Giles goes for France
Johnny Giles: "I fancy France, Bill, but only if they drop Frank Le Boff." Bill O'Herlihy: "Leboeuf, Johnny, Leboeuf." Johnny: "That's what I said, Le Boff. And they have to play Des-I-E in midfield, he's wasted at the back."
Bill: "Desailly, Johnny, Desailly."
Johnny: "That's what I said, Des-I-E. And I don't rate yer man Jerk Off either." Bill: "We have to take a break here. (Djorkaeff, Johnny, DJORKAEFF)."
BBC pundits summarise Scotland v Brazil
Alan Hansen: "I cannae believe how Scotland defended in that match, Des. Shocking. Shocking!" Des Lynam: "But they beat Brazil 5-1, Alan. This is the most glorious day in Scottish footballing history." Alan: "Does nae matter, Des. Did you see the space they gave Ronaldo for his goal? Shocking. Shocking!"
Des: "But that was only a meaningless, last-minute consolation goal, Alan." Alan: "Does nae matter, Des, does nae matter. Kevin Gallacher should never play for Scotland again - he didnae track back once in the whole 90 minutes." Des: "But surely scoring a hat-trick against the World champions was enough?" Alan: "Does nae matter, Des, does nae matter, Des - he was a disgrace." Des: "Daveeed? What did you make of it?"
David Ginola: "L'Oreal shampoo for men makes my hair shinee, Des. Very shinee." Des: "Merci for that, David."
Ron and Brian on Morocco v Norway
Brian Moore: "And what a superb goal that was by the Chelsea striker." Ron Atkinson: "He certainly goes with it, doesn't he Brian." Brian: "Pardon?" Ron: "Tore Andre (right), goes with the Flo - geddit? Goes with the flow? His name is Flo. Geddit?" Chuckle, chuckle.
Brian: "Sigh." Ron Atkinson: "At the end of the day, Brian, you have to say that Morocco, like all the Asian teams, are a little naive at the back." Brian Moore: "In point of fact they're African, Ron, and take those bloody sunglasses off, it's 9.0 at night." Ron: "Right."
Men in the middle
Brazil v Scotland - Jose Manuel Garcia-Aranda (Spain)
The Madrid PE teacher has been a referee since 1974. Born in 1956, he is married with two children and counts reading among his hobbies. The Scots and Brazilians will be hoping that he won't be reading too many names from his little black book this afternoon.
Norway v Morocco - Pirom Un-Prasert (Thailand)
A civil servant, he has earned his place at the World Cup. His tiring qualifying campaign consisted of eight preliminary matches plus the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia. He has been a referee for more than 35 years.
Two yellow cards bring a one-match suspension, as does one red.
A yellow in one match followed by a red in the next would mean missing the following match and still being one yellow card away from a second suspension.
Patriotic ditty: No 1
O Flower of Scotland When will we see your like again? That fought and died for Your wee bit and glen And stood against him Proud Edward's army And sent him homeward Tae think again
- Scotland's anthem, sure to have Brazil quaking in their boots this afternoon.
Net breaking
The revamped Sports Extra section of The Irish Times on the Web provides a comprehensive sports round-up including updates of major sporting events as they happen. A France 98 site has the history of the World Cup and full squad details. Mark Lawrenson has analysed the chances of each team and from today the site will be continuously updated with all the goalmouth action. An Official Tour de France Mirror Site gives details of the Irish stages in this year's Tour, complete with real video and full itineraries. When the Tour commences with the prologue in Dublin on July 11th, the site will have in-depth hourly coverage of every stage plus commentary by Stephen Roche. Sports Extra also has comprehensive GAA coverage with the added dimension of a panoramic 360 degree IPIX image of Croke Park. News and results from all the major sporting events will be continuously updated in Sports Extra. All these features can be accessed at: http://www.irishtimes.com/, the internet address of The Irish Times on the Web.
