WORLD CUP ROUNDUP \ Tuesday's games

Brazil 1, Croatia 0BERLIN -- Brazil's quest for a sixth World Cup title is off to a raucous start. Kaka delighted the Brazilian fans who have sambaed their way to Germany, scoring in the 44th minute, and the defending champions won a record eighth straight World Cup game. Though this wasn't its best effort -- Ronaldo still looks slow and out of shape -- and the Croatians put up a big fight, it was a solid enough start. Dribbling up the right side in the 44th minute, Cafu spotted Kaka in the middle and made a perfect pass. Kaka collected it and was past Niko Krancjar with one quick tap of the ball. The 21-year-old son of coach Zlatko Kranjcar has been a concern defensively, and it was soon clear why. Kranjcar wasn't anywhere close as Kaka stutter-stepped, giving the Brazilian time to look up and check his aim. As Kranjcar closed in, Kaka drew back from 20 yards and struck hard with his left foot, and it was clear from the minute his boot hit the ball that it was going to be good. As the ball sailed toward the goal, Brazil's reserves rushed off the bench, thrusting their arms in the air when the ball settled into the upper left corner of the net. Kaka screamed in jubilation, throwing his arms out wide, and Roberto Carlos jumped on his back for a short, celebratory piggy-back ride.South Korea 2, Togo 1FRANKFURT, Germany -- Togo got its coach back for its opening World Cup match, and even took a halftime lead. Then everything fell apart. South Korea's long wait for its first World Cup victory on foreign soil ended against the tiny African nation, which put up an unexpectedly spirited performance given the coaching turmoil that ended only moments before the match. To compound its problems, Togo played with 10 men for the final 37 minutes. There were doubts until almost gametime whether Togo coach Otto Pfister, who resigned Friday and agreed to come back Monday, would actually sit on the bench. But he took his place, encouraging his team on. The game will hardly go down in World Cup annals for its quality, but it will make history in South Korea as the nation's first win outside of Asia since the team made its debut in the tournament in 1954.Switzerland 0, France 0STUTTGART, Germany -- The star-studded French were held to a scoreless tie, bringing back memories of their horrid World Cup 2002 performance, when Les Bleus were knocked out in the first round without finding the net. The last time the French scored in a World Cup game was when they beat Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 final at Stade de France.
Brazil 1, Croatia 0BERLIN -- Brazil's quest for a sixth World Cup title is off to a raucous start. Kaka delighted the Brazilian fans who have sambaed their way to Germany, scoring in the 44th minute, and the defending champions won a record eighth straight World Cup game. Though this wasn't its best effort -- Ronaldo still looks slow and out of shape -- and the Croatians put up a big fight, it was a solid enough start. Dribbling up the right side in the 44th minute, Cafu spotted Kaka in the middle and made a perfect pass. Kaka collected it and was past Niko Krancjar with one quick tap of the ball. The 21-year-old son of coach Zlatko Kranjcar has been a concern defensively, and it was soon clear why. Kranjcar wasn't anywhere close as Kaka stutter-stepped, giving the Brazilian time to look up and check his aim. As Kranjcar closed in, Kaka drew back from 20 yards and struck hard with his left foot, and it was clear from the minute his boot hit the ball that it was going to be good. As the ball sailed toward the goal, Brazil's reserves rushed off the bench, thrusting their arms in the air when the ball settled into the upper left corner of the net. Kaka screamed in jubilation, throwing his arms out wide, and Roberto Carlos jumped on his back for a short, celebratory piggy-back ride.South Korea 2, Togo 1FRANKFURT, Germany -- Togo got its coach back for its opening World Cup match, and even took a halftime lead. Then everything fell apart. South Korea's long wait for its first World Cup victory on foreign soil ended against the tiny African nation, which put up an unexpectedly spirited performance given the coaching turmoil that ended only moments before the match. To compound its problems, Togo played with 10 men for the final 37 minutes. There were doubts until almost gametime whether Togo coach Otto Pfister, who resigned Friday and agreed to come back Monday, would actually sit on the bench. But he took his place, encouraging his team on. The game will hardly go down in World Cup annals for its quality, but it will make history in South Korea as the nation's first win outside of Asia since the team made its debut in the tournament in 1954.Switzerland 0, France 0STUTTGART, Germany -- The star-studded French were held to a scoreless tie, bringing back memories of their horrid World Cup 2002 performance, when Les Bleus were knocked out in the first round without finding the net. The last time the French scored in a World Cup game was when they beat Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 final at Stade de France.
Associated Press