Few nations are as synonymous with the FIFA World Cup as Brazil , the tournament's most decorated participant.
On Friday, the Selecao continue their pursuit of a sixth World Cup title, with Carlo Ancelotti's side facing Haiti at Lincoln Financial Field, referred to as Philadelphia Stadium for sponsorship purposes. Brazil tied its opening match against Morocco 1-1 at MetLife Stadium, a game that featured Real Madrid 's Vinicius Junior scoring one of the competition's best goals to date.
Driving inward from the left flank near the sideline, the Brazilian attacker unleashed a spectacular shot into the distant corner beyond Morocco's Yassine Bounou . Though Brazil may not be the dominant global soccer force it once was, the strike served as a reminder that it possesses players capable of transforming a match in an instant.
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One person who understands what a Brazilian can do to alter a game is former England full-back Wayne Bridge.
The ex-Chelsea, Southampton, and Manchester City defender participated in two World Cups (2002 and 2006) during his England tenure, with the Three Lions' 2002 campaign in South Korea and Japan seeing Bridge and his teammates face Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Despite England entering the match as underdogs, they seized the advantage on 23 minutes through Michael Owen, who took advantage of a Lucio error to give Sven-Goran Eriksson's team a 1-0 lead.
Before the interval arrived, though, England found themselves at Ronaldinho's mercy. Receiving possession at midfield, the Brazilian winger started his surge toward the England backline. A swift stepover allowed him to glide past left-back Ashley Cole , before Ronaldinho threaded a pass to teammate Rivaldo, who leveled the score for Brazil.
Moments into the second half, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star took center stage again, this time lifting Brazil to a 2-1 advantage when his distant free-kick sailed over David Seaman's head to hand the Selecao the lead.
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The Brazilian also received his marching orders on 58 minutes after collecting a second yellow card. Despite being reduced to ten men, Brazil still advanced, defeating England 2-1. They claimed their semifinal 1-0 against Turkey in Ronaldinho's absence, who then came back for the final, which saw Brazil defeat Germany 2-0 courtesy of a Ronaldo double.
While Bridge has positive memories of the tournament, which marked his World Cup debut against Argentina during the group stage for the Three Lions, he remembers being mesmerized by watching Ronaldinho and Brazil in action.
Speaking exclusively via Freebets.com, Bridge told Mirror U.S. Sports : "Obviously coming on against Argentina [was a World Cup highlight]. For me personally, there was the Brazil game, but sadly we got knocked out. Just seeing those players up close.
"The Ronaldinho moment when we got knocked out to Brazil - he was running at Ashley Cole, did this step over and shimmy, made Ashley stumble. You think, someone's just done that to Ashley Cole? And two seconds later, he squared it to Rivaldo who put it in the bottom corner.
"Kieran Dyer next to me stood up and then had to sit down awkwardly because they'd just scored. It was just beautiful football. Sometimes you just have to appreciate it."
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Yet while the Brazil game ranks among Bridge's most cherished personal memories, his defining moment from the 2002 World Cup was the electrifying atmosphere he soaked up simply being present in South Korea and Japan.
"But the standout moment for me was the kickoff of the very first game - and obviously the atmosphere is just electric when you're in Japan," added Bridge.
"Just as the referee blows the whistle, it was like a fireworks show in the stadium. Every person in the stadium was taking a picture and the flash went off all at once. I was just like, wow. That's one moment that really stood out for me."
