The secene was set for a walkover on March 14, 1995.

It seemed that little Bermuda would be lambs to the slaughter as they stepped out at the Estadio General San Martin in Tandil, Argentina, for their first meeting with Brazil, the mightiest soccer nation of them all.

For the Island's under-23 team, it had been a massive achievement just to qualify for the 1995 Pan-Am Games.

And being drawn in the same group as the Brazil, as well as Chile and Costa Rica, meant they had little chance of going further than the first phase.

The Island team's coach at that time was the current assistant coach of the World Cup side, Mark Trott.

Trott remembered what went through his mind as his players took to the field against the country he, like millions of others, had always looked up to for their stylish, flamboyant football.

"I just felt honoured to be able to coach a team against Brazil,'' recalled Trott. "It was the first time Bermuda had played the Brazilians at any level.

It was in a smallish stadium but it was packed to capacity.'' Most neutral fans love to see the gold-shirted, outrageously talented Brazilians turn on the style, but Trott recalled that the Argentine majority in the crowd were far from neutral -- to Bermuda's advantage.

"The Argentinians have a bit of history in football with Brazil and they don't like each other,'' said Trott.

"So the crowd were really 100 percent behind us from the start and that really helped the guys.'' Bermuda's starting line-up included four members of the current World Cup squad -- Dwayne Adams, Andrew Rahman, Ottis Steede and Karl Roberts.

A last-minute change of mind by organisers meant the game kicked off two hours later than originally scheduled -- apparently to comply with the wishes of Brazilian television.

Nerves showed in the opening minutes as a mix-up between Adams and Roberts almost let in Brazil and a mis-kick by Rahman went similarly unpunished.

But Bermuda held out for 21 minutes before the South Americans broke through with a goal lashed home from 10 yards by William Anderson.

It seemed inevitable that the floodgates would open, but instead it was Bermuda who were spurred into attack by the goal.

Dano Outerbridge, Jahmah Samuels and Janeiro Tucker all had pots at goal not too far off target, before the Island team reached the interval 1-0 down.

Seconds into the second half, the Brazilians knocked the stuffing out of Bermuda with a second goal, a precise finish by Sandro Yokota.

The rest of the match was a brave rearguard action from Bermuda, with goalkeeper Adams the busiest man on the pitch and to their credit, they limited the damage to a respectable 2-0 loss.

"I was proud of how the guys did and they came off with their heads held high,'' remembered Trott. "It was only a Brazil under-23 team of course, but any Brazilian team is a great team. The crowd gave us a standing ovation.'' Bermuda had gone down 1-0 to Chile in their first game of the Pan-Ams to a 31st minute headed goal by Claudio Lizama.

On that occasion too, Bermuda had impressed an 8,000-plus crowd with a plucky display which almost earned a point when Ascento Russell's injury-time shot dipped inches over the crossbar and again when Shawn Simons hit the post.

In fact, Adams, who made a string of remarkable saves, was a such a huge hit with the locals, he was mobbed by young autograph hunters and TV crews after the game.

Trott recalled fondly how his team had qualified for the Games in dramatic style. Having beaten Canada, Bermuda played Jamaica twice and having drawn the first game, they needed a victory in the second match in Kingston to progress.

"To be honest, Jamaica dominated most of the game, but we hung on at 0-0 and it went into extra-time,'' said Trott.

"Raynel Lightbourne scored the only goal in the last minute and I was so excited at the end I just sprinted onto that field like some six-year-old child.

"But I suppose you could say Jamaica had the last laugh, because some players in that team went on to play in the World Cup in France '98.'' BERMUDA V BRAZIL -- TEAMS Bermuda: Dwayne Adams, Dano Outerbridge, Shawn Smith, Andrew Rahman, Kimandi Binns, Janeiro Tucker (Quincy Aberdeen 68 mins), Ottis Steede, Karl Roberts, Shawn Simons, Ascento Russell, Jahmah Samuels (Nakia Smith 46 mins).

Brazil: Adilson De Souza, Do Carmo Neto, Carlos Rodrigues, Marcelo Bordon, Renaldo Guiaro, Fabio De Brito, Farbricio Maia (Elton Melo 75 mins), Sandro Yokota, Silvio Antonio, William Anderson (E.De Moraes 75 mins), Ricardo De Souza.

Karl Roberts: Pan-Am Games veteran in current World Cup squad.

Dwayne Adams: Goalkeeping heroics kept Brazil at bay.

SOCCER SOC