It was a tad hotter than a Prague spring, but the sixteen teams that had battled through qualification to the eighth Logica World Cup Finals managed to put on a fine exhibition of the great game in temperatures that staggered well into the thirties. Indeed, selecting the hottest weekend of the year is a de rigeur part of hosting a World Cup, and the Czech Organising Committee had excelled themselves in this as well as every other department of putting on Logica's biggest global get-together.

Such is the size and international breadth of the tournament (some three to four hundred participants and spectators from eight different countries), that the Prague mandarins felt obliged to outsource the organisation of this year's World Cup to a specialist firm of Event Management Consultants. There was a Logica World Cup 'Desk' awaiting teams on arrival at Prague Airport, along with a 'luxury' coach ready to whisk the travel-weary athletes off to the state-of-the-art World Cup village Opatov (this particular art-form being decidedly minimalist). And a fleet of friendly World Cup reps were on hand to issue World Cup Id Cards, World Cup Wallcharts and World Cup Head Scarves. Indeed each team was assigned their very own rep, who was on hand to answer a wide variety of queries mainly focusing on where the best 'refuelling venues' were to be found in Prague city centre.

Most impressive of all was the hiring of the Blšany Stadium to host the two-day football extravaganza. Blšany is a small town some 100kms outside of Prague, which consequently demanded a 6.30am alarm call for the finely-tuned sportsmen, many of whom had only returned to their beds from the cultural delights of Prague a few hours earlier. The sacrifice was worth it, since the stadium was the home of the local third division side. Those of us who had dreamed since childhood of playing at the Czech equivalent of Brunton Park were in heaven.

In the expectant build-up to this year's tournament, every nation's Supremo had claimed the much fabled 'Group of Death' for their own. The truth is perhaps that such is the improvement in the standard of football displayed by all teams, that there are no longer any easy games at this level. Furthermore, the carefully nurtured seeding system has evolved so successfully that there was little to choose between any of the groups on paper. Grass is often a more revealing surface, and it turned out that the four semi-finalists came from just two groups.

Proceedings got under way with an Opening Ceremony that FIFA would have been proud of. Each team was led into the stadium by a young mascot staggering under the weight of a placard that bore the name of the competing country, to be met by an enthusiastic round of applause from the packed stands. The players then stood wilting in lines as the MC for the weekend delivered a meandering introductory speech that rivalled Reevaldo for maziness. He was, he proudly announced, the local Eurosport commentator, and suddenly Archie Macpherson took on the aura of a poet laureate. The Czech Managing Director proved adept in the HR department by keeping his welcome brief, and those footballers who had not yet evaporated were able to get down to the serious stuff.

Italians Looking Good As Usual
Group A boasted the winner of the last three Logica World Cups in the shape of Italy, along with the England Lags (third place two years ago) and Dublin (quarter-finalists last year). The quartet was completed by the unknown quantity that was Blythe Valley Spartans, who had shown some promise in their only other World Cup appearance in Manchester under the slightly less imaginative moniker of 'SAP Practice'. In fact, the Italians and the old men of England comfortable qualified from this potentially tricky group, each beating the other two sides by sizable margins. Italy topped the group by virtue of an equally convincing 2-0 win over the Lags in an ill-tempered match in the midday heat, whilst the other two sides shared a 1-1 draw to finish with a point apiece.

Dutch Are Early Settlers
On Saturday night, the Dutch were the team being widely tipped to go all the way after settling into some impressive form early doors, and blazing a trail through Group B. They handed out thrashings to each of their opponents, and seemed to have solved their long-standing goalscoring problems with a final goal difference of 17 for and just one goal against. It was certainly not that they had a lucky draw. Scotland were widely tipped by many (including this pundit) to do well this year after merging the individual Edinburgh and Aberdeen sides of previous tournaments, and "comedy" Argentina strip notwithstanding, they duly disposed of both South Germany and Leatherhead in decisive fashion. The Surrey outfit proved the biggest surprise in this group. A squad packed with quality and quantity was tipped to improve on last year's quarter-final place, but after losing 4-2 to the German debutante's, they pointlessly finished bottom.

Nipping In Front
Last year's beaten finalists France must have been happy with their Group C draw prior to the tournament, but were given quite a scare by the England Nippers, who earned the South Korean tag as the surprise package of this year's World Cup. Having comfortably disposed of the North Germans from Hamburg, the French were beaten 1-0 by a resolute and battling Nippers side who showed no little skill when it counted.

The Nippers had started tentatively in their opening game against the second string host outfit, but finished strongly to earn a draw against the Czech B side. The English then showed that these results were no flukes by beating the debutante Germans in their last match to top the group. This left 'les bleus' in the unusual position of having to win their third match to qualify, but they showed their quality and came through with a 2-0 victory over the Czechs, although second place in the group left them with a tricky quarter final against the Italians.

New Style as Czechs In Hat
The most memorable feature of the Czech Republic's previous two finals appearances (which had not seen them escape the group phase) was one of finest collections of mullets ever assembled in the history of the international game for their debut in Manchester. This year they were the hosts, and wanted to make their mark in an equally traditional footballing style. Consequently they had been planning for this tournament ever since the previous one had ended, and had been holding trials and training sessions the length and breadth of the country to decide which players would make the cut, and trim their squad into a finely-tuned and cohesive unit.

