The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organized by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the previous editions, in December 1997 and was the first to feature representatives from all of the FIFA confederations.
| 1997 السعودية | |
|---|---|
 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Saudi Arabia |
| City | Riyadh |
| Dates | 12–21 December |
| Teams | 8 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Brazil (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Australia |
| Third place |  Czech Republic |
| Fourth place |  Uruguay |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 52 (3.25 per match) |
| Attendance | 333,500 (20,844 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Romário (7 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Denílson |
| Fair play award |  South Africa |
It was won by Brazil, who, in a rematch of their goalless group stage encounter, beat Australia 6–0 in the final. After winning the 1997 tournament, Brazil became the first country to be the reigning champion of both major FIFA tournaments (the World Cup and the Confederations Cup), as well as champion of their respective confederation by winning the 1997 Copa América. This feat has since been accomplished once by France, victorious in the 1998 World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Qualified teams
| Team | Confederation | Qualification method | Date qualification secured | Participation no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia | AFC | Hosts and 1996 AFC Asian Cup winners | n/a | 3rd |
| Brazil | CONMEBOL | 1994 FIFA World Cup winners | 17 July 1994 | 1st |
| Uruguay | CONMEBOL | 1995 Copa América winners | 22 July 1995 | 1st |
 Mexico | CONCACAF | 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners | 20 January 1996 | 2nd |
| South Africa | CAF | 1996 African Cup of Nations winners | 3 February 1996 | 1st |
| Czech Republic | UEFA | UEFA Euro 1996 runners-up1 | 30 June 1996 | 1st |
| Australia | OFC | 1996 OFC Nations Cup winners | 1 November 1996 | 1st |
 United Arab Emirates | AFC | 1996 AFC Asian Cup runners-up2 | 21 December 1996 | 1st |
1Germany, the UEFA Euro 1996 winner, declined to participate. Czech Republic, the runners-up, were invited to their place.
2The United Arab Emirates was awarded a spot in the competition because Saudi Arabia had won the 1996 AFC Asian Cup.
Venue
All matches were played in 67,000-seat King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.[citation needed]
Match referees
Squads
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–3 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | César Sampaio  65'Romário 73', 80' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 4 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 3 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 0–2 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Olivera 45+2' Pacheco 90+2' |
| South Africa | 2–2 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Augustine 39' Mkhalele 86' | Report | Šmicer 19', 40' |
| United Arab Emirates | 1–6 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Al Talyani 78' | Report | Obaid 11' (o.g.) Nedvěd 22', 31'Šmicer 42', 68', 71' |
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| December 19 - Riyadh | ||||||
| Brazil | 2 | |||||
| December 21 - Riyadh | ||||||
| Czech Republic | 0 | |||||
| Brazil | 6 | |||||
| December 19 - Riyadh | ||||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||
| Uruguay | 0 | |||||
| Australia (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| December 21 - Riyadh | ||||||
| Czech Republic | 1 | |||||
| Uruguay | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Brazil | 2–0 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Romário 54' Ronaldo 83' | Report |
Third place play-off
| Czech Republic | 1–0 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Lasota 63' | Report |
Final
Awards
| Golden Ball | Golden Shoe | FIFA Fair Play Trophy |
|---|---|---|
| Denílson | Romário | South Africa |
| Silver Ball | Silver Shoe | |
| Romário | Vladimír Šmicer | |
| Bronze Ball | Bronze Shoe | |
| Vladimír Šmicer | Ronaldo |
Statistics
Goalscorers
Romário received the Golden Shoe award for scoring seven goals. In total, 52 goals were scored by 32 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.
- 7 goals
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
Mark Viduka- John Aloisi
- Damian Mori
- Harry Kewell
César Sampaio- Denílson
- Júnior Baiano
Horst Siegl- Edvard Lasota
Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi
Luis Hernández- Braulio Luna
- Ramón Ramírez
Pollen Ndlanya- Lucas Radebe
- Brendan Augustine
Hassan Mubarak- Adnan Al Talyani
Antonio Pacheco- Marcelo Zalayeta
- Christian Callejas
- Álvaro Recoba
- Own goal
- Mohamed Obaid (against Czech Republic)
Tournament ranking
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Brazil | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 13 | Champions |
| 2 | A | Australia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 7 | Runners-up |
| 3 | B | Czech Republic | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 7 | Third place |
| 4 | B | Uruguay | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 9 | Fourth place |
| 5 | A | Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 3 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 6 | B | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 3 | |
| 7 | A | Saudi Arabia (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 3 | |
| 8 | B | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 1 |
Team of the Tournament
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
See also
References
External links
