20 Days Until the World Cup; 20 Things You Need to Know

We interrupt this gripping, paralyzing civic meltdown over the trading of Mike Piazza and the imminent playoff demise of the Lakers for a bit of global perspective.

In England, where baseball is regarded as nothing more than a bastardized version of cricket and Kasey Keller is a more famous American than Shaquille O’Neal, a poll recently was taken of that country’s male sports fans.

Of fans ages 20 to 34, 95% said they would prefer watching England striker Alan Shearer score a goal in the World Cup to making love with a supermodel.

Ah, youth, sighed amused male fans 35 and older. Among that demographic group, with their lives more in balance and their priorities in order, 60% opted for Shearer in the back of the net over super shenanigans in the bedroom.

Which illustrates a couple of points:

1--No one 20 to 34 in England can remember the home club winning the World Cup, that rarefied event taking place before Sgt. Pepper, in the summer of ’66.

2--Hope springs anew in 20 days when England and 31 other countries begin their quest for the 1998 World Cup.

Worldwide, the anticipation is approaching fever pitch, with the singular exception of the United States, which had a torrid one-month fling with the World Cup four years ago but now needs a jolt--a U.S. upset over Germany, perhaps?--to clear the cobwebs and jog the memory.

Or at least a refresher course.

The tournament, hosted by France for the first time in 60 years, opens June 10 in Paris, cup holder Brazil opposing Scotland, with the United States kicking it off against 1990 champion Germany five days later.

A 20-step rediscovery program to--as any Englishman will attest--the world’s most obsessive-compulsive sporting spectacle:

1. THE FORMAT: Thirty-two teams--the largest field ever, up from 24 in 1994--divided into eight round-robin groups of four teams. Top two teams from each group advance to the second round, where the single-elimination phase of the tournament begins.

This is less than scintillating news for the United States, which qualified for the second round in 1994 as one of six third-place “wild card” teams. With no such route available to them this summer, the Americans are faced with the unlikely prospect of finishing ahead of either Germany or Yugoslavia . . . or booking passage home June 26.

2. THE GROUPS: Group A: A 3-0 samba for defending champion Brazil, with Norway and Scotland trading long balls in a grim struggle for second place. Morocco won’t have far to travel after its three matches are done.

Group B: Italy faces its toughest competition first, opening against Chile and its prolific striker, Marcelo Salas. Austria and Cameroon are playing for third.

Group C: The draw wasn’t rigged, of course it wasn’t. France just happens to be the host, and just happens to slotted into the cushiest group in the tournament, alongside Denmark, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Group D: Spain, the grand underachiever of European soccer, doesn’t have any early matches to fritter away this time. Not with 1996 Olympic champion Nigeria, 1994 World Cup semifinalist Bulgaria and South American up-and-comer Paraguay rounding out this year’s El Grupo de Muerte.

Group E: Hooligan alert: Belgium and the Netherlands clash, on the field and off, with first place at stake June 13. Mexico will be favored only against South Korea, co-host of the 2002 World Cup, still searching for its first victory in a World Cup tournament.

Group F: The United States opens with reigning European champion Germany on June 15 and closes with talent-glutted Yugoslavia on June 25. In between, the Americans get Iran. Or, as it reads on the Iranian soccer calendar: “June 21--Glorious Victory Over the Great Satan Will Be Ours at Last.”

Group G: England, back after the national disgrace of failing to qualify in 1994, could go deep in 1998. Romania should edge Colombia for second place, with Tunisia stopping by for its first appearance since 1978.

Group H: Jamaica and Japan make their World Cup debuts, Argentina and Croatia make their way to Round 2.

3. BEST TEAM: Brazil. Home of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Romario, Roberto Carlos and four World Cup championships. So good that Bebeto, star of the 1994 World Cup and scorer of 38 goals at the international level, may not get off the bench.

4. HOPE FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD: No defending World Cup champion has repeated since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. And that team had Pele.

