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YOKOHAMA - A Ronaldinho-inspired Barcelona booked their place in the Club World Cup soccer final with a classic 4-0 demolition of Mexico's America today.
The European champions will face Brazil's Internacional in Sunday's final after cruising to a comfortable victory in front of 62,000 in rainswept Yokohama.
"At halftime we said to each other we would look for the third goal to kill the game off -- as we did," Eidur Gudjohnsen, scorer of Barca's first goal, said.
"We didn't stop at 2-0. We started to enjoy it a lot. Now we can relax a little bit and start concentrating on the next game."
Iceland international Gudjohnsen put Barcelona in front in the 11th minute following a sweeping three-man move ignited by a sumptuous Ronaldinho back-heel.
Andres Iniesta cleverly released Gudjohnsen and the former Chelsea striker fired a crisp right-foot shot into the far corner past goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
Defender Rafael Marquez doubled Barca's lead on the half hour, outmuscling his marker to head in Deco's inswinging corner from the left.
Ronaldinho added a third in the 65th minute, pouncing on Ludovic Giuly's blocked shot to hook the ball past Ochoa from 12m.
The Brazilian then unselfishly set up Deco, who drilled a fierce right-foot shot into the top corner from 25m five minutes from time to underline Barca's dominance.
The Catalans are hot favourites to go one better than Johan Cruyff's flamboyant side of the early 1990s by returning to Spain with an historic first world title.
Barca coach Frank Rijkaard ominously warned that his team would play better against Internacional.
"The players were absolutely shattered after the match," Rijkaard said.
"They're hurting still from the jetlag. They will play better in the final."
America beat South Korea's Chonbuk Motors 1-0 in their opening match of the revamped FIFA tournament involving the world's six continental champions.
But the closest they came to ruffling Barca was when goalkeeper Victor Valdes plunged low to his right to block a Salvador Cabanas free kick in the 23rd minute.
"There is no shame in losing to Barcelona," America coach Luis Fernando Tena said.
"They are better than any team in Mexico and one of the best teams in the world. They were fantastic."
South American champions Inter scraped past Egypt's Al Ahli 2-1 in Wednesday's first semifinal. Brazil's Sao Paulo edged out Liverpool 1-0 in last year's final.
Cruyff's Barcelona were beaten 2-1 by Sao Paulo in 1992 in the Club World Cup's forerunner, a one-off encounter between the European and South American champions.
- REUTERS
