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Despite loss, Scotland in driver's seat
Posted: Wednesday June 10, 1998 07:02 PM
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Never fear Scotland, you still control your own destiny (Laurence Griffiths/Allsport) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- You want World Cup action, we've got World Cup action. Welcome to 91st Minute, your daily recap of the day's events in France.
As expected, the tournament's opening game proved closer than you would have predicted as the Brazilians took turns trying to show how they could blow excellent chances. Only a lucky bounce off Scotland's Tommy Boyd into the net midway through the second half kept the Scots from stealing a point.
Scotland has a history of disappointment in the World Cup, never having advanced to the second round. But what made this even worse for the Scots is that it came at the hands of Brazil.
The last time Scotland was in the finals, it faced Brazil, needing only a draw to advance. But current goalkeeper Jim Leighton gave up a soft goal late in the contest and the Scots lost 1-0. Leighton's career fell apart for three years -- he never again was the top starter for Manchester United -- and just when he had put it all back together he suffers this loss.
But by no means is this a crushing loss for a Scottish side that did not expect to win. They got superb news when Morocco played surprisingly well in the night contest in France and drew 2-2 with Norway.
Scotland now seemingly holds its destiny in its own hands. No one expects Brazil to yield a point to Norway or Morocco, although it is possible if the Brazilians continue to squander scoring chances. If the Scots can get a victory and a draw in their contests with Morocco and Norway, they would have four points, likely enough to get them through to the second round.
The match of the day was certainly Morocco-Norway. Open, end-to-end soccer was on display as both teams played with the throttle wide open.
Mustafa Hadji scored the prettiest goal of the day to put Morocco up 1-0 (AP) | |
The two prettiest goals of the day belonged to the Moroccans, who used their speed all game to easily run past the Norwegian defense.
Mustafa Hadji, who is playing on a broken right foot, made an impressive run down the left side and combined it with a spectacular move that turned Norway's Dan Eggen around. At that point, he launched an 12-yard right-footed strike to the far post that beat Frode Grodas and put Morocco ahead 1-0 in the 38th minute.
In the second half, Abdeljilil Hadda took a chipped pass over Norway's defense at the top of the penalty area with deft touch and quickly lauched a strike past the helpless Grodas.
Two critical mistakes by Morocco -- an own goal late in the first half and a poor clearance that led to Norway's second score -- allowed Norway to draw, and left Morocco and Norway facing must-win games against Scotland. Both teams came away with a point, but as mentioned earlier, Scotland has the easier road to the second round.
Player of the Day: Mustafa Hadji. Only in the World Cup does a man play on a broken foot and talk about how happy he is to do so. The happiness was obviously not an act, as his enthusiasm was infectious for Morocco. For nearly 60 minutes he ran tirelessly up and down the field and was seemingly everywhere for Morocco. His goal was classic, off a move where he seemingly had no chance to get off a shot. In the second half the Norwegian defense paid so much attention to him that it forgot about his teammate Hadda, who was able to spring free for Morocco's second score.
Shock of the Day: Two own goals. Both Scotland and Morocco shot themselves in the foot with own goals that helped decide the match. Tommy Boyd's gaffe, which gave Brazil the win, would have been difficult to stop. But what was Moroccan midfielder Youssef Chippo trying to do when he headed a loose ball into his own goal with under a minute left in the first half? He easily could have headed the ball away from goal, but his attempt to head it over the goal proved disastrous.
Outlook for Thursday: Italy vs. Chile will be one of the more intriguing games of the first round. The Italians are notorious slow starters, and the Chileans would love to steal three points. Both teams are expected to advance from Group B, but the team that finishes second likely will face Brazil in the second round.
Making matters worse for the Italians has been the injury bug. They lost their starting goalkeeper to injury two weeks ago and striker Alessandro del Piero is still recovering from a thigh injury. Then things went from bad to worse when Fabrizio Ravanelli was lost for the tournament Wednesday with an infection in his right lung.
Italy started the '94 World Cup with a 1-0 loss to Ireland. A loss to Chile on Thursday, and we might have a rematch of the '94 final in the second round.
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