OFFICIAL BULLETIN Of THE CONFEDERATION OF NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

FEBRUARY / MARCH 1998 VOLUME 8 / NUMBER 2

CONCACAFGold Cup IVThe perfect CONCACAF Gold Cup.With 362,595 spectators, 800 membersof the media, ten competitive teamsand dignitaries from around the world,including FIFA President Dr. JoaoHavelange, there was only one unwel-come visitor. El Niño.

Torrential rain from El Niño’spath poured down on all three GoldCup sites, Miami, Oakland and LosAngeles, with water standing inchesdeep causing the postponement ofthe Jamaica vs El Salvador Group 1match.

But the number of spectatorswas a Gold Cup record and the resultswere outstanding from CONCACAF’spoint of view.

While the eventual triumphwas Mexico’s, with a 1-0 win over theUSA in the final - played in front of asold-out 91,255 crowd plus more than6,000 in front of a giant TV screen inthe adjoining arena plus a TV audiencein more than 70 countries - the earliergames were also a triumph for many.

The outstanding feat was the1-0 victory of the USA over Brazil intheir semifinal, the first by the USAover Brazil and their first goal againstBrazil in 68 years. Preki scored thegoal; Kasey Keller’s goalkeepingmade him the Gold Cup MVP andcaused Brazil’s Romario to say it wasthe greatest goalkeeping display hehad ever seen.

But not far behind was thesuccess of Jamaica, holding Brazil to a0-0 draw in their Group 1 game andthen losing only in overtime in the

semifinal to Mexico, 1-0, to a headedgoal by Luis Hernandez; the man des-tined to repeat with his goal in theFinal itself.Notable, too, was the performance ofGuatemala in drawing 1-1 with Brazilin Miami, a magnificent feat by one ofCONCACAF’s non-qualifiers for theWorld Cup. Guatemala gained furthercredit in losing 3-2 to Jamaica in oneof the best of many good games in thetournament.

Notable, too, was the arrivalof Cuba at an event of this high stan-dard. Although Cuba lost both group

games, the experience must be of greatbenefit to them in the future as theytry to keep pace with the ever-improv-ing standards in CONCACAF. Thesame can be said, obviously, for allthose who took part but could not stopthe four World Cup-bound teams fromadvancing to the semifinals and thefinal placings:

1. Mexico2. USA3. Brazil4. Jamaica

And so to France.

Mexico defeated the USA, 1-0, to win the 1998 CONCACAF GOLD CUP

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It is difficult to imagine a more exciting start to 1998 and mygreetings to you all are full of pride.

While this is, of course, the year of the World Cup, 1998 isalready firmly established as the year in which the Gold Cup, our GoldCup, became recognized throughout the world as a tournament of majorimportance.

Those who were in Miami and Los Angeles and Oakland will notforget the crowds and the atmosphere which surrounded the games. Thedetails are reported elsewhere in this Newsletter but superimposed overand around every detail was the story of success.

Success, first of all, for our teams. All of them showed improvedstandards but, of course, the major praise must go to Guatemala andJamaica, who drew with the world champions Brazil; to the USA, whobeat Brazil for the first time and to Mexico, who won the Gold Cup forthe third successive time.

Success, in the extent of interest from fans at all three sites, andonly the terrible rains of El Nino stopped the total attendance from soar-ing above 400,000.

Success, too, in the work of our marketing partners Inter/ForeverSports, who were able to provide telecasts of the games throughout ourregion and, in the USA, on both English and Spanish language networksas well as to more than 60 countries world wide.

Thus a world audience saw our crowds, our standards, our cham-pions Mexico and our MVP, the US goalkeeper Kasey Keller. We shouldall be proud of their achievements.

Of course, 1998 came fast on the back of the World Cup qualify-ing year of 1997 when, after many tough and enthralling battles, we pro-duced Jamaica, Mexico and the USA as our qualifiers. Their continuedsuccess in the Gold Cup almost makes us forget how rapidly and bril-liantly Jamaica climbed from nowhere to become the first team from theEnglish-speaking Caribbean to reach the World Cup finals.

For a nation with minimal resources, inadequate facilities andsuch a small population of footballers, it is a landmark achievement.

Altogether, we in CONCACAF have much to be thankful for andmuch to be proud of. All the more reason for us to consider how muchmore we can now achieve.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jack A. Warner

ThePresident’s

Message

CONCACAF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jack Austin WarnerPresident

Lisle Austin - BarbadosVice-President, Caribbean ZoneRafael Salguero - GuatemalaVice-President, Central ZoneAlan Rothenberg - U.S.A.Vice-President, North ZoneAnthony James - JamaicaMember, Caribbean Zone

Sergio Torres - El SalvadorMember, Central ZoneHugo Kiese - MexicoMember, North Zone

Chuck BlazerGeneral Secretary

CONCACAF REPRESENTATIVES TO FIFA

Jack Austin Warner FIFA Vice-President

Issac Sasso Sasso Executive Committee Member

Chuck Blazer Executive Committee Member

CONCACAF HEADQUARTERSOffice of the General Secretary

725 Fifth Avenue, Trump Tower, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10022

Phone: 1-212-308-0044 Fax: 1-212-308-1851

Office of the PresidentJack Austin Warner

Edward and Oxford Street, Port of Spain,Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Phone: 1-868-625-9611 Fax: 1-868-625-9609concacaf@cariblink.net

Office of the Deputy General SecretaryCONCACAF/UNCAF Headquarters

Oscar Thamar Torres15 Avenida “A” 20-07, Zona 13, P.O. Box 916

Guatemala City, Guatemala C.A.Phone: 1-502-361-6996 Fax: 1-502-361-5577

concacaf@quetzal.net

Office of the Deputy General SecretaryCONCACAF/CFU Headquarters

Harold Taylor131 Eastern Main Road, Arouca, Trinidad W.I.Phone: 1-809-646-5753 Fax: 1-809-646-4076

cfu@wow.net

CONCACAF NEWSPublished at Office of the General Secretary

Editor Dan HerbstArt Director Michael MaselliPhotography ALL SPORT USATranslation Victoria PoslonocecProduction Nino Bussani

Miguel Rivera

ExecutiveCommitteeMeeting

The holding of Draws andthe naming of host venues forCONCACAF qualifying for the 1999Under-20 and Under-17 WorldChampionships highlighted anExecutive Committee meeting inPort of Spain, Trinidad on November24. Tabled was consideration of par-ticipation in the 1999 Pan-AmericanGames in Winnipeg, Canada until areport is received from theOrganizing Committee.

Qualifying action will fea-ture two groups of four teams apieceplaying three doubleheaders. U-17groups are El Salvador (host) withCanada, Mexico, and a Caribbeanteam in one division while Jamaica(host) will be matched with the USAand two Central American hopefuls.Both group winners will advance toNew Zealand with a play-offbetween the teams finishing in sec-ond spots to be held in October todecide who earns CONCACAF’sthird berth.

Trinidad & Tobago andGuatemala will be the sites forNovember’s U-20 action. Canada,the USA, and a Central Americannation will be in Trinidad whileGuatemala will host Mexico and ateam apiece from Central Americaand the Caribbean. The top twoteams from each group will advanceto Nigeria.

Final 1998 GOLD CUP Standings and Results

GROUP 1 GP W L T GF GA PTSJamaica 3 2 0 1 5 2 7Brazil 3 1 0 2 5 1 5Guatemala 3 0 1 2 3 4 2El Salvador 3 0 2 1 0 6 1

GROUP 2 GP W L T GF GA PTSMexico 2 2 0 0 6 2 6Trinidad-Tobago 2 1 1 0 5 3 3Honduras 2 0 2 0 1 5 0

GROUP 3 GP W L T GF GA PTSUSA 2 2 0 0 5 1 6Costa Rica 2 1 1 0 8 4 3Cuba 2 0 2 0 2 10 0

First RoundDate Match SiteFeb 1 Sunday El Salvador 0, Guatemala 0 LA ColiseumFeb 1 Sunday Honduras 1, Trinidad/Tobago 3 Oakland ColiseumFeb 1 Sunday USA 3, Cuba 0 Oakland ColiseumFeb 3 Tuesday Brazil 0, Jamaica 0 Miami Orange BowlFeb 4 Wednesday Costa Rica 7, Cuba 2 Oakland ColiseumFeb 4 Wednesday Mexico 4, Trinidad/Tobago 2 Oakland ColiseumFeb 5 Thursday Brazil 1, Guatemala 1 Miami Orange BowlFeb 7 Saturday USA 2, Costa Rica 1 Oakland ColiseumFeb 7 Saturday Mexico 2, Honduras 0 Oakland ColiseumFeb 8 Sunday Jamaica 3, Guatemala 2 LA ColiseumFeb 8 Sunday Brazil 4, El Salvador 0 LA ColiseumFeb 9 Monday Jamaica 2, El Salvador 0 LA Coliseum

