World Cup Diary - June 12

Friday June 12 1998 was the first day at this World Cup where we had three games in a single day. The usual 4:30pm and 8pm kick-off times were fine but the 1:30pm game between Bulgaria and Paraguay would cause a problem. I had a GCSE exam that afternoon, meaning I would miss the encounter. I had tried everything I could to skive off and miss the exam as I couldn't bear the though of missing a single minute of the action. I managed to watch the first two minutes before I begrudgingly headed off at the last possible moment. I even rushed through the exam hoping they would let me out early and I might get back in time to watch some of the second half, but even that plan back-fired as I was left staring at four walls for the next 40 minutes.

As it turned out I didn't miss anything at all. The game ended goalless and despite both teams creating plenty of chances the closest either of them came to scoring were from free-kicks. Paraguay's eccentric goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert took his team's effort, while Ivanov took Bulgaria's. Stoichkov hit a post and should have been awarded a penalty in the first five minutes but the referee turned his appeal down. It was disappointing to see the team from the Balkans struggle, as they, along with neighbors Romania lit up USA 1994, but four years on they looked old and sluggish and that their golden era was coming to a close.

With my exam finally over, I was back home, well in time to watch Denmark v Saudi Arabia. But with twenty minutes gone, my dad arrived to take me to his for the weekend. I was adamant I would keep him waiting outside until the game was finished as I didn't want to miss any more action. But with his growing impatience and him telling me he was recording the game for me, I left happy in the knowledge I could catch up on any missed footage. As it happened the game was a drab affair and I would much sooner have watched the earlier game instead. The Saudi's opted for a defensive style, while Denmark dominated the midfield. The Laudrup brothers combined to set up Rieper who headed home at the back post and that was that.

The evening game had a much more exciting feel to it. Hosts France, finally got their campaign underway but had to deal with the Mistral and its 70mph gusts in an open Stade Velodrome in Marseille. South Africa were happy just to be there following the re-birth of the rainbow nation, but that being said they were expected to cause their hosts problems. The over-hyped Zidane flattered to deceive and my personal favourite player, Youri Djorkaeff was unable to find the break though. At least France could contend themselves with the fact they had launched more attacks in the first half then they had in the whole of Euro 1996. There was an interest in the fact France's lone striker, Stephane Guivarc'h, had just signed for Newcastle, so I was hoping for a hatful of goals from him. From what I saw of him I wasn't impressed, and when he went off injured after attempting a diving header it added further disappointment. His replacement was Christophe Dugarry, who promptly scored, before Djorkaeff and Thierry Henry forced South African defender, Pierre Issa to score two own goals.