WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : WORLD CUP ’94 / DAILY REPORT

Belgium’s leading French language daily, Le Soir, Thursday published a 32-page World Cup preview supplement, including an article on the status of soccer in the United States, which featured a full-page photo of Chelsea Clinton kicking a soccer ball, under the headline: “The Sport of Girls and English Snobs.”

The secondary head on the same story read: “Americans are pulling out the stops for the World Cup, but soccer remains a long way from the collective conscience of the United States.”

Other stories in the supplement dwell on the Orlando area, where the Belgian team will play its first two games, describing it as “a region entirely dedicated to the memory of Walt Disney.”

But in the sports pages, coverage seems to concentrate on the heat and how the players accustomed to playing in chilly Northern Europe will cope with the tropical climate.

All in all, however, the Belgian press concluded that the conditions provided for their team have been excellent.

“By all evidence, our best footballers . . . are residing in a superb hotel complex nestled into a bit of countryside in a place that is a quasi-paradise,” according to Le Soir.