Brazil celebrate as Beckham is downcast.

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Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes the fighting spirit of his Brazil side is unsurpassed after they came from behind to beat England 2-1 today.

Michael Owen gave England the lead in the first half before goals from Rivaldo and Ronaldinho put the Brazilians ahead.

And after match-winner Ronaldinho was sent off in the 57th minute, they held on to book their place in the World Cup semi-finals - and a clash against Senegal or Turkey.

Scolari said: "With all respect to the players that have played for Brazil in its history, never have I seen a bunch of players defend the national colours with such pride.

"I think the spirit of these boys would be what I would praise most.

"To stay alive and not die was the only thought we had. That was the subject of my team talk with my players, that we could not die."

Scolari disagreed with the dismissal of Ronaldinho, who also set up the first goal, for his foul on Danny Mills.

"I definitely believe it was not right," he said.

"Ronaldinho was kicked by the English player just before that.

"But sometimes we have been practising with 10 players and the media, especially the Brazilians, did not understand what we were doing.

"This is the moment I tell my players they did their job when it was demanded."

Scolari, nicknamed 'Big Phil', has come under heavy criticism in the Brazilian press for preferring a more aggressive style of play than their fans are used to.

But he said: "I have the feeling of a job well done. I hope people now believe in what we are trying to do.

"Being where we are now gives me a personal feeling of satisfaction."

Defender Roque Junior admitted they did not get flustered by either going behind or going down to 10 men.

"Although England scored first, we weren't upset by that and we played our football because we knew our chance would come," he said.

"Since we had to play with only 10 men, each player had to lift himself. It was that effort which brought us the victory.

"We have been criticised for having a weak defence, so we have thought about it and discussed positions and we made some adjustments."

Former Middlesbrough star Juninho joined the chorus of players jumping to the defence of Ronaldinho.

"He is not the sort of player who goes out to intentionally hurt somebody," said the midfielder.

"The referee didn't know what sort of person he was, so he sent him off. It was a mistake."

Brazilian star Rivaldo admitted England were their toughest opponents of the current World Cup so far.

He said: "This was the hardest match for us, but we knew how to deal with it.

"When we scored we would keep the advantage. We deserved the victory because we played better than England."

The 30-year-old also praised his team-mates' spirit after being reduce to ten men.

He added: "The strength we showed when we lost Ronaldinho and the determination of every player to win, were the key today.

"The sacrifice we made in the second half was incredible. We were missing one man and we had to do double the effort.

"But everything came out perfectly."

Rivaldo's strike partner Ronaldo echoed his team-mate's sentiments.

The Inter Milan star, well marshalled by the impressive Rio Ferdinand, praised Brazil's mental strength.

He said: "I'm very happy because we showed we're a very strong team. It was a fair result.

"We were best during the whole match, even with one man less. We won because we disarmed their midfield."

The 25-year-old also hailed the England backline, who damaged his golden boot chances with a solid display.

"The English defence played really well. It was very hard for me to find Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.

"I tried to move back to find the ball, but I'm not really concerned about who scores. I want to win the championship."

Ronaldo ended by reassuring fans his second half substitution was not due to injury.

He added: "I was feeling muscular fatigue. It's nothing to worry about.

"Now I will have time to recover. I'm not afraid, and I won't be missing for the semi-finals."