Set fair for Europe

By Nashwa Abdel-Tawab

Ronaldo (who needs no introduction) enjoys a meeting of heads, if not minds, with canny Scots defender Calderwood in the tournament's opening match

As you walk round France, you're surrounded by animated conversations not only in French, but in languages from all four corners of the world. But the European fans and journalists still outnumber visitors from more distant parts. Maybe that's why the European teams felt so at home, winning almost all their matches in the first week of the first round of the 1998 World Cup Brazil are favourites in group A and they beat Scotland 2-1 in an excellent opening match in a superb stadium and helped by a very high quality pitch. But despite the win, the Brazilian fans were disappointed with their team, whom they had expected to dominate proceedings, not simply scrape in one goal ahead.

Cesaer Sampaio scored the first goal of the tournament after only five minutes. John Collins took a penalty to put Scotland level at the end of the first half, but his hapless teammate Tommy Boyd went on to secure victory for their opponents by planting the ball in his own net. There were two yellow cards, one against each team.

Craig Brown, Scotland's coach, said after the match, "We haven't been humiliated by the world champions. We played well, but the best team won. However, we proved that the Brazilians also have their weaknesses, especially in defense."

Morocco, who are making their fourth appearance in the World Cup, managed to draw 2-2 with Norway. The Norwegians started the match well, but against a really strong Moroccan side they gradually lost control of the game.

The second day witnessed two draws in group B, making it one point all round. Cameroon, quarterfinalists in Italy '90, drew 1-1 with Austria. The two goals came at the end of the match. Cameroon's Samuel Ipoua set the tone for the opening 45 minutes when he had the Austrian goal at his mercy in the fourth minute, and did nothing with it.

Then Italy drew with Chile 2-2. A last-gasp goal from Chilean Marcelo Salas allowed the South Americans to tie 1-1 at half-time. "He's a natural goal-scorer," said Nelson Acosta, Chile's coach. They then went ahead, only to concede a penalty kick in the 85th minute when Ronaldo Fuentes of Chile touched the ball with his hand, and Roberto Baggio brought Italy level again.

The third day was a day of celebration for France, a sad day for Saudi Arabia, and an ambivalent one for Bulgaria and Paraguay. France's coach, Aime Jacquet, has since promised France that this year's World Cup is as good as theirs.

Djorkaeff of France takes on South Africa's Augustine in a first victory for the host nation

The hosts' first match was against a strong South Africa, but with a bit of luck the Frenchmen were able to beat them by a decisive 3-0. However both teams deserved praise for putting on an excellent show in such dreadful conditions. The French team responded to the hopes of the Marseilles crowd and the French public, who celebrated this victory in the streets till dawn the following day. France thus went top of group C, ahead of South Africa, Denmark and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's 1-0 defeat at the hands of Denmark after a two month camp in France, however, was simply unacceptable. The Saudi performance was weak and amateurish. The Danes, supported by almost all the fans in the stadium, played well and attacked hard, but scored only one goal. Carlos Alberto Parreira, who took Brazil to victory in 1994 and is the current Saudi coach, played for a draw in front of a well aggressive team, and managed to lose both the draw and the victory. Prince Faisal Bin Fahd attended the game, but left directly after the match. He came in his 5 metre-long white cabriolet. Paraguay and Bulgaria drew 0-0 in a highly physical match. Four Bulgarian players took four yellow cards and their Anatoli Nankov had the distinction of the first red card of the tournament in the 89th minute.

The fourth day was the most surprising so far. Nigeria beat Spain 3-2 in best match yet. The Nigerians were fast, the crowd was small, and the victory was richly deserved. Even their opponents' fans who cheered them at the end. It was a great shock to the Spaniards. "The Nigerian team's victory was due to their greater realism. In the second half, we were too defensive before their continuous uncontrollable attacks," said Alberto Celades, a Spanish player. The Spaniards became violent towards the end, and three players took yellow cards.

Holland's talented Overmars outpasses Belgian defender Crasson in a disappointing draw at the Stade de France

The Holland-Belgium match was extremely disappointing, ending in a no-score draw. Mexico, for their part, beat South Korea 3-1, and so could relax after a tough match at the top of group E.

Cha Bum-Kun, the South Korean coach, said, "We scored first through Ha Seok-Ju, and then he was sent off and we had to play with only ten players against eleven. That's the main reason for our defeat."

Yugoslavia's match against Iran in group F was quite easy, as Iran squandered their chances. Yugoslavia won 1-0.

In group H, Argentina beat Japan 1-0 thanks to a goal by the excellent attacker Gabriel Batistuta. However, the Japanese goal keeper, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, drew all the attention for his many superb saves, without which his team's defeat might have turned into a rout.

Jamaica had a tough time with Croatia, who were really hungry for victory. Despite a superb goal from Robbie Earle, Croatia came back from 1-1 at half-time to win 3-1 and go top of group H.

The night before the match between England and Tunisia in Marseille, a number of drunken English fans fought with their opponents' supporters, and as a result spent the next day in cells -- without televisions!.

Monday saw the remaining teams playing their first game of the tournament. England beat Tunisia 2-0, Romania edged Colombia out 1-0 and Germany the US 2-0.

Alan Shearer scored late in the first half and Paul Scholes late in the second half to give England victory in a game which took place in bright sunshine even as fans from the two countries fought with police and each other outside the stadium.

Adrian Ilie's 15-meter chip shot in first-half injury time gave Romania three points in its group B opener.

A close range header by Andy Moeller after only nine minutes and a powerful shot from striker Juergen Klinsmann in the second half sealed the win for three-time champions Germany. The Americans, playing in their third consecutive World Cup, were exposed in the air by the well-organised Germans who were rarely threatened at the back in the opening 45 minutes and created three clear chances.

The 32 participating teams started playing their second games on Tuesday.