Confederations Cup
Korea/Japan 2001

30 May 2001: Deja Vu Against Mexico
Australia opened their 1997 campaign with a victory over Mexico in Suwon, and this time they did it again in style.  Instead of the 3-1 result then, Australia, fielding a team very similar to that that beat Scotland late last year, won 2-0. 

Within minutes, Australia created a great chance when Zane, who surprisingly looked good on the ball, headed straight to goal-keeper Sanchez from almost point-blank range which did nothing to rectify his poor reputation for hitting the back of the net.  Not long later, Mexico's Sanchex sent a blistering long drive that Schwarzer easily pushed over the bar.  A spate of corners from both teams followed, with Mexico's failing to trouble Australia's tall defence, and Murphy and Zane having half chances for their team.  Mexico then had their best chance of the half when a Rodriguez low drive was well saved by a diving Schwarzer at the near post.  From this point on, Australia gradually took control of the game which was eventually rewarded when Skoko, who was doing plenty of lovely work in midfield, beat a couple of oppoents and then layed the ball out wide for a deep Corica cross to drift over the head of Zane, only for the charging Murphy to come from behind to score with a powerful header that surprised, not only those watching live and on TV, but those on the pitch.  Popovic later had a great chance to score when the ball fell to him during a goal mouth scramble after a free kick only for pressure from the combination of keeper and defender forcing his shot high.  Mexico looked lively towards the end of the half, but their attack looked impostent and failed to trouble the Australians.

Mexico started the second half much the same, but again, Australia were able to repel, or force them to shoot from distance.  For Australia, Lazaridis became more prominent with a couple of nice crosses that troubled the Mexican defenders, and on the right, Corica and Muscat were creating space for themselves and getting much of the ball.  Indeed, Muscat provided Zrdillic with a good opportunity, but pressure from his marker was sufficient to see the header go wide.  Then minutes later, Okon brilliantly intercepted a short pass on the right wing, beat one player, and then drove a low cross into the box.  The cross was dummied, and then tee-ed up by Corica for Skoko, who handsomely blasted the ball from almost 20 metres out for Australia's second goal.  The small, but seemingly pro-Aussie (no doubt due to the LG sponsorship of the team) Korean crowd who just saw their team lose 5-0 to France, cheered widely, as the Australians seemed more likely the team to strike again.  With Orsono the only leading light up front for Mexico, and fellow substitute Victorino supplying dangerous crosses and making darting runs, they did push forward, but lacked the killer final ball.  Only Suarez forced Schwarzer into a meaningful save, and the seemingly endless amount of Mexican corners were gobbled up by the Australian defence.  Australia, whose height at both ends troubled Mexico throughout the match, were content to keep possession and then capitalise on Mexican breakdowns for the remainder of the match.

This Australian team looked good again, and very organised.   Even substitutes Chipperfield, Thompson and Foxe, look lively up forward and accomplished on the ball.  In fact, all in all, a very accomplished performance against a team that had just lost 4-0 to England last weekend.  France looked devastating in their game, and Australia awaits them on Friday in a match of the two undefeated teams.  This will be coach Farina's greatest test, and a draw here should see them on course for a semi final spot.

Group A Round 1: France 5 - Korea 0, Australia 2 (Murphy 20' , Skoko 54') - Mexico 0
Group B Round 1: Brazil 2 - Cameroon 0, Japan 3 - Canada 0

1 June 2001: This Time, A Real Upset
It seems the inferiority complex of Australian Soccer is still alive and kicking when many newspapers and websites labelled the win over Mexico as an upset.  Considering Australia was fielding predominantly the much-lauded team that beat Scotland last year, and that Mexican football is relatively struggling in their World Cup qualifying, and that they copped a 4-0 flogging by England last weekend, if anything, Australia were slight favourites going into the match.  And that is exactly how it panned out.  A real upset, would be beating France, which is exactly what the team did when they played a strategically impressive game, rode their luck a couple of times, and scored a 1-0 victory that sees them on target to make the semi finals.

