How France 98 Is Playing in Publications Around the Globe:

POLAND

Daily newspaper, Zycie, which means Life:

“For the first time, each team will play the preliminaries at different locations. This is done so the hosts can make a lot of money on the fans moving around. . . . The feeling that the World Cup is taking place is omnipresent in Paris. Almost on every Parisian square one can buy ‘cheap’ mementos of the games. The symbol of the World Cup in the shape of a tricolor ball has been placed practically everywhere and every second TV commercial uses motifs connected with football. . . .

“The only people not affected by the football fever are the famous Parisian beggars. . . . A group of them getting free food on the Nation Square . . . [was] complaining a lot about the World Cup. The only thing they were counting on is that fans will be more generous than the usual tourists.”

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GERMANY

Berlin conservative daily Die Welt writes in its sports section, quoting German Coach Berti Vogts on his order that the wives and girlfriends of the German players won’t have access to the training camps:

“ ‘We don’t allow any heteronomy. We are not misogynous, but we have a goal.’ ”

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KENYA

The East African Standard in Nairobi:

“Electronic goods shops have reported roaring business in TV sets while reports from Western Kenya said TVs have become a favorite target for burglars in the run-up to the soccer bonanza. . . .

“Kenyan World Cup fans are ready to go to any length to have a glimpse of their favorite matches. Their greatest fears are power outages and bad weather.”

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MEXICO

Business section of Reforma, Mexico City newspaper, quoting Carlos Paredes, general director of the Mexican Assn. of Industrial Relations Executives:

“ ‘This will be the other competition: productivity within Mexican companies will compete with World Cup coverage for the attention of employees.

“ ‘It is hard to say to what extent, but productivity will be affected by the World Cup . . . [because] no matter what you do, your mind will be on the outcome of the game.’ ”

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FRANCE

Editorial in the sporting newspaper L’Equipe:

“Soccer is a universal religion with deep roots, from the favellas of Rio to the slums of Bombay, from the depths of Titicaca to the slopes of Kilimanjaro, from Zurich the rich to Lagos the poor. . . . It is the hope of a better future.”

Front page headline in L’Equipe:

“What a World!”

Subhead: “The great day has arrived. Today, Wednesday, the 10th of June, the center of the world will be at Saint-Denis, where, on the field of the Stade de France, Brazil, the title holder, and Scotland play the first of 64 matches of the 16th World Cup, the most formidable event ever organized in France.”

Correspondents Ela Kasprzycka in Warsaw, Christian Retzlaff in Berlin, Dean E. Murphy in Nairobi, Brinley Bruton and James F. Smith in Mexico City, and Helene Elliott in PAris contribued to this report.