Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari praised his side’s fighting spirit after watching ten-man Brazil overcome England to earn a place in the semi-finals.
The Brazilians were stunned by Michael Owen’s opener midway through the first half but came back impressively to win with goals either side of the break through Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.
“I feel happiness,’ said Scoalri. ‘It’s a job well done and enables us to give something to the Brazilian people. I have a personal feeling of great satisfaction.”
“My only thought was to be alive, not to die. That’s what I said to the players before the match.”
Scolari argued that Ronaldinho’s sending for a foul on Danny Mills was unjust.
“Ronaldinho was fouled by an England player just before it,’ claimed Scolari. ‘He didn’t intend to foul anyone. Afterwards I changed the system a little.
“The lads did a great job. We never gave up,” said Scolari, revealing that he had practised playing with ten players in the lead-up to the game.
“We sometimes trained with ten players and the press wondered why,” he admitted.
“We gave a good image of Brazil, a good impression of our quality and our spirit.
“I have ever seen the team defend the national colours with such fighting spirit. We are doing a very good job,” Scoalri concluded.
