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Davids matures, sends Dutch to quarters
Posted: Tuesday June 30, 1998 08:54 AM
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Run to glory: Davids' (16) goal in the third minute of stoppage time sent the Dutch into a frenzy (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- There can be no more deserving hero than the Netherlands
' Edgar Davids, who had millions of Dutch fans screaming with delight when
his beautifully placed 25-yard blast in stoppage time sent his country into
the quarterfinal round.
Davids was thrown off the Dutch team two years ago during the European
Championships when he mouthed off about being benched in a game against
Switzerland. To hear his teammates talk about the incident, it was a young,
immature Davids who was responsible for that mistake, not the person they
play with today.
But you won't hear that from Davids because he has not spoken to the media
since arriving in France. He
doesn't do it out of a hatred for the media or a belief that they were
responsible for his dismissal two years ago. No, Davids is simply letting
his play do all the talking.
Monday, it talked the Netherlands straight into the third round after a
marvelous match with Yugoslavia.
These two teams left everything they had out on the field with Davids' goal
in the third minute of stoppage time the decisive blow.
Yugoslavia will likely mourn this game for quite some time. It came into
the tournament bent on making up for missing the last World Cup in a big
way, and it very well might have if not for a missed penalty kick by
Predrag Mijatovic in the 51st minute.
Mijatovic smashed his attempt right off the crossbar in the middle of the
goal, keeping Yugoslavia from going ahead. It was the first missed penalty
kick in regulation since 1990, and it put a permanent mark on Mijatovic's
tournament in much the same way Roberto Baggio was marked after missing a
penalty kick in the shutout of the '94 final with Brazil. Both
players helped carry their teams to their spots in the elimination rounds,
but they will be remembered more for their missed penalty than anything
else.
Neither team deserved to lose, but the Netherlands with their attacking
style and charismatic fans will certainly be a team to watch the rest of
the way. The Dutch will take on the winner of Tuesday's England-Argentina
match in a contest that rivals Italy-France for
the honors of top quarterfinal match to see.
In the morning contest, Germany
continued its impressive run of great second-half play, coming back from
one goal down in the final 15 minutes to knock off Mexico 2-1. The
outcome was not unexpected, but the way in which it was achieved certainly
was.
Mexico should be congratulated for how impressively it played in France '98
after a run-up to the tournament that had Mexican fans and the media
calling the team "El Titanic."
The Mexicans nearly sunk Germany, and very well might have if Luis
Hernandez had buried a seemingly innocent six-foot attempt that could have
put Mexico up 2-0. Instead, Hernandez' left-footed shot was weak and right
to Germany's goalkeeper. You could sense the momentum shift when the shot
was saved, and sure enough the Germans started attacking the Mexican goal
with vigor.
Juergen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff found the back of the net, pushing
the Germans to the quarterfinals yet again. Germany has now been to the
final eight in every World Cup it has entered except for 1938 and 1978.
Off the pitch, the big news was the resignation of U.S. coach Steve
Sampson, whose disappointing squad finished the tournament dead last. It
was anticipated that the U.S. soccer federation would ask Sampson to pack
his bags within the next 30 days, but Sampson beat it to the punch.
After a breakfast meeting with federation president Alan Rothenberg,
Sampson tendered his resignation, and then promptly hopped on a plane to
the U.S. allowing him to avoid any reporter's questions.
There are plenty of rumors about who will take over as the next coach of
the U.S. team, and we at 91st minute have our own suggestion -- Bora
Milutinovic. We know, he already coached the U.S. team once, but who says
you can't come back? How many times did Billy Martin come back to manage
the New York Yankees, and he's not nearly as big a maverick as Bora is?
Bora's contract with Nigeria was
only through the World Cup, and he is now a free agent again. Could he
surface back at the helm of the U.S. team? If so, would he bring back Tony
Meola?
Player of the Day: Edgar Davids: Not only did the Dutch player score
the winning goal for his team in stoppage time, but he also played perhaps
the best game he has ever played for the Netherlands.
Davids was everywhere against Yugoslavia, and he had the crowd chanting his
name for much of the second half. Then, battling cramps in his legs, Davids
was asked by coach Guus Hiddink, who cut him just two years earlier, to gut
it out through regulation.
Hiddink planned on substituting for him before sudden death, but he never
got the chance because of Davids' blast which gave the Netherlands a 2-1
win.
Goal of the Day: Oliver Bierhoff. The German striker missed a header
from close range in the first half, but he redeemed himself late in the
second half when he soared high above the Mexican defender marking him to
head a ball into the upper right corner of the goal from six yards out.
It was a beautiful effort from a man who was paired with fellow German
Juergen Klinsmann up front to form one of the best striker duos in this
World Cup.
Quote of the Day: "It was a happy non-decision to let him go until the
end," -- Dutch coach Guus Hiddink after contemplating replacing Davids
before stoppage time.
Outlook for Tuesday: The English won the Falkland Islands incident, the
Argentines took the "Hand of God" game, Tuesday the two countries will
settle the best of three showdown in the final second-round match.
The fire has surely been stoked for this rematch, the first time the two
countries will have met in a competitive match since Argentina superstar
Diego Maradona eliminated the English in the quarterfinals of the 1986
World Cup with the most memorable hand ball goal of all time. What few
people remember, though, is that Argentina actually beat England 2-0 in
that game with the second goal coming on perhaps the best goal of all time
in World Cup play.
Maradona took off on a 60-yard slalom through the English team, beating
nine men on his twisting run to the goal. Of course, the excuse offered by
the English when presented with this fact is that their team was already
demoralized by the hand ball goal which had been allowed.
In the days preceding this rematch both sides have piped in with their
thoughts on the '86 affair.
England coach Glenn Hoddle, who was on the field for England in that game,
has said a win Tuesday would be sweet revenge for all of England. Argentina
midfielder Juan Veron, meanwhile, has already let it be known that he will
be trying to score a goal similar to the spectacular goal Maradona scored
to put the game away in '86.
The bottom line is this: England must find a way to score against an
Argentina team which has not allowed a goal in its last eight matches.
The crowd will be rocking Tuesday night in St. Etienne, and the pick here
is Argentina. Don't go against history.
The other match of the day features a showdown between aging Romania and
newcomer Croatia. The
Romanians have been knocked for having old and weary legs, but they still
managed to beat out England for the top spot in their group. Croatia,
meanwhile, is the last of the debutantes still at the ball. | 
91st minute: Bora blunders big time as Denmark upsets Nigeria
