Football / World Cup Semi-Final USA '94: Baggio's magic puts Italy through: Two goals in five minutes see former champions through to the final as Bulgarians fail to find their best form

Bulgaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Italy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

ITALY, drawing magnificent inspiration from the talismanic Roberto Baggio, advanced to their fifth World Cup final here yesterday when they ensured there were no repeat heroics from Bulgaria, who, having proved the bogymen to the dreams of Argentina and Germany, were hoping to make it a hat-trick collection of champions' scalps.

As in Italy's previous two games, the heroics belonged to the most famous pony-tail in football. In the space of five first-half minutes Baggio crafted two goals of stunning brilliance to take his tally in the competition to five.

Hristo Stoichkov hoisted his own number of goals to six with a penalty that gave Bulgaria a platform to stage another comeback, but the unsure stumbling that led Italy to an opening-game defeat by Ireland has now been consigned to bad memory, and the three- times victors booked their place in the Pasadena Rose Bowl to try to make it four.

They might have to do it without Baggio, who pulled a leg-muscle and was substituted with 19 minutes remaining. 'I felt a sharp pain,' the Juventus striker said, 'but I won't know about my chances until I have been examined by the phsyician.'

They will definitely have to do it without Alessandro Costacurta, who received a second yellow card for a foul, excluding him from the last game. This could allow the return of the veteran Franco Baresi, , who is approaching full fitness after a knee operation.

On Baggio's performance, Sacchi said he wanted to use only one adjective: 'Exceptional'. Baggio's World Cup? 'Let's just say I had a lot of fun watching him play,' Sacchi said. 'It is hard to say how I feel because all my efforts must be concentrated on Sunday's final. I'm very happy with the result and for the first 35 minutes we played at our highest level but we are still fighting to reach our goal. When the next game is over, that'll be the time for celebrations.'

Bulgaria were furious when M Quiniou waved away appeals for a penalty in the second half, and it prompted Stoichkov to comment afterwards: 'God is still a Bulgarian, but the referee was a Frenchman.' Alluding to Bulgaria's elimination of France in the qualifying campaign, Stoichkov said: 'It was no coincidence that they put this guy in charge.'

With Nicola Berti chosen for the wide midfield berth ahead of Giuseppe Signori, Italy had made it clear they would not permit Bulgaria the space to size up their possibilities, which had been the undoing of Germany three days before.

As the Bulgarian midfield was wary of giving time to Italy to release Roberto Baggio and colleagues, it made for an uninspiring start to the semi- final, with much of the action locked into the central zone and passes drifting astray before any promising movement could be sustained.

Naturally, it was Baggio held the whip hand. We have come to expect something magical from him every time he comes in contact with the ball, and in the 21st minute he did not disappoint. Donadoni found him from a throw-in and Baggio turned past his marker, Zlatko Yankov. Gathering momentum, he slipped past a second defender, Petar Hubchev, before executing a superb curling finish, a trademark of his, beyond Mikhailov.

The huge Italian support in the stadium sensed a second in the making, and it came in the 26th minute. The ball over the top carried hope every time and Albertini's pass was perfectly placed for Baggio. One look up, one flourish of his right boot and there it was, nestling inside the far post before you had time to blink.

A minute before half-time Stoichkov made sure that his team could go into the break with more optimism than had seemed likely, scoring from the penalty-spot.

Nasko Sirakov earned it with a burst of pace that took him into the area and into Alessandro Costacurta's desperate challenge. Down he went, Gianluca Pagliuca making doubly certain as he came off his line to foul the forward, and in went the penalty.

BULGARIA (1-4-3-2): Mikhailov (Mulhouse); Hubchev (Levski Sofia); Kiryakov (Lerida), Ivanov (Neuchatel Xamax), Zvetanov, Yankov (both Levski Sofia); Lechkov (Hamburg), Sirakov (Levski Sofia), Balakov (Sporting Lisbon); Kostadinov (Porto), Stoichkov (Barcelona). Substitutes: Yordanov (Sporting Lisbon) for Kostadinov, 71; Genchev (Ipswich Town) for Stoichkov, 78.

ITALY (4-4-2): Pagliuca (Sampdoria); Mussi (Torino), Costacurta, Maldini (both Milan), Benarrivo (Parma); Berti (Internazionale), Albertini (Milan), D Baggio (Parma), Donadoni (Milan); Casiraghi (Lazio), R Baggio (Juventus). Substitutes: Conte (Juventus) for D Baggio, 55; Signori (Lazio) for R Baggio, 70.

Referee: J Quiniou (France).

ERIC CANTONA, the Manchester United and France striker, was arrested last night prior to the World Cup semi-final between Brazil and Sweden at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena.

Cantona, who was due to comment for a French television station, became involved in an argument with a technician in the press box. Eye-witness accounts suggested that Cantona struck the technician, and was handcuffed and arrested. However, he was subsequently released.

(Photograph omitted)