In the end, the best team won.


Brazil's fourth World Cup triumph was fully deserved even though the South Americans were unable to finish off Italy in 120 minutes of soccer Sunday night.


Throughout the tournament the Brazilians were consistently the best team. Their solid defense was rarely troubled, and up front Romario and Bebeto fully lived up to their star billing. Only the rather uninspiring midfield, which was compact rather than creative, took any criticism.


Italy for its part was lucky to reach the final and ironically never really showed the form in the United States that it had four years ago when it had to be content with third place. The encounters with Nigeria and Spain particularly stand out as games in which the Italians were fortunate to progress. In the end, their luck just ran out.


The goalless final will go down as a disappointing affair, but perhaps it should be remembered for the quality of the two defenses rather than for the insipid attacks. The millions upon millions of viewers who watched the game Sunday night were treated to some of the best defending in the world: Aldair and Marcio Santos were as invincible as ever for Brazil, while Italy's Franco Baresi, at 34, turned in the best performance by a player on either side.


Poor old Baresi. Having run his legs off for 120 minutes and not put a foot wrong, the Italian captain then had the misfortune of seeing his penalty kick fly agonizingly over the crossbar. Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio will be similarly scarred after missing their efforts. All three could be in for a few sessions on the sports psychologist's couch.


For all the drama that penalties bring to a soccer contest, it was a shame that this showpiece match had to be decided by what is in fact a lottery.


Penalties reduce soccer to a matter of a single skill largely unrelated to the game. So we now know that the Brazilians can hold their nerve and find the net more often from 11 meters than the Italians. We also can venture that on the day they probably deserved to win. But soccer lost as a result.


The situation cries out for two resolutions: the possibility of a replay, and if the issue is not settled there, sudden death extra time until a result is achieved. This would encourage more forthright and attacking soccer by simplifying the equation for teams, who would know that they have to score to win a match.


But all in all, the finals were an unqualified success. There were very few ugly scenes, plenty of upsets and intrigues, and even mediocre refereeing failed in the end to spoil a rich diet of open and riveting soccer.


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Sweden's spate of scoring in the third-place playoff proved only one thing (apart from the fact that Bulgaria's defense is more suspect than we thought). This match to decide who gets the bronze medal is a waste of everyone's time.


Bulgaria clearly was not interested in another match following its semifinal defeat against Italy, and a woeful and meaningless match ensued. The real winner from Saturday's match was FIFA, who netted the receipts.


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The failure of Romario and Roberto Baggio to add to their goal tally in the final meant that Russia salvaged something from the finals after all: Oleg Salenko, who scored six goals in three first-round games, shared the Golden Boot award with Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov for the most prolific striker of the finals.


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A World Cup review wouldn't be complete without the obligatory awards list:


Best Goal: Owairan, Saudi Arabia vs. Belgium


Best Striker: Romario (Brazil)


Best Midfielder: Gheorghe Hagi (Romania)


Best Defender: Marcio Santos (Brazil), Alexi Lalas (US)


Best Keeper: None


Worst Mistake: Packie Bonner's blunder, Ireland vs. the Netherlands


Worst Foul: Tassoti (Italy) on Luis Enrique (Spain);


Best Referee: Joel Quiniou (France)


Worst Referee: Jamal Al-Sharif (Syria)


Number of goals: 140


Number of yellow cards: 227


Number of red cards: 8


Number of scorers: 80


Total attendance: 3.5 million


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Quote of the month: "This fella could open a can of beans with his left foot." Ray Clemence, Eurosport commentator, on Gheorghe Hagi.


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I don't like to say "I told you so," but anyone who still has a copy of The Moscow Times Weekend preview to the World Cup should fish it out and look at those predictions.


The final?


We said Brazil vs. Italy, with the Brazilians winning.


But I did not make any money on it.I backed the flamboyant Colombians, who crashed out in Round 1.