DAEGU, South Korea -- You have to admit the French are fair. After thrashing Japan 5-0 in Paris two months ago, they opened the Confederations Cup with a similar scoreline over Japan's fellow-World Cup host South Korea on Tuesday.
President Kim Dae Jung declared the tournament open, saying to the people of Daegu and South Korea, "I hope you will all pool your strengths to ensure the success of the World Cup in 2002."
Korean soccer chief Dr. Chung Mong Joon and FIFA head Sepp Blatter also were on hand to start this rehearsal event for the 2002 World Cup. But they couldn't do anything about the weather. After two beautiful, warm days in South Korea, the skies turned gray and rained on the Koreans' parade. However, the magnificent new stadium and the pitch passed their opening tests and nearly 62,000 fans were on hand to watch the home side take on the world champions.