5. HOPE FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD II: Argentina defeated Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, 1-0, April 29. Norwegian Coach Egil Olsen described the Brazilians as “bad . . . less than impressive.” Pele, writing in a newspaper column, described the match as “a game of a team that needs a lot of training. It was a game to be forgotten.”

6. TEAMS CAPABLE OF HOISTING/HEISTING THE CUP: France has more talent available than any country outside Brazil but, typically, has disposed of some of the best of it--failing to call either Eric Cantona, a dominant force when he played for Manchester United, or David Ginola to the side. France also has a reputation for melting like a wheel of soft brie during crunch time, failing to qualify for the World Cup in 1990 and 1994.

Germany and England were the best teams at the 1996 European championships, waging a classic semifinal at Wembley before Germany advanced on penalty kicks. Since then, Germany has lost its best player--sweeper Matthias Sammer--to injury and England qualified for the World Cup in rousing form, outpointing Italy to win its qualification group.

Italy and Argentina are perennial contenders, but maddeningly inconsistent. Italy still needs to find someone who can score at the international level--Alessandro Del Piero, your time is at hand--and Argentina is still waiting for midfielder Ariel Ortega to blossom as The Next Maradona.

7. TEAM TO WATCH: The Netherlands. Kilometer for kilometer, Holland produces more great soccer players than any country in the world--and the current group, led by English Premier League player of the year Dennis Bergkamp, Real Madrid midfielder Clarence Seedorf and Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar, is typically loaded.

Now, getting the Dutch to agree on what formation to play, what starters to play, what colors to wear, what beer to drink. . . .

8. TEAM TO WATCH, BECAUSE IT COULD WIND UP ANYWHERE: Nigeria. The oddest coupling of World Cup ‘98, with former United States and Mexico coach Bora (Nil-Nil) Milutinovic saddled with (or upon) the free-form, free-spirited Eagles of Nigeria, who won the 1996 Olympic gold medal with a philosophy best summarized by one Nigerian defender: “We don’t mind giving up two goals, as long as we score three.”

Bora could provide the organizational backbone necessary to get Nigeria into the semifinals. Or he could rein in the vibrant offensive talent so tightly, the whole thing could implode in the first round.

9. TEAM IN TURMOIL: Mexico. The curse of Bora hangs heavily over the Mexican national team that fired him late last year. Too dull was the charge against Bora, even after he guided Mexico to an undefeated record in World Cup qualifying. Not enough 4-0 thrashings of every other rival in North America.

Replacement Manuel Lapuente has taken over the team and promptly gone from boring to worse. An ill-advised youth movement--leading to the shelving of popular veteran Carlos Hermosillo--has yielded a series of startlingly poor results, including a 5-1 defeat to the Chilean club team Universidad Catolica. In a tough group, it would be no surprise to see Mexico, once the pride of North American soccer, go 0-3 and out.

10. BEST PLAYER: Ronaldo (Brazil). He didn’t play a minute in World Cup ’94 because, at 17, he was deemed too young by Carlos Parreira--one more reason Parreira was the most second-guessed coach to win the World Cup.

Now all of 21, Ronaldo is a two-time FIFA world player of the year with more than 200 professional goals. Certain to be the most watched--and marked--man in France this summer.

11. BEST FORWARD NOT NAMED RONALDO: Alan Shearer (England). The image of Shearer exulting after a goal--back turned to net, right arm raised, self-satisfied grin engulfing his face--is the Deion Sanders end-zone strut of English soccer--a national icon to be loved or loathed, depending on one’s allegiance. For five weeks, at least, all of England will be united in pining for repeat viewings.

Next: Bergkamp (Netherlands). Low-key personality finally asserted himself in Arsenal’s run to the English Premier League-F.A. Cup “double” this season.

12. BEST MIDFIELDER: Zinedine Zidane (France). Considered the finest player France has produced since Michel Platini went from competing in World Cup tournaments to organizing them. The French regard him as their latest soccer genius, but will all that virtuosity be wasted by the commoners stationed up front, at the receiving end of his precision passes?

