China v Costa Rica
Tuesday 4th June 2002 7.30 BST, Gwangju
China 0 Costa Rica 2
Gomez 61, Wright 65
China's first World Cup Finals, of course. A couple of the players were very cute, like Mowgli - a couple others like Ghenghis Khan. There is a big disadvantage in being Asian; monotony. Monotony of hair. While us in the West have a multitide of hues and textures on the tops of our heads - they are all the same. One of the China players had attempted to fluff up and another to slick back - but there was no fooling the underlying sameness. First prizes would go to the pair who put in a few blonde stripes, which made them, at least, distinctive. On the other hand, China appears to have done Milutinovic's hair good. It looks so natural - grey and kinked. Ginseng?
My clock said 6.49, the thought "China v Costa Rica" drifted into my foggy head and before I knew it the clock said 7.37. Before I'd woken up properly, the game was just about over. Costa Rica's 2 goals occurred at a time when the Chinese were actually on top - alas, no coming back from that for them. Costa Rica (not exactly a "kissable" bunch) sit proudly at the top of the table, while FIFA consider suspension for Rivaldo, who actually admitted "faking it" in order to get a man sent off. I bet they don't do a thing, because it's "Brazil".
Teams
China: Jiang, Wu, Weifeng Li, Zhiyi (Yu 74), Jihai (Qu 26), Xu, Tie Li, Ma, Xiaopeng Li, Chen Yang (Su 66), Hao.
Booked: Tie Li, Xu, Xiaopeng Li.
Costa Rica: Lonnis, Marin, Wright, Martinez, Castro, Wallace (Bryce 70), Solis, Centeno, Fonseca (Medford 57), Wanchope (Lopez 80), Gomez.
Booked: Marin, Solis, Gomez, Centeno.
Att: 27,217
Ref: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)