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England were eliminated in their quarterfinal clash with Brazil 2:1 as the Brazilians came from behind to snatch victory. The match started tentatively with both teams feeling each other out in the opening ten minutes Roberto Carlos saw a deflected free kick go wide of the goal in the 14th minute followed five minutes later by a shot from Ronaldo that David Seaman gathered.
The English relied on massed defending and fast counterattacks and this seemed to serve them well as in the 23rd minute a long pass by Emile Heskey was mishandled by the Brazilian backs allowing Michael Owen to fire England ahead. Heskey himself was close in the 31st minute with a header that just cleared the crossbar.
However, Brazil hit back in the second minute of injury time when Ronaldinho opened up the English defense with a long run through the center and slid the ball to an open Rivaldo to fire past Seaman.
Following the break, Brazil were the first to hit again with a looping free kick by Ronaldinho that went over Seaman's head to give the South Americans the lead five minutes after the start.
Hesky came back with a swift cross, but no one was able to convert it to a tying score. Ronhaldinho was then sent off for a studs-up tackle on Danny Mills, but England were unable to capitalize their man advantage as the Brazilians held on for the win.
(Chris Price, chris@chosun.com )
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