The world's most popular sport embarks on its biggest showcase Friday with the defending champion hoping to put aside first-game jitters and live up to its reputation as the best soccer team on the planet.
The World Cup, which began two years ago with almost every nation on earth being a part, has been whittled down to the final 32 teams and they will do battle over the next month to determine where the small, golden trophy will reside for the next four years.
There will be 64 matches played in 16 cities around Japan and South Korea to determine the champion, the first of those coming in Seoul Friday night when France takes on Senegal. Kickoff will be at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m. EDT).
Hosting the World Cup four years ago, France stormed to a 3-0 victory in the championship game over Brazil and since then the French have reaffirmed their lofty position as the world's best by winning Euro 2000.
Argentina is this year's co-favorite along with France and if those nations keep advancing, they would meet in the semifinals.
But Brazil, Italy, Portugal and Paraguay are all given a chance with England, despite suffering a wave of injuries, still hopeful of winning the title.
After the opening game of the tournament Friday night, either three or four matches will be played every day through June 14 to determine the 16 countries that survive group play and make it into the knockout stage of the tournament.
The opening weekend will see Ireland play Cameroon, Uruguay take on Denmark and Germany play Saudi Arabia on Saturday with England meeting Sweden, Paraguay facing South Africa, Argentina taking on Nigeria and Spain playing Slovenia on Sunday.
The first game for the United States will come next Wednesday, when the Americans play Portugal in a game kicking off at 5 a.m. EDT.
Throughout the world, the upcoming month of soccer will be a prime topic.
In France, the injury of star Zinadine Zidane knocked the visit of President Bush off the front pages of many newspapers and World Cup news eclipsed the coverage of the country's legislative elections.
This year's field could be one of the weakest assembled in decades, one that represents both a concentration of talent at the elite level and emerging soccer nations just beginning to make major strides in the sport.
Few teams, however, have the depth to survive the almost certain injuries and yellow cards accumulated in the emotionally exhaustive World Cup.
England -- historically a team warranting close attention -- is battered, having lost Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy, while waiting for Kieron Dyer to fully recover and hopefully David Beckham can regain fitness. Kid phenom Michael Owen is fragile, and the fact that many of the Premiership's top players are not English has its effect on the national team's options.
Similarly, the United States is suffering, having lost Chris Armas in a pre-tourney match and having few players that can step into key roles.
The wealth of depth is what makes Argentina and France the favorites. The French are very strong in every aspect of game play. Their talent pool has become powerful and their players are now among the most sought-after in the world.
Argentina, despite economic problems that have pushed its league to the brink of extinction, has similar depth and an added edge. The nation is hungry for something to take its mind off the dismal state of the country, putting tremendous pressure on the side to perform.
But the team being overlooked is Italy, which has put together a superior side. The Italians also have a good first-round draw with which to work, playing the relatively weak Ecuador, an aging Croatia and a hit-and-miss Mexican side. Their second-round opponent figures to come from among the United States, Poland or South Korea.
The Americans, meanwhile, hope to show far better than the woeful effort four years ago in France, which saw them overwhelmed in three games and on their way home.
Conventional wisdom suggests Team USA will fall to Portugal before facing a fired-up home team in South Korea, raising the possibility of again being out of the tourney in two games. The United States could play well enough but still be history before facing Poland in its first-round finale.
However, two things make Team USA's path a bit more unpredictable. First, South Korea certainly is the weakest host nation in history, proving over and over it cannot score. Second, the Poles also have slumped dramatically.
Therefore, should the United States get any sort of result against Portugal and South Korea, it could well advance.
Massive security has been a given at the World Cup, but is especially so this year in the post-Sept. 11 era.
South Korea has already expelled five British citizens who have shown up on a list of known "hooligans." Even former Argentine star Maradona was at first forbidden from coming to the World Cup because of his past drug problems. But he was eventually allowed in the country.
