Kaká dismissal blots Brazil's progress

Brazil are assured of a place in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup after a 3-1 victory against Ivory Coast.

The Group G leaders play Portugal on Friday when Korea DPR are the opposition for Sven-Göran Eriksson's side, who are struggling to qualify after losing to two Luis Fabiano goals and one from Elano. Didier Drogba provided a late consolation before Kaká's dismissal.

Robinho also caught the eye again in Johannesburg, going within a whisker of giving his side a first-minute lead with a vicious shot. He also set the wheels in motion for the 25th-minute opener, though it was Kaká who fed Luis Fabiano who finished with real ferocity from an acute angle.

If the Sevilla FC striker's first owed everything to power, the second was down to subtlety. Five minutes of the second half had elapsed when he dribbled, chipped and danced his way through three Ivorian challenges before firing past Boubacar Barry.

Drogba almost gave Ivory Coast an instant riposte but the game was up on 62 minutes when Kaká, who a minute previously had been denied by Barry, crossed for Elano to turn in from close range. Drogba's deft header was too little too late but Kaká's dismissal for a second booking left a bitter taste for Brazil.