The Archive

Mark McQuinn recalls a thriller on 7th June 1995

The previous meeting between these two teams had resulted in Bulgaria’s glorious 2-1 triumph in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup. Both were unbeaten in the qualifying group, although Bulgaria’s form was the more impressive – 5 straight victories, while the Germans had drawn with Wales and scraped past Albania, 2-1 home and away. The general consensus amongst the pundits was that it would be a tight match, in which Germany would play for a draw and probably get it.

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England's next opponents, South Africa, have problems that go further than the football pitch, says  John Perlman

By the time Benedict McCarthy set off for the African under-20 championships in Morocco last month, he had just seven South African Premier league games under his belt. By the end of the tournament in which his five goals had taken South Africa to the final – they lost 1-0 to the hosts – the young striker from Cape Town’s “coloured” townships was having to get his brain round a bewildering array of choices: Ajax? Feyenoord? Milan?

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Dear WSC
Surely the insouciant arrogance with which David Elleray slithers to cover up his mistakes cannot be unconnected with his day job? Who remembers a school teacher who ever admitted to getting something wrong?  Of course, as a servant of the privileged classes, Elleray performs his role with a polished charm, his eyes glinting like a demented pterodactyl. But beyond this saurian resemblance, I can’t be the only person to notice that the penalty he gave against Sean Dyche, for obstruction outside the area, was a carbon copy of the dreadful decision he gave against Frank Sinclair when he came shoulder to shoulder outside the box with the dying swan of the Ukrainian ballet, Andrei Kanchelskis, in the 1994 Cup Final.  It’s time this man was confined to the playing fields of Harrow.
Martin Humphrey, London SW4

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Tuesday 1 Bournemouth seem set to survive after being taken over by a community-run trust fund which will use money raised from a public appeal to acquire a controlling interest in the club. The rescue package has to be ratified by the League and the Inland Revenue, who have postponed a winding up order on the club. Nathan Blake says he withdrew from Wales' squad for their World Cup match at the weekend after being racially abused by manager Bobby Gould. "I have a total lack of respect for him," says Blake. "Perhaps we are of a different era. You learn, one becomes a little wiser," says Gould, unwisely.

Thursday 3 Scotland fans will be booking seats on Eurostar for Summer 1998 after two Kevin Gallagher goals secure a comfy win over Austria. Not so good for the Irelands, though, with the North losing 2-1 away to Ukraine and the Republic going down 3-2 in Macedonia, where nice, mild-mannered Jason McAteer is sent off after a last-minute dust-up. In England's group Poland and Italy share a goalless draw in Chorzow.

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For good and bad reasons, football is becoming a bigger part of the political world

A week that began with the death of Lord Justice Taylor, ended with the demise of the Conservatives, whose assault on football was stopped in its tracks by the Taylor Report.

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