select a team ---------- Europe: Belgium Croatia Denmark England France Germany Ireland Italy Poland Portugal Russia Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey ---------- South America: Argentina Brazil Ecuador Paraguay Uruguay ---------- Africa: Cameroon Nigeria Senegal South Africa Tunisia ---------- Asia: China Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea ---------- CONCACAF: Costa Rica Mexico United States     Main page    Schedule    Stadiums

Rio samba party expects 2002 title

Brazilians celebrate: Bring on Sengal or Turkey

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Football fans have kicked off an impromptu party across Brazil to celebrate their team's progression to the World Cup semifinals.

The Samba stars beat England 2-1 and music blared across the nation's cities and beaches as fans chanted "five time champions" -- a sign of their confidence in Brazil winning the title for the fifth time.

Brazil are favourites to win the 2002 World Cup and will face either Senegal or Turkey in the semifinal.

In Rio's Tijuca neighbourhood, drummers from a samba group capped off the tense match with carnival songs.

EXTRA INFORMATION Gallery: Cheers and tears in quarterfinals    MORE STORIES • Beers and tears for England fans  • Tearful Seaman says sorry to fans  • Rio samba party expects 2002 title    CNN.com Europe More news  from our European edition    QUICKVOTE They have won all their matches, scoring more than anyone else. Can Brazil be beaten? Yes No View Results

The game, which aired at 3:30 a.m. local time, kept many Brazilians up all night.

Patricia Carolina Couto, who watched the match with her two-year-old daughter, told The Associated Press: "There's so much noise from the street we figured we'd bring her down to watch the game."

Her daughter Ana Carolina was dressed in a Brazilian flag bandanna and her face painted with patriotic green and yellow stripes.

On Copacabana beach, where football is played with a small ball on sand pitches, fans were jubilant.

"It was Brazil's best game so far, we can now go on and win the cup," trader Robson Oliveira told Reuters.

His girlfriend Michelle Rodriguez added: "Everyone is so happy. Football is everything to us."

At the final whistle the swaying crowd burst into song for a party that was expected to last all day.