WORLD CUP FEVER - June 24

Group C

	France		Denmark
	South Africa		Saudi Arabia

Group D

	Spain		Bulgaria
	Nigeria		Paraguay

What a day. Eighteen goals in four games, including six penalties. I saw the evening games in the Prince of Wales, Princedale Road I think it is, in London's fashionable Holland Park area, after playing football myself. The pub was showing one game on TV, and the other on a big screen. Faced with this onslaught of action, and the goals flying in in the opening minutes, I located another TV and concentrated on the Spain game, and vowed never to write another sentence with two 'in's in succession. Also, let the record show that I drank Carling cooking lager (I know, but the games were starting, and I was in a hurry although that's no excuse) and snacked on chicken and stuffing crisps.

What transpired was high drama on a scale not witnessed since last night in fact. Spain slaughtered the clueless Bulgarians but seemed to get the message that their sudden finding of form was all in vain. Because Nigeria, rather like Brazil last night, didn't need to play a full-strength team and give it 110 per cent boss against Paraguay. Kiko's face after scoring his country's sixth said it all. Spain had blossomed too late and Nigeria, let's be honest, had cheated them out of a place in the last 16.

But what was the atmosphere like in Spain? Who knows, but this was the report I was sent: "Spain, they win 6-1 and go home like the Jockos....There was great blowing of trumpets and waving of flags and all sorts of annoying noise in our neighbourhood at half time, but oddly enough it's all gone quiet. A ghostly silence broken only by the occasional lament (not mine I might add) reigns and the night belongs to the sad and the soulless...."

I went home, too, and then watched it all again on the highlights, cheering wildly when Manu Petit scored for France (Patrick Vieira played as well). And filled in my wallcharts.

Results:

France (1) 2	Denmark (1) 1
Djorkaeff 13 (pen) Petit 56	M Laudrup 42 (pen)

South Africa (1) 2	Saudi Arabia (1) 2
Bartlett 19, 90 (pen)	Al-Jaber 55 (pen) Al- Thyniyan 73 (pen)

Spain (2) 6	Bulgaria (0) 1
Hierro 6 (pen) Luis Enrique 18 Morientes 53, 82 Kiko 88, 90	Kostadinov 57

Nigeria (1) 1	Paraguay (1) 3
Oruma 10	Ayala 1 Benitez 59 Cardozo 86

Final groups:

Group C	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
France	3	3	0	1	9	1	9
Denmark	3	1	1	1	3	3	3
South Africa	3	0	2	1	3	5	2
Saudi Arabia	3	0	1	2	2	7	1

Group D	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Brazil	3	2	0	1	6	3	6
Norway	3	1	2	0	5	4	5
Morocco	3	1	1	1	5	5	4
Scotland	3	0	1	2	2	6	1

Shots off target:

Celso Ayala's goal, at 52 seconds the fastest so far, gets him a solid gold watch. I can't think of anything else to put in this section today. Thinking about it, what if someone scores a faster goal? Has he really won this watch...and do we, on reflection, give a monkey's? No.

Ayala plays for River Plate in Argentina. Few of the Paraguayan squad play in their home country, most of them 'plying their trade' in Argentina, Mexico or Brazil. Most Paraguayans are bilingual in Spanish and the native language, Guarani. That'll do.

(Not necessarily the World Cup but I've got a lot of them) Football Quote of the Day:
'Welcome to Bologna on Capital Gold, England versus San Marino with Tennent's Pilsner lager brewed with Czechoslovakian yeast for that extra Pilsner taste and England are one down.' Jonathan Pearce (1993)