Argentina Outlasts Short-Handed England
It began as a game tense with history and the possibility of violence and ended as the longest and most compelling match of the 1998 World Cup.
From sly nastiness to cramping desperation, Argentina and England played on valiantly tonight through regulation and two 15-minute periods of overtime. With the score tied at 2-2, they extended their second-round match as far as it could go -- to the breathless drama of penalty kicks.
British fans were singing the tune from 'The Great Escape,' and for long stretches it appeared that England might somehow prevail despite playing with only 10 men for the final 73 minutes. Michael Owen was the youngest player on the field at 18, but he was also the most dominant, scoring a goal for England with his brilliant speed and drawing a penalty that produced the other.
But England has grown accustomed to heartbreakingly premature exits. It had the potential winning goal disallowed in the 81st minute because of a wickedly thrown elbow. And as this World Cup advanced to penalty kicks for the first time, Britain again succumbed, 4-3, just as it had lost on penalty kicks to Germany both at the 1990 World Cup and at the 1996 European championships.
The end tonight came on the fifth round of penalty kicks, when midfielder David Batty telegraphed his attempt to slot the ball inside the left post. Carlos Roa, the Argentine goalkeeper who had not previously allowed a goal in the tournament, dived so confidently to his right that he had to reach back slightly to stop Batty's shot.
Exhausted and exhilarated, Argentine players began removing their jerseys and waving them as they raced downfield. Some tried to climb the fences that separated them from their delirious fans.
Argentina now advances to the quarterfinals on Saturday in Marseilles to meet the Netherlands, the team it defeated in the final in 1978, while England must contemplate another early departure.
'It seems to be a jinx,' said the assistant coach Raymond Clemence. 'But we know what the rules are.'
After the failed penalty kick, fighting broke out at the far end of the field, where English and Argentine fans sat in uneasy proximity, but the disturbance appeared to be quickly contained. There were reports of fans and local youths brawling in the streets after the game, with store windows broken and cars damaged. Arrests were made, but the police could not say how many, and about 10 people sustained minor injuries.
In an effort to contain another outbreak of hooliganism, some 1,500 policemen were on duty in this industrial town in the Loire Valley. Earlier in the day, a 25-year-old Englishman identified as a 'Category C' soccer hooligan was spotted by a British police officer and arrested.
The match was not shown on giant television screens in the town squares. However, local bars did serve alcohol until 11 P.M.
By that hour, the game was just edging into the tautness of overtime.
Players on both sides knew that this game might mean everything in soccer terms. England prevailed over Argentina, 1-0, in the 1966 quarterfinals and went on to win the World Cup. Argentina won, 2-1, in the 1986 quarterfinals en route to a World Cup title as Diego Maradona scored the famous handball goal known as 'The Hand of God.'
Tonight's outcome was largely decided, not on the Hand of God, but on the foot of English midfielder David Beckham.
Two minutes after halftime, with the score tied at 2-2, Beckham was shoved down from behind by Diego Simeone of Argentina. Still lying on the ground, in full view of the Danish referee, Kim Nielsen, Beckham kicked Simeone in the back of the right leg, drawing a red card and an immediate ejection. It no doubt also drew immediate dejection from his fiancee, Posh Spice of the Spice Girls.
'We are absolutely distraught,' said England's coach, Glenn Hoddle. 'The sending off cost us the match. I'm not afraid to say that.'
The kick was not vicious, but Nielsen had signaled in the first 10 minutes that he would tolerate no untoward play. Twice he awarded penalty kicks on plays that arguably did not deserve penalties.
In the sixth minute, England goalie David Seaman rolled into Simeone in the penalty area, and Gabriel Batistuta converted the penalty kick for his fifth goal of this World Cup and ninth over all, one more than Maradona. Batistuta dedicated the goal to his day-old son, Joaquin, and performed a rock-the-cradle dance in celebration.
Four minutes later, Owen went sprawling in the penalty area after a slight collision with Roberto Ayala, and Nielsen awarded another penalty kick. Alan Shearer converted for England and tied the score at 1-1.
With Beckham gone, England was forced to constrict its defense and play for penalty kicks or a counterattack by Owen. In the 16th minute, the teen-ager had shredded the Argentine defense, taking a pass with his right foot near midfield, running past the jostling Jose Chamot, feinting to his left, moving to his right around Ayala and slamming the ball back to his left into the net for a 2-1 lead. It was a breathtaking goal, but with 10 men, England reduced its risk-taking, and Owen's chances became limited.
Still, England nearly won. Nine minutes from the end of regulation, defender Sol Campbell headed in a corner kick, but the goal was disallowed after Shearer clearly threw an elbow at Roa.
Daniel Passarella, the Argentine coach, substituted for both Batistuta and his other forward, Claudio Lopez, in the second half, and went for the kill, but Argentina stubbornly kept trying to attack the middle of the English defense instead of exploiting the flanks.
'That's probably why we didn't score,' Passarella said.
Argentina had cleverly tied the game at 2-2 only seconds from halftime on a free kick. Batistuta stepped over the ball as a decoy, midfielder Juan Veron pushed the ball around the defensive wall, and Javier Zanetti stunned England with a left-footed blast into the net. But no additional goals were forthcoming until the penalty-kick phase.
'With England on the defensive, the match didn't seem winnable,' Veron said. 'But our never-ending battle was finally rewarded.'
And England was again sent home achingly early.
'It's very difficult,' said forward Teddy Sheringham. 'We played our hearts out. It's hard to believe we're done.'
WORLD CUP '98