Defending champion Brazil is through to the final eight at the 2006 World Cup in Germany after topping Ghana 3-0 in the Round of 16. France, champions in 1998, will face the powerful Brazilians in the quarterfinals after disposing of Spain 3-1 in Tuesday's other match.
It was an historic day in Dortmund when Ronaldo took the all-time lead in World Cup scoring with his 15th career strike in the competition. He did it in style, using a flashy step-over move to round the Ghana goalkeeper and slip the ball into the empty net. It was Ronaldo's third goal of this year's tournament.
Adriano doubled the lead when he kneed in a cross from Cafu in first-half stoppage time. Replays suggested that the striker may have been offside, but the goal stood and Brazil headed into the break with a comfortable two-goal advantage.
Ghana pushed to get back in the game after the intermission but was unable to beat Dida in the Brazilian net. The Africans made it more difficult on themselves when Asamoah Gyan was sent off with just under 10 minutes to play for a second bookable offense. Brazil used the man advantage well and sealed the victory just minutes later. Ze Roberto got on the scoresheet when he beat Ghana's offside trap, popped the ball over Richard Kingston and poked the ball home.
France's victory was not quite as easy to come by. In fact, it was the Spaniards that struck first when David Villa scored from the penalty spot after 28 minutes. They couldn't carry the lead into the locker room though, France's Frank Ribery rounding Iker Casillas on a breakaway to tie the game.
The stalemate continued deep into the second half before France took the lead for the first time in the match, Patrick Vieira heading in a Zinedine Zidane free kick that was flicked to the back post. Zidane capped the win with a goal of his own, cutting inside a defender to power home a shot from inside the box two minutes into stoppage time.
Brazil and France will meet in the quarterfinals in a rematch of the 1998 final, which the French won 3-0 to claim their only title. The game is set for Saturday in Frankfurt. The quarterfinal round gets underway on Friday as Germany plays host to Argentina and Italy faces Ukraine. All games can be seen on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC in high definition.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
