World Cup ’98 organizers have launched a lottery in France to distribute tickets to nine key matches: the opening game, four quarterfinals, two semifinals, third-place game and final. The tickets for the big matches of the 1998 tournament in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Nantes were made available for reservation until Oct. 18 at a rate of two per person per match for all residents of France. Because France doesn’t have the big stadiums U.S. organizers used for the ’94 finals, demand for tickets far exceeds supply. Organizers will after Oct. 18 hold a lottery to allocate the 227,000 tickets, advising the lucky winners officially in December. Tickets will be mailed in May. To reduce the chances of tickets ending up in the hands of scalpers, French organizers are allowing only two tickets per household and requiring that they must be used by the ticketholder or his or her family. There are 33,000 tickets for the French public for the opening match at the new 80,000-capacity Stade de France in the Paris suburb of St. Denis June 10. The same venue will hold a quarterfinal, semifinal and the July 12 final, for which there will be 31,000 tickets available. Tickets for the group stage and second round have already been sold, although more will go on sale in March. Other tickets will be available through tour operators and foreign federations, whose allotment will be determined once the 32-team field is set. It is not expected that U.S. Soccer will offer any kind of public sale of tickets it receives.