* r e c. Sport. Soccer ' s
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from Tunisia.
first ever under 17 world cup finals in China, Nigeria beat Germany 2-0 in the finals and were the inaugural champions. It was to take some seven years for this success to be fully translated to the senior side. We went on to qualify for the next series of the U17's in canada and to lose in the final on penalties to Russia. Our U21 side also came third in the U21 world cup finals in Russia losing to Brazil in a wonderful semi-final 2-0. Two years earlier we were privileged to witness a sight to befall many teams later when we played the Netherlands in the U21 finals in Mexico. Marco Van Basten was brilliant against us. We were knocked out in the first round without a win. For the first time in 10 years however the senior side failed to qualify for the African Nations Cup losing out to Morocco. We however used the core of the U17 and U21 sides to qualify for 1988 African Nations Cup series where we went on to lose to Cameroon 1-0 in the final. By the time the World Cup qualification series came around we seemed ready. We ended up in a 4 team group with Gabon, Angola and Cameroon. We beat Cameroon 2-0 in Lagos and seemed set on our way. A 2-2 draw in Angola after being 2-0 down constituted a wonderful result in the circumstances. Howeever a 1-0 loss in Gabon proved fatal. We beat the Gabonese at home, and then the Angolans in a match remembered for the death of Sam Okwaraji, a professional from Germany on the football field at home. Our last game was to be away against Cameroon. We needed a draw to qualify , however panic set in and the current coach Clement Westerhoff was appointed for this game. We lost 1-0 and Cameroon went on to win their final series of games and qualify along with Egypt for the finals in Italy. Had we defeated a poor Gabon away or even drawn we would have qualified. Westerhoff stayed on and took us to the 1990 African Nations Cup finals in Algiers where despite losing our first game 5-1 to Algeria, we went on to lose 1-0 to them in the final. This time however we have made it. Winning our first round group from South Africa and Congo including a 4-0 demolition of South Africa in Lagos and a 0-0 draw away. From a second round group with Algeria and the Ivory Coast, qualifying despite a disappointing 2-1 defeat in Ivory coast having led 1-0 for 78 minutes by winning both home ties 4-1 and getting the required draw 1-1 in Algiers to qualify for the finals with five points along with Morocco and Cameroon.
present in this year's African Nations Cup in Tunisia. The team impressed by winning the competition, beating Zambia 2-1 in the final.
final.
summer and none will get into the first team. This has its advantages as we will be playing in the world cup with players who have sampled real big game atmospheres and have played week in and week out against some of the best players in the world. Our current key players are as follows: RASHEED YEKINI (Forward, Vitoria Setubal(POR)): Our most dangerous player and the proverbial one man forward line. He is now 31, but his main assets are his pace and strength. He, however seems to need ten attempts to get a goal. His success or lack of it will determine how far Nigeria go in the tournament. Has been top scorer in the last two African Nations Cups. STEPHEN KESHI (Defender, RWD Molenbeek(BEL)): Now well past his best, but the only dependable Nigerian defender. His composure and experience on the pitch or the bench is invaluable. Half fit, he came in for our critical qualifying game against Ivory Coast in Lagos and steadied a fast sinking ship. Did not play most of the recent African Nations Cup in Tunisia. CHIDI NWANU (Defender, Anderlecht(BEL)): Did not play the recent African Nations Cup due to a difference of opinion with the caoch but with Keshi struggling, is most definitely needed.
Our play maker has not been at his best for the last few months, but is crucial as he is the most creative player. Needs to rediscover his form for the World Cup and still only 22 years old. MUTIU ADEPOJU (Midfield, Racing Santander(SPA)): As Okacha above, the country needs one of them playing well to have any impact in the finals.
Has pace and more skill then Yekini but fails to score enough goals. If he can start scoring then the pressure on Yekini decreases. Did not score a goal in this year's African Nations Cup despite playing all the matches. EMMANUEL AMUNIKE (Winger, Zamelak(EGY)), VICTOR IKPEBA (Winger, Monaco(FRA)), GEORGE FINIDI (Winger, Ajax(NETH)): Our wingers and a key part of the Nigerian system. They have incredible pace but their crossing still leaves a lot to be desired. If they are on form, a quarter final place is not beyond the team. The form of the above players as well as team spirit and relations with the Football Association (NFA) will determine how far the team goes. The current Dutch coach Westerhoff has been one match away from being sacked for almost a year and angry confrontations have taken place between government ministers who support and oppose him. He needed to win the recent African Cup of Nations to survive. Luckily for him they did. Nigeria tend to play a 4-2-4 system with two wingers. This plays to their strengths of power and pace upfront but means they never control the midfield and thus the pace of the game. They, like Ireland tend to do a lot of running around and fitness will be very important. Against quality teams with 4 midfield players, I fancy us to struggle but not many teams will prevent us from scoring. Our defence is hopeless and looks worse with very little cover in front of it. This is one team that is not going to win games 1-0.
