Conference trucks::football;1

                      P  W  D  L  GF  GA Pts
    Cameroon	      1  0  1  0   2   2   1
    Sweden            1  0  1  0   2   2   1
    Brazil            0  0  0  0   0   0   0
    Russia            0  0  0  0   0   0   0
    
    
    
    19th June '94
    Pasadena    Cameroon       2-2       Sweden
    
    20th June '94
    Stanford    Brazil          v       Russia
    
    24th June '94
    Stanford    Brazil          v       Cameroon
    Pontiac     Russia          v       Sweden
    
    28th June '94
    Pontiac     Brazil          v       Sweden
    Stanford    Russia          v       Cameroon

      Disappointing performance by the Swedes.
      
      The Swedish right centre back Patrik Andersson was involved in both the 
      goals against. OK, Ingesson should have cleared away the ball before.
      
      At least the Swedes produced some goal oppurtunities at the end of the 
      match. Kenneth Andersson helping Dahlin in front was an improvement. 
      Brolin was quite anonymous for most of the game. The sub Henke Larsson 
      saved Sweden with the good shot that hit the bar and then was put in net 
      by Martin Dahlin. 
      
      Thern and Schwarz (unusually well behaved, at least not sent off) played 
      quite well in mid-field.
      
      Bj�rkman and Ljung did a good match. Rolle Nilsson was not at his best.
      
      Cameroon did not play well. Nothing like Italia 90. They got 2 cheap 
      goals and did not produce that much more.
      
      Christer
      
      (A non-biased Swede)

Dahlin looked good, but the rest of the Swedes were just crap. Particularly
Brolin. Cameroon were poor as well I think Brazil will slaughter both of them.

Mike

    
    What a good side Brazil looked last night...Pure entertainment...
    Though the ref definatly favoured them..
    
    Neil...

    
    Well...looks like a well known sports shoe manufacturer DID get it
    right....This IS the way football will win the hearts of new viewers.
    They used every possible part of their body that is legal in the
    game to control and pass. Look at the way they use a full 360 degree
    circle to either maintain possession or lose a marker.
    
    By the way not talking about the Russian team hear.....
    
    Dezzz.

    
    Brazil were excellent, best team Ive seen so far, although I did'nt see
    the Columbia/Rumania game.
    
    Brazil look to have the ability to win the tournement if they want it,
    and they can handle the pressure.
    
    Dave...

    Well, I guess I'll be the only one thinking this, but the Brazilians
    didn't impress me as much as I expected them to. The Russians combined
    quicker and more accurate, although they never were a danger, as all
    attacks mysteriously stopped at 25 meter from the Brazilian goal.
    
    The first quarter was for the Russians, as were the last 10 mins of the
    first half. The Brazilians deserved the first goal, but as said before,
    I think the ref favored them. The Brasilian defender should have been
    shown the yellow (or maybe even the red, since the Russian attacker was
    stopped in a free run to the goal) card after about 15 mins.
    
    The penalty was obviously not a penalty. He went in to get it, and the
    ref was fooled. Deserved victory, but not as convincing as I expected
    them to be.
    
    Marcel

    
    
     Have to agree with .7. Brazil played some pretty silky soccer but
    they weren't as good as the pre-tournament hype seemed to suggest.
    Russia played some good football as well but didn't threaten up front.
    They would be a far more dangerous team if they weren't missing 5 or 6
    of their best players.
    
     Danny.

    
    Eh Chaps.....The tournament DOES last 4 weeks....
    
    Having seen 20 of the 24 teams so far the most resilient seem to be
    Brasil, Germany, Norway and Ireland; the former two being the ones who
    have the 'ability' to produce the goals as well.
    
    Looking forward to the Nigerians tonight....
    
    
    	Dezzz.

    
    It appeared to me Brazil were not giving 100 per cent.
    
    And with a striker like Romario you don't need too many chances to
    score. Just make sure he receives tha ball a couple of times when he's
    just hangin' around in the box and you'll have a goal/a penalty for
    sure.
    
