While i've got mixed feelings about whether Chelsea were a success a last season, i'm anxious to get a heaping dose of soccer come June 9 and the beginning of the eighteenth World Cup. My plans to head to Germany and attend the festivities were inevitably half-baked and didn't come to fruition, but i'll partake from afar.

It's a tough contest to call ... the popular bet is that Brazil will go home with the Rimet Cup for a record sixth time, and with a squad boasting Ronaldinho, the undisputed best player in the world, as well as a Kaka, Adriano, Ronaldo, and the experienced and still dangerous Cafu and Roberto Carlos in defense, it's hard to argue with that speculation. England have taken serious injury knocks in recent weeks, with figurehead Wayne Rooney potentially out altogether with a broken foot, and Michael Owen's fitness in question. They've still got a load of talent, but the question is whether Sven Goran-Eriksson can conjure some magic in his final tournament as England manager. The dull-as-mud and tactically inept Swede surprised me by calling untested Arsenal project Theo Walcott into his squad. However, i didn't think England had a chance to come out on top with Rooney playing, and without him i think they'll struggle to get to the quarters.

Other possibilities? The African nations are tough to read ... Ghana and the Ivory Coast could alternately play spoilers or get dumped in the group phase. The Netherlands and manager Marco van Basten have gone with promising young players rather than battle-tested veterans, so that experiment could also go either way. The hosts always tend to do well, and Germany did make it to the finals in Korea, but i'm not convinced that they have the talent to really challenge for the title. Argentina has underperformed in the last few tourneys, is this their year? If Barcelona prodigy Lionel Messi is healthy and Hernan Crespo, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Heinze, Pablo Aimar, and Roberto Ayala play to their ability, they could certainly reach the final in Berlin on July 9. France were humbled in the far east in 2002 and in the Euro 2004 tourney, but any team fielding Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet is dangerous. They seem a bit light in midfield though ... Zinedine Zidane is clearly past it ... so i have to think they'll fail to impress once again. Italy? Never a team to count out, and with bulldog Gennaro Gattuso marshalling the midfield, Alberto Gilardino, Luca Toni, and Real Madrid brat Antonio Casano providing the goals, and Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro anchoring the typically stingy defense, anything is possible. Can Spain finally muster a worthwhile effort at a major competition? My intuition says no.

Last but not least (or maybe so, we'll see), the United States are again fighting for international recognition ... as well as domestic recognition by the sporting masses who don't know they exist. We did well in Korea, but having been subjected to the dreck that continues to pass as soccer in the MLS, i'll keep my hopes in check. Nobody on the roster is a stellar talent, so team play will be key. Landon Donovan has a chance to establish himself, but then the tournament does last a month and is being held in Germany. Last time he spent a month in Germany, the poor boy got homesick and ran home to L.A.. A tough qualifying group might spell the end of the Americans' adventure on June 22.

So many plots, so many possibilities, and such beautiful football to behold. This is the spectacle of the World Cup. Game on!