Road to England Is Full of Surprises : Soccer: European Championship qualifying phase not going according to plan as some top teams face stiff competition.
The European Championship--international soccer’s second-largest event after the World Cup--still is 18 months away, but if the qualifying phase is anything to go by, there will be surprises aplenty in England in June 1996.
Already, the qualifying tournament has produced a series of strange results.
Dec. 18 was a prime example.
How else to explain Scotland’s 1-0 loss to Greece in Athens, a result that put a sizable dent in the Scots’ hopes of reaching the finals?
And what about Germany’s feeble performance during a 2-1 victory over Albania in Kaiserslautern?
“That’s like a defeat for us Germans,” midfielder Matthias Sammer said afterward.
Sammer’s comments were mild compared to the extraordinarily insensitive remarks made by Germany’s former World Cup-winning captain and coach, Franz Beckenbauer, a few days earlier.
“When I think of international matches, I imagine clashes with the great nations--Italy, England, the Netherlands,” Beckenbauer wrote in a commentary published in the Bild newspaper. “But at the moment we have to wait two years before we meet these soccer greats.
“That’s why games against countries like Moldova are a slight to the German national squad. They’re just stupid.
“Moldova, Albania, or whatever all these countries are called, should first play qualifiers, and only later face the soccer greats.”
Considering that Germany has managed only 1-0 and 2-1 victories over Albania during the current qualifying campaign, Beckenbauer’s view seems well off target. It could also provide an added incentive for Moldova, which lost, 3-0, to the Germans in Chisiniau but has to play them a second time.
In the third match Dec. 18, records fell in Lisbon, where Portugal scored its most lopsided international victory by trouncing Lichtenstein, 8-0.
The Portuguese scored four goals in six minutes during one second-half spell. Their previous record victory was a 6-0 defeat of Luxembourg in 1961 during qualifying for the 1962 World Cup in Chile.
Also in that game, Portugal’s captain, Joao Pinto, become his country’s most-capped player by appearing in his 67th international game.
Portugal’s neighbor, Spain, also is fast moving toward a place in the final 16. The Spaniards scored a convincing 4-1 victory over Belgium in Brussels, a result that convinced Belgian captain Franky Van der Elst to retire.
“I had already announced that I would quit if things went wrong against Macedonia and Spain,” said Van der Elst, 33, who played 69 games for Belgium over the past decade but was jeered by the Belgian fans throughout the Dec. 17 match.
“It’s now virtually impossible for us to qualify, so I think it’s time to give other players a chance. I’ve had many good moments . . . one lousy game will not overshadow my international career.”
The Spanish, meanwhile, probably will reach the finals, having won all four of their games to date, as have the Portuguese.
Belgian Coach Paul Van Himst, whose team had been tied, 1-1, by Macedonia in its previous match, acknowledged the situation looks bleak for the Red Devils.
“Theoretically, we still have a chance to qualify,” he said, “but it’s a very slim one.
“Spain deserved to win. They have more talent than us. We lack the power and speed to match teams like Spain, Italy or Germany.”
Macedonia, which defeated Cyprus, 3-0, in Saturday’s other match, is second behind Spain in the qualifying group, but is likely to be overtaken before long by Denmark, the reigning European champion.
The nine qualifying matches played two weeks ago improved the prospects for the Netherlands, European champion in 1988, France and Bulgaria, among others.
France, which will stage the next World Cup in 1998, ended a string of three 0-0 ties by beating Azerbaijan, 2-0, in Trabzon, Turkey, on goals by Jean-Pierre Papin and Patrice Loko.
The French desperately needed the victory to stay in touch with the group leaders, Romania and Israel, and, as Papin said beforehand: “If we can’t beat Azerbaijan, we’d better give up.”
Papin plays for Bayern Munich in Germany, where he evidently has been taking lessons in diplomacy from Beckenbauer, the club’s president.
The Dutch, meanwhile, gave departing Coach Dick Advocaat a rousing send-off by defeating Luxembourg, 5-0, in Rotterdam. Advocaat, who led Holland’s ’94 World Cup team, surprisingly decided to step down and accept the head coaching position at PSV Eindhoven.
He leaves with a record of 15 victories and six ties in 26 matches and with the confidence of knowing he can reclaim the national team job in the future if he wants it.