SemifinalsDate Match SiteFeb 10 Tuesday USA 1, Brazil 0 LA ColiseumFeb 12 Thursday Mexico 1, Jamaica 0 OT LA Coliseum

Third Place/FinalsDate Match SiteFeb 15 Sunday Brazil 1, Jamaica 0 LA ColiseumFeb 15 Sunday Mexico 1, USA 0 LA Coliseum

Final crowd: 91,255. Tournament crowd total: 362,595.MVP: Kasey Keller, USA - 32 votes; Edmundo, Brazil - 30 votes; Preki, USA - 27 votes.“Golden Eleven”: Goal Keeper: Keller USA, Defenders: Claudio Suarez, Mexico; EddiePope, USA; Ze Maria, Brazil; Ramon Ramirez, Mexico; Midfielders: Preki, USA; Paul Hall,Jamaica; Cuauhemoc Blanco, Mexico; Forwards: Edmundo, Brazil; Paulo C. Wanchope,Costa Rica; Romario, Brazil.Top Strikers: Paulo C. Wanchope, Costa Rica- 4 goals; Luis Hernandez, Mexico - 4 goals;Romario, Brazil - 3 goals; Seven others tied with 2 goals.Third Gold Cup championship in a row for Mexico.

GOLD CUP MVP Kasey Keller, USA

REVIEW

1997 INCruz Azul successfully

defended the CONCACAFChampions Cup with a 5-3 victoryover the USA’s Los Angeles Galaxyat Washington, DC’s RFK Stadiumin August. After falling behind 2-0,the Mexicans rallied with goals in afive-minute span from BenjaminGalindo, Joahan Rodriguez, andNector Adomaitis. CarlosHermosillo completed the scoringin the 62nd and 66th minutes.

It was a big year for CruzAzul’s star striker. Hermosillo wasthe leading marksman in the finalstages of CONCACAF World Cupqualifying. His dramatic14th scorefor his club was a golden goal thatcame from the penalty spot whilebleeding to give Cruz Azul theTorneo Invierno championship witha 2-1 win over Leon. It was CruzAzul’s first domestic title since1980.

Looking backat an excitingfootball yearMexico working it’s way to the FIFA World Cup in France 1998

CONCACAF and Inter/Forever signed a four-year televisioncontract. The eight-figure deal grantsthe Miami-based organization the rightto air several major events, highlightedby the Champions Cup, the Gold Cup,and Olympic qualifying.

Timely scoring by DeonBurton and air-tight defending athome allowed surprising Jamaica tojoin favorites Mexico and the USAas CONCACAF’’s representatives inthe 1998 World Cup. Despite a slowstart, including a one-sided loss inMexico, Jamaica earned three subse-quent 1-0 home wins and gainedthree road draws in five attempts.

Mexico’s advancement wasrarely in question. CONCACAF’sonly undefeated team during theHexigonal produced several domi-nating home performances andearned seven points from five awaymatches. Hermosillo was well sup-ported with Benjamin Galindonotching five goals as Mexico out-scored its rivals by 23-7.

Kasey Keller and BradFriedel were beaten only seventimes in 855 minutes as the USAgained two draws with Mexico andearned six road points for the rightto play in their third straight WorldCup. Ten Americans found thescoresheet, led by Eric Wynaldawith three goals.

FIFA awarded the right tohost the 2001 Under-17 World YouthChampionships to Trinidad andTobago. The unanimous vote ofFIFA’s Executive Committee fol-lowed yeoman work by CONCA-CAF President Jack Austin Warnerto bring the event to the Caribbean.Meanwhile, US Soccer PresidentAlan Rothenberg announced ambi-tious plans to transform the 1999Women’s World Cup into a majorevent by holding doubleheaders inmajor stadia. The Final was awardedto California's Rose Bowl, the siteof the men’s title game in 1994.

Mexico, Canada, and theUSA reached the round of 16 at theFIFA World Youth (Under-20)Championships in Malaysia in June.Costa Rica also participated. But thenews wasn’t as positive at theUnder-17 level in Egypt threemonths later as winning one of threegroups games apiece wasn’t enoughfor Mexico and the USA to moveon, while Costa Rica failed to gainany points.