26 Mar 94 Tunisia Nigeria 3-0 Gabon 30 Mar 94 Tunisia Nigeria 0-0 Egypt 2 Apr 94 Tunisia Nigeria 2-0 Zaire 6 Apr 94 Tunisia Nigeria 2-2 Ivory Coast 10 Apr 94 Tunisia Nigeria 2-1 Zambia 17 Apr 94 Armenia, Colombia Colombia 1-0 Nigeria 5 May 94 Stockholm, Sweden Sweden 3-1 Nigeria 25 May 94 Bucharest, Romania Romania 2-0 Nigeria
Computing Officer, LS Support Group, Social Statistics Research Unit, The City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
W O R L D C U P G R O U P E =============================================================================== World Cup Finals Records: Team P W D L F A Apps Best Performance(s) Eire 5 0 4 1 2 3 1 Quarter-Final (1990) Italy 54 31 12 11 89 54 12 Winners ('34,'38,'82) Mexico 29 6 6 17 27 64 9 Quarter-Final (1970, 1986) Norway 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 First Round (1938)
year's tournament keeps the tradition going. It's safe to say that there will be very few goals in this group because Ireland, Italy and Norway are all very safe at the back, whereas none of them are exactly prolific in attack. Mexico are the most difficult team to judge, but they are reputed to have one of their strongest ever sides which simply adds to the confusion. Two months ago, I would have unhesitatingly tipped Ireland to finish bottom of this group - their team was ageing and the way they had been taken apart by Spain in qualifying suggested that the good times were over. However, since then, they have put together the most impressive set of friendlies of any of the finalists by winning three and drawing one against four of their fellow finalists including winning 1-0 against a near full strength Dutch side in the Netherlands, and inflicting Germany's first home defeat for 6 years. Add to this the discovery of new young talent in Gary Kelly, Phil Babb and Jason McAteer and the Irish look like they'll be having another huge party.
appalling run of friendlies, losing at home to France, being well outplayed by the holders Germany and then suffering a humiliating defeat by an Italian fourth division club side. However, doesn't this remind us all of 1982 when Italy stumbled to qualification then lost to everybody in sight before reaching the World Cup final where they comprehensively beat the Germans. The Italians seem to perform better when they don't have the notorious Italian press on their backs and with their recent results, a humiliation is expected. This could work in their favour, after all there is no doubt that they have some of the World's finest players like Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Roberto Baggio.
unluckily knocked out by Italy. They were impressive in qualification winning a group containing The Netherlands and England, and there is no doubt that coach Egil Olsen has performed miracles to turn a group of fairly ordinary players into a World beating team. They are extremely difficult to score against and for this reason, they have to be respected. They play a similar style to Ireland in that the emphasis is on defence and quick counter attack, so it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top in the game between these two (the game itself will probably be the most stultifyingly boring game in World Cup history). Mexico are the latest of a run of teams to have an eccentric goalkeeper, but Jorge Campos doesn't just run up to the halfway line (like Quiroga of Peru in 1978) or try to beat opposing forwards (as Higuita of Colombia did in the last World Cup), he likes to play in attack! In club matches, Campos switches from goalkeeping duties to scoring duties if he's bored in goal, but we'll have to wait and see if he'll do this in the heat of a World Cup finals. I think this group is just too tough for the Mexicans and although they should give us plenty of entertainment, it's difficult to see them getting results against their three rivals. Italy, Ireland and Norway will fight it out for Group E, with all three qualifying for the second round and Italy scraping the top position. =============================================================================== T H E R E P U B L I C O F I R E L A N D William McClatchie =============================================================================== COACH: Jack Charlton (Member of 1966 World Cup Winning Team) GOALKEEPERS: Age Caps Goals 1. Pat Bonner Glasgow Celtic (Sco) 34 72 0 22. Alan Kelly Sheffield United (Eng) 25 3 0
2. Denis Irwin Manchester United (Eng) 27 26 1 3. Terry Phelan Manchester City (Eng) 27 21 0 4. Kevin Moran Blackburn Rovers (Eng) 38 71 6 5. Paul McGrath Aston Villa (Eng) 34 64 7 12. Gary Kelly Leeds United (Eng) 19 4 1 13. Alan Kernaghan Manchester City (Eng) 27 10 1 14. Phil Babb Coventry City (Eng) 23 4 0 MIDFIELD: 6. Roy Keane Manchester United (Eng) 22 21 0 7. Andy Townsend [C] Aston Villa (Eng) 30 44 4 8. Ray Houghton Aston Villa (Eng) 32 58 3 10. John Sheridan Sheffield Wednesday (Eng) 29 19 3 11. Steve Staunton Aston Villa (Eng) 25 46 5 17. Eddie McGoldrick Arsenal (Eng) 28 11 0 18. Ronnie Whelan Liverpool (Eng) 32 50 3 19. Alan McLoughlin Portsmouth (Eng) 27 17 1 21. Jason McAteer Bolton Wanderers (Eng) 23 4 0 FORWARDS: 9. John Aldridge Tranmere Rovers (Eng) 35 56 13 15. Tommy Coyne Motherwell (Sco) 31 13 4 16. Tony Cascarino Chelsea (Eng) 31 49 12 20. David Kelly Wolverhampton Wanderers (Eng) 27 16 7 The Republic of Ireland football team opened its account in international soccer in the 1930's. A team made up of amateurs and professionals, they were inconsistent in producing results, though at that stage they were always able to pull off a shock or two, like when they became the first non-British team to beat England at Wembley. Since then they haven't exactly set the World alight. A series of near misses in qualifying for the World Cup in the 1970s and 1980s made the Irish people impatient with the team. That was until February 1986 when The Football Association of Ireland appointed the first ever non-Irish manager, Jack Charlton, a World Cup winner as a player with England who had also enjoyed success as a manager with Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday. Although he lost his first game in charge, 1-0 to Wales, people noticed that the shape of the team was changing. Charlton took the initiative to use the FIFA parentage rule to full advantage, and introduced players of high class to the team. His first mission was to qualify for the European Championships to be held in Germany in 1988. Ireland were placed in a tough group with Belgium, Bulgaria, Scotland and Luxembourg. Despite some dodgy performances, the Irish team achieved good results. However the group was to go right to the wire and Ireland only won it because Scotland managed to shock Bulgaria in Sofia. Thus qualification for Ireland's first ever major tournament sent a wave of interest and excitement around the country. People were now beginning to take pride and interest in their national team. When the summer of 1988 came around, Ireland were in a group with England, Russia and The Netherlands. The first game was against England and the English did not appear to be worried about the underdogs, and took a more relaxed attitude to the game. However, to everyone's shock, Ireland scored from a header by Ray Houghton after only six minutes. The Irish fans had never experienced such euphoria before, to score against the "old enemy" was previously unthought of. The team held on for the rest of the match to achieve a somewhat more that historic victory. The match made overnight heroes of all those concerned, especially Houghton and Bonner, whose fantastic performance in goal ensured that the ball would not pass him. Next on the list were Russia and Ireland put on another commendable performance and drew 1-1. Ireland opened the scoring with a spectacular 18-yard bicycle kick from Ronnie Whelan. Yet the Russians equalised and Ireland felt somewhat robbed at the end of the 90 minutes. The final group match to be played was against The Netherlands, and victory or even a draw would put Ireland through to the semi-finals. Yet it was not to be, the Dutch scored with a header from Kieft with only six minutes left and Ireland were out. Although the Irish didn't get past the group stages, they had achieved more than they could possibly have dreamed of and when the team returned to Dublin they were greeted as if they had won the tournament. Following the success of 1988 great feats were expected from the team. It was thought that they now had a squad that could reach the World Cup Finals for the first time. In qualification for Italia '90 Ireland were drawn against Spain, Hungary, Northern Ireland and Malta. Although Competition was provided courtesy of Hungary throughout the campaign, the one time 'Mighty Magyars were left behind in the end and Ireland finished second in the group behind Spain. And so December of 1989 brought the draw for the World Cup in Italy, to be held the following Summer. Already it had been decided that England would be seeded and put in Sicily and Sardinia. Knowing this, the Irish would have settled for anything but to be drawn in that group, yet the luck of the Irish failed them on this occasion and they were drawn in a tough group with England, Holland and Egypt. The first match against England was an entertaining one with Bobby Robson's men taking the lead after 11 minutes through a Gary Lineker goal, yet Ireland equalised in the 73rd minute through a smart low drive from the left foot of Kevin Sheedy. When the final whistle blew it was a case of mission accomplished. Ireland set out for a point, and they got exactly that. Next on the list was an encounter with Egypt under the blazing afternoon sun of Palermo. A win was widely expected from the Irish and was demanded by the manager, considering that Egypt were thought to be the weakest team in the group and Ireland might have been on a roll. While the Egyptians certainly had some skill, they weren't really of a standard that would beat Ireland. However, they were very defiant from the start and it was clear that they had no intention of letting Ireland win. 