    Heiko

I'd agree with Heiko. Brazil didn't seem to be giving 100% and to be honest they
didn't impress me too much over the 90 minutes. 
Yeah they scored two and showed some lovely skills. But one from a set piece and
one from a penalty ? They were given acres of space and even when their touch
did let them down they seemed to get the run of the ball.
They'll probably win their group but only when they meet a team with any sort of
a decent defense and mid-field will they be tested. The Russians weren't up to
much I'm sure you'll admit so we'll have to wait to see just how good this
Brazilian team can be.
Unless they improve I really can't see them winning the Cup although the heat
will be on their side. They seemed to be able to run all night.

I really think that Morocco played better than Brazil a couple of nights ago and
still lost. Colombia the same against Romania. I'm looking forward to seeing
Nigeria. I love the mentality of the side "We don't mind conceeding goals as
long as we score one more than the oposition". That's the way to play the game
and win in style, it's also the way to lose the game in style.


Peter

    Did I watch the same match as some of you guys did ?????
    
    The Brazilians were terrific and I don't know where anyone saw any
    favoritism from the ref! 
    The penalty was justified... Watch the replay: the Russian defender
    takes Romario's legs away from him and cannot make contact with the
    ball!
    I don't want to put a damper on the Irish enthusiasm but I'll trade 90
    minutes of Italy-Ireland for 45 minutes of Brazil-Russia. Romario's
    diving header on a Bebeto's cross was magic. Bebeto went for an amazing
    volley shot in the first half after some combinations on the right wing
    by Dunga which left the Russian defenders crying for help. Dunga was
    everywhere.
    
    Let's go Brazil!
    
    Jacques                                                 

RE:-1

Agreed for the most part. However, Bebeto's over-ambitious volley would have
been a certain goal had he chested it down and poked it in, even if a little
less impressive. Dunga I though was pretty poor. He gave the ball away a lot 
and caused more problems for his defence than the Russian attack did. Romario
played superbly though, and looks like the best player in the tournament by a
mile. And he didn't score with any flukey crosses either. 8-)

Mike

    
    As far as being able to run all night...I think a few teams would have
    been happy with the 'temparate' climate of San Francisco.....
    Looked to be the best conditions so far for football...
    
    Dezzz. 

    
    The referee certainly did seem to give a heck of a lot of decisions to
    Brazil. I was very impressed with them as a whole they totally
    overwhelmed the russians who were certainly missing those key players, 
    but Dunga was painfully rubbish and Bebeto should spend less time trying 
    to look like a glory boy and more time actually putting the ball in the net.
    His finishing was terrible, maybe if he hadnt tried the "roy of the
    rovers" volley into that almost open net and just taken it down and
    belted it, Brazil's margin of victory would have been much more
    convincing.
    
    Nice to see some ambitious skilfull football is present in this world
    cup. Maybe its a little too skilfull to win the cup itself and this, i
    think, is a shame.
    
    Ian.

re:last

Brazil made quite a lot of hard tackles which they'd never have done in the pas,
so hopefully there might be a bit more to them than flashy passing and missing
sitters. 8-) I think they've looked the best team so far by a considerable
margin.

Surely even a very old Careca would have put away at least half of the chances
that Bebeto missed yesterday.

mike

   >>Nice to see some ambitious skilfull football is present in this world
    >>cup. Maybe its a little too skilfull to win the cup itself and this, i
    >>think, is a shame.
 

Maybe it just isn't skillful enough then ?

What served as brilliant football against less well organized defenses back in
the 50's , 60's & 70's and even today just isn't good enough. Overall defense
has improved but attack hasn't improved enough to counter this. 
Brazil etc.. may play the most beautiful football but it all counts for nought
unless they win games and ultimately the World Cup.
You must play the best football i.e the best attacking football , the best
defensive football or the best compromise between the two but I doubt very much
that a team can play both the best defensive football along with the best
attacking football in the same match thus they must commit themselves to one or
the other or a copromise between both. 
Unfortunately the teams with flair are not IMHO not skillful enough to commit
themselves to the attacking game fully ( i.e their attack is no match for a team
who are defending well )and will thus lose games to teams with a good and well
organized compromise between defense and attack. What serves as the best
attacking football today just isn't good enough to beat the current teams
playing the best( when they do ) "Total Football" e.g Germany , Italy , Holland
, Ireland , Norway even.

