Brazil's Ronaldo (right) celebrates his goal against Ghana with teammates (from left) Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Adriano, and Kaka during their second round World Cup 2006 soccer match in Dortmund yesterday. Ronaldo's goal made him the leading all-time scorer in World Cup finals with 15. Brazil won 3-0. - REUTERS
berlin (reuters)
BRAZIL STRIKER RONALDO became the World Cup's all-time top scorer yesterday, getting the first goal as the champions defeated Ghana 3-0 in their second-round match.
Ronaldo latched on to a through pass from midfielder Kaka, stepped over the ball as he bore down on Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingston and finished off with his right foot.
His fifth-minute strike took his World Cup total to 15 goals, breaking the record he had shared with Gerd Mueller, who won the tournament in 1974 with West Germany.
"I'm happy to have broken this record. For seven World Cups it has not been broken," Ronaldo said.
"But let's not forget our main objective is to reach the final."
Ronaldo's strike partner Adriano added a second in first-half injury time amid protests from Ghana who claimed he was offside. Midfielder Ze Roberto scored the last in the 84th minute when he raced through a static Ghanian defence.
The win at Dortmund's Westfalenstadion puts Brazil into the quarter-finals where they will take on France.
Brazil join former champions Germany, Argentina, England and Italy in a strong quarter-final line-up, which also includes Portugal and tournament newcomers Ukraine.
COACH BANISHED
Despite being classed as rank outsiders and missing suspended midfielder Michael Essien, Ghana gave Brazil a real run for their money and were unlucky not to score.
The only African team to make the second round were caught cold by Ronaldo's early goal and the match was killed off as a serious contest by Adriano's controversial second.
Ghana's Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic was sent from the dug-out at the end of the first half after protesting to Slovakian referee Lubos Michel about Adriano's close-range strike.
"I said it would be better for us if he put on a yellow jersey," he told reporters after the game.
"I'm very proud of our players, they fought from first minute of the first match to last minute today."
Ghana also had striker Asamoah Gyan sent off in the 81st minute when he collected his second yellow card for a dive.
The defeat was a bitter disappointment for the West African nation, which had been jubilant at becoming the only side from the continent to reach the knockout stage in Germany.
Waving flags, wearing hats, shirts and dresses in the national colours of red, yellow and green and blowing whistles, Ghanaians gathered to watch the game at outdoor screens, outside electrical shops and in roadside spots or bars.
The defeat left them complaining about the referee, although some took heart from the team's performance.
"They have done well but we expected more than this. We play better than Brazil. They have totally robbed us," Abdul Aziz, a 28-year-old architect, said in the capital Accra.
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