Peter Shilton

If West Germany's Lothar Matthaeus wants to finish as the World Cup's top goal-scorer, he will have to produce a hat trick today against Argentina in the championship match. Matthaeus comes into the 11 a.m. PDT match at Rome's Olympic Stadium with four goals, two fewer than Italy's Salvatore Schillaci. The odds are against Matthaeus succeeding. Only one other player in history--England's Geoff Hurst in 1966--has scored three goals in a World Cup final.

If West Germany's Lothar Matthaeus wants to finish as the World Cup's top goal-scorer, he will have to produce a hat trick today against Argentina in the championship match. Matthaeus comes into the 11 a.m. PDT match at Rome's Olympic Stadium with four goals, two fewer than Italy's Salvatore Schillaci. The odds are against Matthaeus succeeding. Only one other player in history--England's Geoff Hurst in 1966--has scored three goals in a World Cup final.

The thing to know about goalkeepers is to expect the unexpected. Perhaps that's because their job requires them to view the world in the same way: To watch out for the unpredictable move, the impossible shot, the unforeseen defensive error. Theirs is a position where long periods of inactivity are broken by moments of near panic. Danger lurks in every cross that floats in from the wings, in every free kick from the edge of the penalty area and in every careless clearance.

The thing to know about goalkeepers is to expect the unexpected. Perhaps that's because their job requires them to view the world in the same way: To watch out for the unpredictable move, the impossible shot, the unforeseen defensive error. Theirs is a position where long periods of inactivity are broken by moments of near panic. Danger lurks in every cross that floats in from the wings, in every free kick from the edge of the penalty area and in every careless clearance.

John Harkes, a midfielder for the U.S. national team, scored his first goal for Sheffield Wednesday as his team beat Derby County 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the English League Cup. Harkes, who last week signed a $185,000, 2 1/2-year contract, scored in the 32nd minute of the fourth round replay, beating former England national team goalkeeper Peter Shilton with a 30-yard shot.

On Wednesday, goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli will play his 116th and most important game for Sweden, a World Cup semifinal against Brazil at the Rose Bowl. That will give him the record for most national team appearances by a Swedish player and leave him only nine games shy of the world record. The record is held by England's Peter Shilton, with 125 caps, followed by Pat Jennings of Northern Ireland with 119. Both players have retired from international competition.

Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in this year's World Cup soccer tournament in Mexico, said that he used his hand to score a vital goal against England, according to a British press report Sunday. In what London's Sunday Express described as an exclusive interview with Maradona at Naples, Italy, Maradona was quoted as saying that he punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton as they both tried to reach it during a quarterfinal match in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium.

Diego Maradona acknowledged that he struck the ball with his hand in the famous "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals. Speaking on his local television talk show Monday night, Maradona called one of soccer's most controversial goals "something that just came out of me. It was a bit of mischief." Maradona punched the ball into the net, and officials allowed the goal to stand despite protests by the English team.

It's a bit late, but maybe it's the thought that counts, not the timing. Diego Maradona has reportedly apologized for his infamous "Hand of God" handball goal against England. For years, the legality of the first goal he scored for Argentina against England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup has been debated.

Here is a capsule look at the English and West German soccer teams, which will play in the second World Cup semifinal game Wednesday at Turin. ENGLAND--A controversial top seed in Group F, the English have lived up to the FIFA's pre-tournament ranking. The offense, led by striker Gary Lineker, John Barnes, Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley, has been inconsistent.

Life after football for Brent Musburger has been a series of Sundays spent strolling art museums and hiking mountains--in other words, hell for a sports reporter who loves the gridiron. "While I enjoyed being with my wife, I couldn't get the NFL out of my system," Musburger says in next week's TV Guide. "This was the first season I didn't have an NFL game or show since I covered the Chicago Bears in 1963 as a newspaperman. It was so much a part of my life for so long."

A lot of the fun in major sports tournaments, such as Wimbledon or the NCAA basketball March Madness, is the paradoxical rise of unknowns and fall of giants. The same goes for soccer's monthlong World Cup, now passing from the busy opening two rounds to this weekend's quarterfinals. The goal-scoring leader of the 1986 World Cup, with six, England's striker Gary Lineker has only one goal in four games this time.