I can see a European team winning this world cup if only because the rest
probably won't be good enough to break through 


Then again I could be wrong and this could be a load of crap,


Peter.

    
    I think you are probably right Peter. Maybe defences have improved
    since those days. Maybe its the direct approach rather than flowery
    stuff that gets results again such defences.
    
    Brazil DID look very tight in defence. their tackling was, at times,
    first class, a particular example i think would be the back-tackle that
    set up bebeto's missed sitter, timed to perfection. 
    Their finishing however, left alot to be desired. Maybe this is due to
    being over-eager at this stage. Hopefully this will improve.
    
    Ian.

    
    
    
    
    
    Re .17 
    
    Peter,
    
    	with all due respect, you're talking a load of cobblers man 8-)
    
>>    Unfortunately the teams with flair are >>> IMHO not skillful <<<
>>    enough to commit themselves to the attacking game fully 
    
    .......
    
>>    just isn't good enough to beat the current teams playing the 
>>    best ( when they do ) "Total Football" e.g Germany , Italy , 
>>    Holland, Ireland , Norway even.
    
    	Are you really suggesting that the Brazilian players have more
    flair but LESS SKILL than those of the 5 nations you mention above??
    Brazil's performance was an education in how to control the ball, how
    to beat your marker, how to run into space, play one-twos, make first
    time passes, intercept your opponents passes...... Every Brazilian
    player has well above the average skill level of this WC. Their close
    control, even among the defenders, was absolutely incredible. Poor old
    Archie McFearsome almost swallowed his false teeth gasping at Leonardo's
    overthehead control.
    
        And are you seriously saying that Brazil didn't / can't commit
    themselves to an attacking game?? How many sides have you seen where
    any defender who intercepts the ball has but one aim.....to break out
    of defense and attack the opposition. No of your standing on the ball
    looking fo an easy square pass, or playing it back to the keeper, or
    hoofing it hopefully upfield. If Brazil have any weakness, it is
    probably that they won't defend in a diciplined way. That remains to be
    seen, but theres absolutely no doubts about their intentions or ability
    to attack.
    
>>    Brazil etc.. may play the most beautiful football but it all counts 
>>    for nought unless they win games and ultimately the World Cup.
    
    	Peter, that may be your attitude, but not everyone thinks the same.
    The Nigerian manager is quoted as saying something like "if we lose,
    tough luck. We've come here to play our football and thats what we're
    going to do"
    
    	Germany for me are the best at playing a balanced, disciplined game.
    Last time round the were deservedly champions. But give me Brazil or
    Cameroon, Nigeria, Colombia, Arsenal ... to watch any day. Winning is
    not everything.
    
                                    ^  
                                    |
                               only joking!
    
    8-)
    
    JBG
                   

    
    Agree....100%....
    
    If more managers adopted the Nigerian attitude then the game would
    improve in leaps and bounds...
    
    Dezzz.

    
  >>  Are you really suggesting that the Brazilian players have more
  >>  flair but LESS SKILL than those of the 5 nations you mention above??
 
No JBG I'm not suggesting that at all. What I am saying is that Brazil are not
good enought to break down organized defenses even with the skill level that
they have. They are not good enough to play a total attacking game in the way
that their teams of the 60's & 70's did.It's easy to look good playing against a
bad team (as Brazil were) but their real tests are still to come.
What I'm saying is that their attacking flair is not enough to compensate for
their defensive frailties and if they do defend well they will have to sacrifice
some of their attacking flair in order to win the game

It's just an opinion,

Peter.


P.S 
I enjoy watching the Brazilians as much as the next guy but you try telling a
Brazilian that if you play nice football it doesn't matter that you don't win
the World Cup.

