Mexico and Argentina, which finished second respectively in the CONCACAF and South American qualifying tournaments, will meet Dec. 11 in Toluca, Mexico and Dec. 19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina in a two-game playoff to determine the final berth in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The winner will be determined on total goals over the two matches and will become the first Spanish-speaking country in Women’s World Cup history. The 15 nations that have qualified for the tournament that will take place next summer from June 19 to July 10 in seven communities across the United States are: host USA, Oceania champion Australia, South American champion Brazil, CONCACAF champion Canada, Asian qualifiers China, Japan and North Korea, European qualifiers Sweden, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Russia, and African qualifiers Nigeria and Ghana. Mexico almost earned an automatic berth to the Women’s World Cup, but fell 1-0 to Canada in the CONCACAF championship game. Argentina was not as close, losing 7-1 to powerful Brazil in the South American final. Mexico has been bolstered by several Mexican-American players including former UC Santa Barbara All-American Laurie Hill, Notre Dame University all-time leading scorer Monica Gerardo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo star forward Gina Oceguera and goalkeeper Linnea Quinones of San Diego State. Mexico’s defense will be strengthened by the addition of No. 2-ranked Santa Clara University captain Lisa Nanez, a four-year letter-winner for the Broncos, who will depart directly from the NCAA Final Four this weekend in Greensboro, N.C. and will play her first international matches against Argentina. Mexico will be led by new Head Coach Leonardo Cuellar, the former Mexican National Team star and current head men’s soccer coach at Cal State Los Angeles. Cuellar takes over for the two playoff matches in hopes of leading Mexico to the Women’s World Cup for the first time. Argentina has been in intense preparation, playing several friendly games against South American competition, including a 3-1 victory over Uruguay and a 4-1 win over Peru.