Rivaldo of Brazil scores a penalty as Emre Belozoglu (right) of Turkey looks on during their Goup C World Cup Finals match in Ulsan yesterday. Rivaldo made the penalty after a red card was given during the last minutes of the match. Brazil went on to beat Turkey 2-1. - Reuters

ULSAN (AP):

RIVALDO drilled in a penalty kick in the waning minutes and teamed up with Ronaldo to lead Brazil in a come-from-behind 2-1 thriller over Turkey yesterday.

Quieting worries about their battered knees, the two bedeviled Turkey's defence in a late-game charge that left Brazil atop Group C, and already with a foot in the second round.

Rivaldo got the call when Turkish defender Alpay Ozalan dragged down Luizao in the penalty area three minutes from full time, earning himself a red card. The Brazilian rocketed a low shot to the left of goalie Rustu Receber, and Munsu stadium exploded in a green-and-yellow frenzy.

"We deserved it," said the FC Barcelona star, struggling to regain his form after a knee ligament injury. "We took a silly goal and had to run twice as hard to turn it around, but I was confident we would."

Turkey coach Senol Gunes disagreed with South Korean referee Kim Young-joo's decision.

"... the referee was out of our control," Gunes said. "He changed the course of the game with an injustice penalty decision."

Ronaldo made a triumphant return to soccer's center stage, although admittedly still sub-par as he recovers from two knee operations that nearly ended his career.

In the 50th minute, Rivaldo moved left and curled in a pass to Ronaldo, who split three defenders, leaped sideways and caught the ball with his right foot to beat Receber.

"I'm behind my teammates physically. I'm not on their level yet, but I gave the maximum as long as I could," he said. It was barely enough against the Turks, who are making their first World Cup appearance in 48 years and played even with Brazil for much of the game. Receber led a stubborn defense that thwarted the Brazilian attack for much of the game, and Turkey pounced on a mistake to draw first blood.

In injury time in the first half, Yildiray Basturk stole the ball from Juninho and sent a long cross-field pass to Hasan Sas behind Cafu and Roque Junior. The Galatasary striker fired almost point-blank on Marcos to put Turkey up 1-0.