World Cup Soccer Roundup : Morocco Gains the Second Round in a Stunner

Morocco became the first African team ever to make the second round of the World Cup by stunning Portugal, 3-1, Wednesday at Guadalajara to win Group F.

The Moroccans finished 1-0-2 in a group where they were considered rank outsiders. They tied top-seeded Poland and European power England in scoreless games before romping past the Portuguese, who finished last in the division with a 1-2 record.

Getting two goals from Abderrazak Khairi and one from Abdelkarim Merry, Morocco moved on to a match next Tuesday at Monterrey against the second-place team in Group E, which is still to be determined.

Morocco took the lead in the 18th minute with its first goal of the tournament, a 30-yard drive from Khairi.

Eight minutes later, Khairi volleyed a magnificent crossing pass from Labd Khalifa past goalie Vitor Damas.

Merry made it 3-0 at 61 minutes, collecting a pass over the defense by Mohammed Timoumi and powering the ball past Damas.

Portugal broke through with 11 minutes to go on an 18-yard chip shot by Diamantino.

England 3, Poland 0--Gary Lineker scored three goals in the first half at Monterrey to give the English a second-place finish in Group F.

Lineker joined Preben Elkjaer of Denmark as the only players with hat tricks in this year’s World Cup. Tuesday, Alessandro Altobelli of Italy was credited with three goals against South Korea, but one of the goals was taken away from him Wednesday after it was ruled that a South Korean had inadvertently knocked the ball into his own net.

England’s victory, following a 1-0 loss to Portugal and a 0-0 tie with Morocco, put the team into a second-round match with Paraguay next Wednesday at Mexico City.

Poland, top-seeded in the group, slipped from first to third and will face the winner of Group D, most likely Brazil, next Monday at Guadalajara.

The English, lethargic in their previous two games, got going quickly and led, 2-0, after only 14 minutes. Their passing was precise, they were outrunning the Poles to every loose ball and goalkeeper Peter Shilton made several sparkling saves.

Lineker slid in front of the goal to meet a pass from Gary Stevens and put it past goalie Josef Mlynarczyk at seven minutes.

Seven minutes later, Lineker broke free in front to steer in a pass from Kenny Sansom from the left side.

A corner kick by Stevens was dropped by the goalie, and Lineker quickly left-footed it in at 36 minutes for the final English goal.

Mexico 1, Iraq 0--Playing without suspended star Hugo Sanchez, the Mexicans won Group B on a goal by defender Fernando Quirarte 10 minutes into the second half before 108,000 fans at Aztec Stadium in Mexico City.

The victory moved Mexico into the second round for a second-round match Sunday at Mexico City against a third-place finisher from one of the other groups.

Minus Sanchez, who had to sit out a game because of a fouling violation, Mexico’s performance was by far its least impressive in the tournament.

The Iraqis, making their debut in the championships, finished 0-3.

Belgium 2, Paraguay 2--Roberto Cabanas of Paraguay, formerly with the New York Cosmos, scored twice--including the tying goal with 14 minutes remaining--in a game that pushed both teams into the second round.

Paraguay had four points in Group B to finish behind Mexico, while Belgium was third with three points. The Belgians earned one of the four second-round berths awarded to third-place teams.

Paraguay plays the second-place team in Group F, still to be determined, next Wednesday at Mexico City. Belgium will play the Soviet Union, winner of Group C, on Sunday at Leon.

Paraguay’s coach, Cayetano Re, was ejected from the game by referee Bogdan Detchev of Bulgaria with seven minutes to go. Re apparently insulted the referee from the bench.

Daniel Veyt put a left-footed kick over charging goalie Roberto Fernandez to give Belgium a 2-1 lead with 30 minutes left.

Enzo Scifo’s free kick went into the net at 75 minutes, but Belgium was ruled offside, and Cabanas tied it barely a minute later.

Frank Vercauteren scored for Belgium in the 31st minute, and Cabanas tied it five minutes into the second half.