WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Spotlight : HELP FOR THE FIELD, HINDRANCE FOR PLAYERS

The decision to water the field at halftime did not meet with the approval of Bolivian players.

Players on both teams slipped and fell during the second half, and goalkeeper Carlos Leonel Trucco blamed poor footing for his slip on the game-winning goal by Juergen Klinsmann on a pass from Thomas Haessler.

“This is not an excuse. A lot of players fell down,” Trucco said. “When I go to that ball I want to brake because I know that when he (Haessler) sees me in the middle, he is going to hesitate. . . . When I went to stop I pulled out a meter of grass from the ground.”

The slip left Klinsmann clear to shoot at an open side of the net.

Venue press chief Jim Froslid said the halftime sprinkling was part of “normal field maintenance.”

Asked what factors were considered before the water was sprayed on the field, Froslid said, “The weather and the fact that the field went through a little more pain than we had wanted with thousands of people on it during opening ceremonies.”