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Tough draw England joins Germany in World Cup qualifying group
Posted: Tuesday December 07, 1999 11:40 AM
TOKYO (AP) -- The huge hand of former sumo wrestler Konishiki put past champions and bitter rivals Germany and England into the same qualifying group for the 2002 World Cup at Tuesday's draw. The other traditional top European soccer powers largely escaped playing each other. The draw, held in a modernistic, ship-shaped Tokyo exhibition hall, started the countdown to the first World Cup to be shared by two hosts: Japan and South Korea. A record 195 nations took part in the draw, while Japan and South Korea, as hosts, and France, as defending champions, qualify directly. The qualifying process, which begins in March and involves 752 matches, will eventually produce 29 other finalists. Germany, a three-time champion, and England, which beat Germany for its only title when it hosted the 1966 World Cup, have a long history of showdowns at major championships. In their last championship match, Germany beat England in the semifinals of the 1996 European Championships, before going on to win the title. "Obviously we are in a five-team group so we have two games less," said England manager Kevin Keegan. "It will be tough, very interesting. We know an awful lot about each other, the Germans and ourselves." "We will have to perform on the day because they always do," Keegan said. German coach Erich Ribbeck said he wasn't too pleased to have to play England, but that the fans would like their showdown. "I cannot say if I am satisfied because I can't influence the draw," he said. "I think England is a team that has a good name, a very good team. People and the fans they like this match, England vs. Germany, so it's OK," he said. Keegan said his players will look at the group and "honestly see it as a group that we can win." "It's a game that's going to be difficult but winnable," he said. "I wouldn't change the draw."
Konishiki, a Hawaiian-born sumo star, had a gentler hand with other European favorites as he pulled little red balls containing the names of top-seeded teams from a bowl. Italy, another-three time champion who was not among the top nine seeded European teams, faces a potentially tough series against Romania, the seeded team in its group. Italy's Group 8 also includes Lithuania, Hungary and Georgia. Croatia, bronze medalist at last year's World Cup in France but also not seeded, will face Scotland and seeded Belgium as its toughest rivals in Group 6, which is completed by Latvia and San Marino. Another seeded team, Yugoslavia, will have a tough job in playing against Russia and Slovenia, a former republic in the old Yugoslav federation which upset mighty Ukraine to qualify for next year's European Championship. The Netherlands, a perennial World Cup favorite but never a champion, got into a group that also includes Portugal and the Republic of Ireland. "My first reaction is it could have been worse. We could have gotten England or Italy," said Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard. "We have a strong group with teams like Ireland and Portugal that are really strong opponents. We have to prepare not only for Portugal and Ireland but also for the other three countries," he said. The others in the Dutch Group 2 are Cyprus, Andorra and Estonia. Germany and England also have Greece, Finland and Albania in their Group 9. "Greece also has a good team. And we played Finland and Albania in Euro qualifying," Ribbeck said. Germany beat both teams twice. "England is our biggest rival in the group, but I don't mean that the others are light opponents," Ribbeck said. "Perhaps it's an advantage to be in a five-team group." England and Germany have never played in World Cup qualifying. Of their four World Cup encounters, Germany won the last one -- the semifinal in 1990 -- on a penalty shootout. It also beat England in 1986 in Mexico, while one match ended in a draw. Yugoslavia will also have to contend with Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Faroe Islands in Group 1. Another seeded team, the Czech Republic, could run into problems against resurgent Denmark and the rebuilding Bulgaria. The other teams in that Group 3 are Iceland, Northern Ireland and Malta. Of all the seeded teams, Spain has the easiest group -- at least on paper. It was drawn into Group 7 along with Austria, a team it crushed 9-0 in qualifying for the European Championship, plus Israel, which was also in its European group. Bosnia and Liechtenstein complete the group. In Group 4, seeded Sweden faces fellow Euro 2000 qualifier Turkey, plus Slovakia and Macedonia, which can both pose some problems at home. Azerbaijan and Moldova are outsiders. Norway, the seeded team in Group 5, will have to compete against Ukraine, which will be eager to make up for its failure to qualify for Euro 2000. Poland, Wales, Armenia and Belarus are also in the group. South America, the only other continent to provide a World Cup champion apart from Europe, will have its 10 teams play a league system, with top four finishers advancing directly. Brazil, the only four-time champion, is in that league. Only European group winners qualify directly for the finals to be played June 1-30, 2002. Eight runners-up will go into playoff to determine four more finalists, while another runner-up will face an Asian team for the last place that could go to Europe.
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