On May 31, soccer's World Cup kicks off in Seoul, South Korea, when defending champion France meets its southern brothers from Senegal. Given the number of Senegalese players playing in France, and the key Gallic players being among the most valuable exports to glamour clubs in England, Spain, and Italy, the Africans have taken to saying they're more French than the French.

This is just one of the many little twists, turns, and eccentricities that mark this most popular of international sports championships. The Olympics, held every four years like the World Cup, may be bigger. But when you add passion to the equation, the Olympics are Laura Bush, while the World Cup is Maribel Verdu, who played Luisa, the torrid traveler in Y Tu Mamá También ("And Your Mother, Too"), with a romance language thrown in to perfectly embellish the package.

This World Cup is being co-hosted for the first time, with South Korea and Japan -- whose people get along about as well as the Serbs and Bosnians -- jointly undertaking this unique effort. They're the only nations other than the US, the 1994 Cup host, to stage the event in a country where soccer is not the ichi-ban sport. But both countries have thrown themselves into the task full-bore, and the new stadiums and antipodean locale are expected to meet the rigorous international standard, what with videotape recorders whirring and bars serving pints of ale at odd hours throughout Europe, the US, and Latin America.

There will be a few twists, nonetheless. The first was the announcement that a South Korean company would be giving away complimentary hot dogs to World Cup-goers. And when they say hot dog in Korea, they mean dog as in bow-wow. The gratis gaggers are made of dog meat, no stranger to the diet of many in Asia. Having eaten anjin padas (literally "hot dog" -- the hot meaning spicy hot) in Indonesia, I can assure those willing to try it that you can get the same effect by sprinkling peppery spices on your wallet and taking a bite. But perhaps the Koreans have a bit better knack in the kennel-cum-kitchen. Still, substituting kim chi for sauerkraut would still seem to be a good idea.

Oh, the soccer? This year's World Cup is very much up for grabs, with usual suspects France, and the holders Argentina, Italy, Brazil, and England, all being seen as in with a chance. The format is fairly simple: 32 teams in eight, four-team groups that play round-robin, with the top two teams from each group moving on to the initial one-and-done knockout round.

The first high drama will take place right there due to the pairings set-up. If the favorites come through, France will have to face either Argentina or England, provided these two emerge from the traditionally and unofficially designated "Group of Death" -- the toughest set of four teams, which includes the enigmatic but obscenely talented Nigerian squad, and the often-surprising Swedes. Having any of those three go even prior to the quarterfinals is a frightening prospect, and all eyes will be on that critical match, especially those of players from Italy, Germany and Spain, who are in the opposite bracket and may finally meet the victors in the final.

France and Argentina are the teams most that people mention as making it to the final. This included a number of the players from the Netherlands I spoke to following the May 19 warm-up "friendly" at Foxboro's new CMGI Field, a match won, 2-0, by the Dutch. (In one of the most embarrassing moments in its recent soccer history, the Dutch failed to qualify for this Cup, getting pipped by Ireland and Portugal in the European group, the dagger being playing to a draw with the Irish in Amsterdam.) Netherlands captain and defender Frank deBoer, all-rounder Philip Cocu -- who play their club soccer for FC Barcelona -- Edgar Davids, the dreadlocked crazy horse in midfield from Juventus in Italy, who wears shades when he plays (!?!), and Pierre van Hoojdonk, the big striker who scored two goals in the UEFA Cup final a few weeks ago to lead his Rotterdam club Feyenoord to victory, all mentioned Argentina, Brazil and France in a heartbeat when asked their favorites.

This is because where the World Cup is concerned, there may be upsets in the early rounds, but when it comes to the quarterfinals and on, the cream is at the top. France is incredibly talented across the board and features arguably the world's best -- and inarguably most expensive -- player, Zinedine Zidane, who scored two goals in his country's 3-0 victory over Brazil in the 1998 final. The knock here is that the team may be getting on a bit, although as deBoer points out, they proved they can win the big matches.

Argentina, past winners in 1978 and 1986, have all the pedigree they need, and like France, have the heart of their team playing in the elite European leagues. Brazil had a horrible time getting to Japan and Korea, almost unthinkably not qualifying from their South American group, but that's behind them. The words World Cup are synonymous with the four-time champions (1958, '62, '70 and '94), and they can be dazzling. Italy, 1934, '38 and '82 World Cup victors, is skilled and tough, and are always a menace, combining skill in attack with a ruthless defense.

