Germany reached the semifinals of the World Cup Friday by doing what it does best, playing dynamite defense and outmuscling the opposition in the air.
Brazil also earned a spot in the semifinals by doing what it does best, seizing on the mistakes of the opposition and instantly making them pay.
Those two soccer giants, therefore, stayed on course to meet in what would be a potentially classic World Cup final.
It will be up to the winners of the Spain-South Korea and Senegal-Turkey matches to spoil a Brazil-Germany showdown. The United States and England were unable to do so Friday.
Germany ended the Americans' best World Cup ever in the South Korean industrial town of Ulson Friday night, getting a goal in the 39th minute from Michael Ballack and then relying on the goalkeeping magic of Oliver Kahn to preserve the lead and a 1-0 victory.
"I think we outplayed them," said American 'keeper Brad Friedel. "But that's why they are so good. They win games like this."
Earlier in the day in Shizuaka, Japan, the English took the lead only to have two miscues turn into Brazilain goals for a 2-1 win by the four-time World Cup champion.
"I want to say I respect all the players that have been around the national team in history," Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "But I must say that I have never seen such a team defending the national colors with such a spirit, a fighting spirit. I think we are here in order to do our best job and we are doing it well and working well."
The Brazilian coach, knowing his team is in within reach of the big prize, almost sounded like a politician.
"I want to say my last words to the people of Brazil," Scolari said at the end of his post-match news conference. "Believe. Believe, because we can do much more. Not only football, but I want to say all the nation can do more."
Three of the teams in action Friday fully expected to be playing at this stage fo the competition. The United States was the exception, but the Americans had demonstrated during the previous three weeks that they were capable of big things. And although they swarmed around the German goal all night, Kahn and his defensive mates were able to repel every charge.
Germany has allowed only one goal in the World Cup, that coming in the closing seconds of a 1-1 tie against Ireland in group play. Both of the German victories in the knockout phase of the tournament have been by the score of 1-0.
The German goal Friday night came on the kind of play the Americans had feared and had worked on in practice to stop.
On short free kicks and corner kicks, German players are tremendous at leaping above their defenders to get their head on the ball. Miroslav Klose leads the World Cup with five goals scored and all five have come on headers.
So when Germany was awarded a free kick on the right side from abuot 10 yards outside the box, the pressure was on the United States defense. Christian Ziege took the free kick and sent the ball bending toward the front of the goal, where a mass of German players converged. Ballack was able to soar high above Anthony Sanneh and head the ball down to the feet of Friedel.
Although the American goalkeeper got a leg on it, he was unable to stop it.
For the rest of the night, the United States challenged Kahn and the German defense without success. The United States had 11 shots on goal to six for the Germans and the Americans were also called for nine more fouls as they attempted to physically match their always-aggressive opponent.
Landon Donovan had two excellent scoring chances turned aside in the game's early stages, but the best American opportunity came five minutes deep in the second half.
Gregg Berhalter got a shot past Kahn near the left post, but the ball struck Torsten Frings in the hand as he protected the post. The ball bounced along the goal line before Kahn could grab it.
United States players protested that the ball had crossed the goal line and that Frings had intentionally hit the ball with his hand, which would have brought about a penalty shot. Replays showed, however, that neither happened. The ball hit Frings' hand before he could react and Scottish referee Hugh Dallas made the proper call.
Brazil found itself in a 1-0 hole in first half stoppage time when Rivaldo was turned loose by England's Ashley Cole. Rivaldo took advantage of that defensive lapse by firing one just inside the left post.
Brazil took the lead five minutes after halftime when England goalkeeper David Seaman drifted off his line and saw a free kick taken from 32 yards out by Ronaldinho sail over his head and just under the crossbar.
"I always know that I am one mistake away from trouble," Seaman said. "As a goalkeeper you can be a hero for 89 minutes and then all of a sudden, you've made an error and the game's over.
"I had actually had a great game and had made plenty of saves and then that happened. Nightmare."
England then had a great chance when Ronaldinho was sent off in the 57th minute for a dangerous tackle on Danny Mills. But England did not manage a shot on goal for the remainder of the game.
"We had a very good opportunity to reach the semifinals," said England coach Sven Goran Eriksson. "We should have done better with 11 men against 10, of course. We didn't use that advantage very much.
"Brazil is a very good team. I hope they can reach the final and perhaps win it. We seemed tired and we lost a little bit of our shape. We were chasing and chasing. When Brazil had the ball, they were very good at keeping it.
"Unfortunately we have to leave the tournament, but with our heads up there. I think we did very well. We were in a very difficult group with Sweden, Argentina and Nigeria. We had a very good win over Denmark and we played very well in the first half against Brazil.
"We were very close, but not close enough. Hopefully in four years, with more or less the same squad, we will be better."
In a World Cup filled with surprises, three teams will make very unexpected appearances in the quarterfinals Saturday.
South Korea, having survived a controversial 2-1 victory over Italy in the second round, will play Spain in Gwangju with the red-clad home fans hoping to carry their team through on an ever increasing wave of emotion.
And in Ozaka, Senegal and Turkey will decide which will become a very unlikely participant in the semifinals. Senegal, playing in its first World Cup, began the series of shocks this year with a victory over defending champion France on May 31.
Turkey is playing in only its second World Cup, but has upheld the recent tradition of success enjoyed by eastern European countries. Bulgaria finished fourth in the United States eight years ago and Croatia was third in France in 1998.
The Spain-South Korea winner will play Germany on Tuesday in Seoul. It will be Germany's 10th World Cup semifinal. The Senegal-Turkey winner will meet Brazil in Saitama on Wednesday.
