Football: World Cup - Flo favours Chelsea's carousel

THERE CANNOT be too many strikers in the world who have scored three goals in two victories over Brazil, but who cannot guarantee a place in their club side. But that is exactly the position in which Norway's Tore Andre Flo finds himself.

Flo scored twice in Norway's 4-2 victory over Brazil last year and repeated the feat again on Tuesday by scoring the equaliser and then earning the penalty that beat the world champions 2-1.

But while Flo is a national hero at home, having scored 13 goals in 28 internationals, he is merely another member of the squad at his club, Chelsea. The Chelsea player-manager, Gianluca Vialli, like his predecessor Ruud Gullit, has used a policy of rotating the strikers, with Flo taking turns in attack with Mark Hughes and Gianfranco Zola and Vialli himself. Chelsea have also recently added Denmark's Brian Laudrup and Italy's Pierluigi Casiraghi to their rota of forwards.

Even scoring two excellent early goals to set the London side on the way to a European Cup-Winners' Cup quarter-final victory over Real Betis in Seville could not secure his place at Stamford Bridge. He did start the final against VfB Stuttgart but was replaced by Zola - who immediately scored the only goal of the game.

Flo, however, is unconcerned, especially with his mind firmly focused on a second-round World Cup meeting with Italy in Marseilles on Saturday. Indeed the Chelsea situation may even have been beneficial. "Maybe I would have felt a bit tired here if I had played every game in England this season," Flo said. "I certainly don't feel tired now."