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US Field Hockey Men to Face Canada, Poland and Russia in revised World
Cup Qualifier Pool

Colorado Springs, Colo. - A revised pool alignment for the 10th World Cup Qualifier will pit the US Field Hockey Men's National Team against Canada, Poland and Russia when the Qualifier gets under way, July 17-29 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

      Originally in Pool A with Egypt, India and Wales, the U.S. was moved to Pool D after Zimbabwe withdrew from the tournament and New Zealand accepted an
invitation to replace the African team. For competitive balance, New Zealand was then placed in Pool A while the U.S. took Zimbabwe's spot in Pool D. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) made the switch "to ensure the composition of the pools are equitably weighted based upon recent performances of the respective teams."  The U.S. qualified for the tournament following a fifth place finish at last year's Americas Cup.

"It (the change in the pools) is a bit unusual, but it is something we have to accept," said U.S. head coach Shiv Jagday. " We have the opportunity to play some very good
teams and can not dwell on something that is not in our control. We still need to play to the best of our abilities and focus on the things we can control -- our discipline on the field, our ability to stick to the game plan, our effort as a team and our belief  in
ourselves and each other."

      The remainder of the 16-team tournament includes Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium and France in Pool B and Chile, Japan, Spain and host Scotland in Pool C.

      The 1999 Pan American Games champion and Americas Cup runner-up, Canada defeated the U.S. 2-0 at the Pan Am Games and 4-0 at the Americas Cup. The team placed 10th at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The pool switch renews a friendly family rivalry between U.S. coach Jagday and his son, Ronnie, a member of the
Canadian team.

      The U.S. will face another Olympic team in its match against Poland. Poland entertained the Sydney crowd with a wide-open style of play that included a victory
over Spain and a 5-5 draw with Argentina. The team placed 12th of 12 teams at the Olympic Games, but earned its trip to sydney with an impressive fourth place finish at
the 2000 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Poland placed 9th place at the 1999
European Nations Cup to earn its spot in the World Cup Qualifier.

     The 8th place finisher at the European Nations Cup, Russia is making its first appearance at a World Cup Qualifier as an independent state. The team defeated Qualifier entries Poland (4-3) and France (3-1) at the European Nations Cup to
earn its trip to Edinburgh.

      In the revised schedule, the U.S. opens play on July 17 against Russia. The team
will take on Canada on July 19 and conclude preliminary pool play on July 20 against Poland.

      The top two teams from each of the four pools will then advance to crossover pool play for 1-8th places. The bottom two teams fromt he pools will play for 9th-16th.

      The top seven teams at the Qualifier will advance to the 2002 World Cup, March 4-16, 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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