In a dull game, France did the bulk of attacking and looked the most dangerous to score, but Australia were hardly upstaged, even though the strength and height they enjoyed over Mexico was gone.  Whilst enjoying good periods of possession of their own, Australia's tactic of sitting back, stroking the ball around calmly when in possession, and relying on opportunistic openings, worked well as France wasted their rare good chances.  The fact that Australia restricted them so well says much for the organised defensive unit that is crucial come World Cup qualifying time.   However, it could have been much different a game if France's LeBoeuf had converted a point-blank header from a free kick conceded sillily by Lazaridis late in the first half.  He did not, and only an early long-range shot forced Schwarzer into any form of save during the rest of the half.  For Australia, Emerton had another classy game, as he and Corica created Australia's most dangerous moments with some nice crosses and runs.  One Emerton cross just force Corica a little too wide to do anything useful with it, and then later, Zane turned his man and then saw his dangerous cross drift harmlessly across the French goal-mouth with no Australian at the ready.  Other good chances werea Lazaridis free kicked that was saved easily and Emerton a late long range crack towards the end after a nice build-up.

If Australia were to trouble the scorers themselves, they needed more urgency going forward.  Okon dipped into his usual reluctant self with piddlely short passes to closely marked players, or dallied too long on the ball, which resulted in passes made under pressure, and hence, turnovers or dispossession.  There was one example when the ball spilled lose in midfield whereby Emerton started running down the wing in anticipation of a quick pass.  But instead of going straight to him, Okon passed back to Skoko whereby he thankfully had the sense to immediately punt it upfield towards Emerton. Butt by now, he'd had a French defender tracking back and the attack came to nought.  In contrast, France looked for players in space immediately they won midfield possession, and were particularly lethal at opening up play with long cross-field balls that would leave the Australian defence stretched.  Credit to them for closing France down quickly, but if there was another Wiltord or two - France's best player - things would have been different.  There seemed a bewildering amount of occasions that Australia's defence looked stretch, and whether it was complacent French play or not, Australia subduing most of these attacks I doubt would have occurred even a few years ago.

France started the second half well, with Nee's glancing header just going wide.  Corica then surged forward but a slight push saw the ball forced out for a goal kick.  It was a push that quite easily have been a free kick if occurred in general play.  Another Corica run was rewarded with a free kick when he was brought down by LeBoeuf, who received a yellow card, that saw Skoko's curling effort just being saved onto the post.  However, the much maligned Zane - though again proving very effective on the ball - was first to react and slid the ball under the keeper for Australia to sensationally take the lead.  France were forced to react and within two minutes, Djorkaeff set up Nee for a header, which was almost sensationally saved by Schwarzer.  He did get the palm to it, but in falling down, kicked it over his head and seemingly across the line.  However, the goal was denied for offside against another player when the ball was first played to Nee.  Replays showed a very close call, and Australia were lucky to keep their lead indeed. 

France brought on the big guns in Anelka, Pires and eventually Viera, with only Pires making an impression.  But first, Australia, now content to soak up time, saw a nice series of passes set Corica free for a nice cross into the box. It was cleared out only for the it to be rebounded back in for Zane to attempt a bicycle kick that resulted in zilch.  Then at the other end, Wiltord set up a great opportunity for Robert, whose looping header was sensationally saved by an extended Schwarzer to preserve Australia's lead. Later, as Australia won the ball after another French attack, it was quickly played out wide to Zane. In skipping past LeBoeuf, LeBoeuf's frustrated late tackle saw him red-carded after a second yellow.  Australia then brought on Bresciano and Aloisi as the match drew to its conclusion, with Aloisi making himself immediately noticed by copping for a yellow card for a dive.  However, as both teams seemed content to patiently play out the match, Pires, in very last minute of the match, set up France's last chance for a draw when he beat two Australians out wide, to launch a low cross into the box.  It was met by Robert, who should have struck first time, but his first touch saw Moore able to clear and allow Australia to play out the game for a memorable victory.

