FIFA has announced the draw for the second round of African qualifying for World Cup ’98. There will be five groups consisting of four teams. Each country will play home-and-away matches against the others in its group. The five group winners will advance to France ’98.
Group 1– *Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Kenya.
Group 2 — Liberia, Tunisia, *Egypt, Namibia.
Group 3 — Congo, *Zambia, South Africa, Zaire.
Group 4 — Angola, Zimbabwe, Togo, *Cameroon.
Group 5 — Gabon, Ghana, *Morocco, Burundi.
Note: * denotes seeded team.
The first matches will be played in November, and qualifying will end in August, 1997.
Other FIFA news
FIFA has decided to hold the inaugural Confederations Cup (formerly the Intercontinental Cup) tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 12-21, 1997.
The participants competing for the King Fahd trophy will be: Brazil (world champion), Saudi Arabia (host), Germany (European champion 1996), Uruguay (South American champion 1995), Mexico (CONCACAF Gold Cup champion 1996), South Africa (African champion 1996), Australia or Tahiti (the two finalists of the Oceania Nations Cup), and the winner of this year’s Asian Cup competition (or the runner-up should Saudi Arabia be the winner).
The eight teams will be drawn into two groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals.