Brazil vs. Denmark

SITE: Nantes

TIME: Noon. TV: Ch. 7, 34. RADIO: KWKW (1330 Spanish).

* ABOUT BRAZIL: The world champions are not going to lose twice to Scandinavian teams in the same tournament, are they? Already having been upset by Norway in the first round, they are treating the Danes with wary respect. They are especially worried about midfielder Michael Laudrup. “We can’t let him get into a position where he has the ball under control and is running at our defense,” Coach Mario Zagallo said. Ronaldo is playing with pain in his left knee. “I can take the pain,” he said. “During a game I’m so concentrated that I forget it hurts.” He definitely forgot during Brazil’s 4-1 rout of Chile, scoring twice.

* ABOUT DENMARK: “They are the world champions and are a fantastic team full of attacking players, but all the pressure is on them,” forward Brian Laudrup says of Brazil. “They must attack us, but we know we will get chances to hit them on the break. It suits our style, and after the way we played against Nigeria [a 4-1 victory], anything can happen. . . . Playing against Brazil in a World Cup quarterfinal is something which might only happen to a Danish player once in 50 years. You’ve got to enjoy every minute.”

* OUTLOOK: Brazil’s captain, Dunga, and Denmark’s inspiration, Michael Laudrup, are retiring after the World Cup, so today’s game is the last for one of them. Brazil is favored, but the last time the teams met, in Copenhagen in 1989, Denmark produced a shocking 4-0 victory.