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VIERI SHOULDERS ITALIAN HOPES
Italy v France
ITALIAN captain Paolo Maldini has told quarter-final opponents France: We'd rather have Christian Vieri than home advantage. The two footballing super powers clash in St Denis on Friday and, as hosts, the French will be slight favourites to reach the last four. But the AC Milan defender reckons the big striker can swing things in his country's favour.
Vieri, who plays his club football in Spain for Atletico Madrid, is currently leading the France 98 goal charts with five, and he is the man the Italians hope will catapault them to a semi-final berth. ''Being the home side, and being favourites, there is also the fear that you're not going to make it... and you could see that coming out in the match against Paraguay, said Maldini. And there's no doubt about it, it's better to have Vieri than the home crowds.
The two sides will be familiar to one another with several of the French team playing in Italy, Zidane and Deschamps at Juventus, Thuram at Parma and Marcel Desailly, who joins Chelsea after the finals but has spent the last few years at Milan alongside Maldini, who added: Their players have learned a lot from playing in Italy but it also means that there are no secrets, there will be no advantages for either side.
''It's going to be a difficult game...and obviously most of the crowd will be supporting France.I thought they looked very good in the opening matches, although they seemed a bit slow against Paraguay. They are a solid side, and they have the results to prove it. I think their strong point is the defence, and they have a midfield which also gives them plenty of cover too.
''Playing at home is an advantage, and the crowd can help you when things are not going well. At club level, we're all used to playing in grounds where the crowd are behind the home side, and sometimes that can even make you more motivated. From a technical point of view, it will be like a final.''
Paolo's father, Italy coach Cesare Maldini, did not mince his words over the grim fate awaiting his men at the Stade de France. ''We're playing against one of the favourites for the competition and we're going into the wolves' lair,'' he said.
Maldini tipped France as a tournament favourite and envied coach Aime Jacquet for having the likes of creative midfielders Zinedine Zidane and Youri Djorkaeff.
France, who will have Zidane back from a two-match suspension, may have struggled to beat Paraguay with Laurent Blanc's ''Golden Goal'' but it gave Maldini senior no grounds for optimism.
''We saw their game against Paraguay, but then every team with the exception of Denmark have struggled to get through,'' he said. ''Germany had a very hard time beating Mexico, which only goes to show that all the teams here are very well prepared. Zidane is a very important player for them and his absence didn't help things. But Zidane is only one champion amongst others in their team.''
Maldini also stressed the attacking strength of Jacquet's side.
''They have Henry, Djorkaeff, Trezeguet, Guivarc'h, Zidane etc. Every coach has to manage with the men he has available. You can't have everything in life," he said. ''We have to focus on our formation, and only afterwards try to understand what the other team might be doing.
''France are not new to us. So many of their players are at Italian clubs and we've seen so many of their games that I hope we know everything there is to know about them.''
That familiarity will not breed any contempt in the Italian coach, who has long been an admirer of Inter Milan ace Djorkaeff, and who does not think the French will be worn out by their marathon win over the South Americans.
''We've got very good players, but we don't have a player like Djorkaeff,'' he admitted. ''Someone who moves a great deal between attack and defence, someone who can take people on and beat them, and then come back to cover.
''France used up a lot of energy to beat Paraguay, but the motivation and the strength soon comes back. I've heard what Zidane and Deschamps have been saying and they sounded optimistic.''
Despite the brickbats which Maldini has endured over the past week, the Italy coach is convinced there will be plenty of entertaining football ahead.
''The best matches are still to come in this tournament,'' he said. ''But we have to give everything we have. Looking back over our campaign, I think we've played very well so far. We were criticised a bit more than we should have been against Norway, but I still think it was a good game and that we did what he had to do,'' he added.
CAN DANES DO IT AGAIN?
Brazil v Denmark
DENMARK are ready to shock the world by dumping Brazil out of France 98. The Danes are geared up to repeat their surprise 1992 European Championship triumph and they can't wait for their meeting with the champions, and favourites, in Nantes on Friday night.
Six years ago in Sweden, Peer Schmeichel and Co entered the finals through the back door after Yugoslavia were banned, and their subsequent triumph captured the hearts of football fans everywhere. Now, they are hoping the spirit of '92 will carry them past Brazil and into the last four.
After a patchy start at France 98, they found their form in blistering fashion as they brushed aside Nigeria 4-1 in the second round and confidence in the squad is sky high.
''No-one is expecting us to beat Brazil,'' said Brian Laudrup. ''But no-one expected us to win in 1992. Everyone said then that it would be impossible for us to beat the Dutch and the Germans. But we did exactly that. So why not Brazil? Why can't we surprise the whole world again? It's exactly the same scenario and we are just as confident now as we were then.
