France beat Spain, Ronaldo breaks record

By Andrew Gray

BERLIN (Reuters) – France defeated Spain 3-1 at the World
Cup on Tuesday to set up a quarter-final clash with champions
Brazil, whose striker Ronaldo became the tournament’s all-time
top scorer in a victory over Ghana.

France, branded too old by some critics, hit back in style
after going behind to a David Villa penalty in the first half
of their second round match with a young Spain side in Hanover.

Midfielder Franck Ribery canceled out Spain’s advantage
before the break, Patrick Vieira gave France the lead in the
83rd minute and captain Zinedine Zidane made sure of the
victory with a classy strike in stoppage time.

“We may have a team of old men but we know how to be
patient,” said France coach Raymond Domenech.

“Younger people run out of breath.”

France’s match with Brazil, who defeated debutants Ghana
3-0 in Dortmund, will reunite the two sides who contested the
1998 final in Paris, won by the home nation.

“France versus Brazil — that’s a nice memory,” said
Zidane, the 34-year-old midfielder who inspired France eight
years ago and scored two goals in the final.

“The adventure continues. We are all delighted to go
through,” said Zidane, who retires after this World Cup.

Ronaldo was also the center of attention eight years ago,
when he was hit by a mystery illness hours before the final. He
played poorly and the episode was never fully explained.

BRILLIANT BEST

Despite accusations that he is overweight and another
illness scare earlier in this tournament, he was at his
brilliant best when he scored his record-breaking 15th World
Cup goal in the match against Ghana.

He 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.

The fifth minute strike broke German Gerd Mueller’s record
of 14 World Cup goals, which Ronaldo equaled earlier in the
tournament. Mueller scored his World Cup goals in 1970 and
1974.

“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 defense.

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.

Ghana’s Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic was sent from the
dug-out after the first half for 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 prompted bitter complaints about the referee in
the West African nation, where people gathered to watch the
match waving flags, blowing whistles and wearing hats, shirts
and dresses in the national colors of red, yellow and green.

“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.