GAME ON (WORLD CUP 2006)

For football fans around the globe, the four-year drought is over. Welcome to Germany 2006, host country of this year's World Cup, and to PIONEER's first-ever World Cup Special.

Spot luck
Here's our wacky guide to what to watch out for in Germany:


Best Player
Wei Li's nominees:
Ronaldinho (Brazil)
Thierry Henry (France)
Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)

Eugene's nominees:
Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Winner: Ronaldinho. With Wayne Rooney's involvement in the tournament likely to be minimal at best, the Brazilian stands alone on the world stage. Messi, however, threatens to steal the show.

Best Diver
Wei Li's nominees:
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

Eugene's nominees:
The entire Italian national team.

Winner: Arjen Robben, from quite possibly the most competitive category of all.

Favourite To Score First Own Goal
Wei Li's nominees:
Rio Ferdinand (England),
Paulo Ferreira (Portugal) and
Jean-Alain Boumsong (France)

Eugene's nominee: Jean-Alain Boumsong (France)

Winner: Boumsong. How this man got into the French national team is the biggest football mystery of this World Cup.

Best Group Match
Wei Li's nominees:
Japan vs Brazil
Argentina vs Netherlands
France vs South Korea

Eugene's nominees:
Italy vs Czech Republic
Argentina vs Netherlands
Japan vs Brazil

Winner: Japan vs Brazil. Not many fancy the Japanese but if their Confederations Cup clash in 2005 is any guide, the match will be a cracker.

Surprise Package
Wei Li's nominees:
Serbia & Montenegro
Ivory Coast
Ukraine

Eugene's nominees:
Ivory Coast
Mexico.

Winner: Mexico takes it - they play much, much better football than Drogba and company, Serbia only have a good defence and Ukraine will be relying too much on Andriy Shevchenko.

Best Supporters
Wei Li's nominees:
Brazil
South Korea
Germany

Eugene's nominees:
The Ultra Nippon (Japan)

Winner: The South Americans may bring colour and music to the stands, but no one sings from start to finish like the Ultra Nippon and the South Koreans. A tie.

Best Stadium
Winner: Only one choice for both of us - the Allianz Arena in Munich. An unconventional work of art from the outside, a stunning engineering achievement from the inside.

Best Jerseys
Wei Li's nominees:
Switzerland (Home)
Spain (Away)
Mexico (Home)

Eugene's nominees:
Germany (Away)
Japan (Home) and
Mexico (Home)

Winner: Japan (Home). Yup, I'm biased.

Worst Jerseys
Wei Li's nominees:
Italy (Away)
Spain (Home)
Ecuador (Home & Away)

Eugene's nominees:
Paraguay (Home)
Serbia & Montenegro (Home)
Ukraine (Home)
Tunisia (Away)
Ecuador (Home & Away)
Ivory Coast (Away)
Costa Rica (Home & Away)
Spain (Home). Phew! That s a lot of nasty jerseys.

Winner: Paraguay (Home). If you know your football fashion, stay far, far away from this on-and off-the-pitch disaster.

These are the A-listers; the ones you can't afford to miss. A group of players so good at their jobs that, if playing as a dream team, can vanquish all others.

You may not have heard of some of them, but keep a close eye on these players they could become household names or earn big-money transfers after a successful tournament. You read it here first!