And in a sport where a tie is not like ““kissing your sister,’’ on Saturday afternoon in the Silverdome he was proved right. Before 73,000 cheering, ““Stars and Stripes’’- waving, even red, white and blue face-painting fans, America’s Eric Wynalda arched home a spectacular free kick from 30 yards out. The ball soared over a wall of defenders, just inside the left goalpost, brushing off the top bar, earning the U.S. team a 1-1 moral victory. The tie gave the United States one point in the standings, its first World Cup point since 1950.
Switzerland had taken the lead midway through the first half on a free kick, a penalty kick that can be blocked by any opposing player. But goalie Tony Meola was screened by his defenders and ““didn’t see the ball until it was 4 yards away and too late.’’ Six minutes later and just seconds before the first half ended, John Harkes and Wynalda, two American-born stars who have established themselves in elite European leagues, collaborated to even the match. First Harkes stormed up the middle, and a Swiss defender tripped him. Then Wynalda stepped up to take the free kick.
Because of an allergic reaction that covered his body with hives, Wynalda had not slept the previous night and had been vomiting that morning. Though sapped by the humid conditions, he had enough foot left to fire a shot he later described as ““perfect.’’ ““It’s a world of difference,’’ said midfielder Tab Ramos. ““Four years ago by the 40th minute [of the first game], we were out of the World Cup.''
Waves: If the American team turned out to be ready for prime time, so did America. It filled stadiums across the country for the opening weekend of the monthlong championship – and without any serious incidents. Fans were enthusiastic, polite and multicultural. At the opening game in Chicago between defending champion Germany and Bolivia, the crowd of 63,117 amused itself with conventional American waves. It was too hot – 93 degrees – to do much else. Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann, who scored his team’s winning goal, described playing conditions as ““brutal,’’ and German coach Berti Vogts gave a postgame accounting that included the fact that ““all my players are still alive.''
In Detroit, officials managed to put grass in the Silverdome, but they didn’t install air conditioning. Swiss coach Roy Hodgson compared the game to ““playing in a hot-dog stand.’’ The swelter in Dallas’s Cotton Bowl may have helped Spain blow a two-goal lead in the final six minutes for a 2-2 tie with underdog South Korea. And in the World Cup’s dream ethnic matchup, Ireland-Italy in Greater New York (box), Ireland visibly sagged in the second half, but hung on for a 1-0 upset win.
The World Cup opened in Chicago with appropriate fanfare – a pageant of native dancers, costumes and flags festooning the field; President Clinton spoke (40 seconds too long, according to a precision schedule befitting an international organization based in Switzerland), Oprah Winfrey welcomed the world before tripping on the podium (the first, but hardly the last trip of the weekend) and Diana Ross raced across the field and scored a goal into an open net. For much of the ensuing game, it looked like Ross’s goal would reign supreme.
Then Germany’s great captain Lothar Matthaus came to the rescue. As a concession to age, Matthaus, 33, had been moved back from the midfield to a defensive position. But in the 16th minute of the second half, Matthaus charged up the middle and lofted a perfect pass over the Bolivian defense. Bolivia’s goalie abandoned his post in a desperate attempt to reach the ball about 20 yards out, but Thomas Hassler got there first. He corralled the ball on his chest and simply bumped it a few yards to his right, where Klinsmann found himself in soccer heaven – the ball on his foot and an empty goal in front of him. ““Once I got the ball, there was almost nothing I could do wrong,’’ he said.
Bolivia’s coach would later suggest that Hassler may have been offside and may even have touched the ball with his hand, but there was little passion in his complaint. Bolivia’s last gasp came late in the second half when Marco Antonio Etcheverry, the team’s star who hadn’t played since injuring his knee last November, entered the game. But a few minutes later, Etcheverry, known as ““El Diablo,’’ demonstrated his devilish temper, and again it was Matthaus at stage center. With the two stars racing for the ball, Matthaus knocked Etcheverry to the ground with an elbow. Etcheverry began arguing with his opponent and punctuated his point with a kick in Matthaus’s direction. The ref threw him out of the game. With Bolivia playing a man short, Germany’s win and 3 points in the standings was secure. Etcheverry later offered apologies – heartfelt to his country and halfhearted to his opponent. ““If I kicked him,’’ he said, ““well, that’s part of the game.''
It’s a game to which Americans are still warming – except, of course, those broiling in the stadiums. For others, it’s not too late to catch the fever. The American team, as the Swiss coach put it, is ““an honest team that works hard.’’ In the currency of today’s sports world, that’s a real compliment.
