European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 21, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 36 the stars and stripes tuesday. June 21,1994 world cup Norway fails to Wilt in win Over Mexico by Barry Wilner a sports writer first the olympics now this. 1994 already has been a memorable year for Norway which staged a near perfect olympics and won 26 medals More than anyone. From Johan Olav Koss to Bjorn Dahlie there were heroes galore. Add Kjetil Rickdal and Erik Thorstvedt to that list. In sweltering Frk stadium in Washington in the Quot a kind of heat norwegians almost never encounter they did t Wilt. Indeed they struck for the Only goal in the 85th minute of their world cup Victory Over Mexico. After Norway s Jan age fjortoft gained control of the Ball near the penalty area Rekdal took it off his foot charged past Mexico s Claudio Suarez and shot the Ball diagonally into the far Corner of the net. That sent a few thousand Norway fans into ecstasy a until Mexico came within inches of tying the first round game. A header by Luis Alves hit the right goalpost and the rebound was cleared by the defense. Norway goalie Thorstvedt made two Brilliant saves within two minutes earlier in the second half in his nations first world cup game in 56 years. A i m proud and Happy and very tired too said norwegian coach Egil Olsen a i know we could have lost two goals in the last minute i know we were  earlier sunday Belgium edged Morocco 1-0 at the Citrus bowl in Orlando Fla. In a later game at the Rose bowl in Pasadena Calif Sweden tied Cameroon 2-2. Mexico seemed right at Home in singing Frk stadium and the majority of the crowd of 52,395 was behind the mexican team. But it was Norway a supporters who were cheering and dancing in the aisles at games end thanks to Rickdal a second half substitute. A it was better to put someone in with fresh legs when the team was so tired who said. A some of the players  stand on their feet after the game. Now they Are walking a a stat the Citrus bowl Belgium a Marc Degryse put in a header in the 11th minute then the belgians held on against the moroccans and the elements a yes we were seriously preoccupied with the heat problem a Belgium coach Paul Van Hist said. A you ave to understand that in Belgium it Rains a lot and temperatures like we have Here today is not something that we re used to and the Morro cans were Able to Deal with it a lot better than we were a but the belgians were Able to win. A Sweden a Roger Ljung ads in a first half goal against Cameroon in a sunday game that wound up a 2-2 tie. A we lost but i feel that a tie would have been More fair a moroccan coach Abdellah Blinda said. A we have two More games to look Forward to. Life does no to Stop with  Martin Dahlin lifted Sweden into its tie with Cameroon in the 75th minute when he kicked in a rebound of a hard shot by Henrik Larsson that was deflected off the crossbar. Cameroon the 1990 tournament Darlings had taken a 2-1 Lead on Francois Oman by icky a goal Early in the second half to the pleasure of the majority of the Rose bowl crowd of 83,959. A the crowd was delightful a Oman Miyick said. A there Are not too Many people from Cameroon who came to the United states but the people Here appreciate Good  in other world cup news a Miguel Nadal of Spain and Marco Etcheverry of Bolivia will be sitting out the rest of the first round. Spain a Captain and Bolivia a dangerous scorer were suspended sunday for two games in a continuing crackdown on rough play. Fifa a disciplinary committee decided on two game minimum suspensions for any player ejected from a world cup game that a twice As Long As the traditional penalties for red cards on fouls that do not leave a player severely injured or show a Gross Lack of sportsmanship. A we want to crack Down on violent action a said Joseph Blatter general Secretary of fifa. #. The . Team returned to its sequestered hotel in Dana Point calif., late saturday night and the no starting players practice sunday. Midfielder Claudio Reyna who did not play saturday because of a strained hamstring practice sunday but he still has pain when he strikes the Ball and is listed As probable to play against Colombia on wednesday at the Rose bowl. Eric Wynalda who scored the . Goal saturday did not practice and is still recovering from an allergic reaction that caused him to break out in hives. Team officials say the condition is expected to Clear up in a few Days. -1 nearly 400 Irish fans were stranded without game tickets and in some cases without hotel rooms in a scam by a London travel Agency. Sported the Agency that sold the tour packages to the Irish ripped off about 300 fans who flew to Florida and 78 who were in Massachusetts. Paul Mills and Roy Price of sported disappeared shortly after checking the smaller group into a Saugus mass., hotel. Fifa s Morocco a Khalil Azmi saves against Belgium As teammate Sun ii Tiki ducks. By Larry s1ddons Dallas apr the first american edition of the worlds biggest sports event is off to a splendid Start a top fifa official of soccer s International governing body said sunday Joseph a Blatter general Secretary of fifa said . Fans in the nine world cup venue cities from Boston to los Angeles had taken to the Appeal of the tournament with enthusiasm and hospitality. A we Are very impressed with the Way America has greeted the fifa world cup a Blatter said. A we have our fingers  the cup is the most watched sports event in the world with a total audience of 34 billion people expected by the end of the 52-game tournament july 17. It was awarded by fifa to the United states in 1988, with the Hope that the spectacle of 24 National teams battling so passionately before stands full of hag waving face painted supporters would finally kindle some soccer mania in the one country where its considered second rate. In the weeks approaching the cup there were signs that the soccer fire had fizzled. Surveys found that less than a third of americans even knew the tournament was being staged in their country and even fewer expressed any interest in seeing a game. Although most games were sold out there were empty seats at the Cotton bowl in Dallas for Spain South Korea Friday night and in the upper reaches of the Silver dome in Pontiac mich., for saturdays first round match Between Switzerland and the . Hosts. But after two Days of play there also were signs that maybe soccer a message was getting through. Games for the most part were Well played highly competitive contests with three upsets a Norway s 1-0 win Over Mexico sunday Ireland a 1-0 Victory Over Italy and romanians 3-1 Triumph Over Colombia on saturday. There was a dramatic comeback in Dallas where South Korea scored twice in the late minutes for a 2-2 tie with Spain and the . Finally broke a 44-year world cup losing Streak with a 1-1 tie against the Swiss. Blatter said he has seen All or part of the first five games and was planning to watch a tape of Ireland Italy sunday of Lemoon. The .-Switzerland match was the hardest fought of the games he had seen All the Way through. Blatter said. A that match was the one with the most Man to Man action and it was also one of the most exciting games a he said. A in the end i think both teams were Happy with the  Happy with numbers of a different kind was the american Abc television network. The United states Switzerland game Drew an overnight National rating of 5.8, beating the . Open Golf championship. The game pulled an 18 percent share in 31 markets Abc added. A a we re thrilled with this rating and pleased we re off to this Start Abc sports spokesman Mark Mandel said. A ratings Point represents 942,000 Homes. The share is the percentage of televisions tuned to the program at the time. Abc said the third round of the . Open had a rating of 5.0. The top three markets for the . World cup game with ratings were Atlanta 7.7boston 7.4 and new York 7.1