Soccer: World Cup

01:31 AM CDT on Thursday, June 8, 2006

By STEVE DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News

FIFA rank: 5

Looks good: Brilliant youngsters matched with strong vets

Trouble spot: Striker Raul rarely lives up to billing internationally.

Overview: C'mon, Spain. Can't we just get a semifinal out of you? The country's soccer team has spun underachievement into an art form, stumbling in the quarters or before in eight consecutive World Cups. Led by exalted talent once again, such as midfielders Xabi Alonso and Xavi, and the Spaniards should cruise effortlessly into the second round.

FIFA rank: 45

Looks good: Andriy Shevchenko and his supporting strikers

Trouble spot: A midfield that can't hang with the big boys

Overview: You need to know one thing: Andriy Shevchenko. Don't bother with the first name. It's just Shevchenko. He finished sixth in last year's FIFA Player of the Year balloting, and he's an absolute beast for the hapless opposition defenders. This is the first World Cup for the former Soviet Republic; the country was born in 1991.

FIFA rank: 21

Looks good: Third consecutive World Cup

Trouble spot: Still show signs of stage fright that bit them in 2002

Overview: Cameroon in 1990. Nigeria in 1994 and 1998. Senegal in 2002. Every World Cup an African team rises, whacks a European or South American side and crashes the second-round party. Manager Roger Lemerre, who was Aime Jacquet's assistant during France's 1998 triumph, has added cohesion to a starless team of capable players.

FIFA rank: 34

Looks good: Mabrouk Zaid, best goalkeeper in Asia

Trouble spot: Lack of meaningful experience

Overview: Nine of the 23 roster members come from Saudi club Al Hilal. Seven others play for Al Ittihad. That's swell for continuity. But with every member playing inside the country, no one gets tested in big matches beyond his comfort zone. Maybe that's why the team went winless in World Cups 1998 and 2002.

• Adriy Shevchenko is so important to Ukraine, he was selected for the roster against Northern Ireland last year even though he was injured.

• Saudi Arabia in 2002 was simply dreadful, outscored 12-0 (including an 8-0 rout against Germany).

• Cesc Fabregas is being groomed as Spain's playmaker of the future. Just 19, he has already played a major role for Champions League runner-up Arsenal.

Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine: Ukraine's intention to prove it is more than a one-man show looks like a tall order.

Then again, if that one man is Andriy Shevchenko, it could be enough.

The former Soviet Republic channels its entire effort into an unflinching attention to defense, parlayed with a big hope that "Sheva" can do his thing.

His thing is the stuff of a classic striker. He waits. Then he pounces, ruthlessly punishing mistakes by defenders. Few in the world can match his clinical finishing around goal.

If Ukraine's reliance on "Sheva" seems overly hopeful, consider this: The Ukrainians were the first to qualify out of Europe, and they did it in perhaps the toughest group, one that included Greece, Turkey and Denmark.

Spain vs. Ukraine: Spain's Carlos Puyol is one of the world's classiest defenders. But he'll have his hands full against Shevchenko and Ukraine when they meet to open group play in Leipzig, on the country's east side. Can Ukraine show it's more than a one-trick pony?

Spain can match midfield muscle with anyone, and that should see Raul and Co. safely into the second round. Tunisia will give Ukraine a fight, but the Eastern Europeans should grab the second spot and advance.