BERLIN -- Now that Ghana has a World Cup victory for Africa, Togo will try to
make it two.
A win against Switzerland on Monday in Dortmund also could put the Sparrow
Hawks in position to advance to the second round.
Togo comes off a 2-1 loss to South Korea in which it seemed to put aside some
of the chaos that has plagued it in this tournament. Otto Pfister did show up to
coach, and the players performed pretty well despite the ongoing feud with the
federation about salary and bonuses.
FIFA intervened to make sure the players did not boycott any more practices
or games, and the dispute was settled Sunday, according to midfielder Thomas
Dossevi.
"It's settled. It's finished," Dossevi said. "We are now going to concentrate
on soccer."
He said FIFA had underwritten guarantees by the Togolese federation that the
players would receive their bonuses.
So what about the soccer?
"I don't know how we are going to play and if we will play differently,"
striker Emmanuel Adebayor said. "All I know is that we will play to win."
Pfister, who walked out days before the South Korea match over the money
squabble, then returned to work the game, is a coaching veteran. He felt he had
no choice but to side with his players in their dispute.
"It's not the first time I have worked with an African team," he said. "I
have never entered into political or money problems or got involved with
disputes between the federation or players. But I have to react if the basis of
my contract is not respected and the players are not there."
Togo must penetrate a Swiss defense that allowed France plenty of chances in
a 0-0 draw. Switzerland benefited most from France's lack of marksmanship, but
didn't get any goals, either.
Coach Koebi Kuhn has some concerns about the heat, although temperatures have
cooled in most of Germany.
Team doctor Rudolf Roder said he is considering giving the players "cooling
vests" even before the game, not just during the halftime break, as he did in
the early evening match against France.
Kuhn said he wanted a faster game than against France.
"We always aim for that ... but the climate may not allow us to give you
fireworks for 90 minutes," he said.
In the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the Swiss have found an
opponent more lightly regarded than they are. It doesn't worry Kuhn.
"It's quite rare for us to be seen as the favorite, but the team can deal
with it," Kuhn said.
Monday's other games feature Saudi Arabia vs. Ukraine at Hamburg, and Spain
vs. Tunisia at Stuttgart. It is the last day of the first round with three
games; the final set of matches will be held at the same time in each group,
meaning four games per day for four days.
The Saudis blew a late lead and tied Tunisia 2-2 in their opener. Ukraine had
a much worse debut, routed 4-0 by Spain.
Saudi Arabia showed some offensive flair in its tie, and Ukraine's defense
had gaping holes the Spaniards ran through with ease. So the Saudis carry some
confidence they can find the net a few times again.
"Losing against Spain 4-0 does not mean Ukraine is an easy team," said
veteran Sami al-Jaber, who scored against Tunisia. "We respect the side and we
know the players will be motivated to win against us. We will not underestimate
them, but we need to win this match."
Not as much as Ukraine needs it. A loss for the World Cup newcomers almost
certainly will mean an early trip home.
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's star striker, was invisible against Spain. Then
again, so were his teammates.
While the Ukrainians made note that Spain is the group's top-rated team, they
must look at every opponent as a difficult one after such a poor debut.
"This is a team that hasn't really played in any serious competitions, but
they gave me a very good impression," Shevchenko said of the Saudis. "We need to
be very careful and make the most of this second chance."
If Spain wins, it makes the second round. The Spanish have nothing but good
vibes after David Villa scored twice and they romped past Ukraine.
"We're going to play exactly like we did in the last game," Spain coach Luis
Aragones said. "We have a style of playing and we're not going to change it for
anybody."
Why would they? The Spaniards had the best performance of anyone in the first
set of opening-round matches.
Tunisia was counting on getting three points against the Saudis and now is in
the difficult position of trying to rescue something from the Spain match.
"We know we have to be strong, physically and technically, and win a lot of
one-on-ones against this team," Tunisia midfielder Adel Chedli said. "If we let
them play, we're dead."