Maniche struck home midway through the first-half as Portugal beat Holland 1-0 and qualify to play England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup Sunday. Both teams finished the match with just nine men after Costinha and Deco were sent-off from Portugal while Khaled Bouhlarouz and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst received the marching orders from Holland. Holland coach Marco Van Basten opted to field Dirk Kuijt upfront instead of Ruud Van Nistelrooy with Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie supporting from the flanks, while Portugal started with the usual 4-2-3-1 formation with Pedro Pauleta serving as a lone striker. Holland took the attacking initiative after just one minute when Mark Van Bommel hit a low drive from the edge of the area but his effort went just wide. Cristiano Ronaldo played a leading role in the Portuguese left-hand side, Luis Figo on the right and Deco was centered in the midfield. But Holland's resilient defense forced Luiz Felipe Scolari to make some modifications that led to the first goal. Deco moved on the right flank were he outpaced Barcelona team mate Van Bronckhorst before crossing to Pauleta who set the darting Maniche for a powerful shot past Edwin Van Der Sar in the 23rd minute. In the 34th minute, Ronaldo limped off the pitch due to injury following a rough challenge from Bouhlarouz. Simao Sabrosa was introduced as a replacement.
Van Persie almost leveled the score three minutes later when he brilliantly sidestepped two defenders before unleashing a powerful shot from an acute angle wide. Portugal midfielder Costinha received his marching orders in the stoppage time of the first-half following a second booking after he handled the ball in the middle of the pitch. Holland were denied the equalizer four minutes after re-start when the post denied Philip Cocu's close-range bullet. Both teams involved in several spats throughout the second-half mostly because controversial calls from Russian referee Valentine Ivanov. With Holland looking to level the score depending on their numerical disadvantage, Bouhlarouz saw red in the 62nd minute after elbowing Portugal skipper Luis Figo. Deco joined teammate Costinha out of the field eight minutes later for trying to delay the ball. Although Holland were playing with extra man, they couldn't hold their nerve and all their attempts to find the net were in vain. Bronckhorst completed the list of the red card receivers in the stoppage time of the second half following a second bookable offense.