Next: Andreas Moller (Germany). A handful and a half for the U.S. defense on June 15.

13. BEST DEFENDER: Carlos (Brazil). The English soccer magazine Four Four Two recently had players and coaches vote for the greatest goals of all-time. Carlos, a 25-year-old fullback, had two of the top 25--including No. 6, a mind-boggling free kick against France last year that sailed wide and then broke so abruptly into the net it had ballboys and photographers ducking for cover. Finished second to Ronaldo in the 1997 world player-of-the-year balloting.

Next: Paolo Maldini (Italy). Long the world standard at fullback, but showed signs of slippage during AC Milan’s lackluster regular season.

14. BEST GOALKEEPER: David Seaman (England). Mustache meticulously groomed, with nary a hair on his head out of place, Seaman looks as if he should be modeling ascots for Burberry’s instead of bailing out the England backline with sprawling saves. The best stopper of penalty kicks in the tournament, which could prove decisive during the inevitable late-round shootouts.

Next: Peter Schmeichel (Denmark). Once the undisputed leader at the position, he looked mortal during Manchester United’s failed bid to retain the Premier League title this season.

15. KEEPER MOST LIKELY TO SCORE A GOAL: Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay). A hulking presence by soccer standards, he routinely leaves the goalmouth to take free kicks and penalties on the other side of the field. Jorge Campos of Mexico is another possibility, although if he does score, that means he is probably playing forward instead of goalkeeper, which means it’s probably garbage time, which probably isn’t good news for Mexico.

16. BEST U.S. PLAYER: Keller. The first, and only, U.S. soccer player to be generally ranked among the top 10 in the world at his position. His 1-0 shutout of Brazil in this year’s Gold Cup semifinals is regarded as one of the finest single-game goalkeeping performances of the 1990s.

Next: Claudio Reyna. The so-called “future of American soccer” for far too long, Reyna reiterated the possibilities with his two-assist, one-goal performance against Austria last month.

17. COMEBACK PLAYER: Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria). The goal-scoring hero of Nigeria’s run to the 1996 Olympic gold medal, Kanu was found to have a serious heart defect shortly after the Atlanta Games. Doctors advised retirement or surgery; Kanu opted for the latter and, after more than a year’s rehabilitation, rejoined the Nigerian national team last month, playing a full 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Germany.

Next: Lothar Matthaeus (Germany). Written off as too old four years ago, Matthaeus hadn’t made an appearance for the German national team since December 1994. But with Germany’s best player, Sammer, out with injury, the 37-year-old Matthaeus was recalled by Coach Berti Vogts last week to provide depth at sweeper.

18. TEAM USA: BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Germany, traditionally a slow starter, can’t put one past Keller and settles for a 0-0 draw. Confidence soaring, the Americans thrash Iran, 3-0, then score the first goal against Yugoslavia and the Yugoslavs, loaded with talent but not resilience, cave. The United States finishes second in Group F, battles gamely against the Netherlands in the second round and goes out nobly on penalties.

19. TEAM USA: WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Moller, Thomas Hassler and Jurgen Klinsmann run roughshod through the American 3-6-1 and Germany wins, 3-0. Iran, angling for this matchup since it was announced last December, battles the demoralized Americans to a 1-1 draw. Yugoslavia scores first, packs the defense in and the United States limps home at 0-2-1.

20.TEAM USA: MOST LIKELY SCENARIO: The United States plays with spirit and tenacity, but passion only goes so far in the World Cup--Germany 1, USA 0. Iran quickly learns the same lesson--USA 2, Iran 0. Yugoslavia plays for the tie in the group finale, succeeds, advances ahead of the United States on goal differential. Major League Soccer rosters back at full strength by June 30.

FRANCE ’98

What: 1998 FIFA World Cup

When: June 10-July 12

Where: France