4 Surprising Qualifiers in Quarterfinals : World Cup: Ireland, Cameroon, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia had not been expected to be among select eight teams.
After a three-day layoff, the World Cup resumes Saturday with the quarterfinals. Four of the eight teams--Ireland, Cameroon, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia--are surprising qualifiers.
Here is a look at how each game shapes up:
Yugoslavia vs. Argentina at Florence
Yugoslavia got off to a slow start in the tournament, losing 4-1 to West Germany. But the Yugoslavs recovered nicely, even with star midfielder Dragan Stojkovic contributing little.
After victories over Colombia and the United Arab Emirates, Yugoslavia played Spain in the second round. The Spanish had many opportunities, but Stojkovic took control. He scored twice, once in overtime, for a 2-1 victory.
One of the more solid darkhorses in the tournament, Yugoslavia was the first team from Europe to make it out of the qualifying rounds for Italia ’90. The midfield is first-rate, even better than that when Stojkovic is on his game. Forward Darko Pancev also has done well and defender Davor Jozic has been Yugoslavia’s best player thus far.
Argentina, despite protestations from its coach and players, virtually is a one-man team. The Argentines aren’t anywhere near as strong this year as in 1986, when Diego Maradona led them to the championship.
Maradona did little in the first round, partly because he was injured, partly because he was the victim of much fouling. The whole team did little against favored Brazil in the second round--except win. Argentina was lucky, with Brazil missing a dozen good scoring chances. In the end, Argentina was victorious because Maradona drew three defenders toward him before springing Claudio Caniggia for the winning goal.
Argentina’s defense is spotty and the attack goes nowhere if Maradona isn’t involved. Look for him to be involved in a big way Saturday.
Prediction: Argentina 2, Yugoslavia 1.
Ireland vs. Italy at Rome
The Irish have not lost in 19 months, a span of 17 games. Ireland also has not won in anything but a penalty kick shoot-out in this tournament, tying three opening-round games, then beating Romania in the shoot-out.
This is a gutty team that rallied for ties against England and The Netherlands and had to come back on each penalty kick until the last against Romania. The Irish never stop plugging away, and their defense is strong.
Up front, Tony Cascarino is supposed to be the best attacker, but he has little. Niall Quinn and Kevin Sheedy are the players to watch.
Italy has not yielded a goal in four games and its defense hardly has been challenged. Ireland doesn’t have the balanced attack to cause too many problems.
The Italian offense is opportunistic. Once it puts the team ahead, opponents rarely get a chance to tie. Surprisingly, only the United States came close to staging a late rally.
Prediction: Italy 1, Ireland 0.
Czechoslovakia vs. West Germany at Milan
How can a team lose its last four warm-up games--to World Cup teams Spain, Egypt, England and West Germany--then turn things around when the tournament begins? Maybe playing the Americans woke up the Czechoslovaks, whose offense has been second only to the Germans.
Tomas Skuhravy is the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals. Ivo Knoflicek, Michal Bilek and Ivan Hasek all have contributed to the attack and the defense has been steady.
It will need to be leak-proof Sunday. Even without star striker Rudi Voeller, who received a red card in the second round and is suspended for this game, West Germany can be overwhelming. Juergen Klinsmann had perhaps his best game ever after Voeller was thrown out against the Dutch. Midfielder Lothar Matthaeus has played very well. Andreas Brehme has been dangerous from his defensive position.
The Germans can strike at any time from anywhere on the field. No other team, not even Czechoslovakia, the second-highest scoring team so far, can match that.
Prediction: West Germany 3, Czechoslovakia 1.
Cameroon vs. England at Naples
The Indomitable Lions have earned their way into the quarterfinals with three victories, led by 38-year-old substitute Roger Milla. He had two goals to beat Romania, two more in overtime to beat Colombia.
Cameroon will need a first-rate game from Milla, striker Francois Omam Biyik and captain Stephen Tataw because four starters are out with their second yellow cards. The African champions have proven they have depth. Now, they must dig deeper than ever.
Except perhaps for Argentina, England has been the least impressive of the final eight teams. It played listlessly in three of its four games, squeaking out a victory over conservative Egypt to win Group F. Then, despite being outplayed by Belgium, the English got a last-minute goal for a 1-0 victory in the second round.
If both teams were at full strength, Cameroon probably would rate an edge.
Prediction: England 1, Cameroon 0.
