FRANCE
AIME NOT WELL LIKED. Aime Jacquet, the French coach, can't do anything right.
He led France to the semifinals of the 1996 European Championship – the first time France had gotten that far in a tournament – and he was blasted for fielding a boring team.
He held off announcing his 22-man squad for the World Cup and he was criticized for being indecisive.
He finally cut six players from the team's training camp in Clairefontaine, and he got heat for being insensitive.
No wonder he's already decided to quit after the finals.
Jacquet's team has never won over the French public, and he'll be in the hot seat to get France off to a fast start.
SEARCH FOR A BUTEUR. France has as good a team on paper as any in the tournament with the exception of one position: striker.
Jacquet has never found an out-and-out goalscorer since the departure of Jean-Pierre Papin.
He'll probably start with Stephane Guivarc'h, go to Argentine-bred David Trezeguet if Guivarc'h doesn't produce and bring back Euro '96 veteran Christophe Dugarry if all else fails.
BARTHEZ OR LAMA? Few positions in the French team are subject to intensive debate quite like the battle for the goalkeeping job.
Bernard Lama held it through early '97. Fabien Barthez took over when Lama was suspended for drug use, and he's held it even though Lama made a spectacular comeback at West Ham this spring.
One reason France has never won the World Cup is because it's never had a world-class keeper.
Barthez or Lama will have to step up this summer.
France in brief
World Cup appearances: 9. Best finish: Third place (1958, 1986). Record (W-T-L): 15-5-14. How it qualified: host.
SOUTH AFRICA
THE WHITE WITCH DOCTOR. In the space of 10 months, Frenchman Philippe Troussier has guided Nigeria through to the World Cup finals, led Burkina Faso to fourth place at the African Nations Cup and moved on to South Africa to take over the Bafana Bafana.
He's done nothing to diminish his reputation as the White Witchdoctor of African soccer. He credited his success in Burkina Faso to the time talking with players in the shade of a baobob tree. When he returned to South Africa, where he had a short stint with Kaizer Chiefs, he took part in a cleansing ritual that involved dipping his hands in the blood of a slaughtered goat.
''I am their sports psychologist,'' Troussier said.
'A CAMP FROM HELL.' Trouble seems to find Troussier, though. He's had a reputation for not getting along with management – not exactly an uncommon problem in the chaotic world of African soccer.
More recently, it's the South Africa media he's had run-ins with. After his first training camp in South Africa, he was accused of operating a ''camp from hell.''
It should be noted he came into a difficult position. After the African Nations Cup, at which interim coach Jomo Sono led South Africa to second place, there were cries from fans to keep the popular Sono and scrap plans to bring in Troussier.
WILL BENNI PLAY? Troussier's received lots of heat over his plans to seek out European talent – three of whom have little connection to South Africa, and seriously referred to as Palooks – at the expense of local players.
Probably the sharpest criticism came when he said he couldn't guarantee that young star Benni McCarthy would start in France.
A product of one of Cape Town's most crime-ridden townships, McCarthy, like Troussier, has experienced a whirlwind year.
Last season, he was playing in South Africa's minor leagues when he was discovered by Dutch club Ajax. This winter, he was named the MVP of the African Nations Cup.
South Africa in brief
World Cup appearances: 0. How it qualified: Africa – Malawi 1-0, 3-0, DR Congo 1-0, 2-1, Zambia 0-0, 3-0, Congo 0-2, 1-0 (Group 3 champion).
SAUDI ARABIA
PARREIRA AT HOME. When Carlos Alberto Parreira left the MetroStars on the eve of the 1998 World Cup draw to take over Saudi Arabia, the folks in the Meadowlands acted like the Brazilian had committed an act of high treason.
It should have come as no surprise that Parreira, who led Brazil to the '94 title, would be tempted by Saudi petrodollars. He's spent almost half of his coaching career in the Middle East, including a stint in Saudi Arabia.
LIVING UP TO '94. Parreira will not be without pressure. In previous stints with Middle Eastern teams Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, there was no expectation his team would do well. Not this time.
The Saudis are coming off the '94 World Cup, when they beat Morocco 2-1 and Belgium 1-0 to reach the second round, and the '96 Asian Cup, which it won for the third time two years ago.
THE DESERT MARADONA. Saeed Al-Owairan single-handedly beat Belgium four years ago, dribbling the length of the field before scoring the winning goal that earned him the nickname the ''Desert Maradona.'' He apparently picked up some of Maradona's bad night-time habits, getting suspended for 18 months, apparently for breaking strict Moslem laws against partying.
But as Saudi Arabia displayed in his absence, it's not a one-man team. Parreira has a solid corps of players in goalie Mohammed Al-Deayea, defenders Abdullah Zubramawi and Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi, midfielder Khalid Al-Muwallid and striker Sami Al-Jaber.
Saudi Arabia in brief
World Cup appearances: 1. Best finish: second round (1994). Record (W-T-L): 2-0-2. How it qualified: Asia – Taiwan 2-0, 6-0, Malaysia 0-0, 3-0, Bangladesh 4-1, 3-0, Kuwait 2-1, 1-2, Iran 1-1, 1-0, China 0-1, 1-1, Qatar 1-0, 1-0 (Group A champion).
DENMARK
LAUDRUP'S RETURN. Denmark's emergence dates back to the '84 European Championship in France, where it burst on the scene for the first time.
The Danes were unlucky to fall to the French 1-0 in the tournament opener. In their second game, they blasted Yugoslavia 5-0 in Lyons, and a legend was born.
Danish Dynamite, the team became known as, and it featured an exceptional generation of talent. Simonsen. Elkjaer-Larsen. Lerby. Arnesen. Morten Olsen.
The youngest Viking was 20-year-old Michael Laudrup. Fourteen years later, Laudrup returns to Lyons, where France and Denmark close out the first round.
AN EDGE OVER FRANCE. The Danes have long since gained revenge for the loss in Paris 14 years ago. They knocked the French out of the '92 European Championship and broke the French 31-game unbeaten streak in late '96 that went back almost three years.
France and Denmark could be already through to the second round by the time they meet in Lyons. The French fear is that they lose to the Danes and have to play the winner of the Group of Death, probably Spain or Nigeria, in the second round.
EXPERIENCED MERCENARIES. The '98 Danish team resembles the '92 European Championship team more than the great teams of the '80s. Except for Laudrup, his brother Brian and goalie Peter Schmeichel, Denmark is a team with few stars.
Swede Bo Johansson does have a lot of experience, though. His probable starting lineup is comprised entirely of players scattered in seven foreign countries and their average age is 30.
Denmark in brief
World Cup appearances: 1. Best finish: second round (1986). Record (W-T-L): 3-0-1. How it qualified: Europe – Slovenia 2-0, 4-0, Greece 2-1, 0-0, Croatia 1-1, 3-1, Bosnia 2-0, 0-3 (Group 1 champion).