Kaka was kicked out for a second booking after he collided with Kader Keita off the ball. Referee Stephane Lannoy of France, who didn't see the incident, sent off the Real Madrid man.

"It was an unjustified sending-off," said Brazil coach Dunga. "Kaka was fouled and punished. I want to congratulate the player who fouled but didn't get yellow card."

Cote d'Ivoire coach Sven Goran Eriksson said Kaka deserved the yellow card because he pushed his player.

A gallant Kiwi side held Italy to a historic draw as Paraguay topped Group F with a 2-0 trouncing of Slovakia in other two matches on Sunday.

With the memorable draw in Nelspruit, New Zealand tied Italy with two points on the board in which Slovakia ended up last with one.

The Azzurri pressed hard for the three points in an action-packed game, but the All Whites were solid and could have grabbed a win had 18-year-old Chris Wood not delivered a late left-foot shot just wide of the post.

Italy, who lost creative AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo to injuries, will have to beat Slovakia on Thursday to make it to the last 16.

New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert threw in three strikers in a daring line-up which paid dividends with the opening goal inside seven minutes.

Simon Elliott delivered a strong free kick which was flicked on by defender Winston Reid. Instead of clearing the threat, Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro cushioned the ball to the path of Shane Smeltz, who scored his 20th goal in 37 caps past Federiico Marchetti, the replacement of injured Gianluigi Buffon.

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