Despite continual reference of this being the France-B team (in fact, the sour French media went so far as calling it a third eleven), it was hardly such with at least half the eleven a regular first team choice, the team still playing tremendous football, and coming off a 5-0 win over Korea.  And of course, Australia were without several key players, which, for a team like Australia that lacks the enormous depth of players that France would have, the impact is far greater overall to the team's pedigree.  Undoubtably it was still an enormous achievement, and one that instils confidence in coach Farina's battle plans come World Cup time.  It also shows just how much better the best team in the world is compared to the worst - 30 goals.  That was the difference in the margin that Australia beat American Samoa in April compared to beating France in this game. 

Including the Scotland game, it is now three successive big-time games that Australia has kept the opposition scoreless, which bodes well for the time it comes to not only face the frenzied attacking South Americans on their home pitch, but more importantly, a less defensively inclined Australian team on their home pitch where away goals absurdly count as double.  As for this tournament, with Korea beating Mexico (leaving Australia on 6 points, and France and Korea on 3), Australia needs a draw against Korea (which beat Mexico sensationally in the last minute of play) to ensure itself winning the group.  A draw in the final France/Mexico game would see Australia most likely win the group, but definately go through anyhow.   Regardless, they should aim to win the group in order to avoid Brazil in the cross-over semi finals.  Not that Brazil is the traditional Brazil that everyone fears, it's all about making life easier.

Group A Round 2: Australia 1 (Zane 60') - France 0, Korea 2 - Mexico 1
Group B Round 2: Japan 2 - Cameroon 0, Brazil 0 - Canada 0

3 June 2001: In a Prelude November, Through to the Semi Finals
Australia felt the full force of what can be expected November this year against the fifth best South American country in the away leg of a World Cup tie when Korea launched a frenzied attack on the Australian team in their final group game of this tournament.   Korea, needing to defeat Australia by 4 goals to advance, and urged on by a ravenous crowd in Suwon, did their best to unseat the Aussie's semi-finals spor, but ultimately ran out of legs, and had to settle for a 1-0 goal victory.  It gave them two wins for the tournament, but with Australia and France - who beat Mexico 4-0 in their final group game - also on 2 wins, goal difference came into calculation.  That meant the 5-0 loss to France in the earlier group game came back to haunt them.   It was the second consecutive major tournament that Korea unluckily failed to advance despite wining two games, the prior one being last year's Olympics.

Korea unsettled Australia for much of the first half by closing them down quickly in their own half, and breaking speedily from midfield upon forcing turnovers.  However, it was Australia that had the first great chance when Emerton beat the offside trap for the a second consecutive time in the matter of 30 seconds, and broke clear down the right.  Unfortunately he elected to shoot from the narrow angle instead of crossing for an unmarked Zane to tap in.  His shot went narrowly wide.  From this point, it was all Korea as they set up camp in Australia's half.  While it seemed disconcerting that Australia were able so much pressure, and unable to hold the ball for any length of the time, truth of the matter is that Korea rarely troubled the Australian goal.  The frenzied attacking brought several crosses, free kicks and corners, but all were cleared easily.  Ironically, it was a fluky goal after 24 minutes that brought the lead when a pass was deflected over the top of the Australian defence with Hwang and Murphy racing to intercept it.  Hwang managed to get the outside of his right boot to the ball and it lobbed over Schwarzer's head from the narrowest of angle and in for a goal.  Not long later, he saved another narrow-angle shot at the near post for his only save of the half.  A header that went wide later was really the only dangerous moment of the half.  At the end of the half, both teams and only one shot saved, which spoke volumes about the lack of clear-cut chances created.   Australia's chance that was saved was a late Corica effort from an acute angle.

