|
Difficult first steps
Newcomers have tough time on first day
Posted: Sunday June 14, 1998 08:42 PM
| |
Dragan Stojkovic (10) boasted before the game that
Yugoslavia would have no problem beating Iran (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- Sunday was a day for the new kids on the block to show their stuff at the World Cup.
Three teams made their finals debut, and two others returned after missing the '94 tournament. The graybeard for the day was Argentina, which has become a permanent fixture at the finals.
All three contests had their moments, although none stood out as impressively as Saturday's contests had.
The most surprising match of the day was Yugoslavia vs. Iran. On paper it looked like a mismatch, what with the Iranians having struggled so much in their buildup to the Cup that they fired their coach just two weeks before the finals started.
Yugoslavia, meanwhile, had been steamrolling over its opponents for the past month. With a roster filled with top players from the Spanish and Italian leagues, the Yugoslavians declared that they were ready to make up for lost time, seeing as they were
held out of the '94 World Cup because of their country's political actions.
Yugoslavia's team captain Dragan Stojkovic even boasted before the game that his squad would have no problem beating Iran. But it seems no one told the Iranians how pitiful they are, or, if they did, Iran simply ignored them. If not for a Sinisa Mih
ajlovic free kick that curled around the wall from 23 yards out in the 73rd minute, Iran likely would have drawn with Yugoslavia and thrown a wrench into everyone's scenario of how Group F will play out. Playing a physical, defensive game that made the
action quite ugly at times, Iran was able to frustrate the faster, more skilled Yugoslavians. Iran committed nearly 20 more fouls than Yugoslavia and created few chances on offense, but it served notice that it is willing to play whatever style it must t
o make life difficult for its opponents. Star Yugoslavian striker Predrag Mijatovic could not take two steps Sunday without an Iranian shadowing and or pushing him.
The end result for Yugoslavia was still three points, but the goal differential of just one may come back to cost them if the U.S. can beat Iran by more than one goal. If that is the case, assuming both Yugoslavia and the U.S. lose to Germany, then the
final matchup of the first round between those two teams will allow the U.S. to advance with a draw, while Yugoslavia would be forced to play for the win.
In the night contest, Croatia and Jamaica made their debut in the finals. The Jamaicans quickly found out that dancing and making noise are fun things to do in the stands, but when they don't always equate to goals on the field. Croatia crushed Jama
ica 3-1 in a contest that was not even that close. Jamaica played three strikers and attempted a long ball strategy that failed miserably.
Jamaica seldom got the ball into Croatia's penalty area, tallying only one goal on a Robbie Earle header right before halftime that tied the score at 1-1 and gave Jamaican fans hope as the two teams headed into intermission.
But Croatia turned on the pressure in the second half and after Robert Prosinecki scored in the 53rd minute and Davor Suker slotted one home 16 minutes later, the only one left dancing on the field were the Croatians. The early game Sunday was one J
apan will remember for a long time. It was the Japanese's first finals contest ever, but they will remember it because they blew numerous chances to draw or beat Argentina on a day when Argentina played poorly and was beatable.
The upset did not occur, though, as a result of Japan's inability to finish solid scoring chances. On the other end of the field, Argentina's top striker Gabriel Batistuta did not miss out on his best chance of the game, pouncing on a deflection off a
Japanese defender that left him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Batistuta calmly played the ball above the charging keeper to score the game's only goal in the 27th minute.
The big news off the field focused on Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert, who was given a red card for elbowing Belgium's Lorenzo Staelens late in Saturday's draw between the two teams.
Kluivert was destined to miss the Netherlands next game as a result of the red card already, but upon reviewing the incident FIFA decided to take on another game to the suspension. That means the Netherlands will have to finish first-round play without
Kluivert in games against Mexico and South Korea. Ordinarily that would not have been a gigantic blow to the extremely talented Dutch, who have plenty of capable strikers. But with Dennis Bergkamp just back from a hamstring injury and not likely to pl
ay a full game, it will place extra pressure on the pre-tournament group favorite Dutch, who will need at least one win to advance.
Player of the Day: Robert Prosinecki. Only seven players have played for two countries in international play, and until Prosinecki scored Croatia's go-ahead goal none of them had scored for both nations.
Prosinecki had previously scored for Yugoslavia in a 4-1 win over the United Arab Emirates in the '90 World Cup in Italy. But Croatia did not exist as a country at that time, and now Prosinecki is proud to wear his true country's uniform.
Goal of the Day: Sinisa Mihajlovic. With his left-footed free kick score, Mihajlovic ensured that Yugoslavia did not draw with or fall to Iran. He curved it beautifully around the Iranian wall into the far-post side of the goal.
Iranian goalkeeper Nima Nakisa apparently was leaning to his left when the ball was struck, and he never had a chance to get back the other way to stop the shot. There was not much power on the shot, but it was struck with just enough pace and swerve t
o find the back of the net.
Quote of the Day:"Jamaica doesn't lose, Jamaica is always the winner because they learn," said Reggae Boyz coach Rene Simoes despite the numbers on the scoreboard.
Outlook for Monday: Well the day U.S. soccer fans have been waiting for is finally here. Germany vs. U.S.
The U.S. is making its third straight trip to the finals, and last time it advanced to the second round. Yet the theme the U.S. team has picked up on from its coach for this game is respect.
The U.S. thinks Germany has none when it comes to the Americans' ability to play the game on the international level. Nearly every U.S. player or coach who has spoken to the media over the past week has echoed those sentiments, and Monday will be the c
hance for the U.S. to earn that respect on the field. Problem is, the Germans have been reading every bulletin board quote coming out of the U.S. team, and they have refused to respond with quotes of their own. It seems the Germans want to do their tal
king on the field.
Monday, the whole world will see just how much respect the U.S. team is entitled to.
| 
