Beckham's foot, the Keane affair... why the world loves a national obsession

A guide to the stories that have consumed fans from the other 30 nations. Alex Hayes reports

Argentina: The battle between Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo over who should start up front. There is no love lost.

Belgium: The embarrassment following a national poll in which 51.1 per cent of the population said their team would win the World Cup.

Brazil: The nail-biting wait to find out whether Ronaldo has recovered from the fiasco of the 1998 final, since when he has never regained his form.

Cameroon: The accusation by former international Roger Milla that he was offered a bribe to support Sepp Blatter's re-election to the Fifa presidency.

China: The new-found freedom. Having reached their first World Cup, they will be allowed to gather in main squares to watch their team on giant screens.

Costa Rica: The number of televisions being sold every day. The average price of a new set is £300, which equates to 10 per cent of most people's annual wage.

Croatia: The perils of an ageing team – 80 per cent of squad were at France 98.

Denmark: The build-up to England's campaign. The Danish press are simply not interested in their own team.

Ecuador: The decision by all leading firms to change working hours to allow people to follow the team in Japan.

France: The determination to persevere with Frank Leboeuf at the heart of the defence. The press say he should go.

Germany: The view of the tabloid Bild that "the decline of the national team is a mirror image of the country".

Italy: The prospect of Francesco Totti succeeding Roberto Baggio as the creative genius of the Azzurri.

Japan: The danger of the team letting the people down. "Let's show the world we're not meatballs" read one headline.

Mexico: The chances of Cuauhtemoc Blanco having devised a new trick to better his 1998 two-footed hop.

Nigeria: The likelihood of the Super Eagles becoming the first African team to defeat England in an international.

Paraguay: The prospect of Jose-Luis Chilavert returning from his ban for the second group game, and scoring one of his trademark free-kicks.

Poland: The decision by the President, Aleksander Kwasniewski, to provide his plane, Polish Air Force One, to transport the squad to the Far East.

Portugal: The expulsion from the event of the Gaelic-sounding Daniel Kennedy, for failing a drugs test.

Russia: The pressure to rectify what the media call "the unbearable fiasco" of the Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City.

Saudi Arabia: The possibility of the veteran goalkeeper, Mohammed Al-Deayea, adding to his seven World Cup matches (four in 1994; three in 1998).

Senegal: The furore surrounding the arrest of midfielder Khalilou Fadiga, a noted prankster, for stealing a necklace.

Slovenia: The promise by the "Slovenian Platini", Zlatko Zahovic, that his side will qualify from their group.

South Africa: The negative attitude of the Bafana Bafana, who have booked their flights home for the day after the group stage.

South Korea: The need of Gus Hiddink's team to qualify for the knock-out stages for the first time, if only to match North Korea's feat in 1966.

Spain: The threat of truancy: a TV poll says two out of ten employees will not go to work on the days Spain play.

Sweden: The danger of Olof Mellberg tackling his team-mates rather than the opposition come 10.30 this morning.

Tunisia: The possibility, however remote, that Henri Michel will be the most successful of the four French managers this summer.

Turkey: The odds that Hakan Sukur will win the Golden Boot. Save your Turkish lira – he is 23rd in line, at 40-1.

United States: The threat of terrorism. Soccer is the least of people's worries.

Uruguay: The odd decision by Danish officials to film group rivals' training sessions with a simple camcorder.