World Cup brings thrills, joy, and agony

JAKARTA (JP): With just a week remaining, the World Cup has lived up to its name as the showdown of the cream of soccer.

Thousands of flag-waving, yelling crowds have been packing stadiums in France and hundreds millions more around the globe have seen and want to watch more magic played on the green fields by the likes of Ronaldo, Gabriel Batistuta and Denis Bergkamp.

Needless to say, this year's France 98 will be best remembered as the biggest and longest tournament ever.

A record 170 teams competed in a qualifying marathon featuring 643 matches to determine the 30 finalists, besides automatic starters France as the host and Cup holder Brazil.

Blown up to 32 teams and 64 matches, the 33-day tournament kicked off when Brazil struggled for a 2-1 win over Scotland on an own goal from Tommy Boyd on June 10 in the Stade de France. The trophy presentation to captain of the winning team in the same St. Denis arena on July 12 will mark the end of the event.

Nigeria stole the early show with its upset defeats of Spain and Bulgaria on its way to reaching the second round as a group leader. But when it came to the task of carrying the African flag in the Europe-dominated tournament, Nigeria flopped. Dynamite Denmark tore the Olympic champion apart with a 4-1 win and dashed Africa's hopes of being represented in the remaining stages.

Apart from a historic golden goal scored by veteran Laurent Blanc in France's 1-0 win over Paraguay in the second round, England's ouster was undoubtedly the biggest upset of the tournament.

But England's defeat served as a blessing in disguise, particularly for host France. The exit of Glenn Hoddle's squad was followed by thousands of hooligans who had given the host a severe headache.

The first penalty shootout applied to that second-round match was at the expense of England, but to the delight of Argentina which won 4-3. The teams were tied at 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Referees have also sparked controversy, not only because of the red cards galore they have shown, but their questionable decisions. A total of 17 players received red cards in 56 matches played going into the quarterfinals.

Every cloud has a silver lining, anyway. Whoever wins the World Cup must be the best team in the world. (amd)