The notion that money can buy anything in sport is about to be put to the test in Lens today when Saudi Arabia launch their World Cup challenge against Denmark.

The funding has enabled them to hire the coaching expertise of Carlos Alberto Parreira, one of football's most successful mercenaries who guided Brazil to success in America four years ago.

This is the fourth national team which Parreira has managed - and almost certainly the weakest. For all the resources available to him off the pitch, Parreira has done little to solve their bankruptcy on it, a point graphically illustrated in their recent 6-0 defeat by Norway in Oslo.

To be fair, the Brazilian could point to the fact that two of his players were sent off. However, an earlier gritty 0-0 draw against England at Wembley was promising.

Since Denmark won the European Championships in 1992, their decline has been startling. With more and more of their players going abroad, the expectation was that they would build on their European success in the 1994 World Cup finals. Instead, the Republic of Ireland made it to America ahead of them.

Present coach Bo Johansson is currently presiding over their worst run in years. When Cameroon beat them recently, following earlier defeats by Norway and Sweden, it was the first time in nine years that the Danes had lost three games in a row.

In the curious logic of football, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel believes that may now help them. "I think it's had the effect of making people concentrate that little bit harder," says the Manchester United player.

Schmeichel is one of their most obvious assets and another plus is the skill and experience of the Laudrup brothers, Michael and Brian.

Johansson waits until just before the kick-off to nominate his team but the speculatuion is that Ebbe Sand will partner Brian Laudrup up front.