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PICTURE OF THE WEEK: World Cup of Soccer

The World Cup of soccer begins in earnest on Friday, June 9, 2006, with the host country, Germany, opening in a game against Costa Rica. This will mark the official kick-off for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Thirty-two teams qualified, including five from Africa, all of which perform at a far higher level than ever before. There are a total of eight groups of countries, lettered A through H. Each country has been placed in one of the eight groups, with four countries in each group.

Thirteen teams took part in the first World Cup, which was held and won by Uruguay in 1930. Every four years since that date, except for the war years 1938 through 1950, nations around the world took part and continue to take part in the world’s greatest soccer tournament. This Friday, when the opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup is played in Munich, World Cup winners from 1950 to 2002--legends from Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Italy, Germany, and Uruguay--will be there.

The host nation is more than ready to host this world affair and has welcomed everybody, teams and fans, as friends with their slogan “Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden.”

--Written by Olivia Overman

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