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The Elite Eight!! The quarterfinal round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany gets underway Friday with a pair of highly-anticipated matches. The hosts kick things off against Argentina in Berlin (10:55 a.m. ET; ESPN). Italy will face Ukraine in the day's second game (2:55 p.m.; ESPN2). Two of the quarterfinals are rematches of championship games: Brazil-France (1998) and Germany-Argentina (1986 and 1990).

World Cup Scores Only Small Audience Only 6% Following Tournament Very Closely Despite a high level of media coverage for the World Cup soccer tournament, three-fourths of Americans (78%) are not following the action very closely if at all. A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 adults found that just 6% are following the tournament very closely. Nine percent (9%) of men are paying close attention along with 3% of women. The Super Bowl remains the biggest sport championship in terms of fan appeal. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Americans say it’s their favorite championship to watch. The World Series is the...

Australia was beaten 1-0 by Italy in a dramatic finish A Chinese TV football commentator has apologised for on-air remarks made during the World Cup match between Italy and Australia earlier this week. Huang Jianxiang lost his cool when Italy knocked Australia out of the World Cup with an injury-time goal. Shouting support for Italy, he made comments such as "I hate Australia" in a rant which lasted several minutes. After complaints from Australian fans, Mr Huang apologised, saying his emotions had got the better of him. Comments such as "long live Italy" initially caused amusement. But after several...

Defending champs Brazil encounter surprise Group E second place finishers Ghana (10:55 a.m. ET ESPN). Then, at 2:55 p.m. (ESPN), European powehouses Spain and France meet.

In two more days, only 8 teams will remain in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. TODAY'S GAMES: Italy-Australia (11:00AM EST) followed by Swiss-Ukraine (3:00 PM EST).

My theory is that Americans have neither the belief system nor the temperment for such a sisyphean sport as soccer. We are a society of doers, achievers, and builders. Our country is dynamic, constantly growing, and becoming ever bigger, richer, and stronger. We do not subscribe to a “zero sum” mentality. We do not labor for the sake of laboring. And we like our sports teams to score.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!! The World Cup field has been trimmed to 16. The opening round of the 2006 World Cup is complete, as Groups G and H wrapped up play on Friday. Victories allowed Spain, Ukraine, France and Switzerland to move into the Round of 16. Knockout play begins on Saturday as hosts Germany face Sweden and Mexico meets Argentina.

Spain will open the games, playing against Saudi Arabia in Kaiserslautern at 9:55 a.m. ET on ESPN and Ukraine will face Tunisia at the same time in Berlin (ESPN2). Ukraine goes into the game against Tunisia knowing that it determines its own destiny. A victory will guarantee passage, but a draw could set up the possibility of another tie-breaking situation on goal difference. Tunisia, meanwhile, which hasn't won a World Cup game since its debut in 1978, has to defeat Ukraine and hope that Saudi Arabia does not defeat Spain by a large margin. France will play against Togo in...

UK jihadists attack 'religion of soccer,' warn Muslims against taking part in 'colonial crusader scheme' A British jihadist website has warned Muslims against being drawn in to what they described as "the new religion of soccer." The Saved Sect website, which calls on Muslims to work to establish an Islamic state in Britain, has attacked "football fever," saying that soccer has "captivated the masses, dedicating their time and effort towards it." Comparing the allegiance of soccer fans to Islam and jihad, the organization said: "Football is the deen (religion) by which people live their lives by and are willing to...

The U.S. national team goes into Thursday's Group E finale against Ghana (9:55 a.m. ET, ESPN) knowing that it must come up with a win to have any chance of moving to the Round of 16. All four teams in Group E, including the USA, still have a chance to advance. The U.S. must beat a tough Ghana side to have any chance of moving to the knockout phase. Should Bruce Arena's team be able to secure three points against the Africans, whom they meet at 9:55 a.m. ET on ESPN, they will need Italy to beat the Czech Republic...