Australia rang the changes at half time with Chipperfield and Zrdrillic coming on in replace of Foxe and Corica.  Chipperfield on the left meant Bresciano moved into centre-midfield, with the changes doing wonders for the balance of the team.  Whether the Koreans were now less inclined to rush the Australians, or simply tired, the opening periods saw Australian dominance.  Instantly Chipperfield turned a couple of Koreans, but had his shot from close range blocked by another covering later. The resultant corner saw Zane narrowly head wide.  While Chipperfield's speed continued to create havoc, it was the Australian's poor passing that was the main source for Korean forays.  Okon again had a good game - his reading of play and interceptions were first class - but again, his tendency to play the easy pass and not the quick direct pass, meant good mid-to-forward Australia positioning was wasted.    Of course, he still did set up many forward attacks with his passing and nipping past players, but some more overall urgency would leave us fans less frustrated when dallying on the ball - not only by him, either - resulted in lost possession.

In a pulsating end to the game, both teams went at each other hammer and tongs, and both teams had chances to score.  Australia's best efforts came when Emerton broke into the penalty box, but just failed to pass the ball away for Zane to poke into an open net.  Then after 85 minutes, Zane himself had a one-on-one chance, and though under pressure from two defenders, the saved shot quickly revived those feelings by fans of his inadequacies in front of goal.  However, he won't play a part in the next game because not long later, he received a red card - harshly it seems - for a late attack on the goal keeper.  From the spillage of that shot, the ball ended up on the right wing for that man again, Brett Emerton to pick up.   He sensationally beat two defenders to drive a low cross into the box whereby the keeper fumbled the block.  It was here that Zane attempted to dislodge the ball from the keeper's grasp and ended up kneeing him in the head.  This brought on a fracas amongst the players and drew blood on the keeper's head, which seemed to exaggerate the severity of incident and hence provoke the red card. 

By now, Korea had no chance of gaining the extra three goals as required, but still pushed on.  Their best chance came towards the end when Choi's free header failed to trouble Schwarzer, who easily save.

Depending on the final game in Group B, Australia will play either Brazil or Japan, whom play each other to decide the group.  Japan has two wins, so a draw will see them win the group, meaning they would play Australia.   Whilst that seems the easier option on paper, Brazil could only draw against Canada in their second game, so their form is nothing special.  Also, in playing Brazil, Australia won't have that raucous home crowd to contend with which could be a help.   Regardless, it will be another great test for Farina's team and his tactics, which have stood the pressure so far.  Team wise, Lazaridis will be back, though judging on performance so far, Chipperfield maybe a better option on the left.  Zane will miss, and no doubt many fans won't mind.  But facts are, in this tournament he has served a useful role in holding up the ball, beating markers and providing an aerial presence, and he would be a worthy decoy, at the very least, in the semi finals.

Group A Round 3: Australia 0 - Korea 1, France 4 - Mexico 0
Group B Round 3: Japan 0 - Brazil 0, Cameroon 2 - Canada 0

7 June 2001: Japan Scraps Past Australia and Through to the Final
The expected forward frenzy that Australia experienced against Korea, never materialised in the semi final against Japan.  In fact, both sides were cautious in the slippery conditions that torrential rain starting just as the game kicked off caused.  And in this match, it was Australia that was in control most of the time in creating the most dangerous chances from much possession only to be denied by some excellent Japanese goal keeping from Kawaguchi, and the lack of a killer final balls and finishing from Australia.  

The first great chance fell to Zrdillic midway though the first half when he spun 180 degrees and launched a shot - much like the goal he scored against Paraguay in Melbourne last year - that was well saved.  The resultant corner then saw Popovic have a close range shot saved after a goal mouth scramble.  Japan responded with Suzuki's low cross which luckily rolled past the Australian goal mouth, and then followed up with a run that would have seen him in good shooting position only for the referee to call it just offside.  However, Australia still dominated most of the shots, and while the left side of Lazaridis and Vidmar not functioning that well, Muscat and Corica were doing much damage on the right.  Corica especially was dangerous in catching the pressing Japanese defence square on several occasions, but failed to capitalise on his work.  Zrdillic was the only one to convert the breaks with a nice shot on the goal that was blocked by the defence as the 48,000-strong Yokohama crowd cheered every miss and save.

