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Champions in peril
Ugly incidents leave French facing early World Cup exit
Posted: Thursday June 06, 2002 12:22 PM
Updated: Friday June 07, 2002 10:53 AM
CNNSI.com's World Cup analyst Gabriele Marcotti is covering every kick of the tournament, with a "91st Minute" column filed each matchday. Click here to submit a comment or question to Marcotti's mailbag.
Uruguay and France shared the spoils in a scoreless match on Thursday that will be remembered more for a string of ugly incidents than the abundance of talent on the pitch.
Mexican referee Felipe Ramos Rizo made some controversial decisions, not least the sending off of Thierry Henry a third of the way into the game. Without the Arsenal striker, France had to change it's game around and, while it maintained the initiative for much of the match, it understandably looked vulnerable on the break.
When Senegal and Denmark battled to a 1-1 draw, it was very much a game of two halves. The Scandinavians, led by the magnificent Jon Dahl Tomasson, dominated the first half, stretching the Senegalese defense with intelligent wing play and neutralizing El Hadji Diouf, who was too often left on his own up front.
After the break however, Bruno Metsu's men came storming back, showing great character and resilience. The introduction Henri Camara and Souleymane Camara was inspired, as it gave Senegal more punch up front against a side that is probably better going forward than defending. Metsu understood that the way to neutralize Denmark was to go for the jugular, and his team did just that, notching the equalizer with Salif Diao. Diao was himself sent off 10 minutes from the final whistle for a nasty (and unnecessary) tackle, but, at that point, Denmark was deflated and unable to capitalize on the man advantage.
Saudi Arabia was never going to be as bad as it looked in losing 8-0 to Germany in the opener, but few might have imagined such a solid effort against Cameroon. The African champions took the points in the end thanks to a 1-0 victory, but credit the Saudis for bouncing back after their earlier debacle. The bad news for Cameroon now is that if they fail to beat Germany in the final match, all Ireland needs to do is win by a two-goal margin against Saudi Arabia.
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Fabian Carini (Uruguay)
He's 22 but he looks 15 and regularly plays like a seasoned veteran (actually, he doesn't play "regularly" at all -- he's the backup goalkeeper at Juventus). Despite being a man down, France continued bombarding his goal, and Carini was up to it, making more than a few crucial saves that kept Uruguay in the World Cup.
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Thierry Henry (France).
To be fair, his red card could have gone either way. It was a rash challenge and some referees might not have sent him off, especially not this early in the game. Having said that, making a tackle like that is courting disaster. There is no point in giving the referee a reason to send you off, and that's exactly what Henry did. True, Henry is young, but he has five years' experience in the top flight. He should have known better. Down a man for an hour, France failed to put Uruguay away and it will be a true shame if his red card costs the world champions their place in the tournament.
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Salif Diao (Senegal).
His goal, after a lovely buildup by the ever-present Khalilou Fadiga, was not only well-worked, it gave Senegal a share of the spoils against Denmark, and now Bruno Metsu's men control their own destiny. If they avoid defeat against Uruguay, they will progress to the second round of the tournament.
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I hate to pick on refereeing again, but what we saw on Thursday was ridiculous.
First, Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres disallowed Jon Dahl Tomasson's goal for a suspect handball which replays showed was wholly nonexistent (Tomasson had controlled the ball with his chest). But Batres was a paragon of precision and consistency compared to what Mexican referee Felipe Ramos Rizo served up later.
He and his assistant called two nonnexistent offside calls against France in the first 10 minutes (on Henry and Trezeguet). Later, he allowed a terrifying tackle by Dario Silva on Patrick Vieira go unpunished. It was the kind of tackle that could end a player's career.
Given that he had thrown out Henry a few minutes earlier, just how he could have allowed Dario Silva to go unpunished will forever be a mystery -- particularly since Dario Silva received a yellow early in the second half after clipping Bixente Lizarazu. Had he gotten the booking he deserved earlier, he would have been off and most of the second half would have been played by two evenly matched teams.