CONCACAF and Mexicansoccer lost one of its great leaderswhen Guillermo Canedo passed awayon January 20th. Mr. Canedo servedas a FIFA Vice-President from 1962until his death and was a key figurein his Country having successfullyhosted the World Cups of 1970 and1986. Considered CONCACAF’sfounding father, Mr. Canedo leftbehind his wife, Monica, and theirfour children. He was 76.

For the sixth time in eightattempts, Trinidad and Tobago cap-tured the Shell/Umbro Cup. PeterProsper scored twice in the secondhalf as T & T overwhelmed St.Kitts/Nevis, 4-0, in the Final.Marvin Andrews and Jerren Nixonwere on target in the first half hourfor the winners only three days afterTrinidad had defeated Jamaica in thesemi-final in a penalty kick tie-breaker after the teams had played toa 1-1 draw.

U.S.A.’s Eric Wynalda

Guillermo Canedo

Cruz Azul’s Carlos Hermosillo

World CupQualifying

Inspired road performanceson November ninth claimed a WorldCup berth for the USA and all butassured Jamaica of a spot in France(official confirmation came one weeklater). As impressive as was CostaRica’s come-from-behind 3-3 draw inMexico, it mathematically ended theirhopes while clinching Mexico’s quali-fication.

Mexico - Costa Rica (3-3):Jafet Soto and Paulo Cesar Wanchopeled Costa Rica back from a 3-1 deficitto gain a morale victory at CanedoStadium after Mexico had taken thelead in dramatic fashion on a firstminute bad-angle rocket of a volley

by Paulo Cesar Chavez. BenjaminGalindo doubled the margin on abreakaway just before halftime.

Costa Rica drew closer whenHernan Medford roofed a six-yardindirect free kick that resulted whenMexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchezwas forced into handling the ball tosave an errant back pass. SubstituteCuauhtemoc Blanco sprung CarlosHermosillo in the 69th minute forHermosillo’s Hexagonal-leading sev-enth goal. But Costa Rica againfought back; Soto scored just 139 sec-onds later on a 30-yard shot andWanchope hit on an acrobatic 20-yardside volley past a retreating Sanchezafter Sanchez had initially left the boxto half-clear a 50-50 ball ahead ofWanchope.

El Salvador-Jamaica (2-2):Needing a home win to pull level onpoints with a superior goal differen-tial to their guests, El Salvadorinstead required a late goal just toavoid defeat. Minus the skills of play-maker Mauricio Cienfuegos due to ayellow card suspension, El Salvadornevertheless managed to score first ona diving header from four yards outby Nildenson Silva de Mello in the47th minute. But Jamaica’s DeonBurton equalized by looping a bad-angle header over goalkeeper RaulGarcia in the 51st minute for hisfourth qualifying goal.

With the home team pushingforward to try to net the winner,Jamaica’s Paul Hall intercepted anerrant back pass 70 yards from ElSalvador’s goal. Streaking down the

left flank, Hall out-paced one lonedefender with his subsequent shotdeflecting in off of the far post aftereluding the on-rushing Garcia.Meanwhile, Jamaican keeper WarrenBarrett shone. Barrett was perfectlypositioned to thwart de Mello’s 12-yard volley in the 86th minute after agreat Raul Diaz Arce pass and he alsotipped a 16-yard shot over the bar.Elias Montes’ late equalizer onlydelayed the inevitable.

Canada-USA (0-3):Claudio Reyna and the revitalizedRoy Wegerle sparked only the secondroad win during the Hexagonal(Mexico had prevailed in El Salvadorby 1-0). Wegerle took a Joe-MaxMoore pass into the Canadian box,drew out keeper Paul Dolan, andfound an unmarked Reyna for a sim-

ple spin and tap-in in the fifth minute.Reyna returned the favor, settingWegerle in alone on Dolan off of an81st-minute free kick to double themargin with Wegerle beating the off-side trap to add a third tally courtesyof a Moore assist just seconds beforethe final whistle.

Jamaica-Mexico (0-0):By refusing to concede any goals athome throughout the entire qualifica-tion process, Jamaica will becomeonly the third Caribbean nation toappear in the World Cup. In a gamewith few chances, Jamaica’s FitzroySimpson and Theodore Whitmorecame the closest to beating Mexicankeeper Sanchez. The road point leftMexico atop the table.

