However, since the stadiums in Monterrey were sponsored by a competing beer company other than the official advertiser, the city was left out of the tournament altogether.

France also qualified automatically as winners of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but they declined to participate; World Cup runners-up Brazil took their place, which meant Bolivia replaced Brazil as the CONMEBOL representatives, having finished as runners-up in the 1997 Copa América.

The other four places went to the winners of the most recent continental competitions: Germany (UEFA), Saudi Arabia (AFC), Egypt (CAF) and New Zealand (OFC).

If still tied after extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Marzouk Al-Otaibi and Ronaldinho are the top scorers in the tournament with six goals each.