  We study the question whether matrix models obtained in the zero volume limit
of 4d Yang-Mills theories can describe large N QCD strings. The matrix model we
use is a variant of the Eguchi-Kawai model in terms of Hermitian matrices, but
without any twists or quenching. This model was originally proposed as a toy
model of the IIB matrix model. In contrast to common expectations, we do
observe the area law for Wilson loops in a significant range of scale of the
loop area. Numerical simulations show that this range is stable as N increases
up to 768, which strongly suggests that it persists in the large N limit. Hence
the equivalence to QCD strings may hold for length scales inside a finite
regime.
