WORLD CUP SOCCER ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Spain Beats Remnants of Bolivia : Group C: South Americans are three scorers shy of a full team because of suspensions but still get first World Cup goal ever in losing, 3-1.
Playing three starters short and way too close to sea level, a pesky Bolivian team managed to give Spain fits Monday by breaking through to score its first goal in World Cup history.
Later, though, Bolivians could only look ahead to the long plane ride back up to La Paz, the (Two)-Mile High City.
Spain, chronic World Cup underachievers, took advantage of a penalty kick and an injured goalkeeper in a 3-1 victory before 63,089 at Soldier Field.
Spain advances to the round of 16, where it will playSwitzerland in Washington on Saturday.
The Spaniards did not lose a game in Group C--finishing 1-0-2--yet no one is holding a breath regarding its title chances.
Spain had Boliva surrounded with talent, but somehow managed to make the game closer than it deserved to be. Then, in what can only be described as an act of foolishness, Spain midfielder Jose Luis Perez Caminero picked up a second yellow card in second-half extra time after fouling defender Juan Manuel Pena about 50 yards away from the action.
Caminero? He scored two of Spain’s three goals Monday but gets to hand out towels during his team’s second-round match against the Swiss.
Spain Coach Javier Clemente didn’t know whether to thank Caminero or punish him.
“He told me I should not have done that,” Caminero said of his heart-to-heart with Clemente. “It was a dumb play. Obviously, I should have been more professional, but I did it and now I’m suspended for the Switzerland game.”
It was the sort of undisciplined act that might prove Spain’s undoing. The Spaniards out-fouled the Bolivians, 30-8.
How did Spain win? In the first half, it took advantage of a questionable penalty call in the Bolivian goal box.
Bolivia’s Carlos Borja was cited for fouling Spain’s Felipe Minambres. Asked later about the call, Bolivian goalkeeper Carlos Leonel Trucco’s answer was translated into English.
In a family newspaper, however, it cannot be translated.
In the 19th minute, Josef Guardiola rammed home the penalty shot, shooting the ball straight into the spot vacated by Trucco.
Guardiola acknowledged that he miss-hit the ball. So what? Spain, 1-0.
Play dragged on until midway through the second half. Spain, attacking Bolivia almost always from the right, blew numerous chances, the best when Caminero hit the right post in the 58th minute.
Three minutes later, midfielder Juan Antonio Goikoetxea stormed in from the right side. Trucco came out to meet him and repelled the shot, then rolled over in pain. A sliding Goikoetxea had left cleat marks below Trucco’s left knee.
Limping and in obvious pain, Trucco remained in the game.
In the 66th minute, Caminero received a nice pass from Sergi Barjuan, left of goal, and shot it past a limping Trucco, who came out to cut off the angle.
Trucco said later he wanted to come out but that his coach, Xavier Azkargorta, wanted him to “tough it out.”
As Spain celebrated its sure victory, forgetting it had blown a 2-0 lead against South Korea, Bolivia launched an attack a minute later.
Forward Erwin Sanchez, Bolivia’s best player not suspended, let a shot fly from beyond the penalty arc, the ball deflecting off the leg of Spaniard Salvador Gonzalez and into the net.
Bolivia has participated in two previous World Cups and two matches in this tournament.
Until the 67th minute Monday, it had never scored.
Sanchez said he had hoped to put Bolivia “on the world soccer map.”
He settled for putting Bolivia on the board.
Suddenly riled, a nervous Spain again turned its attention on Trucco--still in the game and still limping.
In the 71st minute, Caminero slipped behind the Bolivian defense, took a chip pass from Albert Ferrer and put another goal past Trucco.
Caminero, grateful as he was, wondered about the Bolivian strategy:
“Yes, I do believe Trucco was hit in such a hard way that he lost some of his concentration and physical ability. I do believe a goalkeeper in that condition should be replaced.”
Still, no lead is safe with Spain. Too little, too late, Bolivia made some rushes in the closing minutes. In the 78th minute, forward Jaime Moreno was denied when Spain goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta charged from the box and made a brilliant save of Moreno’s blast.
But Bolivia was suffering a power shortage because its three top players--Marco Antonio Etcheverry, Julio Baldivieso and Luis Cristaldo--were serving out FIFA suspensions.
Azkargorta had strong feelings on the subject.
“What do you think I should feel?” he asked, rhetorically. “We only had a very few players for the World Cup, then you lose your best three players? How would you feel in if you were in my shoes?”
So, Spain wriggles off another hook and lives to play again. Most believe it will not be for long.
