The word of June is "finals". Students everywhere have been taking final exams at every level of education from high school on up, with most of it ending this week. Marathon playoff runs are also finally reaching a merciful completion with hockey's Stanley Cup Finals and basketball's NBA Finals. In the meantime, all of these events are being overshadowed by soccer games in Germany.

Most of the people reading this wouldn't know a set piece from a place setting, and I caution those who stay with me that soccer will be spoken here. Sorry about that. Worldwide there is no bigger athletic event because no single sport is embraced by more countries. It takes years just to qualify for the World Cup finals, and the 32 teams who make it have national pride at stake. The 2006 event is in full swing, and now that every team has experienced their opening game the analysis can start.

Amazing is a good way to describe Group A. Lack of scoring typically dooms soccer in the United States with indifferent fans searching for gratification. This was not a problem here as host Germany ripped the net repetitively during a 4-2 victory over outclassed Costa Rica. It was an impressive win given that the two biggest factors in leading them to the 2002 final did not play. Scorer Michael Ballack sat out with injury and goalie Oliver Kahn, a shutout machine in Korea/Japan, was replaced with Jens Lehmann by coach Juergen Klinsmann. Kahn can rest on his 85 caps (career appearances), money earned in the Adidas commercial and having a Star Trek movie named after him when he celebrates his 37^th birthday tomorrow I suppose.

Ecuador wasted no time recording the tournament's first stunner, blanking Poland 2-0. The Polish are making a habit of showing poorly on the biggest stage after entering with high expectations. As this is being posted their match against Germany will determine their fate. A loss puts them in dire straits needing Costa Rica to upend Ecuador and goal differential in their favor. An upset win almost erases the poor result. It is looking like Germany to win the group with Ecuador, who finished third in qualifying behind South American powers Brail and Argentina, sliding into the second slot unexpectedly.

Believing Wayne Rooney will return to lead them to glory, the English appeared like a team without purpose in their first contest. One of few recognizable stars stateside is midfielder David Beckham thanks in large part to his "Spice Girl" wife. He sent a free kick into the six yard box that was ruled an own goal on Paraguay in the early going. It stood up for a lackluster 1-0 win, and also turned out to be the only tally for the group thus far.

That's because Trinidad & Tobago's goalie Shaka Hislop, not even slated to start until an injury forced him into action , delivered the first truly standout performance of the tournament in the net. Heavily favored and experienced Sweden delivered 18 shots, six of them on goal, but Hislop was resilient. Even more amazing, the underdogs played ostensibly the entire second half a man down when defenseman Avery John was sent off for a second yellow card. Trinidad & Tobago still has some work to do if they want to move forward, but their World Cup debut will be remembered. Goals are at a premium so England has to be a prohibitive favorite to advance. As the equivalent of baseball's Chicago Cubs, the English often ultimately disappointing their passionate fans in heartbreaking fashion. Sweden vs. Paraguay tomorrow will be a no holds barred match. If a winner emerges that team can book their knockout round tickets.  

Champions must face all comers, and such is the case in the Group of Death. Many will give that title to E. However, from top to bottom C is the strongest and this was proven in the opening two matches. Argentina looked like a side ready to return to their strong Cup showings from the Diego Maradona era. The troubled former star looked on from the stands during their 2-1 win over Ivory Coast, liking what he saw even if he appeared in a rather dazed state. Two goals in the first half gave them firm control. A bullet from star Didier Drogba with less than 10 minutes to play closed the gap, and Ivory Coast overall turned in a respectable showing.

Holland  is known for scoring in bunches, but got only Robben's strike in the 18^th minute for a stirring 1-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro. Both sides knew the stakes with Argentina looming, and Serbia definitely had their chances to earn a draw. Coming in this group was the most unpredictable with all four having the potential to advance. Nothing has really been decided even with a pair of teams earning the coveted 3 points. Argentina and Holland will undoubtedly be conservative in their meetings with Serbia & Montenegro and Ivory Coast respectively given their position. Both should be satisfied with a draw whereas the underdogs will be playing as if their tournament lives are at stake, which they are.

Disaster struck Mexico when Iran delivered the tying goal late in the opening half. It would be tough to fault Oswaldo Sanchez, who is grieving the sudden passing of his father, for conceding a weak goal. Fortunately the offense bailed him out with two scores and a 3-1 win because for forty minutes this match appeared headed to a disappointing draw for the seeded Mexicans.

