Prime Minister Tony Blair will fly the England flag over his official residence as British politicians vie with each other to be the most fervent supporters of the English team at the World Cup.
Although only one squad can emerge as World Cup champions, all 735 players involved have a chance of making the All-Star team which will be named two days before the final on July 9.
A German court is deciding whether to allow a far-right group to march through World Cup host city Gelsenkirchen, despite the pleas of police and locals that such a march would hugely damage Germany's image.
Anti-racism campaigners in Germany on Wednesday renewed their warning that black visitors should avoid certain parts of the formerly communist east during the World Cup because of a risk of racist attacks.
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has committed a crime in denying the Holocaust and should not be allowed into Germany during the World Cup, the head of the German Jewish community said on Wednesday.
Warnings of a potential terrorist threat to soccer's World Cup hold chilling associations for the city of Munich as it prepares to host the opening match under the gaze of billions of TV viewers.
When Tunisian goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel made his international debut in 1991, the youngest player at this World Cup, England's Theo Walcott, was just two years old.
The ball has stopped wars and started them, whipsawed financial markets and sent shivers of ineluctable joy and cardiac arrest rippling across entire countries at the same moment.
Djibril Cisse will miss the World Cup after injuring his right leg in France's 3-1 victory over China in a World Cup warmup Wednesday.
All tickets for the World Cup, which kicks off in Munich on Friday, are expected to be sold despite a limited number going on sale after late returns from some soccer associations, Franz Beckenbauer said on Tuesday.
Brazilian, Italian and Mexican soccer fans look set to be the top spenders during the World Cup which kicks off on Friday, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
What is billed as the biggest joint operation in history between European police started Tuesday when 323 officers from 13 countries arrived in Berlin for the World Cup.
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