WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINALS : Spotlight : IT’S NO BLOODY ACHIEVEMENT TO HIM

After (the semifinal) was over, the Swedish coach, Thomas Svensson, stoically declared that he was disappointed with the day, but pleased that Sweden had achieved this much.

Achieved? It ill becomes an Englishman to find fault with a World Cup semifinalist. But what was the point of playing an entire semifinal on the retreat? What semblance of sport is there in collecting a side simply to try to keep the score down to respectability?

Sweden, we have seen, knew how to attack Brazil, and had done so admirably for half an hour in the claustrophobic Pontiac Silverdome during the first week of the competition. Maybe, like everyone here, they had grown weary in the ferocious heat, the sapping demands of a tournament played in such an alien climate.

Back in the Swedish homeland, a restaurant in Malmo had rustled up trade by offering customers a free beer for every goal Sweden scored. There were parched tongues.