Brazilians Give English the Boot, 2-1

ULSAN, South Korea —  So another World Cup ends in tears for England? Soccer fans from Europe to South America to Asia all could have seen it coming, even if David Seaman didn’t.

Seaman, the old man with the usually sure hands in front of the English goal, froze on a long Brazilian free kick that might or might not have been a shot, twisting around and stumbling backward as the ball carried over his head and into the net to send England out of the tournament Friday in Shizuoka, Japan.

Seaman’s gaffe--and it will go down as one of the most infamous in England’s World Cup history--enabled Brazil to break a 1-1 tie and advance to the semifinals with a 2-1 triumph despite playing the last 33 minutes with 10 players.

Ronaldinho, who had assisted on Brazil’s equalizer three minutes earlier at the end of the first half, lined up a free kick from about 35 yards out in the 50th minute and curled it high over the English wall and across the mouth of Seaman’s goal. Seaman, playing dangerously off his line, appeared caught by surprise by the flight of the ball--and before he could scramble back to save at the far post, the ball was skimming the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

Three minutes earlier, during first-half stoppage time, Ronaldinho took advantage of two missed English tackles in his half of the field, dribbled into the heart of the England defense, spun defender Sol Campbell around and fed the ball to Rivaldo, whose hard left-footed shot eluded a diving Seaman inside the far post.

England, which had taken the lead in the 23rd minute on a Michael Owen goal and playing intelligently to protect it, had suddenly given up two preventable goals in less than five minutes.

The first Brazilian goal, according to England reserve defender Gareth Southgate, “completely changed the flow of the game.”

But the second goal shattered it.

Backup England goalkeeper David James said Ronaldinho’s free kick “shocked” his team.

Right back Danny Mills took it one step further.

“It killed us,” he said.

England was never the same, even after Ronaldinho was ejected for a rough challenge on Mills in the 57th minute--when’s the last time the man of the match in a World Cup quarterfinal was red-carded?--and Brazil was forced to play short-handed for the last 33 minutes.

For Seaman, 38, the miscue was a nightmarish flashback to the goal he gave up at the end of the 1995 Cup Winners Cup final, when he was lobbed from just inside the midfield line by Real Zaragoza’s Nayim, costing Seaman’s Arsenal club the championship.

Seaman broke down after the whistle sounded on Brazil’s victory. He put his hands to his face and began sobbing, with teammate David Beckham and England goalkeeper coach Ray Clemence rushing over to try to console him.

Seaman was still wracked with emotion when he faced the English media.

“The main thing,” he said, fighting back tears, “is that I just want to say sorry to the fans.”

Beckham then stepped to the microphone to defend Seaman. He said if the fans and media tried to make Seaman a scapegoat for the defeat, “it would be an absolute disgrace, because it wasn’t his fault. He is one of the best goalkeepers ... a world-class goalkeeper.”

Seaman had saved England repeatedly in the early phases of the tournament, bailing out defensive errors in front of him in the 1-1 tie against Sweden and preserving the 1-0 victory over Argentina with several crucial stops.

England Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was more disturbed by his team’s inability to capitalize against a short-handed opponent during the final 33 minutes.

“Maybe we were a little bit tired,” Eriksson said.

If anything, Brazil gained inspiration after Ronaldinho was ejected.

“The team spirit was not spoiled by that,” goalkeeper Marcos said. “It is something that happens, whether we like it or not.”

Said Rivaldo: “Our first priority after Ronaldinho’s red card was to avoid conceding another goal. We were able to do that and I’m glad about that.”

Brazil Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose team next plays either Senegal or Turkey in a semifinal, pointed out, “We practice with 10 men sometimes. People have asked me why I do this, but now you see why.”