The eight-team, two-week long Confederations Cup kicks off Wednesday in Germany.
TELEVISION: In the USA, games will be broadcast by Spanish-language stations Galavision, Telefutura and Univision, and English-language Fox Soccer Channel.
The first telecasts, on Wednesday, are Argentina-Tunisia (Telefutura, noon ET) and Germany-Australia (Galavision, 3 pm ET.)
FORMAT: Two four-team round robins. The top two finishers advance to semifinals.
GROUP A
Argentina (2004 Olympic champion, Copa America 2004 runner-up)
Australia (2004 Oceania Nations Cup winner)
Germany (Host)
Tunisia (2004 African Nations Cup winner)
GROUP B
Brazil (Copa America 2004 winner, 2002 World Cup winner)
Greece (2004 European Championship winner)
Japan (2004 Asia Cup winner)
Mexico (2004 Gold Cup winner)
BY THE NUMBERS:
500,000
Confederations Cup ticket sold so far.
170
Nations that will televise the tournament.
$72,000
Bonus promised each German player for winning title.
PAST CHAMPIONS:
2003 France (in France). U.S. finish: first round
2001 France (in Korea/Japan). U.S. finish: did not qualify.
1999 Mexico (in Mexico). U.S. finish: third place.
1997 Brazil (in Saudi Arabia). U.S. finish: did not qualify.
1995 Denmark (in Saudi Arabia). U.S. finish: did not qualify.
1992 Argentina (in Saudi Arabia). U.S. finish: third place.