    Peter,
    
    I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one. Not only did I
    think Brazil looked like something from another planet (compared to the
    rest), but I think Russia looked excellent as well. In fact, I think
    they're the two best teams we've seen so far.
    
    Russia were made to look impotent simply because Brazil were so
    devestatingly good. However, Russia did everything right: they were
    quick, incisive, tackled well, very tight at the back, showed excellent
    ball control and never gave up. Sure, their attacks often petered out
    in the last third of the field, but IMO, this was more a result of
    Brazil's perfectly organised defence. Because Brazil are no longer the
    happy-go-lucky team that threw away the '82 and '86 World Cups. Their
    tackling hurts, their defenders don't stand for any nonsense, and
    they've realised the importance of having a couple of "water carriers"
    in their side (e.g. Dunga). 
    
    I honestly think Brazil would have scored 4 against anyone else. That game 
    should be videoed and distributed to all schools. Actually, given that
    Russia fielded the youngest team in the tournament, I think they can be
    well satisfied with their showing.
    
    Dom 

    
    
    re last
    
    Yep, I thought Russia played very well but lacked a bit of power
    up-front. They are missing 5 or 6 of their "top" players who decided
    not to go to the US due to a cash dispute with the manager. I still
    reckon they've a good chance of progressing.
    
     Danny.
    
    ps Craig Brown (who he I hear you ask)
    
       the current Scotland manager, reckons Scotland have nothing to fear
      from the Russians when we play them in the euro-qualifiers!! I hate
      to tell you Craig, but there isn't a team that I've seen in the US
      who wouldn't hammer the current Scotland team. 

Maybe you're right guys. Maybe the Russians are good. I suppose that time will
tell how good or bad they are and ditto for the Brazilians. I'll have fun
watching anyway.
It looks like I missed a lot while watching that game I'll have to keep a closer
eye on the Cameroon match.

Cheers,

Peter.

    
    Russia really surprised me. I dont know why, but I was expecting them
    to play the kind of boring, planned, and effective football that Germany 
    play. Infact, they played Brazil in a very similiar style to the
    Brazilians themselves, and were a bit unlucky that this Brazilian side is 
    100% better than the side that came to Italy.
    As far as quality football is concerned this was the best match I've seen 
    so far, and I've seen most (haven't seen Nigeria yet).
    
    Argentina also surprised me with some great football (what a difference
    from Italy!!!), but they were playing by far the worst team I've seen so 
    far - Greece (sorry to any Greeks out there!).
    
    Al.

    >  Bj�rkman and Ljung did a good match. Rolle Nilsson was not at his best.
    
    Christer,
    
    Has Rolly got himself set-up with a club in Sweden yet.
    
    Paul (Sheff Weds supporter).
    

    
    Re .23
    
    Danny,
    
    	I've got to disagree with you there mate. You're completely
    underestimating Scotland abilities........
    
    ..........I'm sure they'ed scrape a draw against Greece!  8-)
    
    JBG

      Paul,
      
      Rolle (or Rolly as he is called in U.K.) is playing for Helsingborg in 
      the south-west of Sweden. He has already played a few games.
      
      Helsingborg is the town straight across from Elsinore (Hamlet, you know) 
      in Denmark.
      
      Christer

      What a cracker header in the 82nd.
      
      A Midsummer Night's Dream came through.
      
      Sweden's first WC victory since 74.
      
      Brolin much better than against Cameroon.
      
      Even Patrik Andersson woke up, but still not in top form.
      
      Dahlin was superb both i attack and defense. He made sure Sweden will 
      qualify without him (2 yellow cards). It is a pity we cannot compare him 
      with Romario in the same match though. But I can wait till a later match.
      In the semis looks possible, looking at the draw. I know I am a bit 
      optimistic after all the Midsummer akvavit (vodka), but Holland (1/8s) 
      and e g Switzerland (1/4s) is not impossible.
      
      Heja Sverige.
      
      Christer

I thought Dahlin looked superb in both games. The difference in the Russis game
was that he wasn't the only Swede who could be arsed to do anything. 8-)

He'll be a great buy for Everton, if they get him.

