WORLD CUP USA ‘94: ROUND OF 16 : The Best Eventually Will Make It Happen : Brazil: Romario, Bebeto take a while but inevitably connect for the winning goal.

Brazil’s Romario and Bebeto are fast forwards. They are not fast friends. After learning that they had been assigned to sit next to each other on the team’s plane from Brazil to the United States for the World Cup, perhaps so that they could bond, Romario called a news conference to demand a new flight plan.

But after they connected for the only goal in a 1-0 victory over the United States on Monday at Stanford Stadium in the World Cup’s second round, Romario and Bebeto rushed into each other’s arms and celebrated as one.

“I feel so happy, as if I scored the goal myself,” Romario said. “That Bebeto did it makes no difference to me. When we embraced, the words that he uttered to me were like those from one brother to another.

“I hope I will be able to say similar words to him in the near future.”

Bebeto’s version was less melodramatic. The words, Bebeto said, were: “Thank you for giving me that pass.”

Perhaps something was lost in the translation. But whatever passed between them, they had to be sweeter than the unprintables spewing forth during the frustrating first 74 minutes of the game.

Trying to find space in a U.S. defense that could be more aptly described as a blockade, Romario and Bebeto were crafty enough to create chances for themselves. But they could not finish what they started.

They combined for nine shots, seven inside the penalty area. Bebeto barely missed in the 26th minute, when he angled a shot from the left side that went wide right. Romario’s shot in the 45th minute hit the right post. Romario’s shot in the 48th minute beat goalkeeper Tony Meola but was kicked off the line and out of danger by defender Thomas Dooley.

But, in the 74th minute, Romario and Bebeto got their act together. Dribbling down the middle of the field, Romario evaded the sliding tackle of Dooley, drawing defender Marcelo Balboa toward him. With Balboa committed, Romario passed to his right, to Bebeto, who had gotten behind defender Alexi Lalas. All that was left for Bebeto to do was beat Meola, which he did with a shot into the left corner.

U.S. defender Paul Caligiuri described the scene as if it will forever be burned into his memory.

“The goal came as a shock,” he said. “Right when we lost the ball, somehow Romario got it. He just turned and went right at us. Right down the middle. We just had to keep backing up and backing up. If we challenged him, he’s so potent when he tries to shoot and score. That’s where Bebeto read his play very well. He created some space for himself, then Romario made a great pass. I think everyone was looking for him to try and shoot.”

The man who was supposed to be in the space that Bebeto created, Lalas, said: “I should have stepped up on Bebeto and played him offsides. But I stayed with him and slid and watched it go into the back of the net. Oh well. He finished it very well. He was going a hundred miles an hour. These guys are dribbling maniacs.”

If there was any satisfaction for the U.S. defenders, it was that “in the end, Brazil had to rely on the two guys who have been scoring goals for them, Romario and Bebeto,” U.S. assistant Timo Liekoski said.

Romario said that he was never worried.

“That is the way soccer is,” he said. “You struggle during the entire game.

“With all due respect to the American team, which is a great team, I think Brazil dominated the game and tried to create space in the field during the entire game. Just one ball went in, but, with a little luck, two or three others could have too.”

Bebeto agreed.

“I knew that if we persisted, if we kept playing, we would score,” he said.

But he also congratulated the United States for its defensive strategy, designed by Coach Bora Milutinovic.

“This is the hardest game we’ve played so far in the tournament,” he said. “Bora’s a great coach.”

Romario and Bebeto then retired to the team bus, where it is possible they might have sat together. This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.