Player Watch

quot;It8217;s a very beautiful duel,quot; the striker said of his neck-and-neck race with Italy8217;s Vieri to be crowned the tournament8217;s top scorer.

quot;But we8217;re not the only ones and it depends on how many matches we end up playing,quot; he said.

Vieri, who leads the race with Batistuta after both scored five goals in their first four matches, turns out for Italy in their quarter-final against hosts France at the Stade de Franc in Paris today.

Davor Suker: Croatia

Davor Suker is going a long way to making up for a wretched season on the sidelines at Real Madrid as he looks forward to a World Cupquarter-final meeting with Germany in Lyon. Suker kept his nerve admirably as he had to retake a first half injury time penalty when Argentine referee Javier Castrilli saw one of Suker8217;s teammates in the area while he was shooting the first one. But the 30-year-old striker, dubbed quot;Sukermanquot; again shot low past Romanian keeper Bogdan Stelea with his left foot to put Croatia into the last eight of their first ever World Cup finals. Suker, who epitomises what Jamaican coach Rene Simoes described as quot;The Brazilians of Europe,quot; also scored in the 1-0 win over Japan and 3-1 victory over Jamaica.

Jurgen Kohler: Germany

Veteran German defender Jurgen Kohler was back in training and hopes to take his place in the team in Saturday8217;s quarter-final against Croatia in Lyon. The 32-year-old Kohler, who has won 105 caps, had been doubtful with a calf strain and pulled out of the second round win over Mexico just before kickoff.

The European champions leave for Lyonhoping for a repeat of their Euro 8217;96 quarter-final win over the Croatians. Emerging midfield star Jens Jeremis could be a second change from the side which beat Mexico as he may replace centre half Thomas Helmer. An alternative to Jeremis would be veteran Olaf Thon,who has lost his place to Lothar Matthaus.

Lothar Matthaeus: Germany

Lothar Matthaeus, who steals the limelight and lengthens the World Cup record books every time he steps on the field, was never meant to be here. He owes his place in Germany8217;s squad to the absence of Euro 8217;96 hero Matthias Sammer.

The 37-year-old Matthaeus has played 24 World Cup finals games spanning five tournaments, three more than any other player in history. With his last game against Mexico he clocked up 1,958 minutes of World Cup action.

Statisticians are wracking their brains to think of other juicy benchmarks the rugged defender has set. But the fact remains that but for the chronic injuries to the knees ofEuro 8217;96 hero Matthias Sammer, the international career of Matthaus, who held aloft the 1990 World Cup as skipper, would have been a trip down German fans memory lane. Matthaeus finally had his record-breaking 22nd appearance when adding steel against Yugoslavia for Dietmar Hamann in the second half and his rugged ball-winning helped complete a fightback.