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Some draws better than others for 1998 World Cup
LONDON (AP) -- It seems there were no bad draws for next year's World Cup in France. Some were just better than others.Even Scotland, with perhaps the cruellest draw of all, tried to put on a brave face at the prospect of opening the World Cup against defending champions Brazil.
Bravehearts Praying for a Samba Shock, is how London's tabloid Sun summed it up.
The Scots have played Brazil three times in the World Cup and lost every one. Oh No. Not Brazil Again, read The Mirror.
Alex Ferguson, a Scot and the manager of Manchester United, tried to find humor in the hard luck.
"I've heard there have been three million suicides in Brazil," Ferguson said. "And all because they are playing Scotland."
The Italians, placed with Chile, Cameroon and Austria, may have had the best draw of all.
Smile Italy, the Corriere dello Sport blared in a front-page banner headline over a column which read, It Could Not Have Gone Better Than This."
A Golden Urn, Italy! said Gazzetta dello Sport.
If any county had reason to wince slightly, it might have been Spain. The Spaniards -- drawn with Olympic champions Nigeria, Bulgaria and Paraguay -- always have the talent but seem to lack self-belief.
Spain Out of Luck in World Cup Draw, was the front-page headline in El Mundo Deportivo. The sports daily Marca announced, somewhat sheepishly, Nigeria, We're Not Scared.
"We shouldn't cower because the other teams are likely to be scared of us," said Spanish coach Javier Clemente.
Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoickov, meanwhile, said he's gunning for revenge against Spain.
"We'll get our own back for the European championship (1-1) draw in 1996," said the Barcelona winger. "They disallowed a goal on me then, so Spain better wake up and get ready."
In England, the newspapers already have manager Glenn Hoddle's side half way to the World Cup final after being drawn with Romania, Colombia and Tunisia.
Magnifique! pronounced the Daily Mail.
Hoddle Wins the Lottery, said the Mirror.
"It's certainly not the toughest group and it is not the easiest -- but it could have been much worse for us," Hoddle said.
The Dutch daily De Telegraaf featured the banner headline The Belgians Again. Just across the border in Belgium the headline in Het Laatste Nieuws read The Dutch Again.
The luck of the draw put the two neighbors together -- and not for the first time.
The Dutch beat Belgium twice to qualify for the '98 finals but Belgium inflicted a painful 1-0 defeat on the Netherlands in the last World Cup finals.
South Africa doesn't seem intimidated by meeting host France in its opening game, nor by being drawn in a group that also includes former European champion Denmark.
The South Africans lost to France 2-1 in October.
"We know what to expect from them," said top striker Phil Masinga. "We will approach this game as a new game and are confident and determined that we have the quality of players to do well. The road ahead for us is great."
The Germans, drawn with powerful Yugoslavia but also grouped with likely also-rans Iran and the United States, seemed pleased.
Super-Draw! Berti Kissed by Luck, The Berliner Zeitung said.
Manager Berti Vogts tried to contain the euphoria, terming Yugoslavia maybe the strongest team in Europe.
"All the Germans know how strong the Yugoslav team has always played at the championships," Vogts said.
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
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