Japan did their bit up forward too and were quick to capitalise on balls won in midfield.  Nakata set up Suzuki for an attempt on goal that went wide, only for Corica himself to have an attempt at the other end that was saved again by Kawaguchi.  As the game livened up towards the end of the half, Moore managed to block a dangerous two-on-two situation after Vidmar was dispossessed in the Australian third of the field, whilst again, Corica had a shot well saved after he dribbled through the Japanese defence and created a one-on-one situation with the goalie.   Just before half time, the pivotal moment of the match occurred.  Whilst Zrdillic was unable to trouble the goal keeper after running onto a Schwarzer long kick-out and a Lazaridis header went narrowly wide after that man Corica again broke free on the right, it was Japan that scored the decisive goal via a Nakata free kick.  It was a silly free kick in the first place when Popovic shunted Suzuki over despite the ball flying harmlessly away.  Then to make things worse, the low drive went straight though the Australian wall and into the net despite Muscat able to get his boot on the ball whilst standing on the goal line.  Given the wet conditions and the close proximity to the goal meaning an over-the-wall shot would have too high a trajectory if hit too hard, a low shot was always on.  Unfortunately, the Australians left a small gap in the wall for Nakata to aim at, which became larger as they pirouetted around to avoid being hit by the ball front-on.  Makes you wonder why they cover their important bits with their hands if they are not going to take the full brunt of the ball, which they need to, if a wall is to do its job properly.

The goal was a cruel blow, but would prove to be a great test for the Australians.  The challenge seemingly got easier when Suzuki was red-carded for a behind the play incident where he apparently elbowed Popovic.  The cameras failed to pick it up accurately, but the two had been niggling at each other for most of the match.  As with Zane's dismissal in the previous game, it seemed the referee reacted more on the fallen player's condition rather than the incident itself.   But with the rain still teeming down and Japan setting up a concerted defensive wall, for a rampaging Australian team with a numerical advantage to score that vital goal would still be very difficult indeed.  And that is exactly what happened as Australia dominated play and launched wave after wave of attack from through the middle and out wide, with Japan repelling them with aplomb.

Farina rang the changes after 15 minutes to provide fresh legs up front by bringing on Sterjovski, Aloisi and later Thompson, for Chipperfield, Bresciano and Zrdillic, whilst Japan countered with midfield and defensive reinforcements.   Both teams had great opportunities to score with Australia's best being a Zrdillic lob from a narrow angle that narrowly missed going into goal either by itself or via the header of two Australians lurking nearby.  Then there was an Aloisi shot off a Sterjovski low cross that skied over the bar from close range, and a Thompson attempt that just saw him fail to get his boot to the ball before a Japanese defender cleared it from a Lazaridis cross.  Japan created their chances from counter-attacks and from turnovers in the Australian third of the field. Again, while Okon set up some great opportunities with his brilliant passing, twice his dalliance on the ball saw him stripped which set up potential game-termination Japanese attacks.  Nakata broke through on his own but his one-on-one attempt went just wide under some Schwarzer pressure.  And Morishima had two chances, one being a one-on-one shot that Schwarzer pushed over the bar, and the other a free header in the final minutes that bounced straight to the goal keeper.

So the team was unable to emulate the 1997 team's achievement of reaching the final, but in the big picture, there is much to be taken away from this tournament.  The main thing being that the team played so well and managed to beat two quality opponents in Mexico and France.  Losing 1-0 in two matches against Korea and Japan that they could easily have won, was more to do with the quirks of the game.  While on the receiving end of these quirks now, and so often in World Cup qualifying, the laws of probability suggest our turn will come.  That maybe the final qualifiers or even a nice run at the World Cup themselves. 

