|
England puts 2nd round berth in doubt
Posted: Monday June 22, 1998 08:09 PM
| |
Alan Shearer and the English were left brokenhearted after their loss (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- First the Spanish, now the English.
England became the second high-profile European squad to journey into rough
and choppy waters when it fell 2-1 to Romania on
Monday night in Toulouse. If you thought English fans were a bit on edge in
Marseille before the squad's first match, imagine what they will be like
Friday night in Lens when England faces
Colombia.
As long as England does not lose, it will advance to the second round. But
the venue is the concern here. Lens was the scene of the worst violence yet
in France
'98.
A group of German troublemakers not even interested in soccer, according to
French police, journeyed to Lens before Sunday's Germany-Yugoslavia
match. They had one purpose in mind -- causing mayhem, in a disastrous way.
A French officer is in a coma, and the violence was bad enough that one of
Germany's delegates to FIFA offered to withdraw his nation from the
tournament if it would keep violence from occurring again at this World
Cup.
This needless bloodletting continues to be a major story in France, and it
is overshadowing some superb soccer.
On the pitch Monday, England gave up two goals off defensive breakdowns and
suffered a 2-1 defeat to Romania.
The first Romanian goal was not an atrocious mistake. Romania's captain
Gheorge Hagi sent a beautiful chip from the right side of the penalty area
to striker Viorel Moldovan, who was unmarked in the center of the field and
chested it down before knocking it past England goalkeeper David Seaman
from six yards out.
But after 18-year-old Michael Owen had come into the game as a substitute
and drawn England even in the 83rd minute, the defense made an inexcusable
error.
Romanian midfielder Dorinel Munteanu sent a 45-yard pass to striker Dan
Petrescu, who was able to hold off Graeme Le Saux, his club teammate at
Chelsea, and corral the ball not six yards from the goal on the left side.
Le Saux somehow let Petrescu turn to face the goal and shoot the ball
through the legs of the charging Seaman for the winner in the 90th minute.
Replays showed that Petrescu had held off Le Saux by applying his right
forearm to Le Saux' neck, but that hardly matters. The result left England
in a position it never wanted to be in, facing possible elimination in the
first round should it lose to Colombia on Friday night.
Preciado lifted Colombian spirits with his score (AP) | |
Colombia got to this position with a 1-0 win over Tunisia in a
game that could easily have been 5-4 with all the shots that were fired at
goal. The ball spent very little time in the middle third of the field, as
the teams went end-to-end all game.
You couldn't help but smile when Leider Preciado slotted one home seven
minutes from the end, giving Colombian fans something to cheer about in the
World Cup for the first time in over four years. There's no telling how
long the tragic death of Andres Escobar will hang over this nation, but
should Colombia defeat England memories of the disappointment of '94 likely
will be forgotten.
Player of the Day: Leider Preciado. Brought on as a striker in the 57th
minute, Preciado had a tough task -- make Colombians forget about Faustino
Asprilla, who was cut from the team after the first match. Preciado was
able to do precisely that with his 83rd minute tally against Tunisia.
He scored again just a few minutes later, but that goal was called off
because it was ruled Carlos Valderrama had committed a hand ball in the
penalty area. Regardless, one goal was more than enough to make Preciado a
hero for a day.
Goal of the Day: Romania's Dan Petrescu. The English-based striker gave
England fans a goal they may see in their nightmares if they fail to
advance. He put his country ahead in the 90th minute, when he held off a
teammate from Chelsea and then slotted the ball between English goalkeeper
David Seaman's legs.
Quote of the Day: "I would rather have lost the match against
Yugoslavia on Sunday if it would have meant this police officer remaining
in good health."-- German coach Berti Vogts on hooliganism that left a
policeman in a coma
Outlook for Tuesday: Double your trouble, double your fun, we've two
games at the same time, instead of one.
Both Group A and B finish up play Tuesday with plenty of intrigue still
existing to make all four contests must see. Of course, you'd need two
televisions for that, and a forgiving boss.
In the early games, Italy and Chile are favored
to advance past Austria and Cameroon,
respectively. Both squads would advance with a draw, but a win will be on
the minds of both squads. The three points could be the difference between
finishing first or second in the group, and by now we all know that a
second-place finish gets you a lovely parting gift -- a game with Brazil in the
second round.
In the late contests, Brazil promises to play more offensively against Norway, a scary
thought indeed, but Norway could lose 1-0 and still go through if Morocco and Scotland play
a scoreless draw. That's not likely to happen, though, and a win or a draw
with goals scored should send Scotland to the second round for the first
time ever.
The bottom line for this group should still remain the same, though,
whoever wins in the Scotland-Morocco contest will advance provided Norway
does not shock the world and beat Brazil -- something it did May 30 last
year, the only loss Norway suffered in 1997.
| 
