YOKOHAMA, Japan, 20 June — The succession of shocks that has sent tremors rippling through soccer’s established order at the World Cup may turn into an earthquake when the tournament enters its closing stages tomorrow.
The quarterfinals may start with a traditional classic — England vs. Brazil — but any search for the tournament’s epicenter should look in the direction of the four rank outsiders defying all odds to stay in contention for sport’s greatest prize.
If soccer’s earth moves, how will it be for South Korea, Senegal, Turkey and the United States, all so unaccustomed to the dizzy heights to which they have soared?
As the so-called lesser lights of world football continue to cut swathes through the tournament, the unthinkable — can one of them actually win it? — is starting to germinate in the mind as something other than a wild fantasy.
One team at least will take a step closer as Senegal and Turkey, both already further in the tournament than they had dared hope, meet each other with a semifinal place at stake.
South Korea must feel like hosts who have gatecrashed their own party. Like the other co-hosts Japan, they were supposed to have bowed out graciously by now and left the guests to enjoy their hospitality unhindered by their presence.
But the Koreans have reveled as never before. Having seen off Portugal, Poland and Italy, unleashing a tidal wave of patriotic fervor in the process, why should they not usher their next opponents Spain out of the door? The doorkeepers may be checking out the United States’ invitation too. While the other guests are whispering "what on earth are they doing here?", the relatively muted reaction to their success from across the Pacific Ocean suggests few Americans were even aware the team had left home.
That would doubtless change if they went on to beat Germany, a result that would have a seismic effect on world football.
The countdown to the final in Yokohama on June 30 starts tomorrow in Shizuoka when England face Brazil in a match guaranteed to generate clichés like there’s no tomorrow.
They can start with Latin fantasy vs. British realism and the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.
Brazil have flourished at the tournament by returning to the artistry that has long endeared them to all lovers of the game. With Ronaldo and Rivaldo conjuring their magic, and each scoring in every game so far, they have been a pure delight.
The Brazilians, four times World Cup winners and seeking a place in their third successive final, have scored 13 times, more than any other team in the tournament.
They have never lost to England in the World Cup and have gone on to win the title every time they have played the English in the past — in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
But this time they face a dogged England team who have conceded just one goal in four games and none in the last three and who have in Rio Ferdinand one of the tournament’s outstanding defenders.
Brazil’s defense looked vulnerable against Belgium in the second round and England have world class players in David Beckham and Michael Owen who could do them damage.
Logic says the winner of this encounter should win the World Cup but logic left the tournament with defending champions France and pre-tournament favorites Argentina in the first round.
The winner of this game would play Senegal or Turkey, who meet tomorrow in Osaka.
The Senegalese, gracing their first World Cup with joyously uninhibited attacking football, could become the first African team ever to reach the semifinals if they can overcome a resilient Turkish side who have flair players of their own.
Whether Spain can quell South Korea’s momentum and the force of will of 48 million Koreans clad in red may depend, prosaically enough, on the state of striker Raul’s groin.
If Raul gets over his strain and plays in Kwangju on Saturday, his finishing touches may silence the drumbeats and put paid to the Korean dream.
Germany, the third former World Cup winners still standing, go to Ulsan tomorrow for what would have seemed a mismatch before the tournament started.
But the US team, shrewdly coached by Bruce Arena, have played a neat counterattacking game that has proved successful so far. The Americans are athletic, hard-working and well drilled and are unlikely to let Germany roll over them.
In normal times, one might expect Brazil, Senegal, Spain and Germany in the last four. But the tectonic plates under the surface of world football are shifting. So don’t be surprised if it’s England, Turkey, South Korea and the US.
Rio confident he can tame Ronaldo
For Pele and Bobby Moore, read Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand.
One of the abiding images of the last time England met Brazil in the World Cup finals is that of the late England captain Moore and Pele embracing after exchanging their sweat-soaked shirts at the end of the match that took place in 1970 in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.
The moment lingers in the memory not only because it captured the enormous respect the two men shared for each other. It also epitomized what has come to be seen as a golden age for the world’s favorite sport — the natural conclusion of a cleanly fought duel between two players who seemed to embody all that was best in their respective countries.
Three decades and two years later, the outcome of tomorrow’s World Cup quarterfinal in Shizuoka could once again hinge on a battle between a peerless Brazilian forward and a graceful English defender blessed with both genuine pace and fleet of mind.
Ronaldo and Ferdinand have both enjoyed exceptional tournaments so far.
The Brazilian, desperate to prove he has recovered from the physical and emotional scarring he suffered at France ‘98, has yet to finish a game in Japan without scoring.
And with a tally of five goals, he is a joint leader in the race for the tournament’s golden boot, a prize he covets almost as ferociously as a winner’s medal.
Ferdinand has meanwhile been winning rapturous reviews for his marshaling of an England defense that has conceded only one goal so far and none in their last three games.
Something, or rather someone, has to give and Ferdinand is determined that it will not be him or England. "We have to make sure that we keep our shape and stay strong both as a unit and individually," he said. "I’m sure there are going to be a lot of personal battles all over the pitch, and the more winners we have in those the bigger the chance we will have of victory."
The biggest of those battles will be his with Ronaldo. But if the pressure is getting to him, he shows no sign of it. At 23, Ferdinand already has the distinction of being the world’s most expensive defender, a status he acquired when Leeds United shelled out 18 million pounds ($25 million) to take from West Ham at the end of 2000.
Now, 18 months later, there is talk of both Manchester United and a number of the top Italian clubs smashing that record to acquire his services.
Ferdinand’s engagingly frank style means he makes no effort to deny that he finds all the attention flattering. But he has also acted to quell the speculation by insisting he will not be talking to anyone about his future until after the World Cup.
Concentrating exclusively on the job in hand is something Ferdinand excels at and that is what he plans to be doing on tomorrow afternoon.
"Without any disrespect to Brazil, we do know what to expect from them," he says. "They have got so many players who can turn a game on its head with one touch of brilliance.
"So we have got to make sure that we go out there feeling right mentally and if we do that we will be in with a chance."
Ferdinand readily admits that Ronaldo, despite being only two years older than him, is a player with a special kind of aura. But the boy from south London insists that will make no difference when he faces up to the boy from Brazil. "When I was growing up as a schoolboy and a trainee, he was already playing and he was someone you looked up to," Ferdinand recalled.
"To be able to go and play against him is going to be a brilliant experience but there will be no favors. I’ll be going out there to make sure he does not get a single strike on goal." That task has so far proved to be beyond the massed defenses of China, Turkey, Costa Rica and Belgium, all of whom have succumbed to Brazil’s rigid insistence on the three Rs — Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.
