Betting ShopOne an walked into a coral betting shop and placed 20,000 Pounds on The Netherlands to win it all. "He'll never need to go Dutch again if Bergkamp and Co. win the World Cup,'' Coral spokesman Simon Clare said. Brazil remain the favourites at both Ladbrokes and Coral's at 3-1.Latest on major teamsBrazil 3-1 3-1France 11-2 7-1Italy 6-1 7-1Germ 7-1 7-1Arg 7-1 8-1Eng 9-1 8-1Neth 10-1 8-1Spn 10-1 10-1long and very long shotsIran 500-1 400-1Money TalkMillion dollar incentive A player scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final will win a million dollars for a charity project in his own country. FIFA are backing an unofficial award project being run by fast-food giants McDonalds which rewards players scoring three goals or more in a match. Donations of bet ween 10,000 US dollars, in the first round, and one million dollars will be made to the SOS Children's Villages in the successful players' countries.FIFA have also addeda new award to the established Adidas Golden Shoe, Adidas Golden Ball, Fair Play Award, the Most Entertaining Team Award and Best Goalkeeper. During France '98 there will be a Fastest Goal Award to spark attacking play.Frenchman Just Fontaine still holds the record for the number of goals scored in the World Cup with his 13 strikes in Sweden 40 years ago. Potential Spatsl Jurgen Klinsmann sneered at Lothar Matthaus's hopes of a comeback into the team and they continually had public arguments. Now the 1990 World Cup winning captain Matthaus is back in the side.l Zico's appointment as advisor to Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo has had many people wondering where the real power lies within their squad.l Vasco striker Edmundo shattered the Brazilian goal scoring record with 29 goals in 1997 but was dropped by Zagallo after striking an opponent last June. Zagallo suggested Edmundo should seek psychiatric treatment. Now he's back.l Argentina coach Daniel Passarella has done his best to clampdown on ill-discipline in his squad by banning earrings, long hair and homosexuals.l England coach Glenn Hoddle is still livid at Teddy Sherigham after he was photographed drinking at a night club into the early hours of the morning on the run-up to this World Cup.Player WatchNwankano KanuNIGERIA: Nigerian Nwankwo Kanu's path from Olympic champion to major heart surgery then back to World Cup duty has been a rollercoaster ride of triumph and tragedy. His latest problem, a minor stomach ailment, is hardly a catastrophe compared with his terrible period when he thought he may never walk let alone play in a World Cup.Kanu's rise to international fame was helped by his role in Nigeria's under-17 World Championship win in Japan. Ajax scouts spotted him and his career had its first big break. He played a key role in Ajax's 1994/95 European Champions League winning side before the Olympic challenge beckoned. And Nigeria, with Kanu as captain, were clearly the best side of thetournament.In the semi-final, they managed to beat Brazil, which included Ronaldo, and then the other great South American nation Argentina, with Ariel Ortega, were the next victims.Naturally, he had really thrust himself into the spotlight and had created weighty bargaining power for himself. Ajax offered him a five-year contract but Inter Milan were able to propose an even better deal.However, a routine medical exam revealed he had a deformed aortic valve and he would need an operation simply to lead an average life, let alone that of a top athlete.In late 1996, Kanu was put under the knife in a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. "I always knew I would be back," he said. He had a four-and-a-half hour operation to correct the defect and his football career, and life, were being put on hold. Amazingly, Kanu had survived and is now back to reclaim his life in the football fast lane.Hristo Stoichkov, BulgariaHe's been the inspiration and genius of the best generation of footballers thecountry ever had, but also a rebel, belligerent and temperamental, and - as this is France - an enfant terrible of the game in every respect.Hristo Stoichkov has had every cliche in the book thrown at him. Wayward, moody, gifted, brilliant. Still, this Mr Nasty is the same gentle family man who sits with his wife and two daughters, conversing politelyStoichkov is a nice and friendly man, helpful and polite, but there are two sides to him which he knows himself. He sees how he behaves sometimes during a match and can't believe how he is.Yet the signs are now that we are about to see a more humble Hristo at the World Cup. Not only has he mellowed a little with age but the cards have been mixed in the Bulgarian pack. He may be a knave on the field but no longer the king.Others are calling the shots. Tough defender Trifon Ivanov wears the captain's arm band and is an influential figure, but more importantly coach Hristo Bonev has even greater charisma than the man who was European footballer of theyear and Bulgarian sportsman of the year in 1994.Eric Wynalda, USA.Eight years later, Eric Wynalda is still trying to shed the bad boy rap. One day after his 21st birthday, he was on top of soccer world, in the starting line-up as the United States played its first World Cup game in 40 years. Then, eight minutes into the second half, he became Eric the Red, ejected for pushing a Czech player right in front of the referee.Ever since then, it's been a scarlet card on his back, an image stuck to him like the defenders who follow his every move on the field. "When I first came on to the national team, it was difficult because I knew I was a volatile player. But I think I have changed a great deal," he said yesterday as he reached the somewhat wiser age of 29.Time has changed him. And perhaps success, too. It's his third World Cup. Now he's a leader and he knows it, the top scorer in United States history.He can relax a little, and perhaps please his coach by working hard on defence, too. "Eric has theability to be very deceptive on the dribble, to create that little space for him to pass or shoot. That first step, when he's in form, is very hard to defend," coach Steve Sampson said.
