1994 World Cup best match: Scoring feast in Dallas

The best in the tournament, perhaps, was the quarterfinal match between Brazil and the Netherlands. In the group stage, both teams were the first in their quartets, but they did not impress. The Brazilians were criticized for their uncharacteristic pragmatic approach to the game. Especially the “Seleçao” got for a nondescript match against the USA (1: 0), in which the hosts of the tournament could well expect to win. The Dutch, in turn, came to the tournament too tired and in the first matches appeared as a raw and disassembled team.

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The fact that Dick Adkovat's team reached the quarterfinals is, first of all, the result of a successful draw. At the group stage, the “orange” outright lost to Belgium (0: 1), and to defeat Morocco and Saudi Arabia, it turned out to be enough just the high individual skill of the team leaders. In the 1/8 finals with an opponent, they were also relatively lucky, although in the match with Ireland (2: 0) the Dutch looked much more convincing than in previous games.

Secondly, the Netherlands owe their appearance in the top eight teams of the World Cup to the excellent performance of Mark Overmars, who was eventually recognized as the best young footballer of the tournament, and Dennis Bergkamp. It was in the United States that the forward developed aerophobia. Dennis Bergkamp against Belgium .

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The Dutchman had a fear of flying back in 1989 after the tragedy in Paramaribo, when more than 150 people died in a plane crash. One of the victims was a close friend of Bergkamp. The pills helped the football player cope with the psychological disorder. The situation worsened after the flight to the match of the second round of the group stage against Belgium. During the flight, one of the Dutch journalists told the flight attendant that he had a bomb with him. The silly joke caused a real panic on board. The plane made an emergency landing, the would-be joker was arrested and then deported (and was also deprived of his job at home), and Dennis experienced deep stress.

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Despite the problems, in the United States, Bergkamp showed the game of the highest class and literally pulled the team along with him. The striker scored against Morocco and Ireland and then played a wonderful match against Brazil. In Dallas, all major events happened in the second half. The scoring extravaganza began with a long pass from Aldair across half the field. Bebeto took the ball, burst into the penalty area and shot at Romario, who shot the goal from a few meters. Ten minutes later, Bebeto himself distinguished himself. Forward "Deportivo" gracefully left Kuman's tackle and implemented a tete-a-tete exit with the goalkeeper, after which he began to "rock the child" (his wife gave the striker a son that day).

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It should be noted that the Dutch, who were in no way inferior to their opponents before the break, were completely unstuck by that time. If not for Ed de Guy, the score would have been devastating even before Bebeto's goal. As in previous matches, Bergkamp took the lead in the difficult moment of the “orange”. After a throw-in from an out-of-bounds Dennis burst into the penalty area and skillfully put the ball into the far corner. A few minutes later, the “Non-Volatile Dutchman” made another swift pass into the penalty area of ​​the Brazilians.

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The Seleçao defender managed to block the attacker's blow at the last moment, but this only delayed the goal for a short time. From the earned corner, Overmars hung into the penalty area, and Aaron Winter, taking advantage of Taffarel's uncertain play at the exit, equalized the score.

The fate of the meeting was decided by Branko's strongest free-kick kick. Defender "Fluminense" with a biting blow from thirty meters sent the ball into the far corner, which was defended by de Guy (there is reason to talk about the goalkeeper's mistake).