Then the holidaying Danes were recalled from beaches all over the world as they were called into the finals to replace war-torn Yugoslavia. Defying all the odds, they beat defending champions Holland on penalties in the semi-final before clinching a dramatic 2-0 win over then world champions Germany in the final.
And now they are planning a further upset. The victory over Nigera has sparked an explosion of interest in the Brazil game and the Danish football federation were bombarded by over 20,000 telephone calls as fans rushed to secure one of the precious 1,300 tickets they have been allocated.
''It's a fantastic achievement for a country like Denmark with a population of just five million,'' said 29-year-old Laudrup. ''We didn't play that well in our group matches, but we were brilliant against Nigeria. We knew we would get it right. And on the night it all just clicked.''
And central defender Marc Rieper, who will be up against the best attacking line-up in world football, is relishing the prospect of taking on the likes of Ronaldo, Denilson and Bebeto. ''I am not in the least bit frightened,'' said the Celtic star. ''Far from it - for me, this is the most exciting moment in my career.
''It is a matter of getting the balance right between attack and defence - or Brazil can seriously hurt you. But Norway showed in their 2-1 win that if you attack the Brazilians as they did towards the end, then you can hurt them too.''
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ENTER THE SUPER EIGHT
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The early sparring is over. No more playing for draws. Now it's the real cut-and-thrust - the quarter finals! Gavin Willacy looks back at the magic of some memorable last eight encounters...
CAMEROON gifting victory to England, Schillaci ending Irish dreams, Maradona's handball, Baggio dribbling away on his own to save Italy, Branco hitting that screamer past Ed de Goey to shock Holland. World Cup quarter finals: don't ya just love 'em?
It's the time when legends are made, names stamped on the minds of fans in every corner of the world, reputations torn up or carved in stone. The group stage of the World Cup is an hors d'oeuvre. The best teams get through, but often without too much style. The entertainers have just as much chance of going home after three games as they have of winning the group. It's a mixed bag a couple of crackers, some dirge and most teams trying to shuffle the pack while getting enough points in the game of qualification to progress.
The second round is a halfway house: teams have to try to win the game but those already on a roll can gather a full head of steam by trampling over a lucky qualifier who's not really up to it: England v Paraguay in '86, Czech Republic hammering Costa Rica in 1990, Brazil v Chile last week.
But the quarter finals are magnif. None of the frightened stiff nonsense of most semis, when not getting to the World Cup Final is just too dreadful an event to contemplate. Teams go for it in the last eight, and they are usually about the best eight outfits in the world; hence the European dominance with a dose of top class South Americans in recent years.
Remember the classic quarter finals of 1978? No? Of 1982? No? That's because there weren't any. Dreadful second stage groups determined who went on and they had none of the do-or-die action of the last eight knock-out.
But in '86, it was Maradona, the Steve Hodge slice, Diego's fist, Shilton's sack of spuds and Johnny Barnes doing more in the last 16 minutes than he did in all his other pathetic 78 appearances for England put together.
The day before, France and Brazil played out what was one of the greatest World Cup games ever. Only two goals, but when Platini and Careca get them, you know you're watching summat special. Muller hit the woodwork twice, Bats made some great saves but France held their own. And thanks to Julio Cesar hitting the post with his penalty, Platini's shoot-out miss didn't matter. He got one more performance on the grandest stage. Zico also missed from the spot, in normal time, just after coming on as sub what a way to say goodbye!
Four years later, Argentina and Yugoslavia kicked each other for two hours before a penalty shoot-out that script-writers for the latest Neil Morrissey nonsense would not dare try to get away with. Yugoslavia 2-0 down, back to 2-2, one kick in hand and Maradona missing, I was dancing with the Italians outside the ground in Florence, thrilled at The Cheat's demise and Yugoslavia's certain win. Then they missed two themselves and they'd blown it.
In Rome, Italy staggered to beat Ireland, while the cracker was in Naples. England, 2-1 down to Cameroon and a huge shock seven minutes from fruition. Then two hapless challenges on Lineker, two penalties and England had escaped.
Four years ago. Bulgaria v Germany. Letchkov diving full length to head the winner past Bodo Illgner, only three minutes after Stoichkov had equalised. Magic, sheer magic. Sweden and Romania's marathon thirteen goal epic, the Baggios dragging Italy past stupid Spain. Oh, and just to complete the set, a fantastic feast for the purists Brazil 3 Holland 2. Bebeto, Bergkamp, Branco, brilliant.
So don't moan about the next two days. Have a rest from it all. You'll need it. France 98 is about to begin.
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