WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Belgium Stops Morocco by a Fingertip : Group F: Preud’homme twice gets help from crossbar, and Degryse’s 11th-minute header stands up.
He knew only that he got a fingertip on the shot by Moroccan forward Mohamed Chaouch, so Belgian goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme feared the worst.
He didn’t hear the 60,790 fans gasp as Chaouch’s shot rammed into the crossbar, preserving a 1-0 Belgian lead that would stand up through the searing heat and humidity of a summer Sunday at the Citrus Bowl. It was probably the sweetest sound Preud’homme never heard.
“When you are in the air, you hear nothing in the world,” Preud’homme said after Belgium’s Group F triumph. “You see nothing. It is like you are in a dream.”
Preud’homme’s save on that first-half shot, and his quick, spinning deflection of another dead-on shot by Chaouch in the 70th minute, highlighted an afternoon of desperation for both teams.
The Belgians, visibly withering under the broiling sun and heavy air, desperately clung to the lead they gained when Marc Degryse headed home a cross from Luc Nilis in the 11th minute. The Moroccans, more accustomed to playing in a climate like Orlando’s--where the temperature on the field was recorded at 100 degrees at halftime--desperately tried to pull even but could not breach Preud’homme’s defenses.
Chaouch had by far the best chances for Morocco. Not only did he watch in frustration when Preud’homme tipped his 42nd-minute shot off the crossbar, he had to relive it in the 70th minute.
On that second save, Preud’homme, after seeing he couldn’t stop the ball with his right hand, spun to thrust out his left hand. He pushed the ball off the crossbar, where it thudded before obediently bouncing back to him.
“I was laying on the ground thinking, ‘Come back to me, please, come back to me,’ ” Preud’homme said, pantomiming a prayerful pose. “I was fortunate it did.”
Fortunate, perhaps. Skillful, definitely, especially on Chaouch’s first try. “I thought it was in,” said Moroccan defender Nacer Abdellah, who was born and raised in Belgium. “That keeper made a tremendous save. He is one of the best keepers in the world.”
Preud’homme, 35, a 17-year professional making his 52nd appearance for Belgium, needed every bit of his skill Sunday. Morocco pressed furiously in the second half. Belgium slowed the pace almost to a crawl, hoping to conserve energy and take some sting out of the Moroccans’ attack.
“I think we played a fine technical game. Physically speaking, the Belgian team suffered toward the end, in the last 20 minutes,” Moroccan Coach Abdellah Ajri said. “We had opportunities to score. I won’t say it was a lack of concentration on the part of our players. . . .
“Yes, I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t win. I think we played a great game, particularly in the second half.”
According to Abdellah, Ajri made an emotional halftime speech to spur his players into being more aggressive against the flagging Belgians. They outshot Belgium, 11-4, in the second half and had a 20-13 edge overall.
“He told us to take it easy and don’t attack like a bunch of donkeys,” Abdellah said. “He said that we have to have good confidence going into the second half. We had many good opportunities. Things just didn’t go our way today.”
Preud’homme agreed that Morocco had the upper hand late in the game.
“Morocco attacked so much, we had to play more defensively,” said Preud’homme, who played for Belgium in the 1990 World Cup but missed the 1986 tournament while serving a suspension for his part in a game-fixing scandal.
“They played very well. We got a surprise.”
The Belgians got their only goal from Degryse, who had a pulled groin muscle and was an uncertain starter until Saturday. Showing no ill effects of his injury, he leaped into the air and redirected Nilis’ pass from the right wing past Moroccan goalie Khalil Azmi, who had come off his goal line and appeared to misjudge the angle of the shot.
“Even though I am small (5 feet 8 and 154 pounds), I had good timing and the pass was very good,” Degryse said. “The keeper was just too late.”
Azmi had an especially unfortunate day. Aside from missing that shot, he became entangled with Belgian forward Josip Weber late in the second half on a play that was ruled offside. Azmi was carried off the field on a stretcher and although he briefly lost consciousness, a team spokesman said he recovered quickly under medical supervision. He was not taken to the hospital and is expected to recover in time for Morocco’s next game, Saturday at Giants Stadium against Saudi Arabia.
Belgium’s next game, against geographical and cultural rival Netherlands on Saturday at Orlando, looms as a less-urgent task because of Sunday’s victory. “We now have three points and we should be less tense for the next game,” Degryse said.
Said Belgian Coach Paul Van Himst: “I’m absolutely soaked, a combination of the heat and nervousness. I’m delighted we won. Tonight, I can guarantee you we are going to celebrate.”
