Soccer: Germans fight to regain respect

SEOGWIPO - If Germany beat Paraguay in their second-round game tonight it will confirm their emergence from the worst crisis in their glorious football history.

Playing in the second round was once business as usual for Germany, but a series of dreadful results, culminating in a 5-1 thrashing by England in a World Cup qualifier in Munich last September, rocked the team's confidence.

"We want to win back the credit that we have lost," said former Germany striker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, making it clear that a lot more than a quarter-final place will be at stake against the South Americans.

Fellow traditional favourites Argentina and France have already gone home, but Germany, written off by many after struggling to qualify, are still very much alive and kicking.

After disappearing from the last two cups in the quarter-finals and making an embarrassing first-round exit from Euro 2000, Germany entered this year's tournament with lower expectations than usual.

Coach Rudi Voeller named the opening knockout stage as their minimum aim.

But they are more ambitious after surviving the first round undefeated and netting plenty of goals, including five from top scorer Miroslav Klose.

The squabbling that marred their runs in other major tournaments has been absent and although they might not have a true leader, as German all-time great Franz Beckenbauer put it, they also have no troublemakers for a change.

"Team spirit is essential and is one of the reasons I believe we can go far in the tournament," said German captain Oliver Kahn.

Germany paid a high price for the final group win over Cameroon as Carsten Ramelow, Dietmar Hamann and Christian Ziege are all suspended for tonight.

Nobody was underestimating Paraguay, who battled through the first round not unlike the Germans: both teams conceded a late equaliser in their penultimate group match before fighting with 10 men for victory in the deciders.

Paraguay's Italian coach, Cesare Maldini, who came under fire after replacing the popular Sergio Markarian, showed he still knew a few tricks by bringing on Nelson Cuevas as a substitute in Wednesday's must-win game against Slovenia.

Making his World Cup debut, Cuevas scored twice for a 3-1 victory that set up tonight's showdown.

"We showed great character and determination," said Maldini, who must be hoping that Cuevas will have recovered from the injury he picked up in the dying moments of the Slovenia game.

Doing well at a World Cup is nothing new for Paraguay, who reached the second round in 1986 before losing 3-0 to England.

At the last World Cup, in 1998, Paraguay were knocked out in the second round by a golden goal from France, who went on to win the tournament.

- REUTERS

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