Quarter-Finals matches at France 98 played on Saturday, 4th July.
 Germany vs  Croatia in Lyon (0:3).
 Holland vs  Argentina in Marseilles (2:1).
What is it about Argentina that they have to cheat their way through
major games?
They were at again, but this time justice was done. Maybe next time
they'll show the world that they can play football without the antics.
Kluivert was back, after suspension, for the quarter-final against an
Argentina with a rehabilitated Sensini.
Both teams started positively with Wim Jonk hitting the post in the
5th minute.
A ridiculous yellow card for Stam in the 10th minute. Ortega was
grabbing the Dutchman's nuts before Stam pushed his arm away and the 'fake' hit the floor
for the second time.
Holland's first goal was out of the textbook: Ronald De Boer came
through three defenders to cross for Bergkamp, who headed back to Kluivert; to slip the
ball under Roa and make up for his suspension.
Veron came close to equalising in the 17th minute and then on his next
move, sent Lopez through the offside trap to poke the ball under Van der Sar's leg. The
Argentinean fans could sing at last.
Davids was given far too much room to run through half the field
before firing wide.
On the half-hour, Kluivert played a delicate one-touch to Davids;
saved by Roa's right foot.
Ortega was diving a little too much and even fell over over when no
one was near him. A habit is hard to break, or maybe the wind was too much for the paper
bag.
The Argentina defence looked like England's; an organised chaos, with
six or seven players closing in around the semi-circle to fend off Holland's advancing
touch football.
An Argentina corner in the 37th minute was played back to Veron, who
passed to Ortega in the middle; cracked against the post from well outside the area.
Half-time: (1-1).
Just when Argentina seemed to have lost organisation, Veron took the
ball out of their half and released Batistuta. Always dangerous when he looks out of the
game, Batigol thumped his shot against the post in the 63rd minute.
Kluivert's header was pushed over the bar in the same minute, at the
other end.
When Overmars came on, Daniel Passarella replied by bringing Pineda
on; to mark him.
Then Holland lost Numan in the 76th minute. Simeone might have been
fouled, but his rolling made matters look worse; this man has a habit of getting players
sent off and probably practises his art while others work at the free-kicks he wins for
them.
It is not enough that Argentina couldn't score against ten Englishman
for 75 minutes, they needed to get rid one of the Dutch too.
In the 87th minute, Ortega made one dive too many. He failed in his
attempt to con the referee for a penalty and then head-butted Van Der Sar. This time
Ortega got the red; rightly too.
Two minutes later justice was finally done and Argentina were out of
the tournament.
A long ball came into the Argentinean area, Bergkamp controlled the
ball around Ayala to score for genuine football fans around the world. Thanks!
Final Score:
Holland 2 -
Argentina 1
Suker's overacting, in the 40th minute, cost Germany the game. W�rns
was sent off and Jarni scored for Croatia just before half-time.
The Germans couldn't come back on level terms and Croatia made the
score a little too flattering in the last ten minutes as Vlaovic and Suker ended the World
Cup aspirations of the European Champions.
Final Score:
Germany 0 -
Croatia 3
Group A
 Brazil,  Morocco,  Norway,  Scotland.
Group B
 Austria,  Cameroon,  Chile,  Italy.
Group C
 Denmark,  France,  Saudi Arabia,  South Africa.
Group D
 Bulgaria,  Nigeria,  Paraguay,  Spain.
Group E
 Belgium, Holland,  Mexico,  South Korea.
Group F
Germany,  Iran,  United States,  Yugoslavia.
Group G
 Colombia,  England,  Romania,  Tunisia.
Group H
Argentina, Croatia,  Jamaica,  Japan.
1998 World Cup Finals -
Knockout Stage.
Group Tables - Leading
Goalscorers.
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