A superb hat-trick from Adriano led Brazil to a resounding 5-0 thrashing of Chile as the Selecao booked the second automatic qualifying place in the South American Zone for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals in Germany.

Brazil surged to a 4-0 lead in the first half hour of this game in Brasilia. Two from Adriano, and one-a-piece for Ronaldo and Juan meant that the match was over as a competition before some fans had finished their first Samba.

The first goal came after 12 minutes when Brazil won a corner. The Chile defence might have done more to prevent Juan, who stepped in at close range to head home. Nine minutes later Robinho made it two after a typically slick Brazilian move involving Adriano, Kaka and Ronaldo. All four attackers combined lethally to leave the Chile defenders chasing shadows.

After 23 minutes Chile had their only real chance of the half, but a bad first touch from Eduardo Rubio left him unable to get a shot on goal, and the opportunity was gone.

Whether it would have made any difference became academic four minutes later when Adriano, the man with what must be the most lethal left foot in world football at the moment, stepped up to fire home from the corner of the penalty area. Three minutes later he had his second, a neat header from another badly defended cross. The half concluded with Brazil strolling around in all of their not inconsiderable pomp.

The second half was little more than a training session. The Brazilians stretched their legs, and the Chile team went through the motions. It seemed that the Selecao were content with their nights work, until that man Adriano stepped up in the last minute of added time to blast home an emphatic shot and claim his hat-trick.

Brazil’s coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira said before the game that he didn’t mind if his team won by a single, scrambled goal - winning was what mattered most. In the end his team delivered far more than just a win. If you’re not a Brazilian, be concerned, be very concerned.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | google | yahoo | technorati