Total recall / Day 12

Yugoslavia: Stankovic 13th; Stojkovic 54th;

Germany: Tarnat 73rd; Bierhoff 80th.

Bookings: Germany: Matthaus, 77

Substitutes: Germany: Matthaus for Hamann, 45; Kirsten for Moeller, 58; Tarnat for Ziege, 67

Yugoslavia: Ognjenovic for Kovacevic, 58; Govedarica for Stankovic, 68; Stevic for Petrovic, 74

90 minutes in 30 words: Yugoslavia at times were awesome, with such luminaries as Vladimir Jugovic, Predrag Mijatovic and Darco Kovacevic emptying out their bags of tricks. But despite being two goals down and playing poorly, Germany still came back to snatch a point.

Boy done good: Michael Tarnat. Admittedly he made only two contributions and one of them was only notable because it received a huge deflection. But it was Tarnat8217;s free-kick that ended up in the net for Germany8217;s first goal, and his cross that Bierhoff headed in for the second. Not bad for a substitute who only played half-an-hour.

Two left feet: Christian Ziege. The man who made wayfor Tarnat, Ziege has already had a season to forget since his move from Bayern Munich to AC Milan. It got no better today, as he defended poorly and failed to provide anything near the sort of crosses that Bierhoff and Klinsmann were crying out for.

Magic moment: Ivica Kraij, the Yugoslavian keeper, produced a fantastic save on the hour, pushing over a Jens Jeremies shot that was dipping just under the bar.

Mr Sitter: The chances were few and far between, but on a couple of occasions Mijatovic chose to indulge in one more twist and turn when a shot on goal might have been wiser.

Turning point: The two substitutions which saw Matthaus and Tarnat enter the match made the Germans a much stiffer proposition in the middle of the park.Ref-er-ee! Mr Nielsen of Denmark was nigh-on anonymous.

Terrace talk: Germany: quot;It is all going to plan. But on second thoughts8230;quot;

Group F: Iran 2 USA 1

Yugoslavia: quot;Disappointing, but we8217;ve still got the second round to look forward to.quot;

Goals: Iran: Estili 40,Mahdavikia 84; USA: McBride 87

Bookings: Iran: Minavand, 8; Zarincheh, 78 USA: Regis, 18

Substitutes: Iran: Mansourian for Azizi, 74; Peyravani for Mohammadkhani, 76; Saadavi for Zarincheh, 78

USA: Stewart for Ramos, 58; Preki for Wegerle, 58; Maisonneuve for Dooley, 8290 minutes in 30 words: Billed as the Mother of all Grudge Battles this match between The Great Satan8217; and The Sponsors Of International Terrorism8217; instead turned out to be a fine game between two nascent footballing nations. The USA made the early running with Frankie Hejduk looking dangerous down the right, but Khodadad Azizi and Mehdi Mahdavikia began to expose the Americans and Iran took control with a fine display of counter-attacking football despite an America surge at the death.

Boy done good: Mahdavikia, who was a powerhouse for Iran and capped his performance by scoring an outstanding individual goal. After picking up the ball on the halfway line he ran up the pitch to calmly beat Kasey Keller with a right-foot shot to thefar post.

Two left feet: The man with two left feet is king in the land of the legless. Too much honour at stake for someone to pay badly, although Hejduk deserves a mention for directing his point-blank flying volley straight at Ahmadreza Abedzadeh in the 79th minute.

Magic moment: More a special sickly sweet moment 8211; the sight of the Iranian players presenting flowers to the USA team before kick off.

Mr Sitter: No real howlers, but had Hejduk made more of his volley the USA would have been level.

Shiver the timbers: Indeed. But for the woodwork could have had three more goals. Brian McBride8217;s powerful header in the third minute brushed the top of the crossbar, Claudio Reyna saw his crisp 33rd-minute shot beat Abedzadehand then bounce back of the right hand post, and a spectacular, acute volley by David Regis in the 73trd minute nearly took out the nearpost.

Turning point: The first goal. Iran were galvanised into action and took every opportunity they could to attack on the break after the USAwere forced to push up for an equaliser.

Ref-er-ee!: Mr Meier made a decent fist of it but appeared to blunder when Azizi was blatantly obstructed and brought down inside the penalty box by a beaten Keller in the 21st minute.

Terrace talk: Iran: quot;Can we have our women back?.quot;

Group H: Argentina 5 Jamaica 0

USA: quot;Thank God no one knows about soccer at home.quot;

Goals: Argentiana: Ortega 32, 55; Batistuta 73, 79, 83Bookings: Argentina: Chamot, 66 Jamaica: Powell, 4 Cargill, 88;

Red cards Jamaica: Powell, 45

Substitutes: Argentina: Vivas for Sensini, 25; Gallardo for Lopez, 75;

Pineda for Simeone, 80; Jamaica: Cargill for Burton, 45; Boyd for Malcolm, 62; Earle for Whitmore, 73

90 minutes in 30 words: Argentina did their goal difference the power of good thanks to inspired displays by Ariel Ortega and Gabriel Batistuta, who ruthlessly ripped ten-man Jamaica to pieces while the rest of their team-mates took a relaxing stroll around the pitch.

Boy done good: Ortega chipped the ball past WarrenBarrett in each half, once with his right, once with his left. Both times the finish was exquisite. And to top it all he entertained everyone with a brief homage to Maradona.

Two left feet: Darryl Powell thought it would be a nice idea to use his two left feet to flip Argentinians up into the air every now and then. Nice, but not allowed. Off you trot.

Magic moment: Ortega lived up to his status as the new Maradona when he embarked on a first-half run which evoked memories of Diego8217;s goals against England and Belgium in Mexico 8217;868230;

Mr Sitter: 8230;but after all his glorious hard work he ballooned it over the bar. It would surely have been the goal of the tournament.

Shiver the timbers: The only shiver in the stadium went down the spines of everyone in the Jamaican end when Powell walked, as they wondered what was going to happen to their depleted team in the second half.

Turning point: Powell8217;s folly meant that any attempt at respectability was beyond the Reggae Boyz.

Ref-er-ee!: Mr Pedersencouldn8217;t avoid sending Powell off, and didn8217;t get in the way of the game as a spectacle. Sepp Blatter will be beside himself.

Terrace talk: Argentina: quot;We8217;ve got the new Maradona! We8217;ve got a striker who can8217;t stop scoring!

Jamaica: quot;We8217;re passionate! We8217;re colourful! We8217;re being patronised! We8217;re going home!quot;