sa国际传媒

sa国际传媒 has always been an accommodating and gracious host. Maybe too gracious.

It seemed like the calm amid the storm yesterday at the Victoria venue for the FIFA 2007 Under-20 World Cup as the amassed assemblage of officials, supporters, media and teams all seemed to be whale watching or shopping along Government Street.

A single moment of brilliance, seemingly snatched out of mid-air at the 2003 FIFA Under-20 World Cup at the United Arab Emirates, helped propel Josh Simpson of Victoria into a higher-calibre pro soccer career than he might have otherwise expected at

They've definitely got the talent -- star striker Jean Carlos Solorzano and perhaps the top goalkeeper in the tournament in Alfonso Quesada -- to compete with the top guns in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Group F of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup is finely balanced, but don't believe all the talk of there not being a real favourite in the group.

Often buried beneath the well-documented Japanese love of baseball and sumo, soccer is quickly emerging in Japan after the nation successfully co-hosted the senior 2002 World Cup with South Korea.

When Portugal began its recent rise in world soccer, pundits nicknamed the players that fuelled its re-emergence the Golden Generation. Scottish FA officials shy away from such labels being attached to their new generation of stars.

Group A Congo Coach: Eddie Hudanski Who to watch: Fabrice Nguessi Ondama has been so impressive as a youth player, it's expected he'll be called up to the full national side.

All times Pacific Saturday, June 30 - Poland vs. Brasil, 11:15 a.m. at Montreal (CBC, TLN) - South Korea vs. U.S.A., 2 p.m. at Montreal (Country sa国际传媒) - North Korea vs. Panama, 1:30 p.m. at Ottawa (GolTV) - Argentina vs. Czech Republic, 4:15 p.m.

In many ways, the newly laid turf at Royal Athletic Park is the centerpiece of the preparations for play in Group F of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.