France, Argentina and Brazil finish the year with victories.
Ronaldo double brings joy
to Zagallo's farewell
World champions Brazil broke South Korean hearts in Seoul with a last-minute Ronaldinho penalty for a 3-2 win at the World Cup stadium to give legendary coach Mario Zagallo a victorious send-off. The real star of the night was Real Madrid striker Ronaldo whose stealth and pace led him to score two and set up the killer-move that resulted in the 89th-minute spot-kick.
Afterwards, he paid tribute to Zagallo, in charge of the side for the last time here after having a hand in the first four Brazilian World Cup triumphs."He is the greatest Brazilian hero, and the victory belongs to him," said the striker.
The 71-year-old silver-haired Zagallo was tempted out of retirement to act as caretaker for Brazil following the decision of World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to step down.
As a player he was a member of the World Cup-winning teams of 1958 and 1962, before returning to coach the fabled 1970 team which many regard as the best Brazilian side ever. He was also assistant coach in the 1994 World Cup triumph in the United States.
Euro 2004
A last-minute own-goal dashed San Marino's hopes of their first-ever point in a European Championship qualifying match, Latvia winning 1-0 in a Group four qualifier yesterday. Cyprus beat Malta 2-1 in their Euro qualifier.
Trapattoni on borrowed time
Christian Vieri kept the heat off under-fire coach Giovanni Trapattoni by scoring Italy's equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to World Cup semi-finalists Turkey in a friendly yesterday.
Vieri struck with a low shot from a tight angle just before half-time after Emre Belozoglu, who plays with Inter Milan, had given Turkey the lead.
Earlier this month, Trapattoni defied calls for his departure from the media and was given a vote of confidence by the Italian football federation (FIGC) who insisted he would remain in his post until the summer of 2004.
But another defeat would have undoubtedly brought more pressure on Trapattoni whose Italy side have won only two of their last 11 matches and were knocked out of the World Cup in the second round by South Korea this summer.
ITALY: Buffon (Toldo 46), Birindelli, Cannavaro (Le grottaglie 65), Iuliano, Zauri (Ferrari 78), Di Natale (Pancaro 85), Perrotta, Di Biagio (Ambrosini 46), Nervo (Pirlo 78), Vieri (Inzaghi 46), Del Piero (Di Vaio 65). Subs Not Used: Negro, Zenoni, Cudicini. Booked: Nervo. Goals: Vieri 38.
TURKEY: Omer (Rustu 87), Fatih, Alpay (Asik 77), Korkmaz (Ozbey 77), Ergun, Okan (Serhat 61), Tugay (Sas 60), Emre (Tayfur 46), Arif Erdem (Ozat 77), Mansiz, Basturk (Cihan 46). Subs Not Used: Zafer. Booked: Korkmaz, Serhat. Goals: Emre 28.
Referee: P Garibian (France).
French unbeaten run extended
France ended a disappointing year on a high note after two goals from Eric Carriere helped the European champions to a 3-0 win over Yugoslavia in a friendly yesterday.
Jacques Santini's side have now gone unbeaten in the five matches since he took over as coach from Roger Lemerre following France's shock first-round World Cup exit earlier this year.
Carriere netted his first on 11 minutes from close range after playing a one-two with Lilian Thuram and his second five minutes into the second half. Olivier Kapo added a third goal 20 minutes from time.
FRANCE: Barthez, Thuram (Pedretti 78), Gallas, Desailly (Mexes 46), Brechet (Silvestre 13), Makelele (Wiltord 53), Petit, Carriere (Giuly 84), Kapo Obou, Marlet, Henry (Moreira 75). Subs Not Used: Coupet. Goals: Carriere 11, 49, Kapo Obou 70.
YUGOSLAVIA: Jevric, Markovic, Dragutinovic, Duljac (Trobok 67), Krastajic (Milan Dudic 84), Vidic, Djordjevic (Koroman 51), Dejan Stankovic (Boskovic 70), Mihajlovic (Stefanovic 60), Kezman, Kovacevic (Milosevic 46). Subs Not Used: Zilic, Jovan Stankovic, Nenad Brnovic, Vukic, Markoski, Sasa Ilic. Booked: Mihajlovic.
Referee: E Gonzalez (Bilbao).
Argentina impress in Japan when it no longer counts
Argentina eased some of the painful memory of their disastrous World Cup campaign in June with a second-half onslaught in Saitama yesterday to beat hosts Japan 2-0.
Italian-based stars Juan Pablo Sorin and Hernan Crespo scored within five minutes of the restart and the Argentinians were only prevented from enjoying a more resounding victory by a fine performance from Japan goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki.
Sorin's strike came less than two minutes after the interval as the Lazio midfielder latched onto a pass from Manchester United's Juan Sebastian Veron.
A couple of minutes later, Inter Milan star Crespo headed home a cross by the impish Ariel Ortega to temporarily silence a sell-out crowd in the 65,000-capacity stadium.
When asked if the result had banished the memory of last summer's early return home, Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa said: "No, we cannot refresh ourselves with this win. It was much more important to play in the World Cup."