“With the national team, you play only eight times a year,” Advocaat said. “With a league club, you play every week, and that is a challenge.”
Gus Hiddink will take over as the Netherlands’ coach.
Unbeaten Bulgaria scored a 3-0 victory over Wales in Cardiff, keeping it level with Germany in their group and all but mathematically ending Welsh hopes of reaching the finals.
In other matches, Norway edged Malta, 1-0; Switzerland scored its first victory over Turkey in a quarter-century, winning, 2-1, in Istanbul; Israel and Romania tied, 1-1, in Tel Aviv; Finland overwhelmed San Marino, 4-1, with striker Mika-Matti Paatelainen scoring all four goals in Helsinki; and Albania lost to the Republic of Georgia, 1-0, in Tirana.
The latest series of qualifying games is the last for this year. The 47 nations seeking a place in the final 16 resume play in February.
England, as host, is the only country guaranteed a place in the finals and preparations there are well under way.
More than one million tickets (priced from $24.50 to $213) went on sale on Oct. 27, and soccer officials are confident the 1996 finals will be the country’s most significant sports event in decades.
“It is going to be the biggest party in sporting and cultural terms since England hosted the World Cup 28 years ago,” said tournament director Glen Kirton. “We are determined to make it a success.”
At least 40% of the seats have been reserved for overseas fans.
Stadiums selected to stage the three-week, 31-match tournament are Wembley in London, where the opening game and the final will be played; Elland Road in Leeds; Old Trafford in Manchester; Hillsborough in Sheffield; Villa Park in Birmingham; St. James’ Park in Newcastle; Anfield in Liverpool, and the City Ground in Nottingham.
In preparation for the event, England will stage a four-nation mini-tournament next June, using several of the European Championship stadiums.
In addition to England, the tournament will include world champion Brazil, Sweden, which finished third in World Cup ‘94, and Japan.
The schedule:
June 3: England-Japan and Brazil-Sweden.
June 5: Japan-Brazil.
June 6: England-Sweden.
June 8: England-Brazil.
June 9: Sweden-Japan.
June 11: Third-place game and final.
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1996 European Soccer Championship Qualifying
Group One W L T GF GA Pt Romania 2 0 2 7 3 8 Israel 2 0 2 7 4 8 France 1 0 3 2 0 6 Poland 1 1 1 2 2 4 Slovakia 0 1 2 4 5 2 Azerbaijan 0 4 0 0 8 0 Group Two Spain 4 0 0 11 2 12 Macedonia 1 1 2 5 4 5 Denmark 1 0 1 4 5 4 Cyprus 1 2 1 3 5 4 Belgium 1 2 1 5 8 4 Armenia 0 2 1 0 4 1 Group Three Switzerland 3 0 0 7 3 9 Sweden 2 1 0 5 4 6 Turkey 1 1 1 8 4 4 Hungary 0 1 1 2 4 1 Iceland 0 3 0 0 7 0 Group Four Croatia 3 0 0 6 1 9 Lithuania 2 1 0 4 3 6 Italy 1 1 1 4 3 4 Ukraine 1 1 1 3 2 4 Slovenia 0 0 2 2 3 2 Estonia 0 3 0 0 7 0 Group Five Norway 3 0 1 7 1 10 Netherlands 2 0 2 10 1 8 Czech Rep. 1 0 2 6 1 5 Belarus 1 2 0 2 5 3 Malta 0 2 1 1 7 1 Luxembourg 0 3 0 0 11 0 Group Six Portugal 4 0 0 14 2 12 Ireland 3 0 0 11 0 9 N. Ireland 2 2 0 7 8 6 Austria 1 2 0 5 3 3 Latvia 1 2 0 2 6 3 Liechtenstein 0 5 0 1 21 0 Group Seven Bulgaria 3 0 0 9 1 9 Germany 3 0 0 7 2 9 Georgia 2 2 0 6 3 6 Moldova 2 2 0 5 9 6 Wales 1 3 0 4 11 3 Albania 0 4 0 2 8 0 Group Eight Greece 4 0 0 12 1 12 Scotland 2 1 1 8 3 7 Finland 2 2 0 9 7 6 Russia 1 0 1 5 1 4 San Marino 0 3 0 1 10 0 Faeroe Islands 0 3 0 2 15 0
