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Scolari Praises Brazil, Waseige Blames Disallowed ‘Valid Goal’
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Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari |
KOBE,
Japan, June 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Belgium 0-2 defeat
before Brazil Monday fired the South American favorites into a
mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final showdown with England.
A
67th-minute deflected effort from Rivaldo and a breakaway goal from
Ronaldo three minutes from time settled a hard-fought battle which saw
Brazil firmly on the back foot for long periods in the second half.
"Every
game is a final in the World Cup and the World Cup starts in your next
game," a satisfied Ronaldo said afterwards, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
"But
anyway we are very happy for our supporters who were so colorful and
noisy here today.
"Against
England, it is going to be a very close match. It is an excellent
quarter-final and tomorrow we will begin studying tactics."
Belgium,
for their part, created several clear chances and were unlucky to have
a Marc Wilmots goal disallowed early on.
Belgium
coach Robert Waseige said that his team could have beaten Brazil if
the Belgians had not had a "completely valid" goal
disallowed.
Belgian
captain Marc Wilmots headed the ball into the net in the first-half
but Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast adjudged that he impeded
Brazilian defender Roque Junior when leaping to meet a Jacky Peeters
cross.
"The
match could have ended in a big surprise because we all feel that
Wilmots' goal was completely valid. The whole direction of the match
turned after that," said Waseige.
He
said he still felt his team could have equalized after Rivaldo opened
the scoring.
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Belgian coach Roberf Waseige |
"After
Rivaldo's goal we created two or three good chances to score. But in
football there are some things you just cannot account for.
"A
Belgian player touched Rivaldo's shot. And Wilmots could so easily
have scored two brilliant shots.
"But
we saw tonight that great players are blessed with luck."
This
was Waseige's last game as Belgian coach before he takes over the
reins at Standard Liege. He said his team's performance gave him great
satisfaction.
"We
may have lost but I am sure that the Belgian team gave a good showing.
To my knowledge, Belgium were not favorites to win this World
Cup."
Brazilian
Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, on the other hand, praised his team Monday
for showing unity and working as a team to overcome Belgium.
"It
was exactly what I expected. It was work done by the whole ensemble of
a team," he said. "I feel I have a family, a unity and
dedication now."
Scolari
cautioned last week that individual players would not win the World
Cup, it must be a team effort.
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Brazil's Ronaldo |
That
he said meant even luminaries like Rivaldo and Ronaldo, Monday's goal
scorers, must fulfill their roles in the game plan, which includes
playing defense if necessary, something neither is accustomed to.
In
training, Scolari was drilling his superstar squad in chasing down
balls and winning possession and said he was pleased that they worked
so hard Monday on that aspect of their game.
"This
team goes after the ball, it fights every minute of the game," he
said, adding that he knew what Belgium were capable of and worked hard
on tactics in the days ahead of the clash.
"We
knew how Belgium played and especially the high balls in. We prepared
for that," he said.
"We
played first to avoid giving away goals."
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