Of course, the Confederation Cup is not over yet with the team set to play Brazil in the third place game on Sunday night.  However, with four players (Emerton, who missed this semi, Okon, Muscat and Aloisi), set to miss through family wedding plans in Australia, Moore and Vidmar suspended for a red card and two yellows respectively, and possibly Skoko, whose thigh injury incurred during training that kept him out of this match, may also keep him out of the next match, the team's depth will be truly tested, even against this Brazil team that has performed far below their traditional pedigree.  Brazil have a 1-2-1 record this tournament and in their semi final, they were mostly outplayed by France who ended up winning 2-1.  France opened the scoring through Pires in the 7th minute, only for Brazil to equalise at via a Ramon free kick after France's Wiltord and Anelka wasted several chances.  As Brazil wasted some chances of their own, Desailly's header off a another free kick was enough to seal the game.  The third place game will be televised by SBS at 10pm Sunday night, just a few hours after the actual kickoff.   The final is at a similar time on Monday.

Semi Finals: Japan 1 (Nakata 43') - Australia 0, France 2 (Pires 7', Desailly 54') - Brazil 1 (Ramon 30')

10 June 2001: Australia Ends on a High as France Edge-Out Japan in the Final
Australia recorded their first ever win over Brazil last night when they defeated them 1-0 in the third-place playoff in Ulsan, Korea.  Again the team - without Okon, Emerton, Aloisi, Muscat and Moore through prior engagements with family weddings in Australia or suspensions - performed superbly by holding the balance of play for the first half, and only conceding territory and possession during the later stages of the second half when Brazil were chasing a goal.  And the game was no huge upset either, as most media have described.  Maybe a mild one, but given both teams' form-lines, a close competitive match was expected.  In fact, if you look at it statistically, Australia could have been slight favourites to win given they'd beaten France who had beaten Brazil.   We all know football is never that simple, but if the team played anything like they had for the previous games, they were always a good chance for victory.   Predictably, that is what occurred.  The high level of well organised, intelligent and cohesive style of play that has characterised this team since the Scotland game last year, not surprisingly, continued.  In fact, the performance was even more impressive when you consider that they were without nominated midfield general and play-maker Paul Okon.  It is comforting that the team can play without depending on the Okon-centric style of play - which the team has done so much this tournament -  as it gives flexibility during the times that Okon is unavailable, is off his game or merely closed down by the opposition.

In the absence of the other players, Tony Vidmar assumed the captaincy for this match and led the team with style.  The team line up saw Skoko, Horvat, Lazaridis make up  the central midfield, with Corica and Chipperfield on either wing with the two "Z"s up front.  However, the first half saw few chances as both defences suppressed each other's incursions.  Australia's best chance came from a Lazaridis cross that had Zane running onto for a powerful header at the 12th minute.  Unfortunately, his shot was pushed over the bar by Dida.  Skoko had a long-range shot that just went wide not long later.  Zane had two other openings when he almost pressured Dida into an error from a back-pass, and then had a shot just skim over the cross bar late in the half.  Brazil had a shot from a low cross that skew across the face of the goal, and just before half time, Leo headed a cross straight to Schwarzer.

The second half proved more lively with both teams playing end to end stuff in search of a goal.  Zrdillic had a great chance from an early corner that was saved.  Alves responded for Brazil with a similar effort up the other end.  Some sloppy play in midfield then saw Brazil create two great chances, but both balls into the box were cleared by Murphy and Lazaridis respectively.  Australia wrested back ascendancy temporally to curtail the Brazillian offensive, and then brought on Sterjovski for Corica and Bresciano for Skoko to rejuvenate a tiring team.   Immediately, both players were involved in an attack that eventually broke down when the final ball was poorly placed.  Midway through the half, Brazil kicked into gear and dominated play as they tried to break down the resolute Australian defence.   But Australia held firm in repelling a Leo header from a Washington corner that was well saved; Ramon and Batista shots that were saved; one, an outstanding reflex low save by Schwarzer; and finally, a break from a midfield turnover and resultant cut-back from the by-line that was cleared by Murphy, who was having an outstanding game. 

