Confederations' Cup draw set
Brazil-France rematch will open tourney in January
Posted: Monday October 05, 1998 10:08 AM
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France upended Brazil in the final of World Cup '98 Ross Kinnaird/Allsport |
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Brazil and France will square off in the opening match of the Mexico 1999 Confederations' Cup, a highly anticipated sequel to the 1998 World Cup final in which the French hosts defeated the soccer-loving Brazilians.
"Brazil doesn't have a chance," French coach Henri Emile joked following Sunday's draw for the January 8-20 tournament.
The opening game is to be held in Guadalajara's Jalisco stadium, where the French beat Brazil in the 1986 World Cup.
The draw was presided over by FIFA Sports Director Walter Gagg and CONCACAF President Jack Warner.
The eight competing tems were divided into two groups. The national teams from Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia and Egypt will play the first round in Mexico City's Aztec stadium, while France, Brazil, New Zealand and the United States will play in Guadalajara.
The tournament originally was to feature the champions of FIFA's continental confederations, but European champion Germany decided not to participate. The United States, which lost to Mexico in the North and Central American and Caribbean championship final, was given an invitation to this tournament.
The Mexican organizing committee chose the city's Jalisco Stadum to host the six Group B matches because of the weather and the larger 50,000 capacity of the stadium.
Another factor is Brazil's popularity among the local fans. Brazil played in Guadalajara in the 1970 and 1986 World Cups.
The finals will be split between Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Several European leagues have said their clbs will not release their star players for the tournament because they are going to be busy in regional tournaments, but FIFA officials did not agree.
"The executive committee's decision is that all players that were selected have to be released," Gagg said. "The national squads have to bring their best players."
Jean Verbeke, vice president of the French Soccer Federation, had warned Friday that his country would not be interested in playing the tournament without its frontlne players.
"Our confederation takes this cup very seriously," Emile said. "All our stars have to come here."
FIFA recently amended its rules for the Confederations' Cup, and teams need only release players for national team duty 48 hours before the tournament, rather than weeks in advance.
The draw, held at a sound stage of the Mexican TV-network Televisa, also served to unveil the official mascot of the tournament -- a cob of corn dressed in Mexico's national colors of green, white and red, with a soccer ball at its side.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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