May 6, 2002

NEW YORK (AP) The name almost everyone in Brazil was waiting for never appeared Monday as Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari left Romario off his 23-man roster for this year's World Cup finals.

Germany and Denmark also picked their teams for South Korea and Japan while Argentina announced its first 12 players and Turkey pared its list down to 28.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Scolari did take Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, but it was the quest to get 36-year-old Romario back on the team that had the nation waiting impatiently.

"This is the team we thought was the most correct at the moment," Scolari said. "My job is coach of the national team. Or are we going to put 170 million fans as coach?"

Romario led Brazil to its fourth World Cup title in 1994 but missed the 1998 tournament because of injury.

To complete Brazil's offense, Scolari chose dribbling wizard Denilson, speedy Edilson and stalwart Luizao, a crude but effective scorer praised by Scolari more for his loyalty than his soccer skills.

The rest of the list contained few surprises.

In goal, Rogerio Ceni got the nod, but Marcos and Dida remain the top contenders for the No. 1 jersey.

The back line also was no secret, where Lucio, Roque Junior and Anderson Polga have held down the starting spots in recent games.

Team captain Emerson will command the midfield alongside youngsters Gilberto Silva and Kleberson.

Brazil is in Group C with Turkey, China and Costa Rica.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, AS Roma striker Gabriel Batistuta was picked along with veteran Glasgow Rangers winger Claudio Caniggia as coach Marcelo Bielsa named the 12 players on his squad.

The other players include Jose Chamot, Walter Samuel, Javier Zanetti, Diego Simeone, Claudio Lopez, Hernan Crespo, Mauricio Pochettino, Marcelo Gallardo, Claudio Husain and Ariel Ortega.

The remaining players will be announced when the Argentine, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian and German league seasons are completed.

Batistuta, Argentina's best ever goalscorer with 56 strikes in 75 appearances, has had a dismal year, playing just once in the last 18 months for the national team.

But Bielsa confirmed that "Batigol," who played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, will be among the 23 players on the final list.

As for Caniggia, his call-up completes a remarkable comeback for the 35-year-old, who played alongside Diego Maradona in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup.

The two-time champion plays in the "Group of Death" with England, Nigeria and Sweden.

In Frankfurt, Germany, team chief Rudi Voeller left top Bundesliga scorer Martin Max out of the squad.

Voeller, who had ruled out late experiments, selected players he had relied on in World Cup qualifying and recent exhibition matches.

Max, an 1860 Munich striker, shared the Bundesliga scoring title with 18 goals. As expected, Voeller went with Carsten Jancker, who played only a backup role for Bayern Munich and hasn't scored a goal all season.

"The goals speak for Max, but I'm convinced about Jancker's abilities and qualities," Voeller said. "He's been in some important games with the national team and he's shown how valuable he is."

Max was one of the eight men on Voeller's standby list. They would be called up case of any injuries before the team leaves for Japan.

Voeller also picked some players who have not played for several months because of injuries such as defender Marko Rehmer and midfielder Sebastian Deisler, both of Hertha Berlin.

Deisler made a brief comeback in the final Bundesliga round.

"We still have four weeks and I am sure they will be fit at the time of the World Cup and that's what's important," Voeller said. "But they will have to work more while others are regenerating from the season."

Germany, a three-time World Cup champion, plays Cameroon, Ireland and Saudi Arabia in the first round.

"Our goal is to reach the second round. We simply have to do it. I believe in the team," Voeller said. "It's a group that sticks together."

In Copenhagen, Denmark, Ebbe Sand of Schalke and Chelsea's Jesper Groenkjaer were the top names on the Danish roster, which included several players recently recovered from injuries.

"All players are fit. They are under way with their physical training and can handle the job like everyone else," coach Morten Olsen said.

Charlton's Claus Jensen, Udinese's Martin Joergensen, AC Milan defender Martin Laursen and hard-tackling Bolton midfielder Stig Toefting were all chosen despite injury concerns.

Twenty-two-year-old Rangers forward Peter Loevenkrands, who scored two goals last weekend as his team beat archrival Celtic 3-2 in the Scottish Cup final, was also named.

Veteran left-back Jan Heintze, who will be one of the World Cup's oldest players, will be the captain. Heintze, with 82 appearances for the national team, turns 39 in August.

"It's a good blend of young and old players with an average age of 27," Olsen said.

The Red-and-Whites face a tough group this summer, including titleholder France, two-time winner Uruguay and African Nation's Cup finalist Senegal. Four years ago in France, Denmark reached the quarterfinals, where it lost to Brazil.

In Istanbul, Turkey, coach Senol Gunes named a 28-man squad for a pre-World Cup training.

There were few major surprises on a squad that contains five players each from newly crowned league champion Galatasaray and its Istanbul rival Fenerbahce.

Gunes also named Inter Milan midfielder Okan Buruk and Aston Villa defender Alpay Ozalan, though both have been out of action for several months with injury.

Turkey is in Group C and plays its first match against Brazil at Ulsan, South Korea, on June 3. China and Costa Rica are also in the group.