Review 2004
November: Futsal and women’s football take centre stage
From: FIFA
A busy line-up for the end of the year meant that there was no time to get
bored. The FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Thailand 2004 kicked off on
November 10, with the FIFA Futsal World Championship Chinese Taipei 2004 taking
over on November 21.
In Thailand, the German team led by Anja Mittag rounded off an excellent
competition by overcoming China in the Final to take the title. Magical
Marta’s Brazil were beaten to the bronze by the United States. In Chinese
Taipei, meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Spain made up the last four as
the event reached its closing stages.
The identities of the six nominees – three men and three women – for the FIFA
World Player award were revealed. Mia Hamm, Marta and Birgit Prinz (for the
women) and Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko (for the men) were
to find out on December 20 which of them got to take home the coveted prize.
The one and only GOLEO VI, the Official Mascot of Germany 2006, also made a
much-anticipated television appearance. Romania’s Adrian Mutu was in no mood
to join the party however, as he began a seven-month ban for doping offences.
Australia was in mourning at the death of Australian football icon Johnny
Warren, as was Lesotho at the passing of Thabo Makakole, President of the
Lesotho Football Association. A special exhibition, “100 years of Planet
Football – FIFA 1904-FIFA 2004”, opened in Lausanne to mark 100 years of
FIFA.
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking
With more than 150 matches played in October, the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking
showed considerable movement. Australia were the biggest movers, leaping up 15
places to return to the Top 50 after 18 months in the wilderness. In Europe,
Ukraine put in the best performance, climbing 13 places thanks to a draw with
Greece and a win over Georgia. Despite losing 5-4 to Antigua, Montserrat finally
managed to move up from the foot of the table, leaving Guam to bring up the
rear.
2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™
November 17 was a big day in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, particularly in
Asia where the first round drew to a close. China failed to make it through to
the FIFA World Cup finals for the second time in succession despite an
incredible 7-0 win over Hong Kong. The unfortunate Chinese were pipped to the
post on goal difference by Kuwait, who scored one goal more. Iran, Uzbekistan,
Japan, Kuwait, Korea DPR, Bahrain, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia all went
through to the second stage. In the CONCACAF Zone qualifiers, Jamaica and
Honduras were both knocked out, while in South America, Brazil saw their
unbeaten run come to an end as they lost 1-0 to Ecuador. The loss saw Brazil
pushed off the top spot by Argentina.
Key Dates:
- November 10: Start of FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Thailand 2004
- November 12: Adrian Mutu receives seven-month ban for doping offences
- November 13: The Official FIFA World Cup Mascot is revealed
- November 21: Start of FIFA Futsal World Championship Chinese Taipei 2004
- November 29: The six nominees for the FIFA World Player of the Year award are
revealed
- November 30: Draw for the final stage of the Preliminary Competition for the
2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ in the CONCACAF Zone
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