The hard work seemed to have paid rich dividends when they thrashed the Dutch B side by a record Logica World Cup margin of 9-1 in their opening Group D game. The England Pups, however, are experienced campaigners and put up a stirring rearguard action that so nearly took a point off the hosts. But the quality and pace of the Czech attack finally earned the breakthrough with just minutes left. And a cantering 6-0 victory over Manchester left the hosts with nine points and sixteen goals from their three group matches, as well as the other qualifiers fearing being pulled out of the hat to face the Czechs in the quarter-finals. The England Pups seemed to have recovered from their traditional Achilles heel of not scoring enough goals, when they beat a touted Mancunian side by 3-0 in their morning kick-off. But after that brave showing against the Group winners, the Pups only just scraped qualification when a late penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over the Dutch.

Republic and Lags are Quarter Masters
The Scots were the unlucky team drawn to face the hosts in the Quarter-Finals. The Czech's all-round quality saw them through by a comfortable 4-0 margin, and another set of Argentinean shirts had made a relatively early exit. A bigger victory still came in the all-England quarter-final, where a large Lag squad proved to have too much for the depleted Nipper ranks. After a tense opening, two stunning strikes before the break saw the England Lags into a commanding position. With the youngsters' resolve broken, the old blurks went on to record a 5-0 win. This was a harsh end for the England Nippers, but they could hold their heads high after their performances the previous day.

The other two matches were much closer affairs. In a rerun of last year's Final, Italy sneaked through with a 1-0 win over France, despite les bleus dominating the game. It was the French inability to find the net that did for them, since they created far more chances then the reigning World Champions. The best quarter-final was that between those traditionally friendly old rivals from Holland and the England Pups. The Dutch carried their form of the previous day into Sunday, but the Pup defence withstood the early onslaught and began to play a bit themselves. After coming close a number of times, the English took the lead courtesy of a penalty just before half time, and added a second from a corner just after the restart. The Dutch tried everything they could to claw a goal back, but the Pups ran their hearts out and defended like men possessed to earn themselves a place in the semi-final after a great game of football.

English Semi Detached
The two English teams were kept apart in the semis, and the long held dream of a Pups-Lags World Cup Final was just forty minutes from becoming reality. The hosts and the holders had other ideas however. The England Lags started confidently and hit the post early doors, but once the Czech Republic had weathered this storm, they took command of the game with two goals before the interval, both created by their young, pacey wingers. The old men of England could not respond in 36 degrees of heat, and although the English scored a late consolation, the hosts added two more before that to earn a place in their first World Cup Final.

The English youngsters put up more of a fight against the World Champions, carrying on where they left off against the Dutch with a performance that combined gritty defending and a genuine counter threat. After a goalless first half, a fine individual goal gave Italy the lead, which they extended with a bizarre breakaway goal. The England Pups did not give up, and pulled a goal back with a delightful lob. But as they threw everything into all-out attack in search of an equaliser, the Italians exploited some defensive holes to score a decisive third goal, and they were in their fifth consecutive Final. The Pups at least achieved the not inconsiderable consolation of defeating the Lags 2-0 to claim third place.

Final Fare is Sweet and Sour
The stands of the Blšany Stadium were predictably packed with excited fans a good hour before the 2002 Logica World Cup Final, and they cheered politely through an exhibition match (most notable for a cameo role by the Czech Managing Director's eight year old son, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the England Lag's right back) as they anticipated the meeting of undeniably the two best teams in the tournament. The majority of fans were cheering for the home side, but the Italians had their own sizable contingent of supporters, and the atmosphere hotted up as kick-off time neared.

The Czech Republic dominated the early stages as Italy played their by now familiar game of soaking up the pressure and trying to hit their opponents on the break. But the speed of the Czech wingers caused them genuine problems, and mild concern turned into panic as one dazzling Czech run ended in a desperate lunge from an Italian defender. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and there was a huge roar as the penalty was converted to give the home side the lead. The Czech's skill enabled them to maintain the upper hand, and a second goal arrived before the interval when a corner was met with a thumping header into the roof of the net.

Unfortunately the second half degenerated into a bad tempered affair, as the Italians reacted badly to Czech superiority. The usual theatricals were put into production, but there was also a nasty edge to some of the 'tackles' and off-the-ball exchanges. Things reached a head as the Czechs were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area for the latest in a series of cynical fouls. Before the kick could be taken, a melee erupted in the box, and an Italian defender threw himself to the ground in a flourish that would have embarrassed Rivaldo. His colleagues surrounded the referee miming the red card act, and inevitably the Czech players aired their anger. The referee was left in an unenviable position, and perhaps opted for the diplomatic solution of sending off a player from each side. His whistle was blowing again minutes later, but this time it signalled a 2-0 victory for the Czechs and the end of a three-year Italian reign as World Cup holders which began in Milan back in 1999.

It is undeniable that the competitive nature of the tournament has increased along with the quantity and quality of the participants, but the events of the second half left a sour taste in the mouth of this particular reporter, who has been privileged to cover every tournament since that fantastic inaugural Final in Delft back in 1995. The Italians may not have had much practice at losing in Logica World Cups down the years, but every other team seems to manage to contain a serious desire to win within the intended spirit of the competition, and this is not the first time that the Italian attitude has caused some disquiet. At least they didn't claim a global conspiracy was afoot to stop them winning the tournament, but it did take the gloss off a fine performance and deserved victory for the Czech team.