'They played a game of "negative tactics"' said Charlton after the frustrating 0-0 draw, which now meant that Ireland would have to try and beat the Dutch, then the reigning European Champions. That match ended up 1-1, The Netherlands taking an early lead, and Ireland equalising late on through Niall Quinn - something which has now become a pattern of Irish play against the stronger nations. Three points from the group matches booked Ireland their place in the last 16 of the tournament. As their record was identical to that of the Dutch, lots were drawn to decide second and third place, and here Ireland had the luck by being drawn as runners-up. This meant that they would play Romania in Genoa in the second round, an easier game than the Dutch had as they played West Germany. The Romanian game was satisfactory from an Irish point of view, yet while Ireland played the better football they could not convert their chances. The match went to extra time and then to penalties, a first for the Irish team who had never been involved in a shoot-out before. Packie Bonner, the Irish keeper, had put on superb performances before and during this game and so now his status as a world class keeper would be even more scrutinised as he faced five Romanian penalties. While he let in four, he stopped one, and one was all that was needed as veteran David O'Leary scored Ireland's fifth penalty to put them through to a quarter final meeting in Rome's Olympic Stadium with the hosts, Italy.
playing excellent football. Italy scored the only goal of the game, a neatly taken rebound from Salvatore Schillachi after Bonner failed to hold on to Donadoni's powerful drive. While the Irish were eliminated there was not a disappointed atmosphere from the team nor from back home. What they felt was pride, honour and a sense of achievement. The campaign for qualification for Euro '92 in Sweden was not a great one. Poor performances against other teams saw Ireland draw at home to Poland and England and then drop a lead of two goals to Poland in Poznan. Yet two victories were achieved against the Turks, and an outstanding performance against England at Wembley didn't leave the Irish two disheartened. The competition in the group went right to the end and only a Gary Lineker equaliser for England in Poland eliminated the Irish. After a sense of disappointment the Irish kept their heads up and looked towards USA '94. In 1992 Ireland were invited to play in a mini tournament in America, to make up for missing out on the European Championships. Like England's involvement in the next tournament in 1993 Ireland's was a disappointing one. They opened the tournament in the Foxboro Stadium with a bitterly and shockingly disappointing 3-1 loss to the USA. Then followed a match with Italy which resulted in another loss for Ireland, a 2-0 loss, and to make matters worse for the first time in his career Packie Bonner, the Irish goalkeeper was sent off. His offense was rugby tackling an Italian in the box which was then awarded a penalty, which the Italians converted gracefully. Ireland were drawn in a group which was thought to be extremely tough, as it contained Spain, Denmark (the European Champions), Northern Ireland, Albania, Lithuania and Latvia, the only European group with 7 teams, this meant two more matches in the qualifying programme for all group members, which is the main reason for the recent lack of friendly matches for the Republic. Although the two Baltic states and Albania were thought to be easy, it was always going to be a difficult task in the away games, and the group went right to the wire in the end, Ireland only qualifying by having scored more goals than Denmark, their goal differences were equal. Rather than go through Ireland's path chronologically I shall go through it team by team: Albania: The Albanians just about got to Dublin to play this match, they had barely enough for a full team. They didn't even have a kit with them to play in. Luckily they were sponsored and well catered for on their arrival. The match itself was frustrating for the Irish as only towards the end did they manage to get their 2-0 victory. In the away leg, Albania took a shock early lead, however Ireland quickly equalised and then scored the winner late on. Final score 2-1. Denmark: The match in Copenhagen showed Ireland near their very best. They attacked, passed and defended well to earn a 0-0 draw. It was a point secured rather than one lost, and one that was to prove crucial in the final reckoning. The game in Dublin was highlighted by the defensive error through which Ireland conceded their goal. Niall Quinn got on the end of a quick corner to equalise later on in the game though. A 1-1 draw was how the match finished. Latvia: When Latvia came to Lansdowne Road they presented Ireland with their biggest win in the group. Four goals from Ireland and none from the opposition ensured a comfortable victory. The away game was in a strange place, in uncomfortable conditions and it was unknown territory for Ireland. Even so, Ireland were victorious in a 2-0 win.
victory for Ireland does not convey the fact that numerous chances Yüklə 361,24 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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