MUNICH: Adriano and Fred scored a goal each on Sunday, leading Brazil to a 2-0 win over Australia in Group F of the World Cup.

Brazil secured a spot in the second round with the victory, its ninth consecutive at the World Cup.

PHOTO: AP

WHEN LEFT WAS JUST RIGHT: Striker Adriano fires in a left footer to score Brazil's first goal against Australia in a World Cup Group F match in Munich on Sunday. The defending champion won 2-0 to enter the second round.

The five-time champion hasn't been eliminated in the first stage since the 1966 tournament in England.

Adriano scored the first goal in the 49th minute with a left-footer from the top of the area, clearing a defender before striking a low shot past Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Adriano did the ``rocking the baby'' celebration along with the rest of the Brazilian players, dedicating the goal to his son Adriano Junior, who was born in Brazil on Friday.

Fred, who replaced Adriano in the 88th, added the second goal within minutes by tapping in after the ball rebounded off the post.

Incredible debut

``This is an incredible debut in the World Cup. I couldn't have expected something like this,'' Fred said. ``I am going to give this ball as a present to my father.''

Ronaldo, who improved slightly from his dismal performance in the opener, set up Adriano for his goal.

Brazil, seeking a record sixth world title, was coming off a lacklustre 1-0 win over Croatia last Tuesday, when the team's ``magic quartet'' was kept in check and only Kaka played well. The quartet had another below par performance on Sunday, failing to spark Brazil's attack.

``The difficulties we have faced are caused not only by our kind of play, but also by the high quality of our rivals. They close very well in defence when we attack,'' Fred said.

Fourth win

It was Brazil's fourth win in six matches against the Australians. The Socceroos had defeated Brazil 1-0 the last time the teams met, in the 2001 Confederations Cup in South Korea, when Brazil fielded second stringers. Australia had also played Brazil to a 0-0 draw in 1997.

Brazil controlled possession but failed to create many dangerous scoring opportunities.

Two-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho was heavily marked from the beginning and couldn't get any of his moves to work.

PHOTO: AP

ON CLOUD NINE: Fred is ecstatic after scoring Brazil's second goal against Australia on Sunday.

Relying mostly on counterattacks, Australia was able to put some pressure on the Brazilians at times.

Captain Mark Viduka, who orchestrated the attack, nearly equalised in the 86th, but his chip over Brazil goalkeeper Dida just missed over the crossbar.

Dida also had a great save in the 79th after a volley by substitute midfielder Marco Bresciano.

Harry Kewell missed the open net in the 57th after Dida failed to hold onto a high ball inside the area. Kaka, who scored Brazil's winner in the opener, had one of his team's best chances of the match with a one-timer from the top of the area in the third minute, completing a pass from Ronaldo.

Ronaldo was more active than in his first match, participating in more plays and creating scoring chances. His powerful right-footer from about 20 metres (yards) in the 41st minute just missed the net.

He still was far from Ronaldo, who led Brazil to its fifth title in South Korea and Japan with eight goals in seven matches. He missed easy balls and was late getting to some passes. Just before the start, Brazil's fans showed their support for the striker, loudly yelling ``Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo.'' The chants continued throughout the match whenever the striker made a play.

He was replaced by Robinho in the 72nd minute.

Cafu's record

Brazil captain Cafu played in his 18th World Cup match, tying a national record for World Cup appearances with Dunga and Taffarel.

With 14 victories, Cafu has already won more World Cup matches than any other Brazilian, and has played a record 148 games for his country. He has lost only 19 of those matches.

The Australians, playing in their first World Cup since 1974, entered the match hoping for an upset, which would have kept their momentum going from the 3-1 win over Japan. — AP

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