WEEKLY WHINE

Games on

As of today, there have been eight matches played at the 2002 Men's World Cup in the Korea Republic and Japan. You saw some exciting stuff, some good and bad officiating, and some amusing fans. But how closely were you really paying attention?

FRANCE 00-01 SENEGAL

What you saw: Pape Bouba Diop scored to earn a Senegal win against a French side that were disorganised and aimless without Zinédine Zidane.
What you missed: You saw les Bleus' reserves running around warming up on the sidelines, but what you probably didn't know is that this is actually an ancient French ritual called the Healing of Our Star Player's Leg Dance.

REP IRELAND 01-01 CAMEROON

What you saw: Cameroon, with their funny armpitless shirts, went in front on a first half goal by Patrick Mboma, but Ireland equalised in the second half.
What you missed: The Indomitable Lions had to redesign their kits in the spring when FIFA told them they couldn't go sleeveless. That explains the duct tape hurriedly attached to the sleeves of Marc-Vivien Foe's shirt just before kickoff.

URUGUAY 01-02 DENMARK

What you saw: Denmark moved ahead of France in Group A with two goals by Jon Dahl Tomasson.
What you missed: Alvaro Recoba of Uruguay sent several blistering free kicks at the Danish goal, but did you notice that just before kickoff, Uruguay coach Victor Púa hid a big electromagnet underneath Denmark's goal and then stuffed a chunk of iron into the ball?

GERMANY 08-00 SAUDI ARABIA

What you saw: In the primarily baseball Sapporo Dome, Germany made Saudi Arabia look small, and silly for that matter.
What you missed: With about fifteen minutes left, Saudi coach Nasser Al-Johar tried, unsuccessfully, to get the stadium crew to utilise the dome's retractable pitch feature, hoping that his squad would have a better day on a rotating field.

ARGENTINA 01-00 NIGERIA

What you saw: Though they eventually got a goal, Argentina spent much of the match having their attacks denied by Nigeria's defense.
What you missed: How did an African side, well known for defensive ignorance, turn in such a display? How do you think? They ate their Seaweedies.

PARAGUAY 02-02 SOUTH AFRICA

What you saw: Teboho Mokoena fired a shot from the top of the area, and Estanislao Struway was unfortunate to have it deflect off him on its way in.
What you missed: Late in the second half, Struway sent a petition round the Busan Asian Stadium stands to have the own goal ruling changed. He collected 5½ signatures.

ENGLAND 01-01 SWEDEN

What you saw: Just before they got the equaliser, Sweden substituted Anders Svensson in to replace Magnus Svensson.
What you missed: Sweden's coaches spent most of the first half debating the issue of whether Anders and Magnus are really the same person.

SPAIN 03-01 SLOVENIA

What you saw: Slovenia had several scoring opportunities but in the end couldn't maintain the pressure for ninety minutes.
What you missed: Some Slovenian fans showed up behind Spain's bench and taunted them with a sign showing a big bottle of cologne.