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Scifo makes up with coach
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Veteran playmaker Enzo Scifo overcame his rift with coach Georges Leekens to win a place today on the list of 25 players in contention for Belgium's World Cup squad.Scifo, 32, had threatened never to play for Leekens' Red Devils again after the coach left him off the team for a preparation game against the United States in February.
But after a much-publicized reconciliation, Belgian's best-known player is back on the squad and in with a chance to go to his fourth World Cup.
"I went for experience, I picked Scifo," Leekens said. "I think we're over our problems and can start afresh."
The squad has to be whittled down to 22 by June 2. Belgium plays in Group E, which also includes the Netherlands, South Korea and Mexico.
Leekens' pre-selection also includes seven players from Belgian champions FC Brugge who dominated this season's domestic action.
Offensive force is provided by a trio of foreign-based strikers -- Luc Nilis of PSV Eindhoven, Luis Oliveira from Fiorentina and Schalke's Michael Goossens.
Marc Wilmots, also from Schalke 04, is expected to emerge as the power player in midfield.
The dynamic Mpenza brothers, Emile and Mbo, from Standard Liege, are also included to battle for a forward place in Leekens' roster of 22 to travel to the World Cup finals in France this summer.
Leekens will make his final choice on May 31, after after watching his players perform in the King Hassan II tournament in Casablanca, a four-team preparation tournament that also includes France, Morocco and England.
Scifo, now with Anderlecht, is a former star of Torino, Auxerre and Monaco. He has been a key player for Belgium since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Leekens dropped him after the midfielder went public with team criticism. Apparently Leekens obtained the apology he demanded.
Like previous Belgian squads, Leekens' lineup is short on glamor, but high on no-nonsense workhorses hoping to follow in the footsteps of other Belgian selections who have emerged with credit on soccer's highest stage.
Belgium reached the semifinals in Mexico, 1986, and the second round in Italy 1990 and 1994 in the United States.
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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