|
Giant-killers
Denmark prepares for quarterfinals matchup with Brazil
Posted: Thursday July 02, 1998 02:40 PM
| |
Soren Colding and the rest of team Denmark are trying to sneak up on the rest of the field (AP) |
NANTES, France (AP) --
The World Cup giant-killers are staring straight at the biggest giant of
them all: defending champion Brazil.
Denmark is
unfazed by the challenge and a happy underdog in its first Cup quarterfinal
ever. After all, the Danes have nothing to lose.
"Nobody expects Denmark to do anything," forward Brian Laudrup said. "We
like to be in that role. If we were to lose, people would say we have done
magnificently. If we win, it would be an even bigger sensation."
And a shocking defeat for Brazil, which has already won the Cup a record
four times.
The Brazilians will try to avoid being overconfident when they play
Denmark on Friday night in Nantes, on the northwest coast.
"Brazil can't beat itself," said team coordinator Zico, who was one of
Brazil's greatest players. "We can't relax, think we've won before we take
the field."
The Danes defeated favored Nigeria 4-1 to
get this far, and one more upset would put them in the semifinals Tuesday
against the winner of the Argentina-Netherlands
game.
Suddenly everyone is remembering how Denmark sneaked up on the field in
the 1992 European Championship. Called in as a last-minute replacement for
Yugoslavia,
the Danes knocked off the elite of European soccer to win the title.
"We might be able to do it again. You never know," Laudrup said. "We
showed the whole football world that we can play attractive football as
well."
Laudrup and older brother Michael are the keys to the quick-striking
Danish attack and will get special attention from Brazil.
"They are players of a high technical level that we'll have to be careful
with," Brazil's coach Mario Zagallo said.
While concerned his team might assume it will win, Zagallo was confident
enough to announce his lineup days before the game for the first time.
Brazil will field the same team that started against Chile and won 4-1
to get to the quarterfinals.
Another concern for Brazil was Ronaldo. He complained of knee pains and
skipped practice Tuesday, although he trained Wednesday and was listed as a
starter.
There were conflicting reports on the cause of the pain and whether it
hindered his mobility and explosive standing start. In practice, he
grimaced and put his hand to his knee during wind sprints.
"He's been playing with the pain for a long time, but that doesn't affect
his production," Zagallo said. "As long as he's on the field and running
with no problem, I see no reason for worry."
Bebeto also remains in the starting lineup, despite growing pressure to
replace him with Denilson. Booed in recent games, the 1994 Cup veteran
shrugged off the criticism.
"The people who boo me are not Brazilians," he said. "I think it makes me
stronger. I have faced sacrifices my whole life and always overcome them."
The Brazilians might have a weakness on the right side, where Leonardo
and Cafu have yellow cards. A second yellow would keep them out of the
semifinal and maybe even the final, assuming Brazil gets that far.
And all Brazilians assume it, even if they don't say so.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
