7 July 1998 BRAZIL 1-1 HOLLAND Ronaldo 45 Kluivert 86 Brazil win 4-2 on penalties Penalty Shootout Brazil : Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Emerson, Dunga Holland : Frank de Boer, Bergkamp, Cocu (miss), Ronald de Boer (miss) Ronaldo gave Brazil the lead seconds after the restart, he ran onto a through ball as the Dutch defence were caught napping, I think it was Rivaldo with the assist. Kluivert headed in Ronald De Boers cross. The first half would make a great cure for insomnia. Much as it pains me to say it, for all of Hollands possession, Brazil created more goalscoring chances and were it not for some desperate goalkeeping and awesome defending from Frank de Boer amongst others, Brazil could have scored 3-4 goals. Kluivert missed tons of chances including a sitter minutes before equalising and went close to a winner in extra time when his volley just missed the post. Bergkamp had a terrible game, Roberto Carlos had his best game of the tournament. Davids was again outstanding. No surprise to see Ronaldo cause so much havoc given the Dutch insist on playing the suicide trap. Attendance : 54,000 Ref Rating : Poor - Started well then awarded free kicks to Brazil for every minor challenge. Should have booked Ronaldo early in the first half after he lashed out at Cocu 8 July 1998 FRANCE 2-1 CROATIA Thuram 46, 69 Suker 45 An explosive start to the second half with two goals. Suker was left one on one with Barthez after 24 seconds thanks to a brilliant thorough pass from Asanovic and a dodgy attempt at the offside trap. Thuram equalised as French TV were just finishing a replay of the goal, and while on the subject the TV pictures by the French have been abysmal, anyway Thuram made a run into attack, Boban sent a hospital pass straight to Djorkaeff he passed to Thuram and 1-1 instant equaliser. Thuram once again made a run into attack, attempted a one-two with Henry, Jarni bollocked up the clearance and Thuram shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner. Like the other semi-final a poor first half and dramatic second. Croatia had more ideas when attacking but ultimately Bobans hospital pass changed the course of the game. The French were inspired, took the lead and then blew numerous opportunities to kill off Croatia on the counter attack. A nervous last 10 minutes with some awesome defending by Thuram and Desailly and a great save from Barthez booking Frances place in the semi-finals. Blanc was sent off for a palm strike to Bilics chin, despite the overacting by Bilic, Blanc had to go given. I would just like to point out that Djorkaeff has two assists and one goal, Zidane has one assist. Zidane, best playmaker in the World? Bollocks. I wasnt convinced during the past season and Im still waiting. Attendance : 76,000 Red Card(s) : Blanc 74 (France) Ref Rating : Excellent, some would say the sending off was harsh but judging by the FIFA directive he was 100% correct. Third Place Play-Off 11 July 1998 CROATIA 2-1 HOLLAND Prosinecki 12 Zenden 20 Suker 35 With Holland defending so high up the pitch, Croatia blasted through their defence on the counter attack. Suker passed to Jarni on the half way line, Jarni charged upfield, passed to Prosinecki on the edge of the box and spun around and shot into the bottom corner. Nice goal. Zenden equalised minutes later, picking the ball up on the wing, cutting inside and letting rip from just outside the box. A fantastic frog splash celebration followed, he must watch Pro-Wrestling. Sukerman grabbed his sixth goal of the tournament finishing off a brilliant passing move initially started by the hero of France, Bilic, that also involved Boban, Asanovic and an exquisite first time pass from Prosinecki. Best team goal of the tournament, great shot too, similar to Jarnis goal against Germany. A great game of football for 60 minutes, once Seedorf had a goal disallowed for offside the Dutch seemed to loose interest. Kluivert was denied on two occasions by point blank saves from Ladic and the missed an open goal after sending Ladic on his arse with a dummy. Bergkamp was substituted and had an abysmal game, Im sure his hamstring is playing up again. Croatia were content to sit on their lead. Bilic and Ladic were brilliant, as they have been throughout the tournament. Attendance : 44,000 Ref Rating : Excellent, let the game flow, although there were no controversial incidents. |