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World Cup Notebook
PARIS (AP) -- A charismatic goalie from Paraguay and an 18-year-old sharpshooter from England caught the eye of soccer's new boss during the World Cup.FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Saturday he had been impressed by the "outstanding personality" of Jose-Luis Chilavert and the "memorable goal" of Michael Owen against Argentina.
Lennart Johansson, the Swedish president of the European soccer union, said his top players of the tournament include: French captain Didier Deschamps; Brazilian striker Ronaldo; and brothers Michael and Brian Laudrup of Denmark, "especially because people said before the tournament they were too old." Brian is 30, Michael 35.
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WE'RE NO. 3: FIFA president Sepp Blatter said it was time to decide whether to keep the World Cup's third-place game.
He said the FIFA executive committee would study the issue and make a decision for the 2002 tournament. He noted that the game adds revenue from ticket sales, helps pay team expenses and fills television time.
Blatter also said that the total TV audience for the Cup worldwide was expected to top 40 billion, with an increasing number of women viewers.
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DUTCH COACH IMPROVING: Former Dutch coach Rinus Michels has been transferred to an Amsterdam hospital and is recuperating "very well" from a heart attack, FIFA said.
Spokesman Keith Cooper said Michels' doctors hoped to be able to avoid a second heart-bypass operation and expected to keep him in the hospital another week. The 70-year-old coach had a bypass 15 years ago.
Michels was stricken in Paris July 4, the night that the Netherlands beat Argentina to reach the semifinals.
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FRENCH CONNECTION: France will fill the last spot in next year's Confederations Cup in Mexico.
UEFA, the European soccer union, picked France because of its World Cup performance. The French play Brazil for the championship Sunday.
Other teams in the tournament, set for Jan. 8-20, are the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and a team from the South Pacific, probably Australia.
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TAKE THIS JOB AND ... : Faced with the choice of keeping his job or watching the World Cup final in person, a Singapore man didn't hesitate.
Larry Wee, a 30-year old tour operator, won two tickets for the title match in Paris from a Singapore TV station last month, but couldn't get permission from his new employer to take four days off.
"I couldn't take leave, so I resigned. This is a once in a lifetime," he told The New Paper, which ublished his story Saturday.
Despite rising unemployment, fewer job openings and falling salaries in Singapore, Wee and his wife, Helena Lim, chose to sacrifice his income.
"It didn't take us long to decide ... a couple of days," Lim said. "And I'm not worried about him not getting another job."
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CUP OF DEATH: A sugar-mill owner in Vietnam reportedly hanged himself after losing his company in a World Cup bet.
The Thanh Nien newspaper reported Saturday that the man, who was not identified, had bet that Germany would beat Croatia in the quarterfinals. Croatia eliminated the Germans 3-0.
A 24-year-old Vietnamese man earlier hanged himself after losing his motorcycle on the Germany-Yugoslavia match.
Vietnam has been mesmerized by the World Cup, even though the country never has qualified for the sport's biggest event.
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WHISTLES 101: FIFA will conduct an in-depth study of officiating after a World Cup filled with debate about the quality and consistency of refereeing.
The referees did a solid job but were behind the players in ability and performance, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.
Blatter adamantly opposes the use of instant replays to decide close calls. But Lennart Johansson, the Swedish president of the European soccer union, said all available resources should be used to get the play right.
"We have to see about using modern technology in the matches," he said. "We can't go too far. We don't want the referee running to the TV screen all the time. The match would take nine hours."
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan