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Confederations Cup Roundup French coach Santini says his squad is mentally freshPosted: Thursday June 12, 2003 3:37 PMCLAIREFONTAINE, France (AP) -- Despite a grueling season, French coach Jacques Santini on Thursday found a fresh crew of players at his Confederations Cup training camp ready to defend their title. Despite the absence of such mainstays as Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira, France remains a favorite to win the June 18-29 tournament and should advance from a group which includes Colombia, Japan and New Zealand. The second group is made up of Brazil, Turkey, Cameroon and the United States. Santini said he found many on the 23-man squad already in a winning mood. "I saw that many among them finished their season on a high note, winning titles. They needed it to reinvigorate themselves," he said. Like two years ago, when France won the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Japan in Yokohama, midfielder Robert Pires is expected to play a key role in the absence of midfield veterans Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. Pires, Sylvain Wiltord and Thierry Henry will be able to use the smooth moves practiced at Arsenal, where the side won the FA Cup last month. The defense will also have an English touch and plenty of experience. Marcel Desailly of Chelsea will try to extend by five games his French record number of internationals to 109. Even though he won the league with Manchester United, goalkeeper Fabien Barthez will be looking to put a less than sterling season behind him. With Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu, the four are veterans of the 1998 World Cup team. They hope to use this tournament to let some of that magic rub off on youngsters. "For us veterans, our role will be to pass on what we know," Lizarazu said. "We have to show the way, set the tone and the [youngster] have to show their personality." Zidane and his teammate at Real Madrid, Claude Makelele, were both left out because the Spanish league season does not end until the weekend of June 22. Santini also gave emphasis to youth, picking seven players under 24. First-round play starts June 18 with France facing Colombia in Lyon. Japan faces France two days later in Saint-Etienne and New Zealand follows on June 22 at the Stade de France, north of Paris. Brazil cancel first training sessionPARIS (Reuters) -- World champions Brazil cancelled their first Confederations Cup training session after arriving late in Paris from Nigeria on Thursday. "We took off around midnight and spent the night on the plane. The players were really tired and coach Carlos Alberto Parreira decided to cancel the training session," Brazil press officer Rodrigo Paiva told reporters. "The team will have their first practice at the Camp des Loges, the Paris St Germain training center, on Friday. Brazil played a friendly against Nigeria on Wednesday, winning 3-0 to secure their first win since Carlos Alberto Parreira took charge in January. After a few hours sleep at their hotel in Ville d'Avray, about 20 km west of Paris, most of the players went for a tour of Paris with PSG midfielder Ronaldinho as a guide. The South Americans, hit by club commitments, injuries and the need to rest the likes of Ronaldo and Rivaldo, named 11 uncapped players in their squad for the tournament. They have been drawn in Group B with the United States, Cameroon and Turkey and play their opening game against African champions Cameroon on June 19 at the Stade de France. Suzuki, Fukunishi unavailable for JapanTOKYO (AP) -- Japan striker Takayuki Suzuki and midfielder Takashi Fukunishi have pulled out of the Confederations Cup because of injuries, Japanese soccer officials said Thursday. The announcement further complicates Japan coach Zico's selection process for the June 18-29 tournament in France. Japan is coming off a lackluster 0-0 draw with Paraguay on Wednesday and a humiliating 4-1 loss to Argentina on Sunday in the Kirin Cup and has yet to win under Zico on home soil. A weak performance in France could cost the Brazilian his job. Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
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