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Brazil puts on a show
Ronaldo, Cesar Sampaio each score twice in 4-1 win
Posted: Saturday September 19, 1998 09:03 AM
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Ronaldo helped Brazil roll on with two scores against Chile Shaun Botterill/Allsport |
PARIS, France (CNN/SI)
-- What, you thought Ronaldo was going to sleepwalk through this World Cup?
The world's best player woke up his country's offense with two goals in
Brazil's 4-1
victory over Chile on
Saturday. But if Ronaldo is the known weapon, then Cesar Sampaio may be
the secret weapon.
The 21-year-old "phenomenon" of soccer and a defensive midfielder scored
a pair of goals each to lead Brazil to a 4-1 victory over Chile on
Saturday.
Marcelo Salas got a late goal for the Chileans, but they now go home,
while Brazil heads to the quarterfinals against the winner of Nigeria-Denmark.
Ronaldo, who had promised all week to "break the spell" in which he had
just one goal in three games, scored on a penalty kick in injury time of
the first half. He got a clean goal in the 70th minute, as well as shots
that clanged against the goalpost and crossbar in his best showing in the
Cup to date.
But the surprise of the night was Cesar Sampaio. The 30-year-old support
player opened the scoring with two goals that dismantled Chile, relaxed his
teammates and tied him with Ronaldo for team scoring honors with three.
"He was perfect," said Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo. "Everything, not
just the goals. Defense. He was complete."
Brazil looked tense and cautious at first on the rain-slicked field at
Parc des Princes Stadium. Still smarting from a 2-1 loss to Norway earlier
in the week, they were not about to get stung by twin threats Salas and
Ivan Zamorano.
But in the 11th minute, a foul on Rivaldo set up a free kick on the left
side. Dunga curled his shot toward the goal box, and Cesar Sampaio broke in
unchallenged for the header to make it 1-0.
Chile was without three starters, suspended with two yellow cards in the
first round. And the vaunted front line of Salas and Zamorano had little
success against Brazil's double coverage.
Brazil made Chile pay for a foul by Javier Margas in the 27th minute.
Roberto Carlos sent a long free kick that bounced off the defense, caromed
off Bebeto and found Cesar Sampaio. His shot caught goalie Nelson Tapia on
his off-foot and found the left corner for a 2-0 lead.
With Chile's defense keying on Ronaldo, the two-time world player of the
year had trouble staying on his feet. But in injury time, Leonardo sent
Ronaldo in up the middle, and Tapia dived to smother the ball at his feet.
Ronaldo went over, and French referee Marc Batta whistled a penalty.
Ronaldo took the shot and it was 3-0 at halftime.
"We started nervous," said Zagallo. "We were lucky to get a goal by Cesar
Sampaio and this gave morale to the team. Then, in the second half, we
played our best football of the Cup."
Zamorano called the loss "the end of a dream, not of a nightmare."
"We played with dignity and showed we can play on even terms with
anybody," he said. "Unfortunately we made some childish mistakes because of
lack of concentration.
"I think we were playing very well until Brazil scored the first goal.
When a team has players like Ronaldo and Cesar Sampaio, anything might
happen, as it happened today."
Chile finally connected in the 69th minute. A dead-on header by Zamorano
bounced off Taffarel, but Salas immediately put the rebound in with a
header to make it 3-1.
A minute later, though, it was Ronaldo again on the wing, taking a pass
from Cafu and hesitating just an instant before shooting across the
sprawling Tapia for a 4-1 lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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