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Surprise, surprise
Norway victory not good news for Morocco
Posted: Wednesday June 24, 1998 12:23 AM
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Baiano (left) was called for the foul on Flo that set up Norway's winning penalty kick goal (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- The first major surprise of the World Cup arrived
Tuesday when Brazil proved
that it is indeed human, falling 2-1 to Norway in its
final first-round match.
While the result left Norwegians jumping for joy and Moroccans weeping
because the former team advanced to the second round and the latter was
sent packing, a real question has arisen from it all: Is Brazil fallible
the rest of the way?
Brazilian fans, easily the harshest critics of their team, might be
sounding the alarms in Rio, but let's take a look at the team put on the
field in Marseille and the circumstances under which it lost.
Coach Mario Zagallo took out all players who already had a yellow card
except for Junior Baiano in a precautionary move to make sure they would
all be eligible for Saturday's second-round match. In addition, Zagallo
essentially switched formations when he started Denilson, who normally
plays striker, in the midfield.
Brazil certainly had more firepower, but it had trouble all game getting
the ball to its strikers. One of the biggest strengths of Brazilian soccer
is ball-control, and it was lacking somewhat against Norway. Rest assured,
Zagallo will junk his one-game experiment the rest of the way.
Finally, let's look at the go-ahead goal, which came off of a very touchy
takedown in the penalty area. While it is clear that Baiano bumped into
Tore Andre Flo from behind, Flo is the only one who knows whether or not he
truly took a dive. He might just be the greatest actor Norway has ever
produced.
He certainly is the reason why his team has made the second round for the
first time.
He knocked home the tying goal against the run of play in the 83rd minute
when it looked like Brazil would samba dance it's way to a lackluster
victory. And then six minutes later, he and Baiano got tangled up in the
box, leading to Kjetil Rektal's penalty kick score.
Lost in the shuffle of Norway advancing was the performance Morocco put on
against Scotland.
Salaheddine Bassir rammed home two goals as Morocco routed the Scots 3-0.
Morocco was first crying tears of joy and then tears of
sadness as word of the Norway game was relayed to them.
Norway will face Italy, which took
care of business in the second half, even withstanding Austria's
typical stoppage time goal. Roberto Baggio, who came on as a substitute
after starting the first two games, scored what turned out to be the
game-winning goal in the 2-1 win.
The Italians, notorious slow starters at the World Cup, did what they had
to do to avoid a second-round contest with Brazil, and now appear poised to
make a deep run into the tournament.
The toughest contest to watch had to have been the Chile-Cameroon
contest, where Cameroon finished the match with just nine players, but
still should have beaten Chile if not for a goal being called back.
Francois Omam Biyak appeared to give the Indomitable Lions a 2-1 lead in
the 58th minute, only to have his score called back because the referee
ruled that Cameroon's Patrick Mboma committed a foul while heading the ball
to Biyak. Replays appeared to show little to no contact, and Cameroon was
furious as it left the field.
No one can blame the Indomitable Lions for being upset, though, they worked
four long years to get to this point, and they looked to have a very
legitimate complaint. If the goal had been allowed, Cameroon would have
advanced to face Brazil, instead of Chile.
Player of the Day: Tore Andre Flo. All looked lost for Norway, one of
the tournament dark horse picks, with less than 10 minutes to play against
Brazil until Flo pulled his country through.
His first goal was sensational enough, corralling a long pass, and beating
Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel. But it was his acting ability that earned
him the love of all Norwegians.
Flo might just get an Oscar for the apparent dive he took in the box in the
89th minute. It earned Norway a penalty kick and pushed the country through
to the second round for the first time.
Goal of the Day: Jose Luis Sierra. In the aftermath of the Cameroon-
Chile match, nearly all of the focus is on the goal by Biyak that seemingly
should have counted. But lost in the shuffle was one of the prettier goals
of the tournament.
Sierra's free kick from 24 yards out on the right side was curled
beautifully over the wall with Sierra's left foot, and it curved perfectly
into the upper right corner of the net. It gave Chile the early momentum
and it hung on late for a berth against Brazil in the second round.
Outlook for Wednesday: Two of the day's four matches involve teams
which have clinched berths in the second round -- Nigeria and France.
How each team approaches their seemingly meaningless game will play a major
role in which other team in Group C and D advances to the second round.
In Group C, Denmark seems
assured of advancing to the next round. The only way the Danes could be
caught would be if they lost badly to France, and if South
Africa waxed Saudi
Arabia by a number of goals. South Africa has to make up five goals in
goal differential and have Denmark lose. That's not likely to happen with
France resting many of its regulars who already have one red card, and
being without the services of Zinedine Zidane.
Group D is not nearly as easy to handicap. If Paraguay beats
Nigeria, it will take the second-place spot, and if it loses, the winner of
the Spain-Bulgaria match
would be in. Of course, if Paraguay loses and the Spain-Bulgaria contest is
a draw, three teams would have two points and it would be settled by goal
differential.
If that sounds confusing to you, think of this. Nigeria sandbagged in a
large way in its friendly games coming into this tournament. With five
starters likely to sit out against Paraguay, what's to keep the same thing
from happening again?
The Spanish media is already howling about firing its coach and dismantling
the team if it does not reach the second round. Imagine what it will do if
Nigeria lays down and plays dead against Paraguay.
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