USA-El Salvador (4-2):Two Brian McBride goals and a ChrisHenderson tap-in gave the home teama 3-0 lead before de Mello brought ElSalvador back on breakaways with agoal and winning a penalty that Arceconverted. Preki Radosavljevic settledthe issue by side-footing the ball intothe visitors’ goal from close range inthe 82nd minute.

Costa Rica-Canada (3-1):Richard Smith scored on a volley andwon a second-half penalty to liftCosta Rica into fourth place. FarrenIlhama put the home team up 2-0 byriding off a challenge from Ian Fraserto score in the 16th minute beforesubstitute Carl Fletcher gave theCanadians hope with an 11-yard rock-et only 146 seconds into the secondhalf. But Fletcher was sent off for hisfoul on Smith in the game’s waningmoments with Luis Morin adding anexclamation point from the penaltyspot for Costa Rica’s third home vic-tory of the Hexagonal.

Final CONCACAF 1998 World Cup Qualifying

GP W D L GF GA GD Pts.*Mexico 10 4 6 0 23 7 +16 18*USA 10 4 5 1 17 9 +8 17*Jamaica 10 3 5 2 7 12 - 5 14Costa Rica 10 3 3 4 13 12 +1 12El Salvador 10 2 4 4 11 16 -5 10Canada 10 1 3 6 5 20 -15 6

*World Cup Qualifier

June 1998 - First Round WORLD CUP Schedule

AGROUP BRA Brazil

MOR MoroccoNOR NorwaySCO Scotland

BGROUP AUT Australia

CHI ChileCMR CameroonITA Italy

CGROUP DEN Denmark

FRA FranceKSA Saudi ArabiaRSA South Africa

DGROUP BGR Bulgaria

ESP SpainNGA NigeriaPAR Paraguay

EGROUP BEL Belgium

HOL HollandKOR KoreaMEX Mexico

FGROUP GER Germany

IRN IranUSA USAYUG Yugoslavia

GGROUP COL Colombia

ENG EnglandROM RomaniaTUN Tunisia

HGROUP ARG Argentina

HRV CroatiaJAM JamaicaJPN Japan

10Saint-Etienne

SCOV

BRA

16 Nantes

BRAV

MOR

10 Montpellier

MORV

NOR

23Saint-Etienne

SCOV

MOR

16 Montpellier

SCOV

NOR

23 Marsaille

BRAV

NOR

11 Toulouse

CMRV

AUT

17 Montpellier

ITAV

CMR

11 Bordeaux

ITAV

CHI

23Saint-Denis

ITAV

AUT

17Saint-Etienne

CHIV

AUT

23 Nantes

CHIV

CMR

12 Lens

KSAV

DEN

18 Toulouse

RSAV

DEN

12 Marsaille

FRAV

RSA

24 Lyon

FRAV

DEN

18Saint-Denis

FRAV

KSA

24 Bordeaux

RSAV

KSA

12 Montpellier

PARV

BGR

19Saint-Etienne

ESPV

PAR

13 Nantes

NGAV

ESP

24 Lens

ESPV

BGR

19 Paris

NGAV

BGR

24 Toulouse

NGAV

PAR

13Saint-Denis

HOLV

BEL

20 Bordeaux

BELV

MEX

13 Lyon

KORV

MEX

25 Paris

BELV

KOR

20 Marsaille

HOLV

KOR

25Saint-Etienne

HOLV

MEX

14Saint-Etienne

YUGV

IRN

21 Lyon

USAV

IRN

15 Paris

GERV

USA

25 Montpellier

GERV

IRN

21 Lens

GERV

YUG

25 Nantes

USAV

YUG

15 Lyon

ROMV

COL

22 Toulouse

ROMV

ENG

15 Marsaille

ENGV

TUN

26Saint-Denis

ROMV

TUN

22 Montpellier

COLV

TUN

26 Lens

COLV

ENG

14 Lens

JAMV

HRV

20 Paris

ARGV

JAM

14 Toulouse

ARGV

JPN

26 Lyon

JPNV

JAM

20 Nantes

JPNV

HRV

26 Bordeaux

ARGV

HRV

GoalkeepingClinic

CONCACAF is pleased toannounce that the second edition ofthe FIFA/CONCACAF GoalkeepingAcademy will be held at theCONCACAF Centre of Excellencein Trinidad on dates to beannounced. The seminar is to beaimed at national goalkeepingcoaches and will be conducted byFIFA Staff Coach Lincoln Phillips.

