WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Norway Sits Back, Ireland Moves On : Group E: There are few scoring chances in a 0-0 tie at Giants Stadium. Norwegians eliminated despite having four points in tough division.

In the World Cup’s so-called “group of death,” it was Norway that finally succumbed.

The Norwegians, desperately needing a victory, were unable to get it Tuesday when they played a strangely uninspired game and tied Ireland, 0-0, before 76,322 at Giants Stadium.

That result, combined with Mexico’s 1-1 tie with Italy in Washington, meant that Mexico finished first in the group, Ireland second, Italy third and Norway fourth.

So the Norwegians head home to Oslo and Big Jack and his lads head for the final 16 and a game against Belgium or the Netherlands on Monday in Orlando, Fla.

For Ireland’s Coach Jack Charlton, who because of a FIFA suspension watched the game from the stands, it was a satisfying ending to a turbulent two weeks in which his team scored a momentous victory over the Italians, fell to the heat and the Mexicans and played the Norwegians to a standstill.

“It was always going to be a very difficult game, particularly when you come here and you know you only need a draw,” Charlton said. “You say to the players, ‘We need to score a goal, but at the same time don’t over-commit yourselves, don’t get too many people forward at the wrong times, don’t get caught on the break through the middle, and keep your shape (formation).’

“I would have liked to attack more and get people forward more than we did today, but as long as the result was 0-0, it wasn’t possible. We just played the game out. We had a couple of scares. They had a couple of scares. I’m sorry to see Norway be the one that has to go out of the competition, but that’s the way the game is. It’s very tight. If you go out of this competition with four points, it’s hard.”

Charlton didn’t have to tell the Norwegian players that.

“We thought four points would be enough,” shell-shocked midfielder Jostein Flo said.

“We are out and we can’t believe it,” forward Goran Sorloth said. “What can we do? We can’t change it. If we could change it, we would do it, but it’s not possible. We are out and that’s a fact.”

Said midfielder Erik Mykland, “I think it’s the worst thing that could happen to us because when you play well and you get four points and other teams are going through with only three points, it’s a bad feeling.”

But the Norwegians have only themselves to blame. They knew what had to be done and failed to do it.

Instead of attacking from the outset, they allowed the Irish, cheered on by the vast majority of the fans, to dictate the game. That surprised even the Irish players.

“I was surprised they allowed us so much time on the ball at the back in the first half, that they didn’t push a little bit more forward and deny us time to knock the ball about,” goalkeeper Pat Bonner said.

“We controlled the first half. In the second half, we got tired and allowed them to control it a little bit, but they didn’t really create a lot.”

Norwegian Coach Egil Olsen admitted that it had not been his team’s finest moment in a tournament in which Norway also defeated Mexico, the group winner, and lost to Italy on a goal scored when the Italians were a man down.

“We played a good second half, but it was not enough,” Olsen said. “We have played much better matches than this one.

“I think that we have done well to earn four points, and normally that would be enough to qualify.”

Charlton’s absence from the bench had no affect on Ireland’s play. He had prepared his team well and told assistant coach Maurice Setters exactly what to do.

“We knew what to expect,” defender Steve Staunton said. “I think we battled well with them and competed well in the air, which is their main threat. We coped with it and that’s all they had to offer, really.”

Added striker David Kelly, “To be quite honest, I fully expected us to win the game. They didn’t really have many chances at all. But then again, neither did we.”

The closest Norway came to scoring was in the second half, when the Irish defense failed to clear a corner kick and a furious scuffle in front of the net resulted in the ball bouncing off the crossbar, much to Bonner’s relief.

“On the corner, we didn’t go and attack the ball,” Bonner said. “It dropped down at the near post. We were lucky it ricocheted off a few people and came off the top of the crossbar. But you’re always going to get a chance like that in football. You need a wee bit of luck to go your way. It can go against you just as easily.”

The close call was almost too much for Charlton.

“I nearly lost the rest of my hair,” he said.

Bonner said that having passed successfully through the first round, anything is possible for the Irish.

“We always knew it was going to be the toughest group and we’re delighted to qualify out of it,” he said. “People have got to give us credit for doing that. Any team we’re going to play now cannot be any tougher than the teams we’ve played.”

Then he paused to spare a thought for the unhappy Norwegians.

“They’re going to go home disappointed, but they’re a good team and they got here by playing well in the qualifying rounds and beating England and Holland,” Bonner said. “You’ve got to give them credit for even being here and putting on a good show.”

None of which seemed to matter much to Kjetil Rekdal, the scorer of Norway’s only World Cup ’94 goal, against Mexico.

“I have the goal as a memory,” he said. “But it doesn’t help today.”