France Struggles but Escapes
No Zinedine Zidane, no Patrick Vieira and almost no scoring -- again -- for France.
Only a successful penalty kick by Thierry Henry in the 39th minute kept France from another humiliating outcome as it hung on for a 1-0 victory over Colombia at Lyon, France, in its opening game of the FIFA Confederations Cup on Wednesday.
In Wednesday’s other Group A match, Japan got two goals from Shunsuke Nakamura and one from Hidetoshi Nakata in a 3-0 victory over New Zealand at Paris.
At the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, the defending world champion French were eliminated after group play and did not score a goal in three games. Without Zidane and Vieira among others, France, like many at this eight-team tournament, is not fielding its top squad.
Henry’s penalty kick also was controversial because of a delayed call on a hand ball. Referee Lucilio Cardoso of Portugal didn’t make the call until after consulting a linesman.
Group B Preview
The U.S. kicks off its Confederations Cup schedule today at St. Etienne against Turkey, which finished third at last summer’s World Cup.
Coach Bruce Arena has said he will use the tournament to evaluate many younger players as well as to get ready for next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. He said the U.S. isn’t here to prove itself after some considered last summer’s World Cup quarterfinal appearance a fluke.
“We don’t have to defend anything we’ve done on the field,” Arena said. “If there are critics of that, fair enough. We believe when we step on the field we’re capable of beating any team in the world.”
In the other Group B match, Cameroon plays Brazil at Paris. Brazil Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said he will start Adriano, who scored 15 goals for Parma in the Italian league this season, at forward.
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Mexico won’t field its strongest team for next month’s Gold Cup, but it did include top defender Rafael Marquez in announcing its roster.
Marquez, though, was named to the team so he can serve his four-game international suspension for elbowing Cobi Jones of the U.S. in Mexico’s 2-0 loss in last summer’s World Cup.
Marquez would only be eligible to play if Mexico reaches the final.
Among those left off Mexico’s roster were forwards Francisco Palencia and Cuauhtemoc Blanco and midfielders Gerardo Torrado and Johan Rodriguez.
Copa Libertadores
Santos of Brazil advanced to the final of the Copa Libertadores by securing a 3-2 victory over Independiente Medellin of Colombia, winning the two-leg series, 4-2, on aggregate.
Goals by Alex, Fabiano and Leo put Santos in the final of South America’s most prestigious club tournament as it seeks its first title since 1963.
Tressor Moreno and Mauricio Molina scored the goals for Independiente.
Santos will play either American de Cali of Colombia or Boca Juniors of Argentina. Those teams end their series tonight with Boca winning the first game, 2-0.
Beckham Reaction
David Beckham’s departure from Manchester United for Real Madrid set off the expected shockwaves throughout the soccer world.
Among the headlines in British newspapers: “Adios Amigo” (Times of London), “El Becko” (Daily Star), and “SOLD” (Daily Mirror). The tabloid Sun even offered a “grief line” for upset fans.
Quick Passes
Ante Razov scored two goals and had two assists to lead the Chicago Fire to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Burn in a Major League Soccer game in front of 11,728 at Naperville, Ill.... The Women’s United Soccer Assn. All-Star game will be played tonight at Cary, N.C., with a team of U.S. stars -- essentially the national team for this fall’s World Cup -- playing a world all-star team.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
