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International flair Men's side wide open; U.S. women won't face China
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- This Olympic soccer tournament looks more like a world cup than the World Cup. Europe is guaranteed one place in the semifinal because its only two survivors, Italy and Spain, meet in the quarters at Sydney. South America takes on Africa in two more of Saturday's quarterfinals, with Chile facing defending champion Nigeria and Brazil taking on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. The United States has done well to reach the last eight and faces a Japanese team that has thrilled the neutrals as well as its huge army of fans with its fast and positive style of play. While soccer's premier international championship still boils down to a Europe vs. South America confrontation, the beauty of the way this tournament has panned out is that the winner could come from almost anywhere. The only region to lose out badly is host nation Australia, which was a major flop losing all three group games. South Africa also failed to be the third African nation in the last eight. The second Olympic women's tournament has gone slightly in the other direction. China's surprise elimination means the two European teams, Germany and Norway, are in the semifinal along with defending titlist United States and World Cup bronze medalist Brazil and, because they meet each other at Sydney on Sunday, Europe is guaranteed a place in next Thursday's final at Sydney Football Stadium. The men's final will be next Saturday at Olympic Stadium, and the competition appears wide open. The Italians scored wins over Australia (1-0) and Honduras (3-1) to become the first team in the last eight and was then held 1-1 by Nigeria. The confrontation with Spain, which scored shutout wins over Morocco and South Korea but lost 3-1 to Chile, brings several of the young stars of Serie A against those of the Primera Liga, and the game in Sydney is likely to be very close. Nigeria's amazing Olympic dream goes on and on despite a few nightmares along the way. The team that won Africa's first ever team gold medal so dramatically at Athens, Georgia, four years ago, has survived controversial withdrawals, suspensions, injuries and even transportation delays to make to the last eight. But now Jo Bonfrere's team faces a Chilean lineup, led by four-goal Ivan Zamorano, a group that scored seven goals in its first two games before slipping up 1-0 to the Koreans with a place virtually assured anyway. Because the Nigerians have conceded six goals, there's a good chance of a high-scoring game at Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Bonfrere is well aware that the dream could be over on Saturday. "The players are tired and have done very well. We know that all the matches from now on are going to be very tough," said the Dutch coach who masterminded the 1996 triumphs over Brazil in the semifinal and Argentina in the final. "We have a policy of taking each game without thinking about the next. Our goal was to get to the quarterfinal and now it is to reach the last four," he said. "We are not thinking about the gold medal. That will only happen if we reach the final." Brazil remains one of the big favorites despite a 3-1 loss to South Africa in Brisbane. Wanderley Luxemburgo's young team, which has 20-year-old Gremio star Ronaldinho on the strikeforce, beat Slovakia 3-1 and Japan 1-0 and the game against Cameroon in at Brisbane Cricket Ground could be one the best of the tournament. Like the South Americans, the Africans play flamboyant, unpredictable soccer and are unbeaten going into the quarters after 1-1 ties with the United States and Czech Republic and a 3-2 win over Kuwait. With up to 2,000 fans roaring them on, the Japanese will get plenty of crowd support against the Americans at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide. AS Roma star Hidetoshi Nakata is the midfield organizer who creates many of his team's chances and the American defense will be tested by the speed of the Japanese strikers. But Clive Charles' unbeaten young team, which tied with the Czechs and Cameroon and then beat Kuwait, has nothing to lose and, if they play with the confidence gained by reaching the last eight for the first time, could go even further. The American women look well set to reach the final once more and, with China no longer in the competition, must be confident of winning a second gold medal. But for missing a penalty against China, they would have made it to the last four with three wins instead of two and a tie, and should have too much firepower for a Brazilian team that lost 2-1 to the Germans in the group games. Germany did make it with three wins, have a 6-1 goals ratio but qualified from a far weaker group. The Norwegians, bronze medalists four years ago, are favorites to beat Germany having lost just once to them in nine meetings since 1994. But coach Per-Mathias Hoegmo knows the Germans are getting stronger. "It will be a very tough match. They have been improving," he said. "We beat them 4-1 in Germany in July but they matched us for 60 minutes before we came into the match and scored four goals." China's 2-1 loss to Norway at Canberra's Bruce Stadium on Wednesday could spell the end of a soccer dynasty for coach Yuanan Ma's team, which has effectively been together for six years. Ten of the Olympic 2000 team lost to the United States in the 1996 final, and China also finished runner up the Americans at last year's World Cup. Failure to reach the last four this time might prompt several of the old guard to go into retirement and give a new generation of Chinese players a chance. "Until the team goes back to China, we cannot decide who's going to retire," the coach said. "We have to go back and think about it."
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