Brazil, Finland, South Korea Fill Field For Nike U.S. Women's Cup '99; Doubleheader Format Brings All Four Teams to Each Venue

CHICAGO (Thursday, August 26, 1999) - South American champion and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup bronze medalist Brazil, along with Finland and South Korea, will join the U.S. Women's National Team for the NIKE U.S. Women's Cup '99. The sixth incarnation of the tournament will be played in a ser

CHICAGO (Thursday, August 26, 1999) - South American champion and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup bronze medalist Brazil, along with Finland and South Korea, will join the U.S. Women's National Team for the NIKE U.S. Women's Cup '99. The sixth incarnation of the tournament will be played in a series of three doubleheaders on Sunday, Oct. 3 (in Columbus, Ohio), Thursday, Oct. 7 (in Kansas City, Mo.), and Sunday, Oct. 10 (in Louisville, Ky.). The four teams will each play three games, with the winner decided by points, head-to-head results and/or goal differential. The match in Columbus is already sold out while the match in Kansas City has already sold more than 17,000 tickets and the match in Louisville has sold more than 22,000.

The USA will open the tournament against South Korea at the new Columbus Crew Stadium (4 p.m. ET -- LIVE TV Time TBA), face Finland at Arrowhead Stadium (7:30 p.m. -- Delayed TV Time TBA) and then take on Brazil at the newly constructed Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in a rematch of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal at Stanford Stadium last July 4, a 2-0 U.S. victory. The USA-Brazil match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. ET.

The USA faced Brazil for the championship of last year's U.S. Women's Cup, winning 3-0 in Richmond, Va. Brazil delighted Women's World Cup fans this past summer with exciting play, dynamic goal scoring and a collection of some of the world's finest players in forwards Pretinha and Katia, midfielders Sissi and Cidinha and defender Elane. Brazil defeated Norway on penalty kicks in the Women's World Cup Third-Place Match, its highest finish ever in an international competition. Brazil also out-shot the USA in the Women's World Cup semifinal, but fell to goals by Cindy Parlow and Michelle Akers.

Finland was up 1-0 and just 59 minutes away from qualifying for the 1999 Women's World Cup, but let Russia come back and score twice in the second match of its playoff series, sending the Russians to the USA instead. South Korea was favored to earn one of Asia's three spots at the 1999 Women's World Cup, but fell to Chinese Taipei in group play and did not advance to the semifinals. The USA is 2-0-0 lifetime against South Korea, facing them twice on the 1997 NIKE Victory Tour. The Americans are 6-0-0 against Finland, defeating them twice in the lead up to the Women's World Cup. The USA is 9-1-1 against Brazil.

Date	Opponent	Location	Kickoff / TV	Tickets
Nike U.S. Women's Cup '99
Oct. 3	Brazil vs. Finland	Columbus Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)	1 p.m. (ET) / TBD	Sold Out
	United States vs. South Korea	Columbus Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)	3:30 p.m. (ET) / TBD	Sold Out
Oct. 7	Brazil vs. South Korea	Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)	5 p.m. (CT) / TBD	816/931-3330 (Ticketmaster)
	United States vs. Finland	Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)	7:30 p.m. (CT) / TBD	816/931-3330 (Ticketmaster)
Oct. 10	South Korea vs. Finland	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (Louisville, Ky.)	10:30 a.m. (ET) / TBD	502/361-3100 (Ticketmaster) 502/852-5863 (U. of Louisville - Group Sales)
	United States vs. Brazil	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (Louisville, Ky.)	1 p.m. (ET) / espn2	502/361-3100 (Ticketmaster) 502/852-5863 (U. of Louisville - Group Sales)