ROAD TO THE 1999 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
LOS ANGELES (Monday, March 16, 1998) - Brazil, with a 7-1 victory over host Argentina in Mar de Plata, Argentina, became the fifth nation to earn a spot in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. As South American champions, Brazil joins previous qualifiers China, Japan and North Korea, and host USA, among the 16 teams at the world championship of women's soccer, which will be held in the United States from June 19 to July 10, 1999.
Argentina, as South American runner-up, will face the second place finisher from the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament, in a home-and-away series in the Fall of 1998. The winner will earn the final berth in the Women's World Cup.
Peru placed third, defeating Ecuador on penalty kicks, 3-3 (2-1). In semifinal play held on Friday, March 13, Brazil defeated Ecuador, 11-1, while Argentina needed to go to penalty kicks to advance to the finals over Peru, 1-1 (4-3).
The next six Women's World Cup berths will come from Europe, which is currently conducting group play through August. The 16 nations competing are equally divided into four groups that are playing home-and-away matches. Each group winner automatically earns a Women's World Cup bid. The four second place teams will be paired in a random draw and play home-and-away matches with the winners gaining the remaining two European berths to the Women's World Cup. The nations representing Africa, CONCACAF and Oceania will be decided in October.
The venues of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup are: Boston (Foxboro Stadium), Chicago (Soldier Field), Los Angeles (Rose Bowl), New York/New Jersey (Giants Stadium), Portland, Ore. (Civic Stadium), San Francisco Bay (Spartan Stadium in San Jose and Stanford Stadium), and Washington, D.C. (Jack Kent Cooke Stadium). Fans can obtain event information and sign up for a priority ticket list by calling toll-free (888) 4-WWC-INFO (888-499-2463).
