FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°12

Yugoslavia, tipped as potential World Cup winners, opens its campaign against Iran here on Sunday in a clash that has much more than sporting significance for two countries regarded as pariahs by much of the world.

For the talented Yugoslavs the group F match represents a return to what they see as their rightful place at football’s top table after six years in the international wilderness because of sanctions imposed over President Slobodan Milosevic’s role in promoting war and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.

For Iran, playing in the finals for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, appearing in France represents another step out of the isolation that has helped sustain the rule of hard-line clerics. Having booked their tickets to France at the last-minute in an upset play-off win over Australia, the Iranians seem already resigned to the prospect of going home without a single point. ” Of course we want to win every game but what is more important is that we play to our full ability, “ said coach Jalal Talebi.

The Yugoslavs in contrast exude a confidence born of the knowledge that they can call on some of Europe’s most technically-gifted players. A campaign that finishes anywhere short of the quarter-finals will be regarded by them as a failure and the prospect of being surprised by Iran has simply not entered their consciousness. ” We are not underestimating Iran but we know we are definitely a better team than them, “ said Savo Milosevic, the former Aston Villa striker. It may sounds arrogant. But a quick glance at the Yugoslavs squad list reveals a solid basis for their self-confidence.

How many other teams can call on two players who have single-handedly won the European Cup for their clubs?. Predrag Mijatovic did it for Real Madrid this year with the stunning strike that killed off Juventus. In 1994 it was Dejan Savicevic’s virtuoso performance for AC Milan that tore Barcelona to shreds in the highest-quality club match of the modern era. For Savicevic, now 32 and with his peak years having passed in the period in which Yugoslavia was banned from international sport, this World Cup represents probably his last chance to shine on the international stage.

It is a motivating factor that he shares with many other members of a squad which has pledged to play every match like a World Cup final to help distract their countrymen from the miseries of life under Milosevic’s rule.

Coach Slobodan Santrac is not expected to risk Savicevic in the opening encounter. The Montenegran midfielder in still recovering from an injury to the ligaments in his left knee and is likely to be kept back for the more testing matches to come against Germany and the United States.

Iran’s biggest worry is over their experienced keeper Ahmad-Reza Abedzadeh, who has not fully recuperated after a recent knee operation. Abedzadeh’s two deputies are both extremely short on international competition and Talebi bluntly admits he does not relish the prospect of them being thrown in against the Yugoslavs. The Iranians, who go to prayers four times a day at their base south of this industrial city, have not completely given up the chance of a miracle.

” On a good day they can beat anyone in the world but they could also lose to anyone on one of their bad days. Hopefully for us, Saturday will be one of their bad days, “ said Santrac.