One of the most hyped World Cups
ever is finally over. There was a lot of
celebration during the World Cup, but
there was also a lot of tragedy.

There were riots all over the world
because of what was going on in
France. Riots in Cameroon because the
head of the soccer federation said that,
“The referees are ‘easier on the
European teams ‘than the African
teams.” People in Cameroon were look-
ing for people who appeared to be

European to beat them up.

There were a lot of surprises and
isappointments in this year’s version
f the World Cup.

The two biggest surprises were that
he host nation, France, actually won
he tournament, and another, even big-
er surprise, was that Croatia, playing
n its first World Cup, finished third.
roatia won third place by beating
werhouses like Germany and the
etherlands.

Denmark, in its second World Cup
ver, made it to the quarter-final giving
razil a huge scare only losing by 3-2.
There were a lot more big disap-
intments in the World Cup. For
nstance, Spain was supposed to chal-
enge for the World Cup but didn't

ven make it out of the first round.

England was another big disappoint-
ent. They were also supposed to chal-
nge for the title but lost to Argentina
n penalty kicks in the second round.
Germany, who were favored to win
e World Cup, never really got going.
hey were lucky in all their games, but
eir luck ran out after losing to
roatia in the quarter-final 3-0, That
atked the last games for Lothar
atthaus and Jurgen Klinsmann.

elebration and Tragedy

The rioting that happened in France
was a lot worse. English fans in
Marseille fought with Tunisian fans
before and after the game. Over fifty
people were arrested. By the way,
England won the game 2-0.

In Lens, a German fan beat a French
police officer over the head with a-
metal bar. The police officer is still in
coma.

Also, an English fan killed a French
man just because he thought the man
was from Argentina. He killed the man

World Cup Surprises
and. Disappointments

But the biggest disappointment in
the World Cup was the Brazilian team.
Brazil was supposed to win the World
Cup with ease and although Brazil
made it to the final, they didn’t domi-
nate their opponents like they should
have. They lost to Norway in the first
round, barely beat Denmark in the
quarters, and had to beat the
Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out. In
the final they were severely out-played,
losing to France 3-0.

because he was upset that Argentina
had defeated England in the second
round by a penalty shoot-out.

The much anticipated game between
Iran and the United States that most
people thought would get violent was
very peaceful. Many people thought the
streets of Lyon would be like the
streets of Marseille or Lens, but FIFA
decided that the day Iran played the
United States (June 21) would be FIFA
Fair Play Day. Before the game both
teams carne together for one team pic-
ture. The game was very well-played by
both teams and Iran defeated the
United States 2—1. Fans from both
nations celebrated before and after the
game.

Altogether there were over 200
arrests made in France during the

World Cup.

 

Player Country Goals
Davor Suker Croatia
Gabriel Batistuta Argentina 5
Christian Vieri Italy
Luis Hernandez — Mexico
Marcelo Salas = Chile
Ronaldo Brazil 4

 

Golden Boot Award

The Golden Boot Award goes to the player who has
scored the most goals in the World Cup. This year’s
winner of the Golden Boot award is Davor Suker, of
Croatia, who scored six goals in the tournament, Here

are the top six goal scorers of the 1998 World Cup:

ee

 

 

PAN DD

 

   

Cup du Monde — August 1998