WORLD CUP ROUNDUP : On Day of 1-1 Ties, France and Soviet Union Play to Standoff
Luis Fernandez scored 15 minutes into the second half to give France a 1-1 tie with the Soviet Union Thursday in a World Cup match at Leon. Goalkeepers Joel Bats and Renat Desayev were the respective stars for the French and Soviets, who are tied atop Group C with three points each.
Vassily Rats gave the Soviet Union a 1-0 lead to cap a series of crisp passes just outside the penalty area. He unleashed a hard left-footed shot that soared into the upper left corner of the net at the 53-minute mark of the 90-minute match.
But Fernandez tied it seven minutes later, breaking free in front to take a perfect lob pass from Alain Giresse and booting it in with his right foot from 10 yards out.
Desayev made the save of the game in the 69th minute, sprawling to kick out a header by Jean-Pierre Papin. Yannick Stopyra’s run down the right side and perfect centering pass set up the opportunity.
South Korea 1, Bulgaria 1--South Korea, playing in a steady downpour at Mexico City, rallied to tie Bulgaria on a goal by Kim Jong Boo with 22 minutes remaining.
The Group A match, played on a field that steadily turned into mud and was filled with divots, was tied after consistent pressure by the South Koreans. Kim, standing in the penalty area, kicked the ball from a scramble with his right foot and beat goalkeeper Borislav Mihailov.
The draw tied Bulgaria with Italy for second place in the group. Those teams tied, 1-1, in the World Cup opener. South Korea is 0-1-1.
Bulgaria went ahead, 1-0, in the 11th minute when the South Korean goalkeeper, Oh Yun Kyo, came out to challenge a header and slipped on the wet turf. The ball came to Plamen Getov, lurking on the far side of the penalty area, and he had no trouble putting it into the gaping net.
Wide-open spaces at World Cup stadiums are embarrassing Mexico’s soccer officials.
After the first 12 games of the 52-match schedule, the World Cup Organizing Committee was still not in position Thursday to release attendance figures--only estimates.
But even by the committee’s own count, many games have been played in half-empty stadiums.
There have been exceptions. The showpiece 114,000-seat Azteca Stadium in Mexico City drew 95,000 spectators for the opener between defending champion Italy and Bulgaria and, not surprisingly, a near-full house of 110,000 for Mexico vs. Belgium.
Three-time champion Brazil, which played Spain at Guadalajara’s 66,200-capacity Jalisco Stadium, also proved a big draw, attracting 65,500.
But Northern Ireland and Algeria had only 22,000 fans at nearby March Three Stadium--the smallest of the stadiums at 30,000. At Irapuato, with a capacity of 30,700, only 16,500 watched the Soviet Union play Hungary.
