Wednesday, November 14, 2001 
      Samba boys waltz into Finals - at last 

      SAO LUIS, Brazil, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Brazil finally qualified for the World Cup on Wednesday, beating Venezuela 3-0 in the final game of a long, agonising campaign in which they have used four coaches and lost six matches. 
      Brazil, needing a win to guarantee a top four place and avoid a play-off with Australia, settled their nerves when striker Luizao scored twice in the first 20 minutes. 

      Rivaldo added the third, his eighth of the competition, in the 35th minute. 

      Venezuela finished with ten men after captain Luis Vera was sent off for elbowing Juninho Paulista in the 48th minute. 

      But questions hung over the crucial first goal as Brazil striker Edilson appeared to foul Venezuela defender Jose Manuel Rey, leaving the way open for Luizao to score. 

      The result wa a huge relief for the nerve-wracked four-times world champions, who several times during the campaign appeared to be in danger of losing their record as the only country to have played at every World Cup. 

      'We suffered for 17 games and I thank the Brazilians who suffered with us,' said full-back Roberto Carlos. 

      Captain Emerson Ferreira said: 'We still have to improve alot, we are aware of it. Now we have to work.' 

      Their happiest man appeared to be coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who celebrated every goal by hugging players and other members of the bench. 

      'Big Phil,' who took over in June after Emerson Leao was sacked, had been in danger of going down in history as the coach who failed to take Brazil to the World Cup. 

      Brazil, who had only lost one qualifier before the current campaign, finished the South American group with nine wins, three draws and six defeats. 

      Venezuela, the continent's minnows, had surprisingly won their last four games, increasing the pressure on Brazil, who had produced a dismal performance last week in losing 3-1 to Bolivia. 

      FIVE CHANGES 

      Scolari made five changes, bringing in midfielder Juninho Paulista and Luizao who has only just recovered from a six-month injury lay-off. 

      The changes quickly paid off. 

      In the 12th minute, Juninho Paulista played a ball through the centre of the defence, Edilson appeared to pull over defender Jose Manuel Rey and the ball ran loose to Luizao who rounded Rafael Dudamel to score. 

      Seven minutes later, Edilson fed Luizao - celebrating his 26th birthday - with a similar through pass and he calmly added a second. 

      Venezuela's passing game was ruthlessly destroyed in midfield, wher Brazil resorted to systematic fouling to stop their best moves led by Emerson. 

      Edilson, already booked, was lucky not to be sent off shortly afterwards for a tackle from behind. 

      Ironically, Edilson was involved in the third goal in the 35th minute, picking up a loose bad pass and running into the penalty area, where the ball fell to Rivaldo who scored from a narrow angle. 

      Vera's sending-off prompted Venezuela to pack their defence after the break and attempt to keep the score respectable. 

      Belletti nearly added a fourth in the 70th minute with a rasping drive but the ball was brilliantly turned over by Dudamel. 

      Venezuela, who have never played at a World Cup, finished with 16 points from their 17 games. 

      Officials had announced beforehand that the game would be a 75,000 sell-out but there were gaps in the crowd at the Castelao stadium. Local media said touts had bought up large numbers of the tickets but had been unable to re-sell them. 

     
From: Soccernet

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>