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Brazilian final Vasco advances to face Corinthians in championship
Posted: Thursday January 13, 2000 02:40 PM
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil's Vasco edged out Mexico's Necaxa 2-1 in the Club World Championships on Tuesday evening, setting the stage for an all-Brazilian final on Friday. Vasco only needed a tie going into the game. A victory of three goals or more over the Mexican team would have given Manchester United a chance to dispute third place. Instead that honor goes to the Mexicans, whose play surprised and impressed many here first with their 1-1 tie with Manchester and then with their 3-1 victory over South Melbourne. The Mexicans even stunned the Brazilians early in the first half, when Alex Aguinaga scored a goal in the 4th minute off a feed by Jose Milian. Vasco rallied back but with little effect until Odvan, in for Junior Baiano, tied the score with a header off a corner kick in the 14th minute. From then on Vasco could breathe easier, but a series of disappointing near goals -- most notably two by Romario in 23rd and 30th minutes, both inches too high -- were all the Brazilians could squeeze out of the first half. In the second half, Necaxa continued to tie Vasco up and the crowd began to yell for Edmundo, whom coach Antonio Lopes was saving on the bench to avoid a second yellow card that would have kept him out of the finals. Then, just as Edmundo was warming up, Romario broke through Necaxa's defense, firing in a bomb in the 69th minute to seal the game for Vasco. Necaxa came back with two serious plays that could have tied the game, but Vasco's Helton kept a tight lock on the goal. Vasco now faces Corinthians in the final on Friday, and Necaxa will dispute third place with Spain's Real Madrid.
Lineups:Vasco: Helton, Mauro Galvao, Amaral, Felipe, Donizete (Edmundo-70), Juninho, Ramon, Romario, Gilberto, Paulo Miranda and Junior Baiano (Odvan-9). Necaxa: Hugo Pineda, Salvador, Cabrera, Sergio Almaguer, Alex Aguinaga, Liz Perez, Agustin Delgado, Markus Lopez, Hernan Vigna, Jose Milian (Sergio Vasquez-83) and Cristian Montecinos (Ignacio Ambriz-72).
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