Juninho (centre) - can't wait for Friday's game (Allsport)

By Mark Bradley, PA Sport Chief Soccer Writer, Kobe

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Brazil have set up a mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final against England, with midfielder Juninho predicting that the winners could go on to lift the trophy.

The former Middlesbrough midfielder was part of the Brazilian side which overcame the determined challenge of Belgium in their second-round clash in Kobe.

Belgium captain Marc Wilmots had a 'goal' harshly ruled out for a supposed push and later revealed that Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast had admitted his mistake to him at half-time.

Rivaldo nevertheless opened the scoring on 66 minutes with a deflected volley and, despite considerable pressure from Belgium, Ronaldo made sure of victory on the counter-atttack with three minutes left.

That took him equal with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the tournament's joint leading scorer so far with five goals.

Sven-Goran Eriksson, along with David Beckham and several other players, had left their seats by that stage after a scouting mission ahead of Friday's quarter-final in Shizuoka.

They will have realised that there is much to respect but nothing to fear from a Brazilian side full of individual class and attacking threat but also prone to defensive lapses.

Indeed, Juninho, who now plays for Flamengo in Brazil, accepts his team face their hardest test of the competition so far against England.

"England have quality up front with Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, so we have to take care of them. England against Brazil will be the best match so far," he declared.

"They are playing well. David Beckham is playing well, as is Paul Scholes. With each game, Michael Owen is also getting better so I hope he won't play well against Brazil!

"We have to be worried about the whole team though, not just individual players. Whoever wins this match has a great chance to be champions.

"We have the team to beat them but we have to play excellent football. I don't think there is a favourite though."

Barcelona midfielder Rivaldo added: "England are a very good team and very strong in the final third of the pitch.

"They have a lot of tradition and two special players - Beckham and Owen. But I believe our defence is strong and we will be able to stop them.

"We have the special skills to win the game."

Eriksson left the ground without commenting on Brazil's victory, although he discussed the potential threat of the South American side following his own team's second round win against Denmark.

"It would be a very tricky game so it would have been nice to play them in the final," he admitted.

"All the players believe we can go through, although I've not heard any of them saying we can win the World Cup or reach the final as they have always just been focused on the next game."

Eriksson knows all about the threat posed by Ronaldo now that he is on the international comeback trail following the injuries which have blighted his career since the 1998 World Cup.

"I've met Ronaldo many times and when he's fit, it's very difficult to take him on. It's very dangerous to be one-on-one as he's so strong and quick if you have space behind you," said the England coach.

"So it's a big test as Rivaldo can also do everything with the ball."

Eriksson is nevertheless confident that Michael Owen will have recovered from a slight groin strain in time to take on Brazil, although the striker was not due to take part in full training tomorrow.

Other minor injuries affecting Heskey and Scholes are also understood to be clearing up before the team travel up to Shizuoka on Wednesday with confidence levels high.

"Like any team, if you perform well and get results then confidence gets bigger and bigger," added Eriksson.

"I always believe in things though, even when it's difficult. You always have to be very positive.

"I've not been sitting around putting a target on where we should reach though.

"Of course, sometimes you dream it should be nice to put one hand on the big trophy. But we'll just see."