SEOUL, Nov 20: Two goals from Ronaldo and a late Ronaldinho penalty earned world champions Brazil a 3-2 victory against South Korea Wednesday.

Ronaldinho’s 90th-minute spot kick after Ronaldo had been brought down, finally subdued the hosts who had twice taken the lead in front of a crowd of 63,000.

“They are a strong team,” Ronaldo, the leading goalscorer at the World Cup finals, said.

The Real Madrid striker struck a goal in each half as South Korea, surprise semifinalists at the World Cup, often outplayed the Brazilians on a bitter cold day.

Ronaldinho was also quick to pay tribute to the Koreans.

“Whoever is going to play against the Korean team in the next world cup should prepare a lot,” he said.

South Korea took the lead in the seventh minute when striker Seol Ki-hyeon got between the Brazilian defenders to head in a free kick from Ahn Jung-hwan after Brazil’s goalkeeper Dida had been penalised for picking up a back pass.

Ronaldo struck in the 16th minute, finishing well after Ze Roberto had threaded a pass neatly through the middle.

South Korea came back strongly in the second half despite a string of substitutions and World Cup hero Ahn put them back in front in the 58th minute.

Brazil looked dangerous on the break, however, and Ronaldo, nominated for FIFA’s world player of the year award, scored his second nine minutes later.

The match was the international swangsong for Korean captain Hong Myung-bo and striker Hwang Sun-Hong, who both bowed to all four sides of the ground after the final whistle.

Brazil and South Korea have met three times previously. In their last clash in March 1999, South Korea won 1-0. The previous meetings in 1995 and 1997 were both won by Brazil, 1-0 and 2-1 respectively.—Reuters

South Korea 2 Brazil 3