Vive La France!

Here's our best, soccer-ball-gazing guess as to how the Cup will
go: With Youri Djorkaeff (left) up front and the crowds behind
them, the French will become the first hosts to win since the
Argentines in 1978. For scouting reports on the U.S. and the
other 31 teams, turn the page

FIRST ROUND JUNE 10 - JUNE 26
In the first round, teams play one game against each of the
others in their group. Teams get three points for a win, one for
a draw.

A B C D
BRAZIL AUSTRIA DENMARK BULGARIA
MOROCCO CAMEROON FRANCE NIGERIA
NORWAY CHILE SAUDI ARABIA PARAGUAY
SCOTLAND ITALY SOUTH AFRICA SPAIN

E F G H
BELGIUM GERMANY COLOMBIA ARGENTINA
MEXICO IRAN ENGLAND CROATIA
THE NETHERLANDS U.S. ROMANIA JAMAICA
SOUTH KOREA YUGOSLAVIA TUNISIA JAPAN

SECOND ROUND JUNE 27 - 30
The winner and runner-up in each group advance to the second
round. The remainder of the tournament is single elimination.

ABCD
Winner B Chile Winner C France
Runner-up A Norway Runner-up D Nigeria

Winner A Brazil Winner D Spain
Runner-up B Italy Runner-up C Saudi Arabia

EFGH
Winner E The Netherlands Winner H Argentina
Runner-up F Yugoslavia Runner-up G England

Winner F Germany Winner G Romania
Runner-up E Belgium Runner-up H Croatia

QUARTERFINALS

JULY 3
Chile
France

JULY 3
Brazil
Spain

JULY 4
Yugoslavia
Argentina

JULY 4
Germany
Croatia

SEMIFINALS

JULY 8
France
Germany

JULY 7
Brazil
Argentina

FINAL: JULY 12
GOALS
France 2
Argentina 1

Third-place finisher: July 11
Germany

COLOR ILLUSTRATION: ILLUSTRATION BY NIGEL HOLMES [Diagram with soccer balls of predicted results of World Cup]

COLOR PHOTO: BEN RADFORD/ALLSPORT [Youri Djorkaeff in game]