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Confederation Cup groups known
On November 1st, Germany hosted the draw for FIFA's Confederation Cup which is to be played in June 2005 as a warm-up to the world cup a year later.
With Brazil as seeded world cup champions automatically placed in group 2 and Germany seeded hosts automatically placed in group 1, all that was left to do was draw the remaining teams. With no teams from the same confederation allowed to face each other though Argentina was placed in group 1 with Germany and Greece in group 2 with Brazil.
The remaining four nations, Mexico, Japan, Australia and Tunisia were then drawn.
Australia and Tunisia were drawn into a difficult group 1 but both nations saw it as a good opportunity to not only improve but face quality opposition prior to world cup qualifiers.
"It's always a thrill when you take on the host nation," Australian coach Frank Farina said, "it's a superb opportunity to test ourselves against the big names and prepare for next year's play-off against a South American nation for a place at the World Cup." (www.fifaworldcup.com)
The president of Tunisian football, Hamouda Ben Ammar, was also relishing the chance to play quality opposition. "For the players, facing Germany and Argentina is going to be very special. And at such a widely covered event, it’s also a chance to put themselves in the shop window." (www.fifaworldcup.com)
Heavyweights Germany recognise the talent in their group and won't be taking anything lightly, though coach Jürgen Klinsmann still believes the glamour clash is one to savour. "It's always a highlight and an honour to play a team like Argentina. It's a special moment for the players, the kind of match you never forget," he said. "There are no easy opponents, and we'll approach every game with the proper amount of respect." (www.fifaworldcup.com)
Argentina are less focused on their opponents and more focused on their performance in the tornament however, according to the Argentine football association president and FIFA vice-president, Julio Grondona. "The bottom line is that to win a competition of this stature, you have to be able to beat anyone." (www.fifaworldcup.com)
That left Mexico and Japan drawn against Greece and Brazil for group 2. In what looks to be a fairly straight forward first place get for Brazil, it's the battle for the second place position that has left this group labeled the toughest of the two. With Greece's poor performance in world cup qualifying and Mexico and Japan's winning streak, the European champions could find themselves watching the semi-finals from the sidelines.
Greece's coach Otto Rehhagel however still has alot of belief in his group. "Our motto is 'nothing is impossible.' As my assistant Ioannis says: “We'll draw with Brazil and beat the other two.” " (www.fifaworldcup.com)
Japanese coach Zico seemed determined to not get over excited about the draw, wanting to focus on the world cup task at hand. "We will try to have a good tournament, but in the meantime, we have the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign to think about." www.fifaworldcup.com)
Mexico's administrative director , Ricardo Alberto Martinez, made no secret of Mexico's desires come 2005. "All of the teams will be coming to Germany to win. That includes us, as we did in 1999, at home in Mexico. In 2005, Mexico will bring its best players at the time and will field the strongest team our coach has available to him." (www.fifaworldcup.com)
Brazil, despite having a relatively easy run to the semi-finals, recognise the importance of the event in the build up to Germany 2006. "We take this competition very seriously, but the fact that it’s taking place in the same country as the World Cup 12 months before the big event makes it even more important." said Jean-Pierre Frankenhuis, Brazilian football federation European coordinator (www.fifaworldcup.com)
3 November, 2004 |
