SOCCER ROUNDUP / WORLD CUP QUALIFYING : Norway, Sweden In; Israel Stuns France
- Share via
Norway and Sweden became the 12th and 13th teams to qualify for the 1994 World Cup on Wednesday.
Norway will be making only its second appearance in the World Cup after a 3-0 victory at Poland, and Scandinavian neighbor Sweden defeated Finland, 3-2, to advance to the World Cup for the second consecutive time.
Several other teams were looking to win a place in the 24-nation showcase, but Switzerland, France and Ireland were victimized in upsets that will extend the drama until the final day of qualifying Nov. 17. The top two teams from each of Europe’s six groups advance.
Norway 3, Poland 0--In a Group 2 match at Poznan, Poland, Norway scored three second-half goals to earn its first World Cup berth since 1938. Jostein Flo broke the scoreless tie in the 65th minute and Jan Aage Fjortoft followed two minutes later. Ronny Johnsen scored off a corner kick in the final minute. Undefeated Norway has 16 points, three ahead of the Netherlands and five ahead of England with one game remaining for each.
Sweden 3, Finland 2--At Stockholm, the Swedes rallied behind Martin Dahlin’s two goals for a 3-1 lead at the half. Henrik Larsson also scored for Sweden. Kim Suomonen and Jari Litmanen had the goals for Finland. Sweden has 14 points in Group 6. France (13) and Bulgaria (12) will play for the other berth.
Israel 3, France 2--At Paris, in the night’s biggest upset, Israel made a startling comeback from a 2-1 deficit with less than 10 minutes left in regulation. Then substitute Eyal Berkovich scored in the 83rd minute and Reuven Atar hit the winner two minutes into injury time. France, knocked from first in the group, needs at least a draw at home against Bulgaria next month to advance.
Portugal 1, Switzerland 0--In a Group 1 match at Oporto, Portugal, Joao Vieira Pinto scored in the eighth minute and the Portuguese then sat on the lead to dethrone Switzerland from first place. The Swiss needed a victory to clinch a finals berth, but can still advance with a victory over hapless Estonia.
World Cup Qualifiers
Nations that have qualified for the 24-nation soccer championship in 1994, with date qualified:
Nation & Date
U.S.*: July 4, 1988
Germany**: July 8,1990
Mexico: May 9,1993
Greece: May 23, 1993
Russia: June 3, 1993
Colombia: Sept. 5, 1993
Bolivia: Sept. 19, 1993
Brazil: Sept. 19, 1993
Nigeria: Oct. 8, 1993
Cameroon: Oct. 10, 1993
Morocco: Oct. 10, 1993
Norway: Oct. 13, 1993
Sweden: Oct. 13, 1993
* host nation
** defending champion