The next tier includes England, Germany, Spain and Portugal. England will be most popular, since their captain, David Beckham, in addition to being one of the best midfielders in the game, is also married to Posh Spice. But Beckham was injured in the European Cup and is struggling to get fit in time for England's first match. Other injuries have hurt the English, who won it all at home in 1966, and the team may just be too young for this level of pressure. Germany has been playing well below their standards of late, but if you pull a Neville Chamberlain with Germany in any major competition, you'll be watching them play while you go home. Spain and Portugal have loads of individual talent, but always seem to implode on the world stage. Still, they can conjure some neat tricks and can't be ignored. The Portuguese certainly won't be in southeastern New England, where the local population with roots in that country has carried their banner on and off soccer field for decades

Oh yes, the US will also be on hand, in a group with Portugal, Poland, and host South Korea. This is hardly a candidate for the Group of Death tag, but the Americans are still babes in the international soccer woods. The US has benefited greatly by getting its players abroad to play in real soccer leagues, unlike the Major League Soccer we have here at home. But it says all you need to know about our journey that defender Jeff Agoos, useful at best and now slowing down to a very vulnerable pace, is the most "capped" player in US international match history.

Agoos and the central defense, which will likely include him or the equally suspect Greg Berhalter playing alongside the very good Eddie Pope, must have opponents' eyes widening with anticipation. This hasn't been helped by the recent play of France-based David Regis at left back, although on the right, Tony Sanneh has been as efficient if not more so than Pope. The saving grace (no pun intended) is the fact that the two US goaltenders, Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel, are both international class, with experience in England's Premiership and, in Keller's case, Spain's top league.

The bright side is that as the US built up to its departure for the Far East, the offense came alive. The squad beat Uruguay, which is also going to the Cup, 2-0, and then humiliated a half-hearted Jamaica, 5-0 before losing to the Netherlands. It was only the superb goaltending of Ronald Waterreus in the Dutch goal that kept the US off the scoreboard, and that performance was against a back four that included deBoer and world class players Jaap Stam, Arthur Numan, and, briefly, Michael Reiziger.

The US attack goes through midfielder Claudio Reyna, a veteran of the top Scottish and English leagues, and perhaps America's best-ever player. He's complemented by John O'Brien, who plays with Ajax in Amsterdam, Ernie Stewart, another Dutch-based player with NAC Breda, and 20-year-old revelation Damarcus Beasley. Beasley lit up the Jamaicans and had what his coach, Bruce Arena, deemed an "outstanding" game against Holland. However, even players with much more heady professional experience than Beasley's with the MLS's Chicago Fire have gone up in flames in the unparalleled World Cup spotlight, and it will be the battle-hardened Reyna, Stewart, and wispy O'Brien who will have to shoulder the load, not Beasley.

Up front will come the test, and for a country that has never had a world-class striker, we appear to be hinting at one via the combined efforts of Clint Mathis, Landon Donovan, and Josh Wolff. If necessary, Donovan and Mathis can also be pulled back into midfield. To expect small, lightly built youngsters like Donovan and Wolff to hold their own against the ultimate hard men in the defense, who in the past have featured nicknames like "The Butcher of Turin," is beyond dreaming. Yes, they wriggled free against the Uruguan, Jamaican, and Dutch defenders on occasion, but that wasn't with the big money on the line. Mathis is a legitimate and more tested threat, and has been showing he can take knocks, as has veteran attacker Brian McBride. But what is needed is a virtuoso performance, and unless someone has an unanticipated coming-out party in South Korea, any balls in the back of the net will be a call for a moment of thankful prayer.

What is recognizable, at least to the Dutch players I spoke to, is the Americans' "team spirit," as it was described. When I said to Davids, that's nice, but what about skill?, he said, "Spirit's important too!" in his typically enthusiastic way. Indeed, many teams have seen their hopes derailed by infighting or lack of effort at the final stage, so our usual never-say-die effort may be enough to get us through the group stage. What is needed is a win against South Korea (doable) and a draw against Poland (doable), but expect a loss to Portugal. We then hope that Poland and South Korea play to a draw. If not, we probably go to goal average with Poland, with Portugal through to the next round in almost any scenario, allowing them to return to Lisbon without being shelled by rocks and rotten fruit.

If the US does make it out of the group, it will be a great achievement. The wild card is South Korea. They could either gee up their national pride and play their socks off (See: US team, 1994), or fold under the withering pressure that comes with being the home club. But what also accompanies the locals in a World Cup are some eye-opening referee decisions, so it's a good idea not to put things away until the final whistle, lest a swan dive in the penalty area in injury time lead to a spot kick loss or tie. Poland, once a world threat, is unlikely to impress anyone, but they will be tough, tough, tough, asking and giving no quarter. Portugal is the class of the group, with the reigning FIFA Player of the Year, Luis Figo, another midfield maestro in national treasure Rui Costa, and a personal favorite, Fernando Coutu, leading the defense.

It says here the US will advance. I also like France to reach the final, with Argentina, Brazil, and England ruing the fact they were with them on the wrong side of the draw. Coming from the other bracket, I like Italy, although Spain or Germany -- given the huge successes of their club teams on the European stage this year -- are extremely capable of a surprise. Players of the tournament? Look for Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, or Zidane of France; Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri of Italy; Spain's Raul; Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Michael Owen of England; Michael Ballack of Germany; Diego Tristan of Argentina; Ronaldinho of Brazil; Nwankwo Kanu of Nigeria; and last, but not least, Roy Keane of Ireland. The winners? France, encore.

Issue Date: May 24 - 30, 2002