By Mitch Phillips
ESSEN, Germany, July 2 - After an encouraging
start the World Cup has degenerated into a low-scoring
tournament short on classic matches and attractive football, but
high on nerves, red and yellow cards and cheating.
With four games remaining the total of 138 goals puts this
tournament only marginally ahead of 1990 as the worst in history
with 2.3 goals per game compared with a best of 5.38 in 1954,
hardly a surprise with so many teams opting to play with just
one striker.
Bookings and red cards are at a record high, with almost six
cautions per game compared with fewer than two in 1982, and if
there was a scientific measure for simulation it would be off
the scale.
It all looked so different on the goal-laden opening day
when Germany pasted Costa Rica 4-2 and Ecuador upset Poland 2-0.
There were several other good games in the first week, with
Argentina's 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, Spain's sweeping 4-0
demolition of Ukraine and Australia's dramatic late 3-1 comeback
win over Japan the pick.
The second set of games saw the two most memorable
performances as Argentina beat Serbia & Montenegro 6-0 with a
sumptuous display and Ghana showed an irrepressible commitment
to attack in their 2-0 win over Czech Republic.
However, as qualification loomed, fear took over and the
well of sportsmanship began to run dry.
Only Ghana and Australia, who showed that country's terrific
sporting mettle to hold Croatia and go through from Group F,
really upset the predictions.
AWFUL ENGLAND
The deterioration continued in the second round where
England were awful in beating Ecuador 1-0 and Ukraine's
penalties win over Switzerland followed one of the most
unambitious two hours of World Cup history.
Some of the greatest drama came via a record four red cards
and 16 yellows in Portugal's shambolic 1-0 win over the Dutch.
The quarter-finals were high on tension but short on
fireworks as Germany got through on penalties, as they always
do, and England went out the same way, as they always do.
Italy hardly broke sweat to beat Ukraine 3-0 while France
produced the high spot with a performance of soaring confidence
to knock out holders Brazil, who rarely hit their stride.
The improvement of the 1998 champions has been one of the
few tournament highlights, with 34-year-old Zinedine Zidane, set
to retire, showing all his mastery as he plays each
international knowing it could be his last.
Hosts Germany have also shown a refreshing commitment to
attacking soccer under coach Juergen Klinsmann.
CULPABLE REFEREES
Players from a number of countries have been guilty of
constant diving and feigning injury, cheating that FIFA softens
by calling "simulation" and that seems to be spiralling out of
control in the international game.
The convention of kicking the ball out of play to allow for
treatment - once only done for head wounds - is now so abused
that players remonstrate with opponents who have the temerity to
play on while a player 50 metres away falls to the ground.
Culpable referees have consistently allowed such theatrics
to stop play while at the same time flashing red and yellow
cards for the most innocuous of challenges.
Now, with the final so tantalisingly close, there is a
danger that fear will again stifle ambition and produce two more
nerve-jangling but tight semi-finals.
There is always the hope that the four teams cut loose to
give us a repeat of the Italy 4 West Germany 3 semi-final of
1970, recently voted the best World Cup match of all time, or
the 1984 European championship semi when France overcame
Portugal 3-2 in another extra time classic.