early stages, Ronaldinho played in the rampaging Roberto Carlos, but his toe-poke was straight at Kingston.

It was neither Ghana's or Gyan's day. With time and their chances getting away from them, chances kept falling to Ghana's Gyan. Three times he again went close, his curling effort was brilliantly saved by a sprawling Dida, and the brilliant 'keeper easily held another drive. Gyan then fired wide, and to finish off his afternoon, he was dismissed for a second yellow card, a grade F dive.

Brazil added the third the crowd demanded, Ghana's high line again exposed as Ze Roberto broke form his defensive restraints to knock over Kingston and tap in to an empty net. Brazil had chances to get a fourth, Ghana's keeper made brilliant saves to stop Ronaldo's ferocious drive, Cafu's chipped effort after he had broken the offside trap once more and from Juan after a classic Ricardinho back heel gave the centre back room in the box.

Man Of The Match: Dida - Amazingly, it was this man that kept Brazil in the match. Ghana had more chances than Brazil until the final minutes, and somehow the Milan 'keeper remained unbeaten in the face of numerous Gyan and Amoah chances.

Referee: Lubos Michel
Venue: Signal Iduna Park
Attendance: 65,000

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