WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : TODAY’S GAMES AT A GLANCE
GROUP C at Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Spain vs. South Korea
* TIME: 4:35 p.m. PDT.
* TV: ESPN2; ESPN, 10:25 p.m. PDT, delayed.
* KEY MATCHUPS: This could be just the kind of game to keep the American public from catching soccer fever, especially in Texas. Neither team is known for its scoring, but aficionados will have plenty to savor. The play from midfield back might prove to be the difference. If nothing else, the game will provide a contrast in styles.
Spain has players from the high-powered Spanish League, including nine from FC Barcelona, which finished second to AC Milan in the European Champions Cup this spring. They know each other well and play the game at its highest level.
South Korea, on the other hand, has little international experience and a knack for losing leads. Its team is made up of players from the lightly regarded Korean professional league. Although it is fast and intense, it struggled to advance out of Asian qualifying.
“They are a good team, the toughest opponents we have in the first stage,” said Spanish Coach Javier Clemente, obviously forgetting that his team must face defending champion Germany in the first round. “They have speed, pressing abilities and are extremely fit physically. We know what we have to do. Doing it is another matter.”
* OUTLOOK: Much has been made of Dallas being the weak link of the nine U.S. cities staging World Cup games. And Big D is getting a little defensive. The lead editorial in Thursday’s Dallas Morning News offered a number of reasons why the city has been unable to sell out its six games at the Cotton Bowl and urged readers to buy tickets. But blaming Nigerians and Bulgarians, whose teams are scheduled to play in Dallas, instead of Texans might be taking it a bit far. Nonetheless, today’s match is as important to civic pride as to the teams that are participating. A good showing could reverse Dallas’ blase attitude toward the monthlong event.
* OUTCOME: “There is great pressure to win the first game,” South Korea Coach Kim Ho said.
Why? South Korea, after all, has not won a World Cup match in eight tries.
“There’s always an equal chance, always a little luck,” Kim said.
Spain, with its wealth of talent, has not been a World Cup smash either, but even without its goalkeeper it should control the ball to stop the Koreans’ chaotic attack.
Spain, 1-0.
