Round of 16 Preview: The Knock-Outs Begin

BERLIN (AP) - The second round of the World Cup begins Saturday, June 24, and ends Tuesday, June 27. Each game offers its own intrigue -- and by Wednesday, eight teams will be left standing.

Capsules of the 16 teams in the Round of 16, listed in order of scheduled games:

Germany

Sixteenth appearance. Best performances: Winner in 1954, 1974, 1990.

First-Round Results: Victories over Costa Rica 4-2, Poland 1-0, and Ecuador 3-0.

First-Round Stars: Miroslav Klose, four goals.

Outlook: After opening games exposed some problems, notably Costa Rica's Paulo Wanchope beating the offside trap twice for goals, and a struggle against Poland until a late score, the hosts gave an encouraging performance against Ecuador for a perfect record. They have momentum heading into the single-elimination stages. With the German public displaying some uncharacteristic patriotic pride, Juergen Klinsmann's side could reach Berlin on July 9.

Sweden

Eleventh appearance. Best performance: Runner-up in 1958.

First-Round Results: Tied Trinidad and Tobago 0-0 to open, beat Paraguay 1-0 and then rallied to draw with England 2-2.

First-Round Stars: Marcus Allback set up Fredkrik Ljungberg for the goal that beat Paraguay and scored one of his own against England.

Outlook: The Swedes struggled to score against lightly regarded T&T and Paraguay, but rallied twice against England to extend unbeaten streak against the English to 12 games and 38 years. Sweden is one of the few teams with a winning record against Germany, 13-12 with six ties. Sweden hasn't lost yet, but hasn't been the most convincing side, either.

Ecuador

Second appearance, never had advanced.

First-Round Results: Beat Poland 2-0 and Costa Rica 3-0 before being dumped by Germany 3-0.

First-Round Stars: Augustin Delgado, Carlos Tenorio, two goals each.

Outlook: Ecuador looked very good against Poland and Costa Rica, but the 3-0 loss to Germany may have taken a considerable amount of the team. But the South Americans rested captain and defender Ivan Hurtado, along with four other regulars, against Germany, and will have them back against England.

England

Twelfth appearance. Best performance: Winner in 1966.

First-Round Results: Beat Paraguay 1-0, Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 before allowing late goal for 2-2 tie with Sweden.

First-Round Stars: Steven Gerrard, two goals; Wayne Rooney, whose mere appearance against Trinidad seemed to provide a boost.

Outlook: With Rooney's return, England seems to walk a little taller. But the loss of Michael Owen to a torn knee ligament is a problem. It's struggling victories over lightly regarded sides such as Paraguay and T&T, and then allowing a 90th-minute goal on a long throw-in against Sweden should be troubling to England fans in the long run.

Argentina

Fourteenth appearance. Best performances: Winner in 1978 and 1986.

First-Round Results: Beat Ivory Coast 2-1, Serbia-Montenegro 6-0 and then tied Netherlands 0-0.

First-Round Stars: Too many to count. Hernan Crespo and Maxi Rodriguez each had two goals.

Outlook: If anybody has become the clear favorite after the first round, it's Argentina. Easily beat the Ivory Coast, then routed Serbia-Montenegro in the most lopsided score of the tournament. Even against the mighty Netherlands, when it rested many of its first 11, substitutes Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez dominated, but just couldn't finish their chances.

Mexico

Thirteenth appearance. Best performances: Quarterfinals in 1970

and 1986.

First-Round Results: Beat Iran 3-1, drew 0-0 with Angola and finished with a 2-1 loss against Portugal.

First-Round Stars: Omar Bravo, two goals.

Outlook: As much as Argentina has improved each game, Mexico seems to have gotten worse. Even El Tri's fans were calling coach Ricardo Lavolpe "Paper Lion" during the Portugal loss. The tie with Angola was just as - if not more - deflating. Mexico hopes to get back Jared Borgetti, who slightly tore a thigh muscle in the opener.

Portugal

Fourth appearance. Best performance: Third in 1966.

First-Round Results: Beat Angola 1-0, Iran 2-0 and Mexico 2-1.

First-Round Stars: Luis Figo led effort to hold off Angola and set up both goals against Iran.

Outlook: After two early wins, Portugal felt comfortable enough to rest many regulars against Mexico and still won. But two of the five goals have come on penalties and a missed penalty by Omar Bravo cost Mexico a draw in the finale. The Mexico victory was the 10th straight in the World Cup for coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led his native Brazil to the title in 2002.

Netherlands

Eighth appearance. Best performance: Runner-up in 1974 and 1978.

First-Round Results: Beat Ivory Coast 2-1, Serbia-Montenegro 1-0 and tied Argentina 0-0.

First-Round Stars: Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, whose wing play in the first two games resulted in a goal for each and was cause for Dutch optimism.