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In Group F, Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed his starting 11 against England, while Sven-Goran Eriksson is likely to switch things around. The main problem is that there's only so much he can do. Does he call upon 36-year-old Teddy Sheringham? Does he put all his chips on wonderboy Joe Cole, shifting Paul Scholes to the flank? Does he risk a not-yet-fit Nicky Butt in midfield? Lots of questions, and if he gets the answers wrong, he knows the press will crucify him.
Nigeria, which takes on Sweden, did not fire on all cylinders in the opening match, but still kept it relatively close against Argentina. The main question will be whether Nwankwo Kanu, still recovering from injury, gets a start. Nigeria can't afford any more slip-ups at this point. Sweden got a good draw against England, but the fine effort in the second half should not overshadow the fact that in the first 45 minutes the Swedes looked sluggish. Much will depend on which Sweden shows up to play.
In Group B, Jose Luis Chilavert is back in goal for Paraguay and he'll have his hands full against Spain, which will be looking to become the first team to book passage to the second round. Jose Camacho's men were impressive against Slovenia; they'll have to prove they've banished their World Cup demons against Paraguay.
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David Beckham (England).
The England captain has volunteered to score any way he can, even with his hand, a joking reference to Diego Armando Maradona's "Hand of God" goal 16 years ago. It was a good way to lessen the pressure ahead of the crunch match, but Beckham will have to do much more against Argentina. He's not fully fit, but England will need every ounce of his energy if it is to overcome the deficiencies it showed against Sweden and avoid a defeat that could well sanction its exit from the tournament. He's done it before -- now England needs him to carry the team on his shoulders once again.
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Hey Marcotti! Which U.S. soccer game were you watching? Shock result, Yes!, but to say that Portugal played abysmal is not a fair statement and doesn't give justice to the U.S. team performance. Living in England for 12 years and following Liverpool FC for most of my life, I know a good game when I see one. I'm not even pulling for the U.S.; I want England to take it all.
The U.S. totally took Portugal out of the game. They didn't allow them to play their style of soccer. The U.S. beat them to 50/50 balls, outclassed, and outplayed Portugal. Figo couldn't do a thing. Defensively the U.S. closed down the offense of Portugal allowing them few chances.
Portugal had the ball more, but couldn't do anything. The U.S. frustrated them, and that showed in the reactions of the Portuguese players, taking dives, complaining about calls etc. etc. We can only imagine what would've happened with Reyna and Mathis in the lineup.
Portugal played well, and had the majority of the possession. They lost because the U.S. showed up to play. Give credit when it's due!
--Marc Benfield, Phoenix
Marcotti: The U.S. played well; Portugal did not. If you thought Portugal played well, then we have very different viewpoints about what playing well entails.
Possession stats can be pretty meaningless. Ecuador had 64 percent of the possession against Italy. Would you say they outplayed Italy? The reason Portugal had so much possession is that it played at a slower pace and built from very deep. The U.S., being 3-0 up early in the game, rightly tried to hit quickly on the counter and be direct and, when that happens, you're not going to keep possession for very long. Would the U.S. have won if Portugal had played to its full potential? Maybe, maybe not. Saying Portugal was abysmal does not detract from the U.S. performance, which was very good.
I don't think the U.S. won just because it showed up to play. It won for a number of reasons, but mainly because Bruce Arena outsmarted Antonio Oliveira, whose team selection, tactics and approach were all terrible. That, and the fact that the U.S. players executed their instructions very well.
We can hide our heads in the sand, say that Portugal was great but their opponents were even better and blindly exalt the U.S.'s achievement. Or we can try to figure out why Portugal -- one of the most highly regarded teams in the World Cup -- lost, and just how the U.S. managed to beat them. This isn't a failure to give credit where credit is due. It's simply trying to analyze the game.
Click here to read Marcotti's most recent mailbag, and here to submit a comment or question.
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