A former pro player, Mr.Phillips played four seasons in theold North American Soccer League.He posted 14 career shutouts andearned first team all-star recognitionwhile with Washington in 1970.Having retired following the 1975season, he became an international-ly-respected coach and clinician.Mr. Phillips operates the Maryland-based Top Flight GoalkeepingAcademy.

(continued from back page)Argentina are led by striker GabrielBatistuta, who again is tearing upItaly’s Serie A this season. CoachDaniel Passarella will guide one ofonly four nations to have won 25World Cup matches. Japan,slated tobe co-hosts in 2002, will be appear-ing in its first World Cup.

Mexico’s 11th trip to the globe’stop sporting event opens in Lyonswith a must-win game against SouthKorea, which has but two draws toshow for its 11 matches in fourprior Cup appearances. At absoluteminimum, a subsequent tie withBelgium would suffice Striker LucNilis netted the goal against theIrish to secure Belgium’s fifthstraight Cup ticket. Having breezedthrough qualifying, Holland isamong the favorites. Star forwardDennis Bergcamp will lead theDutch.

Led by Claudio Reyna, EricWynalda, and Thomas Dooley, up to

half of the USA’s 22-man rostercould have German League roots.While an aging squad stumbledslightly in qualifying, the Euro ‘96-winning Germans boast a WorldCup track record that is second onlyto Brazil. They have captured theWorld Cup three times and havereached the Final in four straightchapters that were held in Europe;having won in 1974 and 1990 whileplacing second in 1966 and 1982.

Yugoslavia, traditionally anunderachiever at this level, is againblessed with tremendous individualtalent and is playing far more cohe-sively than it did prior to thebreakup of the Balkans four ofPredrag Mijatovic’s 14 qualifyinggoals helped secure a 5-0 win inBelgrade over Hungary after a 7-1away triumph virtually clinched aCup berth.The political overtones of the USA-Iran game assure the Americans of ahighly- motivated opponent.

World CupDraw

The Draw that was held inMarseilles in December has buoyedhopes of the smallest nation in the 32-team field to join the 1990 CostaRicans as the only CONCACAF rep-resentatives to advance beyond thegroup stage of a World Cup played onEuropean soil.(Mexico got to the quarterfinals athome in 1970 and 1986 and reachedthe round of 16 with the hosting USAin 1994. Some 64 years earliertheAmericans won their group to earn asemifinal round berth in the inauguralWorld Cup in Uruguay that featuredbut thirteen teams)

Jamaica, with 2.4 million inhabi-tants, were placed in the only divisionwith but one European entrant. TheReggae Boyz will face Croatia,Argentina, and long-shots Japan inGroup H. CONCACAF qualifyingwinners Mexico must tackle Group E

rivals South Korea, Belgium, and theNetherlands while the USA hasintriguing Group F showdowns withGermany, Yugoslavia, and Iran.

Having enlarged the tournamentfrom 24 to 32 teams, FIFA madeadvancement more challenging.Whereas in the three most recentWorld Cups two-thirds of the fieldreached the knockout phase (the toptwo teams in each of six groups plusthe top four of the third-place finish-ers), now only the best two teams inthe eight groups will move forward.Teams finishing first will then playthe runner-up in the neighboringgroup. Thus, in the round of 16 theGroup A winner will play the second-place team in Group B while GroupB’s winner will face the second-placeteam in Group A.

Mexico and the USA could renewtheir rivalry at that stage. If Jamaicaadvances its opponent will come fromGroup G where favored Englandsquares off with Romania, Colombia,

and Tunisia.The Draw’s format seeded defend-

ing champion Brazil and hostingFrance as well as six teams based on aformula that balanced FIFA rankings(40%) and the results of the WorldCups of 1994 (30%), 1990 (20%), and1986 (10%). The remaining teamswere primarily split along geographiclines with a provision that assuredthat no more than two Europeanteams could be in any group. Theplacement of the three CONCACAFand five African teams into one bowlassured that they would be kept apartduring group play.

While London bookmakers haveput big numbers next to Jamaica, theislanders are no strangers to beatinglong odds. Their key game figures tobe against a Croatian team thatfeatures several stars on top Europeanclub teams. Group heavyweights

(continued on page 7)