Iran's World Cup coach knows a thing or two about US soccer. His home is in California, he coached two US college teams there, and his path has crossed with the present and previous coaches of the American team.

Jalal Talebi will put his knowledge of US soccer to use in the big game between the United States and Iran in Lyon on Sunday. With 20 years of bad blood between the two countries, that match will be the most politically charged of the World Cup. "I will definitely bring what I have learned in the United States to the match,'' Talebi said, adding, "I do have a few things up my sleeve, but I'm not going to tell."

Adding steel to defence

South Korean hard man Choi Young-Il, sent off against fierce rivals Japan during qualifying, will add steel to the defence against dangerous Dutch duo Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp on Saturday.

Time to go for Gomez Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez announced here on Thursday he would step down after the World Cupin the face of persistent rumours that a foreign coach was being lined up to replace him.

"I am on my way out, my period in charge is coming to a close. I have fulfilled my promise to bring Colombia to the World Cup," Gomez said.

Batigol wants protection

Argentina superstar Gabriel` Batigol' Batistuta wants Norwegian referee Rune Pedersen to stand no nonsense from Jamaica's tough-tackling Reggae Boyz when the two sides meet here on Sunday. The 29-year-old, who scored his side's only goal in their 1-0 win over Japan, has watched Jamaica and confessed that he was expecting a hard physical confrontation with Jamaica's European-based players. "I am expecting a much more violent match than we had against Japan," said Batistuta. "If the referee interprets the rules, there won't be a problem," added the Fiorentina striker.

No pulling punches here

We have to beat Argentina to stay alive," Jamaica's Rene Simoes admitted as he contemplated Sunday's Group H showdown which will determine if theReggae Boyz have any hope of reaching the second phase. Following their opening 3-1 defeat by Croatia, Simoes was not pulling any punches about the importance of the occasion. Normally he would deploy a 3-5-2 formation, but "if they push too much then of course we will play five at the back." As a Brazilian, Simoes has all the more motivation to beat the two-times world champions, but he recognises the scale of the task ahead.

Shaky defence for Samba boys

His team were 3-0 up with three minutes to go, the ball was no where near the Brazilian goal and the game was going cold. Yet suddenly defender Junior Baiano threw his considerable weight at a Moroccan player's knee and needlessly received a yellow card. And therein lies a problem for the Brazilians. If there is an area where Brazil can be beaten in this world cup, it probably lies in the centre of the defence.

Junior Baiano had given a serene and stylish performance until that point as Brazil beat the North Africans last evening to qualify forthe second round with a game to spare.

Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.