Are you ready for some futbol?

The World Cup begins today. Zillions watch. Governments hang in the balance. Business owners flog employees who try to work through it. Some wars stop, others start. Future World Cup stars in dusty villages listen on wind-up radios as they fashion soccer balls out of twigs and yarn.

They even show all the matches in the United States now (on cable TV.)

Brazil will be the favorite to win their sixth World Cup and second in a row, although they historically struggle on European soil. The Germans should benefit from home field advantage, the Italians will have to overcome a massive match-fixing scandal back home, the English could, depending on the health of their youngest star, be co-favorites and the French will try to repeat their champions run of '98 and avoid their no-goal debacle of '02.

The Dutch and Argentines will seek a return to past glory while the Spanish and Portuguese will try to capture a glory that has yet to be.

The United States, Mexico, Sweden, Australia, The Ivory Coast, Ukraine and the Czech Republic shoot to join the ranks of the world elite.

The US has the toughest road and needs a result from either Italy or world number two Czech Republic to stand a chance of reaching the second round. The United States is currently the fifth ranked team in the world. While the FIFA world rankings might not be completely representative of true ability, they do start with Brazil and end with American Samoa.

To have a group that includes the world number two and number five, as well as perennial favorite Italy, when other groups lack a top ten is a travesty or, in World Cup speak, a group of death.

The American team caught the world off guard last time out, reaching the final eight. They were unlucky not to go further, out-playing eventual finalist Germany in a 1 -0 quarter-final loss. We won't be sneaking up on anyone this time.

The US team makes up for a lack of skill and pedigree with superior fitness and hard work. Other countries have noticed and are beginning to emulate American training techniques.

It's not a surprise American soccer players are among the fittest athletes in the world. Anyone who grew up with televised American sports noted the lack of commercial stoppages and regular substations the first time they watched a soccer match and thought to themselves, "Wow, those guys need to be in spectacular condition."

A thought not lost on the American soccer community, while the rest of the world, with less to compare soccer to athletically, have been taking it easy.

So that's the glimmer of hope we have for a deep run in the tourney. I'm not counting on it, but every time the US does well in the World Cup bad people cry, so it's something all Americans should be pulling hard for.

I'm going to predict Germany ends up hoisting the Cup (yes, I saw that they beat up on Costa Rica today.)

Germany, as West Germany, won it all last time they hosted in 1974. More often than not a world-class soccer team will win the Cup when it is being held in their country.

I know just enough about soccer not go against those odds.

Here's why the foreigners refer to soccer as the "beautiful game."