5 teams you did not know who played in the FIFA Confederations Cup

#2 Bolivia in 1999

Bolivia’s only appearance at the Confederations Cup came thanks to France’s withdrawal from the tournament

There’s a lot of twist to how Bolivia qualified for their first and till date, only FIFA Confederations Cup. Bolivia were the runners-up of the 1997 Copa America, losing 3-1 to Brazil in the final. However, before the competition, France, the winners of the 1998 World Cup declined to participate which gave the World Cup berth to Brazil (who were runners-up in the 1998 World Cup) and left the CONMEBOL berth open. Hence, Bolivia qualified for the tournament by virtue of being the runners-up of the Copa America.

Bolivia were pitted in a group alongside tournament hosts Mexico (who they had beaten in the semi-finals of the 1997 Copa America), Saudi Arabia, and Egypt and their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals looked good.

The Bolivians began their tournament with a 2-2 draw against Egypt which was followed by a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia. Thus, in order to qualify, Bolivia had to defeat or at least get draw against Mexico in their final group game.

However, a 52^nd minute goal from Francisco Palencia gave Mexico the victory and eliminated Bolivia from the tournament as they ended third in their group behind Mexico and Saudi Arabia.