Mike

    Russia 6 - Cameroon 1, a game to remember
    Isn't that something? one player, five goals
    in one game "Salenko" (sp?), that didn't 
    happend since 1950 when uruguay scored 8
    against Bolivia.
    
    Believe it or not....
    
    Regards 
    F 

    YYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
    
    Sweden still undefeated after three games after the 1-1 draw against
    Brazil. And we managed to do that without Martin Dahlin, he had two
    yellow cards before the game. Taffarel finally let a ball pass him,
    thanks to the splendid performance by Kennet Andersson.
    
    The Brazilians looked good though, especially in the second half, but
    as the game turned out, the 1-1 draw was a good result for both teams.
    
    Sweden will now play against number 2 in group F, probably Holland.
    How do we beat them? Which are their weaknesses?
    
    /Mats 

  didn't some team beat I think it was El Salvador 11-0 either back in 1978 or
1982??? Eurosport advertise WC goals and I remember the higgest loss been 11-0
and it was later than 1950......


                                                              -dave-

Sweden will now play against number 2 in group F, probably Holland.
    How do we beat them? Which are their weaknesses?

If you play Martin Dahlin, and Holland play the same defence they've played up
till now you'll stuff them.

Mike

    Happy to meet you Swedes next round. Could be an exciting game, if we
    both play our own games.
    
    Beautifull Swedish goal! Perfect hit by Andersson.
    
    Marcel

    
    	re back a couple..
    
    	I think Hungary beat Honduras 10-0 or 10-1 in Spain in '82.
    	
    	Andy.

    
    	After last nights results (Saudi 1:0 Belgium; Holland 2 : 1
    Morocco), Sweden will now meet Saudi Arabia in the next round.
    Holland finished top of the group with an identical record to the
    Saudis but having won the match againts them. Holland will play Ireland
    in Orlando next (guess thats what Jacks boys would have wanted) and
    Belgium will play Germany (so the commentators claimed).
    
    JBG

    
    Have Russia qualified or what?
    
    Tony
    
    

Russia will qualify if Argentina beat Bulgaria today.

Al

>   <<< Note 379.38 by SUBURB::ABSOLOMT "Dillydallying and shillyshallying" >>>>
>
>    
>    Have Russia qualified or what?
>    
>    Tony
>    

Bulgaria will put them out if they get a result tonight....
   

    
    The result was Bulgaria 2 Argentina 0
    
    The second goal was a cracker, coming in the 93rd minute from a corner
    kick and headed into goal.
    
    Marodona did not play and is apparently out of the cup pending an
    investigation into his use of an "over-the-counter" medication, a
    decongestant, which contained a banned substance. 
    
    Argentina looked very ordinary without him.
    
    Mike

    
    Sensational!
    
    I think if Nigeria have won then Holland will go out.
    Does anybody agree?
    
    Archie
    

    
    Could someone over the pond tell us the Nigeria score.
    

    
    Ignore .42, I was looking at a paper that was out of date.
    
    Russia would be out, as stated.
    
    Archie (on_a_long_hard_nightshift)
    8^)
    

    
    
     Down to the last game Iain.   @:^))
    
    
    
    SCott
    
    
    

    
    Nigeria won, I think it was 1-0. It was not on television, and the
    evening news won't be on for some time yet, so I can't verify it. 
    
    I believe that Bulgaria is on top; followed by  Nigeria, and Argentina
    is third. All qualify for the 2nd round.
    
    Bulgaria defeated Argentina 2-0, with the second goal (a cracker)
    coming in the 93rd minute from a corner kick.
    
    Mike

    Nigeria wins 2-0 and wins the group.
    
    Bulgaria takes second and
    
    Argentina takes third.
    
    This World Cup is unpredictable.  Great Stuff.
    
    Hope the second round games are good and unpredictable.
    
    Carlos

    
    	Just to confirm that last nights results mean that Russia have again
    failed to make it to the second round. The 4 best third placed teams are:
    
				Points
    		BELGIUM		6		
    		ARGENTINA!!!!   6
    		USA             4
    		ITALY           4