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Table set for a French feast of soccer
There were 172 countries alive on March 10, 1996, each with a dream to be in France during the summer of 1998 for the planet's greatest sporting event, the World Cup of soccer. After 645 qualifying matches that featured 1,922 goals witnessed by more than 15 million spectators, 140 of those countries went away empty-handed.
France, by virtue of its status as host, was the first to qualify, just ahead of Brazil, which earned its berth by beating the rest of the world in the United States in 1994.
When Iran staged a furious and improbable comeback in the dying moments against Australia on Nov. 29, overcoming a 2-0 Aussie lead with under 20 minutes remaining, the 32-nation field was complete.
Today, in a rainy, windswept Stade Velodrome in Marseille, the next step begins for the 32 survivors. The 16th World Cup draw, with an estimated television audience of 1.5 billion around the globe, will set the stage for France '98. The tournament itself begins on June 10 and finishes on July 12 at the spectacular new Stade de France at Saint Denis in Paris.
Unlike the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where soccer is little more than a curiosity, the return of the World Cup final will be the centre of attention in Europe and around the world.
Six months ahead of the opening game, France is ready. Most of the work is completed on the new stadium as well as the refurbishing of nine other venues around the country.
"The biggest problem," said Michel Platini, the chief executive for France '98, "is we don't have a problem."
Not yet, anyway.
But with hordes of fans from dozens of countries and cultures already making plans to converge on Paris and the environs, Platini and his organizers will have more than their fill of problems.
After missing the 1994 tournament, England is back, accompanied by its reputation for hooliganism that sometimes overshadows the events on the field. And the Brits will not be alone. Appalling behavior is not their exclusive domain, though they are the acknowledged experts in the field.
British hopes will rest very much on the gimpy ankle of Alan Shearer, who has scored 16 goals in 35 games for England. Shearer broke his right leg and ripped up ligaments in his ankle in August and is not expected to resume training until the new year.
"There is absolutely no doubt I'll be ready for the World Cup," Shearer said. In the meantime, they'll be staging no tag days for the Newcastle star. He signed a $40-million endorsement contract with the sportswear firm Umbro this week.
Despite England's qualifying success, it is not among the eight seeded teams. The 32 teams will be drawn into eight groups, with a seeded team at the top of each group.
Those teams are France (the host), Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Romania and the Netherlands. The other 24 teams will be drawn from three separate pots in a complicated formula based upon FIFA's attempts to keep the strongest teams from knocking each other out in the early rounds.
Italy was awarded its controversial seeding despite having to claw its way through a special home-and-home series, beating Russia on aggregate.
There will be dozens of sub-plots to add to the drama.
For example, the Iranians, after a 20-year absence, came storming through the qualifying rounds, scoring a record 57 goals in 17 matches, including a stunning 17-0 victory over Maldives Islands last June.
Iran also produced the qualifying round's top scorer -- Kharim Bagheri. His 19 goals to this point have made Bagheri a national hero.
South Africa makes its return to the World Cup stage, its first appearance since the fall of apartheid. Colombia is back too, the murder of Escobar after his return home in the wake of Colombia's elimination in 1994 in which he scored an own-goal, all too fresh in our memories.
The United States, which played surprisingly well as host in '94, is unlikely to repeat even that modest success in the hostile environs of France.
All of that is months away. Today is just a warmup, an aperitif, if you will, for the main course to come. And nobody serves up a better meal than the French.
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