WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINALS : Spotlight : GLOBAL WARMING

This World Cup is having a bigger effect on countries’ politics than any previous World Cup. . . . This World Cup is more serious. For a start, there are more TV sets in the world today than there were even four years ago. The tournament is attracting vast audiences. The average human--a Chinese peasant, Essex Man, Alexander Solzhenitsyn--will probably have watched six World Cup games by the end of Sunday’s final.

Rwandans root for Nigeria, Bangladeshis for Maradona, and no doubt the Eskimos have their favorite team. . . . Ethnic tension rises, and rulers look to the World Cup to foster unity.

In Italy, where soccer is perhaps the least tarnished national institution of the moment, Silvio Berlusconi got himself elected prime minister with a party named after a football chant.

In Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, presidents have appeared on TV during the World Cup to suggest changes to the national team’s lineup. Even in Norway, Prime Minister Gro Brundtland appeared on a TV panel commenting on the country’s opening game.