Alex Bernstein McCall, Idaho Do you think Steve Sampson will continue to use the six-man midfield following the disarray against Germany? It appeared there was no intent when we had possession, and thus a bad game for Claudio Reyna. Pete Bailey: Recent word out of the U.S. camp is that Sampson will employ at least two forwards for the match against Iran. Possibilities include Roy Wegerle, Tab Ramos, Joe-Max Moore, Ernie Stewart or Brian McBride up front with Eric Wynalda. It remains to be seen whether he will actually do this, and whether he will have the U.S. aligned in a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2. Since the Germans exposed the 3-6-1 so badly, I’d prefer to see the U.S. back in a 4-4-2, with Joe-Max up front with Wynalda and Marcelo Balboa in the starting defense. Balboa’s experience and tenacity would have served the U.S. well on Monday, and so would Moore’s grit. Paul Kennedy: I agree with Pete. It is unlikely Sampson will stick with the 3-6-1. The U.S. performance against Germany was so bad, he may make wholesale changes in the lineup, aligning a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2. I don’t profess to have any inside info from St.-Jean-d’Ardieres, but here’s a wide guess (written on the Friday night before the game) on the lineup — a 3-5-2 that can switch to a 4-4-2 with Regis moving back: Keller — Dooley, Pope, Lalas — Hejduk, Deering, Reyna, Ramos, Regis — Wegerle, Wynalda. Sampson needs Lalas to mark Daei. Regis can serve as a fourth defender or provide support in midfield. Azizi will pose problems on his right side, the U.S. left side. Really, the only issue is whether he keeps Wynalda in the lineup. If Waldo doesn’t start, Stewart stays in. For whatever reason, Sampson loves Wegerle. He doesn’t fancy Joe-Max Moore up front and seems to have shown little interest in Brian McBride, which then begs the question, why is he in France and not Roy Lassiter? Mario Scilipoti Baltimore After the first matches of the World Cup, the referees were, in my opinion, tentative with FIFA’s mandate to red-card the tackles from behind. Clearly there were hard, crunching fouls from behind that weren’t red-carded. But the June 18 Group C South Africa-Denmark match saw three red cards, and to many watching, including myself, these were questionable. Do you think this is going to continue to be a problem with the referees and will it only get worse? Pete Bailey: I agree with you about the cards in the South Africa match, Mario, particularly with the one shown to Danish substitute Morten Wieghorst late in the match. As you say, the referees appeared to be tentative in applying the new mandate during the first games, but then FIFA held a meeting with the officials and again stressed the importance of red-carding bad tackles. The result is that during the second first-round games, the referees seem to have swung the other way and perhaps are being too quick to reach for the red. I expect that it will take a while before the referees are able to be consistent about what merits a red and what doesn’t, but I don’t think it will get any worse than it is now. Hopefully, by the second round or at least the quarterfinals, the refereeing will be more consistent. The real shame is that FIFA chose to implement this rule at the biggest competition in the sport. It would have made much more sense for players and referees to have had a league season to adjust their style of play to the new rules. Brian Smith Lexington, Mass. Whatever happened to Mike Fisher, the outstanding prospect out of UVa? I know he was drafted by Tampa Bay of MLS but he does not appear to play for it. Is he still playing soccer and if so where? Pete Bailey: Fisher spurned MLS to attend medical school at UVa. He recently signed to play for the Roanoke Wrath of the USISL D3 Pro League. The Wrath currently sits in second place in the league’s Atlantic Division, with a 5-4 record. David Tanner Ft. Wayne, Ind. Where can I listen to the soccer games while they are “live” on the web? I have the real audio player and I am looking for an English language site. Pete Bailey: David, as we mention in our June 29 issue, fans can listen to World Cup broadcasts from around the world via the RealNetworks website. By downloading its audio and video plug-ins, fans can receive coverage on all the major competitors at France ’98. The site’s URL is: www.real.com/worldcup David Lentini Foxborough, Mass. Which World Cup did the U.S. participate in for the first time? Pete Bailey: David, the U.S. participated in the very first World Cup — Uruguay, 1930. The Americans reached the semifinals (their best finish in a World Cup) by beating Belgium and Paraguay by identical 3-0 scores to win their group. The Americans fell 6-1 to Argentina in the semis. The 1930 tournament was eventually won by the hosts, but it is worth noting that many of the major European powers did not compete. Only France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia entered the competition. Sue Slagle Pittsburgh I have heard that Pittsburgh is getting an A-league team. Can you shed any light on this subject? We really need a professional team here. Pete Bailey: You heard right, Sue. As we’ve reported in SA, Pittsburgh will field an A-League team in 1999. It will be the first outdoor pro team for the city since 1967, when the Phantoms competed in the National Professional Soccer League before it merged with the United Soccer Association to form the NASL. The Alliance Soccer Resources ownership group has named Duquesne head coach Dave Kasper as the team’s GM. For more information, contact the USISL at (813) 963-3909.