Yet it was typical of China that he then squandered possession whereas Brazil’s tricks were invariably integral to a move rather than gratuitous

Yet it was typical of China that he then squandered possession, whereas Brazil’s tricks were invariably integral to a move rather than gratuitous.They moved further ahead in the 32nd minute. A cross by Cafu, who was outstanding in defence and attack, was cleared by Du Wei as Ronaldo arrived to head it in, but only as far Ronaldinho on the opposite flank. Rivaldo – subject of a “Go Home Cheat” banner – made ground before sidefooting the ball home.Just before the break, it was all over bar the drumming. Ronaldo, looking sharper with each game, swerved away from two defenders, one of whom, Li Weifeng, pulled him over by an arm.

Ronaldinho stroked his penalty to the keeper’s right as he went left.Nine minutes into the second half, Cafu chested down a cross-field pass by Rivaldo and burst past two opponents before rolling a pass across the six-yard area. Ronaldo darted in to score his second goal in successive matches.To their credit, China kept up the quest for consolation. Once, Ma Mingyu broke through, but seemed paralysed by nerves and allowed Cafu to slide in to avert the danger. A swerving free-kick by Zhao Junzhe then shook the left upright, while Marcos kept out a similar effort from Shao Jiayi at full stretch.As a trombonist of unknown nationality played the workers’ anthem, “The Internationale”, China left one last impression, a delightful pirouette by Shao Jiayi that left Anderson standing in the way Brazilians have been doing for decades. They will be back, but for now the great leap forward awaits Brazil.Brazil 4 China 0 Carlos 15, Rivaldo 32, Ronaldinho pen 45, Ronaldo 55Half-time: 3-0 Attendance: 36,750.

The Americans have created upsets before, as England know from bitter experience in 1950, without remotely loosening the grip baseball, basketball, gridiron and ice hockey exert on the hearts and wallets of its people.South Korea, however, have been terminal under-achievers, failing to win in 14 finals fixtures since their debut in 1954 – a 9-0 rout by Hungary – until last Tuesday’s cathartic 2-0 defeat of Poland. The triumph in Pusan, tumultuously acclaimed by as loud a crowd of around 50,000 as I have ever heard, finally confirmed that the nation had fallen in love with football, or at least with Hiddink and his team, the “Ultimate Warriors”.Long before it was divided by war and ideology, Korea gave the world a sport, or rather a martial art, called taekwondo. In modern times, it has lionised speed skaters more than footballers, while the popularity of baseball outstrips that of the K-League. But when Hwang Sun-Hong and Yoo Sang-Chul buried their shots beyond Jerzy Dudek, something changed, possibly forever.The core of true believers, the 110,000-strong “Red Devils”, were joined in their euphoria by the previously sceptical or uninterested man on the Ulsan omnibus Nearly 75 per cent of all families watched the match on TV. Later, the crowds that thronged the streets of Seoul were the biggest since the pro-democracy protests of the 1980s. Suddenly it was impossible to find anyone who ever doubted Hiddink, who was derided when results were poor after his arrival 18 months ago.Korean players have always had talent; even that Stalinist dinosaur, North Korea, sent a wonderfully fast and skilful team to England in 1966.

What they have lacked is someone to harness ability to awareness – eg. learning to cover a colleague who moves out of position – and the physique to stand up to so-called developed football nations.Hiddink, the former Holland coach, instituted a training regime to beef up his squad. The scheme reaped a spectacular dividend: seldom, if ever, can an Asian team have dominated a European side, albeit from the second rank of powers, so completely; and it must be doubtful whether one has ever overpowered such opponents as South Korea did Poland.He also worked hard on tactical appreciation When defending, the Koreans tended to be in 4-5-1 formation. Going forward, it morphed into 3-4-3, with their exemplary sweeper and captain, Hong Myung-Bo, floating like a latterday Lothar Matth?. And though they might not appreciate the comparison, their attacking fluidity evoked memories of North Korea 36 years ago.Dudek and his defenders may have been relieved to see Hwang – like Hong, playing in his fourth World Cup – substituted in the second half. But his replacement, Ahn Jung-Hwan, proved even more elusive, combining quick feet with a shoot-on-sight policy. Ahn’s two seasons with Perugia have seen him used only marginally more than Japan’s Jinuchi Inamoto at Arsenal.