Portugal are hoping a mixture of youth and experience will help them to reach coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's goal of a World Cup quarter-final place at least.
Angola's debut appearance at the World Cup finals puts the embattled southern African country into an elite club whose membership would have been beyond their wildest dreams just a few years ago.
Ghana go to the World Cup in Germany finally shorn of the anomaly of being one of Africa's top footballing superpowers but never having qualified for the sport's top tournament.
Sven-Goran Eriksson is hoping to end his colourful reign as England manager with a World Cup triumph that would silence the critics who have pursued him since his historic appointment in 2000.
Japan, led by Brazilian coach Zico, are plotting to bite the hands that have fed them at the World Cup by upstaging five-time world champions Brazil.
No one in Argentina wants to recall the nation's last journey to the World Cup. It was short and ugly.
Costa Rica, Central America's lone World Cup qualifier, drew the unenviable task of playing the opening match of the tournament against host Germany.
Ronaldo is ready to suffer to regain match fitness in time for the World Cup.
Stern John and Jason Scotland scored first-half goals and Trinidad and Tobago began preparations for its World Cup debut with a 3-2 victory of FK Austria Vienna in a training match Tuesday.
Africa's best hope at this year's World Cup was drawn into the tournament's toughest group.
The United States began its final series of World Cup warmup games with a 1-0 loss to Morocco on Tuesday night in which the most significant event was yet another injury to U.S. captain Claudio Reyna.
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