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Group G - Romania-Colombia, Cobra's strike clips Colombia |  |
Romania, spurred by a fine individual goal from Adrian Ilie, sent a warning on Monday to Group G rival England that it will be just as strong a force in France as it was in USA '94.
Just as in the finals four years ago, Romania opened its World Cup campaign with a victory over the Colombians.
And while this time it was by a single goal, the Romanians showed they will be a hard team to beat and could easily equal their 1994 performance, when they reached the last eight.
Ilie looked sharp from the opening whistle but it took him until seconds before halftime to open the scoring.
Sprinting down the left, he beat one defender on his way into the Colombian penalty area before flicking the ball over goalkeeper Farid Mondragon into the net.
It was the highlight of a first-half performance that will give England coach Glenn Hoddle plenty to think about before the two sides meet in Toulouse on June 21. England beat Tunisia 2-0 earlier on Monday.
Romania was seeded above England in group G and Gheorghe Hagi believes they justified that decision by FIFA on Monday.
"We showed again today that it is not for nothing we are a seeded team," he said.
Romania attacked with purpose and its slick passing, especially in midfield, was too much for a nervous Colombian side which only mounted a viable threat in the latter stages.
Romania coach Anghel Iordenscu, criticized at home after some poor performances in build-up games, was delighted with his side's showing.
"The team were great, especially in the first half. The second period was a bit more difficult, we lost our rhythm and got tired, but we had many opportunities to score," he said.
Colombian coach Hernan Gomez was disappointed his team had been so timid in the first half but said Romania had not deserved to win. "It was 50-50 but we did not have any luck at the beginning," he said.
Iordenescu was especially pleased with the partnership in attack of Ilie and Viorel Moldovan. The pair's movement off the ball was particularly impressive.
They gave early warning of a good understanding when in the 11th minute Ilie whipped a ball across the face of the goal and Moldovan was inches away from making contact with a diving header.
Four minutes later the pair forced Mondragon into an outstanding double-save, maybe the save of the tournament so far. First the Colombian keeper parried a fierce drive from Ilie diving one-handed to his right and then saved well from Moldovan following in on the rebound.
It was difficult to see how the Colombians could get back into the game after a first half in which their only effort on goal was a long-range shot from Victor Aristizabal which hardly troubled Romania's goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea.
Faustino Asprilla was a lone figure in attack throughout the first period, receiving little support from a deep-lying midfield.
Freddy Rincon was ineffective in a withdrawn role and Carlos Valderrama rarely moved outside the centre circle and seemed to be stuck in second gear.
To energize the team, Gomez threw on striker Adolfo Valencia at the break and pushed Rincon into a more advanced role.
Colombia enjoyed spells of sustained pressure but was still frustrated by a tight Romanian defense and had to resort to long-range efforts.
The best of those came on the hour when Rincon's blistering 25-meter shot flew just past the post with Stelea beaten.
Late in the game Valencia came close but his powerful drive from outside the area was pushed away by a diving Stelea.