Outlook: The Dutch had early success, but by the time it came to play Argentina, it already was qualified and sat the injured and yellow-carded. The lack of depth against Argentina was clear, getting outplayed by the Albiceste's reserves. Additionally, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy had a second mediocre game against the Argentines, drawing criticism from coach Marco van Basten.

Italy

Sixteenth appearance. Best performances: Winner in 1934, 1938, 1982.

First-Round Results: Beat Ghana, drew with the United States 1-1, and finished with a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic.

First-Round Stars: Italy has shared its scoring among five players, including Vincenzo Iaquinta, who was the last striker selected for the Azzurri.

Outlook: Recovered from its 1-1 draw with the United States - in which it had a 10-on-9 man advantage for nearly the entire second half - by beating the Czechs comfortably. After questioning themselves after the result with the Americans, the win against the Czechs should restore the Italians' confidence.

Australia

Second appearance, did not advance in first try.

First-Round Results: Beat Japan 3-1, lost to Brazil 2-0, then drew with Croatia 2-2.

First-Round Stars: Tim Cahill, who scored two goals in five minutes to rally the Socceroos past Japan, and Harry Kewell, whose late equalizer put Australia into the second round.

Outlook: Australia needed Cahill's 84th- and 89th-minute strikes against Japan to win, and a 79th-minute goal by Kewell to salvage a draw with Croatia. It's unlikely the Italians, with a reputation for defense, will be as generous late in the match.

Brazil

Eighteenth appearance. Best performances: Winner in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

First-Round Results: Beat Croatia 1-0, Australia 2-0 and Japan 4-1.

First-Round Stars: Ronaldo, whose two goals against Japan gave him a share of the World Cup career lead.

Outlook: Brazil underwhelmed many in the first round, but that could be due as much to the exceedingly high expectations of the defending champion as to its performance. Ronaldo scored twice to put the Brazilians past Japan, but those came after the Japanese led in the 34th minute. It's difficult to tell with Brazil if its struggling, or playing to the level of the opposition.

Ghana

First appearance.

First-Round Results: Lost to Italy 2-0, beat the Czechs 2-0 and the United States 2-1.

First-Round Stars: Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari, whose goals gave the Black Stars the victory over the Czechs.

Outlook: The only African team to advance past the first round puts the expectations of a continent on the Black Stars. Midfield key Michael Essien picked up his second yellow card against the United States, so he'll sit out the second-round match, but Ghana will get back Gyan and Muntari, who had to sit out the U.S. game with yellow-card suspensions.

Switzerland

Eighth appearance. Best performance: Quarterfinals in 1934, 1938 and 1954.

First-Round Results: Tied France 0-0, beat Togo 2-0, beat South Korea 2-0 to win group.

First-Round Stars: Alexander Frei scored two goals, while keeper Pascal Zuberbuehler didn't allow a goal.

Outlook: The Swiss were the only team not scored upon in the first round, and Zuberbuehler didn't have to work real hard for the shutouts behind a reliable defense. Ukraine has one of the world's best scorers, but the Swiss appear capable of shutting down all but the most dangerous offensive teams.

Ukraine

First appearance.

First-Round Results: Lost to Spain 4-0, recovered for a 4-0 win against Saudi Arabia and qualified with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia.

First-Round Stars: Andriy Shevchenko, two goals, one in each of last two games.

Outlook: After getting thrashed in the opener by Spain, Ukraine did well to recover. Wiped out the minus-4 goal difference against Saudi Arabia and then dumped Tunisia to move on. Shevchenko, a major question mark coming into the tournament having sprained his left knee in early May, seems to be getting stronger with each game. A problem will be the loss of Andriy Rusol and Vyacheslav Sviderskyi to yellow card suspensions.

Spain

Twelfth appearance. Best performance: Fourth in 1950.

First-Round Results: Beat Ukraine 4-0, Tunisia 3-1 and Saudi Arabia 1-0.

First-Round Stars: Fernando Torres, three goals; David Villa, two goals.

Outlook: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) won all three games easily, but probably had the easiest group. Spain beat Ukraine handily in the opener and the Ukranians won their next two matches to advance. Spain used a reserve team against the Saudis and coach Luis Aragones wasn't happy about the performance. Spain might get a tougher test in the second round from the French.

France

Twelfth appearance. Best performance: Winner in 1998.

First-Round Results: Tied Switzerland 0-0, tied South Korea 1-1, beat Togo 2-0.

First-Round Stars: France finally broke out of its offensive malaise behind Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.

Outlook: Few of the French looked sharp throughout the round, particularly against the Swiss. And the missed opportunities in the area can't continue if France hopes to stay alive in the tournament. But at least the 1998 champions aren't going home in the first round, as they did in 2002.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)