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Ravanelli Hit By Son's Illness
Haaland: �Watch Out For Norway'
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Saturday 06 June 1998 (Evening Edition)
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 News 6 
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WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN
Only Three Days To Kick-Off!
BRAZIL STRIKER GOES NUTS OVER RIVAL
CONTROVERSIAL Brazilian striker Edmundo has again disrupted the champions' World Cup preparations, this time in a row over who should start the tournament opener against Scotland on Wednesday. The new row flared up only six days after the Fiorentina player dubbed �The Animal' punched teammate Leonardo in the face during a dressing room argument after the warm-up match against Athletic Bilbao.
After that punch-up, Edmundo had promised coach Mario Zagallo that he would keep his nose clean, but his resentment at being third-choice striker behind Ronaldo and Bebeto boiled over again yesterday during a radio interview. He told a Rio de Janiero station: I am in better form than Bebeto and I should be playing. I think I can do more to help us keep the World Cup than he can.
Zagallo, who has already announced his team for the Scotland match, tried to laugh off the new storm, insisting: I'm not upset and I don't intend to take any action. He thinks he's in good shape and he has the right to his opinion. Edmundo says he's the better player but that's just his personality coming through." But the coach also warned the volatile forward to stay out of any more trouble, insisting: The moment there is a serious problem, you can be sure we will be down to 21 players.
Rival Bebeto also tried to play down the incident, claiming: I don't worry about these things. I'm in good shape, I've passed all the tests and the coach confides in me because he's put me in the team. If I weren't in good shape, I wouldn't be here. I'm a world champion and I have been playing for the national team at one level or another since I was 17.
The row is just the latest in a string of controversies surrounding Edmundo. He has already served a six-month suspension from the national squad for elbowing an opponent and would not be in Zagallo's 22 at all had he not apologised to Fiorentina, who he walked out on last season because he was dropped from the first team.
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HAALAND BACKS NORWAY
TO RAISE INTEREST RATE
LEEDS midfielder Alfie Haaland is backing Norway to be the tournament's surprise team despite being axed by coach Egil Olsen last week. The former Nottingham Forest player has shelved his disappointment and says that Scotland's Group A opponents won't bore the world again as they did in USA 94.
Haaland admitted: We didn't come out of the last World Cup with too much credit. I think we've now learned from that experience and I think we are a good outside bet for the World Cup. We've got several quality strikers playing for us now in Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Manchester United and Egil Ostenstad with Southampton."
They are all names who will be familiar to Scotland coach Craig Brown, as the match with the Norwegians in Bordeaux on June 16 is seen as the decisive one in a group which also contains world champions Brazil and underdogs Morocco. "The crunch game will be the one with Scotland," confirmed Haaland. "If we beat them and the Moroccans we will have qualified by the time we play Brazil, but I even think we can get something out of that. We've got a chance against anyone because we are very hard to break down and difficult to play against. Some teams better watch out.
RAVANELLI HIT BY
SON'S ILLNESS
ITALY'S former Middlesbrough striker Fabrizio Ravanelli has arrived in Paris for the finals fearing for the health of his son Luca. The three-year-old was rushed to hospital with a mystery virus while the Marseille star was in Sweden for a friendly.
The �White Feather' was criticised for his performance against the Swedes but insisted: ''Finding out that your son is ill gives you back your sense of perspective on things. He's been suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and a high fever.
Meanwhile, Ravanelli's fellow Italy foward Roberto Baggio will link up with Brazilian ace Ronaldo in Serie A next season after moving from Bologna to Inter Milan.
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SPANIARD TO REF
CUP OPENER
SPANIARD Jose Manuel Garcia Aranda will be the referee when Scotland kick off the World Cup against Brazil on Wednesday. The 42-year-old, taking part in his first World Cup, will be assisted by fellow Spaniard Fernando Tresaco Gracia and Colombia's Jorge Luis Arango Cardona.
Japan's Masayoshi Okada will officiate at England's opener, against Tunisia, a week tomorrow. The rest of the first-round list ironically announced the day after 1966 final ref Gottfried Dienst died sees Scotland's Hugh Dallas taking charge of the Belgium v Mexico match on June 20, while England's Paul Durkin first sees action when Italy face Austria three days later.
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