Sunday games in the 2006 FIFA World Cup will kick off at 9 a.m. ET (ABC) in Nuremburg with a meeting between the only two winless teams in Group F, Japan and Croatia. They will face each other knowing that a defeat will put an end to their World Cup adventures. In their opening match against Australia, the Japanese could not maintain a 1-0 lead and they were scored on three times in the last 15 minutes. Croatia's debut was not any better, as Brazil's Kaka scored to give the South Americans a 1-0 win over the Europeans. In Sunday's...

The U.S. national team faces a must-win situation Saturday against Italy (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The U.S. lineup could see some changes, including adding Eddie Johnson. Czech Republic and Ghana play earlier in the day (11:30 a.m., ABC), while Portugal advanced by beating Iran 2-0.

Friday's World Cup action begins at 8:55 a.m. ET as Argentina meets Serbia & Montenegro. The Netherlands and Ivory Coast follow that match at 11:55 a.m. If the Dutch and Argentines both win, both advance to the Round of 16 from Group C. Mexico and Angola conclude the afternoon at 2:55 p.m. Full ABC/ESPN schedule | Standings | Viewing parties |  

Starting off the day will be Real Salt Lake's Douglas Sequeira and his Costa Rican teammates, who play Ecuador at 8:55 a.m. ET in Hamburg (ESPN2). The ticos showed pluck in their Group A opener against Germany on Friday, making a game of it by scoring twice against the hosts before falling 4-2. The Central Americans will need to have more players get involved in the attack against Ecuador, as Paulo Wanchope provided their only offense. The Ecuadorians got a huge weight off their shoulders by downing Poland 2-0 in their group play opener Friday. Previously, the side had been...

The first cycle of group play in the FIFA World Cup comes to a close on Wednesday with all four Group H teams in action, Spain taking on Ukraine at 8:55 a.m. ET (ESPN2) and Saudi Arabia facing Tunisia three hours later (also on ESPN2). Then Cup hosts Germany start the second series of matches in the groups when they face neighbors Poland in Dortmund. Spain finally get a chance to get the ball rolling in Leipzig, facing a Ukraine team looking for a result in its first-ever World Cup match. But just because the Eastern Europeans are new on...

Mexicans Doing Jobs Americans Don't Want: Kicking Iranian Butt! With their exciting 3-1 victory over Iran in the World Cup Sunday, the Mexican national team unwittingly breathed new life into President Bush's amnesty plan, fictitiously called immigration reform. How so? Well, those Mexican fellows proved skilled at kicking Iranian butt----at least on the soccer field. And it's not too much a stretch to assume that that skill set---kicking Iranian butt---is also prevalent among the 20 million or so illegal squatters now in America. President Bush should seize the initiative and use his 'Bully Pulpit' to broker a deal with...

The wait finally comes to an end Monday for 11 of the 15 MLS players at the 2006 World Cup as the U.S. national team opens Group E play against Czech Republic in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The Los Angeles Galaxy's Landon Donovan will lead the U.S. team into action starting at 11:55 a.m. ET on ESPN2. In other action, Australia meets Japan in Kaiserslautern at 8:55 a.m. (ESPN2) for a Group F match. Italy and Ghana clash in the third match of the day, a Group E affair in Hanover at 2:55 p.m. (ESPN2).

The opening round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup continues on Sunday with three matches, including the first match for CONCACAF side Mexico, which takes on Iran at 12 noon ET, live on ABC. The other two Group D sides, debutants Angola and a dangerous Portugal, will also be in action, closing the day's action with a 3 p.m. ET meeting in Cologne (ESPN2).

One of the most fancied teams in Germany, England will open their FIFA World Cup™ campaign against Group B rivals Paraguay today -- LIVE NOW on ABC: England v Paraguay

Germany, the hosts of the 18th FIFA World Cup™, kick off the tournament on Friday against Costa Rica in Munich (LIVE on ABC at 11:00AM ET). This represents a change to a tradition established back in 1974 which saw the defending world champions having the honour of getting the proceedings under way. The other two teams in Group A, Poland and Ecuador, will fight it out later in the evening.