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Morocco, Norway draw 2-2
Free kicks, costly error keep 'Atlas Lions' from upset
Posted: Wednesday June 10, 1998 08:21 PM
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Hip check: Morocco's Salaheddine Bassir (left) tackles Norway's Henning Berg to get control of the ball (AP) |
MONTPELLIER, France (AP) -- Fighting spirit is one of Norway's strongest assets. The Norwegians showed it again Wednesday night, twice fighting back from one-goal deficits to draw Morocco 2-2 in their Group A opener.
Dan Eggen, a tall defender who couldn't hold off Abdeljilil Hadda when the Moroccan made it 2-1 in the 59th minute, made up by heading in Norway's equalizer just two minutes later to salvage the point.
Eggen scored when Stig Inge Bjornebye's free kick was sprung loose in the penalty box after a collision between defender Nouredine Naybet and goalkeeper Driss Benzekri. Amid the disarray, Eggen opportunistically headed the ball easily into the net.
"Both Norway and Morocco played well," Eggen said. "Morocco was as good as we feared. This is not disappointing because Morocco has a good team and they played very well. Both Scotland and Brazil will have problems with Morocco."
Midfielder Tahar set up both goals for the "Atlas Lions" with long, precision passes, while Norway netted twice on clumsy plays off free kicks.
Morocco took its first lead in the 38th minute on a splendid move by Moustafa El Hadji. After taking the long pass from Tahar, the Deportivo La Coruna midfielder sped down the left side and spun Eggen around before blasting home a right-footed shot just inside the right post.
But Youssef Chippo, attempting to clear the ball wide, instead headed it into his own goal one minute into first-half injury time to tie it 1-1. Chippo's error came after goalkeeper Driss Benzekri collided with Henning Berg as they leapt for Bjornebye's free kick from the left of the box.
"We were rather disappointed when after the first goal we made that mistake," Morocco's coach Henri Michel said. "This is our weak point and we have to work on that."
The Norwegians -- fourth in the world on FIFA's rankings and unbeaten in 15 games -- also felt they should have had more than a draw.
"I think we started very well and should have scored very easily, but didn't," said Norwegian coach Egil "Drillo" Olsen, referring to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's point-blank miss early. "After that we lost control. We couldn't stop them from creating chances. They were tired at the end of the match when we were the better team."
Hadda gave Morocco its second lead when he took Tahar's perfect upfield pass and raced past Eggen before settling himself and placing the ball into the upper right corner of the net.
Eggen then equalized, and the Norwegians had three late chances to win, the best one coming when Havard Flo broke through the defense but had his shot saved by a diving Benzekri.
The tie extended Norway's international unbeaten streak to 15 games. Its last loss came with a B team in Australia early last year.
It also wasn't surprising that both of the team's goals came off set plays -- 12 of its 21 goals in qualifying were scored the same way.
The Norwegians have already doubled their scoring output from the 1994 World Cup, when they scored only one goal in three games before being eliminated.
The Moroccans also have an immediate show of improvement -- they lost all three of their games and scored only two goals before heading home from the United States four years ago.
Lineups
Morocco: Driss Benzekri; Abdelilah Saber, Abdelkrim El Hadrioui, Youssef Rossi, Noureddine Naybet; Moustafa El Hadji, Said Chiba, Youssef Chippo (Gharib Amzine, 78th), Tahar (Rachid Azzouzj, 92nd); Abdeljilil Hadda (Ali El Khattabi 87th), Salaheddine Bassir.
Norway: Frode Grodas; Henning Berg, Dan Eggen, Ronny Johnsen, Stig Inge Bjornebye; Havard Flo (Stale Solbakken, 72nd), Oyvind Leonhardsen, Kjetil Rekdal, Erik Mykland, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Vidar Riseth, 45th); Tore Andre Flo.
Referee: Pirom Un-Prasert, Thailand.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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