On the other side Portugal nearly scored in the opening thirty seconds against Angola, before cashing in a few minutes later for a quick 1-0 lead. After that they were satisfied to simply dominate the action. With 49 fouls it was a physical match, but Portugal certainly must have been pleased at the opening result after falling behind to three quick USA goals during a 3-2 loss at Korea/Japan 2002. With the jitters out of the way, Mexico should be able to handle Angola and Portugal is expected to upend Iran. Both will have secured their spot, leaving their meeting on June 21 to decide the group winner.

Everyone was expecting the United States to show well following their quarterfinal appearance at the last World Cup. Czech Republic monster striker Jan Koller turned that expectation upside down with a goal just five minutes into the opener. Tomas Rosicky added two more for a 3-0 result in which the Czechs simply bullied the tentative (and smaller) Americans. Team speed was never a factor, and other than Claudio Reyna's long range blast off the side post the United States did not threaten on offense. If they had it might not have mattered with standout Petr Cech manning the pipes, even if his name is spelled like it is missing letters he might be the best keeper of the 32 teams.

Italy is always in the conversations as favorites to win the Cup. Not even match fixing scandals can hold them down if their first win is any indication. A late goal in each half marked their 2-0 win over first time entrants Ghana, who might have drawn even had the referee not ignored an offense in the penalty box late in the game. Usually content with playing defense, the Italians are the equivalent of basketball's Detroit Pistons. Their problems usually arise in the knockout round or later when the pressure to score increases. Nevertheless they did deliver 13 shots on goal thanks in part to 12 corner kicks, both high numbers. The match of the group is undoubtedly Italy vs. USA on Saturday. The United States will need a victory to remain alive barring an unrealistic chain of events. Otherwise it will be Czech Republic and Italy battling in the final match for group supremacy as both will want to avoid Brazil to start the knockout round.

For the past three World Cups the Brazilians have been involved in the final match, twice walking away with the hardware bringing their total to five. The most notable thing about their 1-0 win over Croatia was seeing their prolific scorer from those teams, Ronaldo, looking chubby and slow. Nevertheless, they set a record with an eighth consecutive win and could easily see that string hit double digits.

Apparently there will be no World Baseball Classic/World Cup double for Japan this year. After holding off attack after attack from Australia while clinging to a 1-0 lead, super sub Tim Cahill finally pierced their defenses in the 84^th minute. Confident Japanese keeper Shunsuke Nakamura was just coming off another great save, but with the ball heading towards the 18-yard box off a throw-in he recklessly came off his line. When he failed to make the play, it was an easy tally. Five minutes later Cahill put in another one and in stoppage time Australia had the icing on a stunning 3-1 victory. Now the question is if the Aussies can cash in an upset against talented Croatia. This should be a wide open group for goal scoring. In the end I believe Brazil sweeps with Croatia finding a way to advance.

Going from the semifinals to a team ignored has been an interesting ride for Korea. Having never won a Cup match played away from their home country, things looked grim when unheralded Togo carried a 1-0 lead into the second half. An early equalizer was followed up by the game winner coming from stud sub Jung Hwan Ahn, a hero from the last Cup, and disaster was averted.

With the XBOX 360 being all the rage, NGS 360 is a more significant term for France. That is because they have No Goals Scored for over six hours since their shocking 3-0 victory over Brazil to claim the 1998 title on their home soil. Switzerland is a neutral country (I'll spare you the obligatory army knife joke) so it was no surprise to see them content to play for the 0-0 draw. These results leave pretty much nothing decided in the group as the European sides will hope home field advantage carries them past Korea into the round of 16. I think the Swiss will wind up disappointed.

Having been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the last Cup on penalty kicks by co-host Korea, Spain quickly served notice that a return to the knockout round is in their future.  Two goals in the opening twenty minutes put Ukraine out of the match and another pair polished off a 4-0 win that all but assures them of taking this group.

Saudi Arabia's match against Tunisia felt like a snoozer when the schedule was announced, but turned out to be the most exciting of all openers. World Cup tournament tested Tunisia held a precarious 1-0 lead into the second half when the Saudis netted an unlikely equalizer on a redirection by Yasser Al Kahtani. In the 82^nd minute their goal scorer was subbed out for Sami Al Jaber, and just two minutes later he put his team ahead. As stoppage time dwindled away, however, Tunisia amazingly knotted up the match again for a 2-2 result. What a way to close out the first third of the group play action. It was a nice result for Saudi Arabia, but the reality is that Tunisia vs. Ukraine will decide the team to join the Spanish in moving forward. I bank on a return to the Sahara Desert for a Tunisia team that looked flat and uninspired. Say hello to the Jawas for me.

Stay tuned for an all-time All-Star team that no one will be able to predict.