Under the enormous pressure, Australia still maintained their composure and played nifty one-touch passing to retain possession.  This frustrated Brazil, and eventually, the niggling fells resulted in a free kick that Lazaridis swung in from the right.  In a seemingly pre-rehearsed move, it drifted to the back post where Zrdillic was lurking.  However, it was Murphy who dropped behind his marker to reach the ball first to head a powerful point-blank header into goal.   Brazil's play naturally became frantic as they looked for the embarrassment-saving equaliser to take the match into extra time, and had two good opportunities to do so.   However, the poor finishing that has plagued them this tournament denied them again when a Batista shot went wide and then an Alves lob header, coming from a long goal kick that created havoc, going wide too.

The result sees Brazil leaving the tournament with a 1-2-2 record, and their coach sacked before he even arrived back to Brazil.  And apparently, he still has not returned home.  For Australia, not much more needs to be said about the team's performance that has not already been said, other than the fact that Farina has the team on course to give the World Cup qualifiers the best possibly shake.  Given that they have beaten the first, second and thirteenth ranking teams in the world, this suggests that his match preparation, tactics, team selections and substitutions have been first class.  His objective of creating a pool of 20-30 players familiar with his style at which to draw a team from is reaping dividends too.  The two losses incurred - to Japan and Korea - were more to do with the quirks of the game, which simply can't be controlled.  In the past, mistakes were made in areas that can be controlled, and Australia has paid.  This time, Farina is giving the Australian fan every confidence that every contingency seems likely to be covered.  At the moment, that is all that can be asked for.

As a side issue, no Australian made the All-Star Team which again shows the there is still some respect to be earned in world football.  Though, Okon and Schwarzer did make the substitutes' bench. Unsurprisingly, France had 5 players, but surprisingly, the disappointing Brazil had 3 and the also-rans of Cameroon, 2.  Okon and Corica  as well as some of the defenders were outstanding for Australia, and so too Schwarzer. He missed out to Japan's goal keeper Kawaguchi, which could almost be justified given Japan's status.   But for none of the others to get a nomination in the eleven is a bit hard to swallow.

Anyway, in the final, France dominated Japan in Yokohama to etched out a 1-0 win thanks to the head of Vieira.  He scored in the 29th minute when Japan's defence - like it so often against Australia - were caught square as Vieira sped through to reach a cross before both goal keeper and defender to back head the ball into the vacant net.  Kawaguchi was finally caught out after not conceding a goal for 5 games.  The second half saw Japan take the game to France, but rarely troubled their goal keeper.  Instead, it was France that seemed more likely to score with their dangerous counter attacking, but missed several sitters, including a Desailly header and Wiltord shot that went wide.  France are now currently an unprecedented World, European and Confederation Cup champions, and finally, officially, the number one ranked team in the world according to Fifa's much maligned rankings system.

Third Place: Australia 1 (Murphy 83') - Brazil 0
Final: France 1 (Vieira 29') - Japan 0

The Squad
Goalkeepers: Frank Juric (Bayer Leverkusen), Zjelko Kalac (Roda JC), Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough)
Defenders: Hayden Foxe (West Ham), Steve Horvat (Melbourne Knights), Craig Moore (Glasgow Rangers), Shaun Murphy (Sheffield United), Kevin Muscat (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tony Popovic (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Tony Vidmar (Glasgow Rangers)
Midfielders: Marco Bresciano (Empoli), Scott Chipperfield (Wollongong Wolves), Steve Corica (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Brett Emerton (Feyenoord), Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City), Paul Okon (Middlesbrough), Josip Skoko (Racing Genk), Aurelio Vidmar (Adelaide City Force)
Strikers: John Aloisi (Coventry City), Mile Sterjovski (Lille), Archie Thompson (Marconi), Clayton Zane (Lillestrom), David Zdrilic (Undethaching)

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