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Brazil, Portugal ease into last 16 of World Cup

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-26 00:51

JOHANNESBURG - Brazil and Portugal, two of the world's most admired teams, played out a sterile 0-0 draw Friday that put both into the World Cup's round of 16, while Ivory Coast and North Korea were eliminated.

Brazil finished top of Group G with Portugal second but their opponents will only be decided later Friday, when Chile and Spain meet in Pretoria and Switzerland plays Honduras in Bloemfontein.

The first half of Brazil's match was a tetchy affair, with seven yellow cards shown as individual duels threatened to turn nasty. The game calmed down in the second half but also, it appeared, most of the appetite for victory.

In Nelspruit, Ivory Coast went down fighting, beating North Korea 3-0 after goals from Yaya Toure, Koffi Romaric N'Dri and Salomon Kalou. North Korea finished a distant last in Group G, clearly outclassed by their opponents, scoring just once and conceding 12 goals. Hopes of a repeat of its famous performance in 1966, when it beat Italy, faded quickly.

The World Cup focus is already on Germany against England in Bloemfontein on Sunday, a fixture that has been closely fought for decades.

Germany met some lions Friday, but they were cuddly, furry ones rather than English players. The players visited a lion park near their base outside Pretoria and played with some of the cubs. Captain Philipp Lahm said the outing was good for the players, but they will be going into Sunday's match with "far more aggression."

Italy was in shock after the 2006 world champion was sent packing from South Africa by Slovakia. The Italians were a pale shadow of the team that lifted the trophy four years ago. Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete called for structural reform of the game at home. Captain Fabio Cannavaro, 36, announced his international retirement.

"We all know the importance of football in our country and we've disappointed tens of millions of fans," Abete said Friday. "We have to be realists. These are the facts. We need to reflect on the structural crisis of Italian football."

Japan fans celebrated in big numbers after the national team earned a rare trip into the knockout stage of the World Cup, and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key hailed the country's footballers as "heroes" as they ended their South African campaign unbeaten, although the team was eliminated.

Ghana will carry the hopes of Africa when it takes on the United States in the round of 16 on Saturday. Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Ivory Coast and host South Africa have all been eliminated in the first World Cup in Africa.

Former South Africa coach Jomo Sono said the host team should have done better in this World Cup given the amount of money it pumped into the team.

Sono, who failed to lead South Africa out of the group stage at the 2002 World Cup, said it has been a disappointing tournament for Africa _ Ghana is looking like the only African team to progress out of the group stage.

Sono also told a FIFA press briefing that only Ghana and Algeria played as a unit, and that in future Africa's teams need to learn that working as a collective is more important than relying on the individuals.

FIFA is investigating a complaint against Algeria striker Rafik Saifi following his altercation with a journalist at the World Cup.

The incident occurred after Algeria was eliminated by Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the United States.