Round of 16 Reviewed

Triumph of the Will?

Just as I'm lifting the phone to augment the Bray Wanderers squad with a few surprise stars, here comes Arsène Wenger with a word of advice. He never buys players who burst from obscurity at the World Cup, he says. For one thing, they're certain to be overpriced. For another, they may be amazing for a month but do they have what it takes to last a season in the Premiership?

He's right, of course. Premiership appearance lists are littered with exotic names that feature a few times before disappearing. It's a matter of temperament, culture shock, climate and character as well as talent. Yet a surprising number, considering the immaturity of these young men, go on to fame and fortune on foreign soil. Each one is a calculated gamble on the part of their employers, usually carefully researched by scouting staffs. They may or may not be one-time World Cup wonders.

International squads are selected on the basis of the players' place of birth or ancestry. But it can be revealing, when assessing the global strength of the game, to consider instead the countries in which these players ply their trade week in week out.

We think of the Cameroon squad, for instance, as an ensemble of giants from the West Coast of Africa. In fact none of them play in their native land. Eight work in France, four in Spain, four in England, two in Turkey and one each in Greece, Italy, Germany and the UAE.

There are many more French based players in the successful Senegal squad than the eliminated former World Champions can boast. And when Ireland play England you are almost certainly watching one team of Premiership players play another, give or take the odd Nationwide employee in the Irish ranks.

Of course, there's more to playing for your country (or even your granny's country) than that, but this kind of filter indicates the real centres of excellence or, perhaps more relevantly, where the money is to be made. Where a blip occurs is where the real surprises in the current World Cup are to be found. Few pundits, for example, would have predicted that sixteen players from the South Korean League and eleven playing in domestic soccer in the United States would still be involved at this stage in the competition.

South Korea's thrilling victory over Italy's aristocrats was well deserved. There were some comparisons here with Ireland's game with Spain in terms of the missed penalties and last gasp equalisers from the underdogs during the initial ninety minutes. The main difference was that while Ireland deserved to beat Spain and lost, South Korea were in Italy's pocket for most of their game and won. The Italians had only themselves to blame for choosing to close the game down after going ahead early on. They underestimated the ability of their hosts and reckoned without their extraordinary level of fitness. They paid the price.

All but one of Italy's squad were drawn from the nation's much-vaunted domestic League; the Spaniards have a similar number of home-based players in their party. Only Ireland and Saudi Arabia drew their players from one source: the Saudis all from their own domestic game, the Irish all from English soccer.

In this respect the Republic's selection policy has something in common with that of Sénégal. Perversely, more footballers from France remain in the competition now that Sénégal have survived and the champions are eliminated. France only had four domestic players in its party; twenty two of Sénégal's heroes play for French teams. No one can deny that the European based African Cup finalists are in the quarter finals on merit after their win against Sweden.

The United States, too, ended worthy winners against Mexico. The Americans simply had the will to succeed and where opponents do not show equal determination such spirit will overcome superior ability. This clash between will and ability will determine who contests the semi-finals of this enthralling competition. Keep your money in your pocket for nothing is certain.

The other surviving nations enjoy, like Spain, a much superior world rating to the upstarts with whom they are keeping company. Brazil, traditionally, and on the evidence at these finals, are the masters. Their 5-2 rout of Costa Rica was like playground soccer in heaven must be - all technique, no tactics. But for their Beauty and the Beast encounter with Belgium they proved not to be defensive virgins ripe for violation by the streetwise. Yet they were in disarray during qualification and the nagging fear remains that it is not just in the colour of their shirts that they are pale imitations of their illustrious old-gold ancestors.

Although Turkey's success has surprised some, it would be a mistake to locate them with the other outsiders. The Turks' domestic game has matured significantly as the recent record of their club sides in Europe indicates. Their forthcoming encounter with Sénégal is a fascinating prospect. Surely, at some stage, the Africans will dumb down to the level of their pedigree. On occasions you can see why Monaco have restricted keeper Sylva to 6 first team games in five seasons, but so far disaster has not struck.

The quality of the German squad is well below their traditional standards but they have been boosted by the late discovery of a genuine goalscorer, Klose, and are quietly going about their business. Their old rivals England would not expect another 5-1 victory now, despite their own consolidation. They seem to be coming good at the right time thanks to good coaching and management - not the same function, by the way. Yet they have only really impressed against Argentina. Denmark self-destructed, and England were pedestrian against Nigeria and Sweden. Much depends upon which Brazil turns up to face them.

The Irish are already home to a hero's welcome, well deserved. Their exploits typify what is wonderful about the game in general and this World Cup in particular - its refusal to be predictable.

Jack Charlton put Ireland on the international map. His tactics may, in hindsight, have been prehistoric but they utilised the qualities his Irish players had to optimum effect. The Republic may have been the Wimbledon of world football but it demanded, for the first time, to be taken seriously.

Mick McCarthy's management skills may be more Millwall than Manchester United in style but he showed courage and imagination in rebuilding the Irish squad on more sophisticated lines. It took time, and the patience and confidence to accept the inevitable initial failure to qualify, but now the Republic rubs shoulders with international heavyweights on merit. With this World Cup Duff has graduated, as promised, to the world class category. Robbie Keane is a striker of international renown and Steve Finnan emerged as star quality.

In these championships I feared the limitations at the centre of defence, particularly the lack of pace, would be exploited. When Eamon Dunphy opined that Gary Breen was simply "not good enough at this level" I thought he was cruel but accurate. And veteran Steve Staunton's career seemed to have wound down. Three years ago Staunton was surplus to requirements at Liverpool, making only 12 appearances, and the following season he was let go on loan to Crystal Palace. A second spell with Aston Villa seemed merely a way of postponing the inevitable. No longer a fixture in the Irish international team, it looked like the end of a long and valuable career. Then came opportunity through injury.

What Eamon Dunphy and I forgot in our assessment is how players of sufficient quality can raise their game if they have sufficient motivation. Staunton was never a "flair" player but he had played successfully at the highest level for a very long time. Breen's pedigree is less certain but he proved to have the necessary ability to straddle the gap, score an important goal and enjoy a most successful World Cup overall. The occasion was sufficient for both these players.

So my fears of Germany exposing a static Irish defence were unfounded although there were some occasional close calls with the linesman's flag. When Cunningham replaced Staunton early in the second half against Spain I gave a moment's thought to the pairing of one Nationwide central defender back from long term injury partnering another, currently out of contract, against Raul and Morientes of Real Madrid.

My fears were unfounded. Symbolic of this World Cup, ranking and reputation went for nothing. Mr Breen is a national hero and there is a queue of managers looking for his services next season. Is M. Wenger among them? Perhaps not.

Brian de Salvo