Group matches at France 98 played on Thursday, 11th June.
 Cameroon vs  Austria in Toulouse (1:1).
 Italy vs  Chile in Bordeaux (2:2).
Italy, playing in all white, gained an early advantage when the ball
was pushed through to Vieri on a fast counter attack in the tenth minute.
The Chileans seemed drained, and in a muddle as the confident Italians
continued to advance for a second.
The Nigerian referee, a George Foreman look-a-like, booked DiLivio,
Cannavaro and Parraguez in the first-half, but missed a couple of off the ball incidents.
So much for FIFA directives, but it makes for fast-flowing football
and the Italians, who soon gave up on the overacting, kicked a little themselves.
Against the run of play, Salas scored from a corner headed down by
Zamorrano just before the whistle.
Half-time: (1:1).
Chile started the second-half on a buoyant note, and within four
minutes Salas rose high to head in his second.
With the wind out of the Italian's sails, so to speak, Cesare Maldini
made two quick substitutions: Di Baggio on for DiMatteo, and Chiesa replacing DiLivio.
Chile replied with Miguel Ramirez taking the place of an injured
Javier Margas.
The Italian fans were silent, until an unlucky hand-ball at the edge
of the box, in the 83rd minute, gave Roberto Baggio the chance to make amends for the miss
in the final of USA 1994; this time he kept it low.
Final Score:
Italy 2
- Chile 2
Our Man of the Match:
Salas.
Not much to write about for the first half.
Both sides passed poorly and neither goalkeeper was truly tested,
although Angibeaud came close in the 28th minute; with a curling shot from the left, going
narrowly over.
Perhaps the earlier Italy-Chile match had made these two teams
complacent.
A free-kick by Wome, in the 36th minute, after a needless push from
Schottel, tested the Austrian goalkeeper's reflexes; otherwise a stalemate.
Cameroon probably put some of the better moves together and frustrated
the Austrians, but on the whole too many balls were wasted.
Half-time: (0:0).
The second half started fast, and Cameroon proved the most athletic.
They closed down Herzog and Polster continually and sprinted upfield
at every opportunity.
Wome woke up the Austrian keeper again in the 58th minute with a
powerful rising shot.
Song, who had been outstanding, pushed Pfeifenberger on the edge of
the box, but Polster's drive was met by the keeper and turned away by the laughing
villain; Song.
Cameroon's surging paid off in the 75th minute, when Njanka soared
past the sliding Feiersinger, turned Schottel in the box and slotted the ball between the
goalkeeper and the appearing head of Anton Pfeffer.
Full scale substitutions were made by the Austrians.
A corner in the dying minutes saw the ball knocked down to Polster.
The Cameroon defence had pushed out too fast, and left the Austrian with time and space in
the middle of the penalty box.
What a battle!
Final Score:
Cameroon 1 -
Austria 1
Our Man of the Match:
Song.
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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