This last week has been miserable. The world’s greatest sporting event kicks off Friday morning (9 am for us West-Coasters) and it’s been many, many months of build-up.

Since the Champions’ League final, there has been precious little to keep my soccer-craving mind busy. Yes, there have been some interesting friendlies. The occasional transfer rumor to whet my appetite. But I want 90 minutes of intense, meaningful soccer. Sad as it is to say, soccer is what gives my life meaning these days.

I check bigsoccer.com every minute to get the latest updates on the Czech and Italy injuries. Is Nedved going to play at 100%? Can Koller go a full 90? What about Baros? Will he be healthy enough to regain the form that saw him win the Golden Boot at the Euro 2004? Zambrotta, Gattuso, Nesta…are they ready to go?

England’s pre-WC preparations have been filled with drama as well. Will Rooney win the race to fitness, having suffered a broken metatarsal just six weeks ago? It appears so. But now Steven Gerrard, arguably the most influential midfielder in the world (apologies to Ronaldinho, but he’s more of a forward than a midfielder anyway), is listed as questionable for their match on Saturday. The Lions will need him to feel comfortable against a scrappy Paraguay.

Perhaps the best way to while away the time would be to catch some live soccer, and that’s possible tonight, as El Superclasico will go down. I’ve recently become a Chivas USA fan and would love to see them beat the soulless, boring L.A. Galaxy. I’ll probably opt for BBQ and the NBA Finals, but I will TiVo the game and watch it when I get home.

Tomorrow’s games are by no means the marquee match-ups of the first round: Germany-Costa Rica and Poland-Ecuador. But it’s World Cup soccer, goddamnit, and nothing else in the world compares to it. The next month will be 6 hours of the beautiful game, nearly every day, and I cannot wait.



And now for my World Cup predictions:
Group A
Germany
Poland
Ecuador
Costa Rica

Group B
England
Sweden
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago

Group C
Holland
Cote d’Ivoire
Argentina
Serbia & Montenegro

Group D
Portugal
Mexico
Angola
Iran

Group E
Italy
United States
Czech Republic
Ghana

Group F
Brazil
Australia
Croatia
Japan

Group G
Switzerland
France
Togo
South Korea

Group H
Ukraine
Spain
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia

Knockout Round:
Sweden v Germany
England v Poland
Holland v Mexico
Cote d'Ivoire v Portugal
Italy v Australia
Brazil v United States
Spain v Switzerland
Ukraine v France

Quarterfinals:
Sweden v. Cote d'Ivoire
Brazil v. Ukraine
Italy v. Spain
England v. Holland

Semi-Finals
Brazil v. Sweden
England v. Italy

Finals
England v. Brazil

Golden Boot: Luca Toni
Golden Ball: Steven Gerrard
Most flops: Arjen Robben