Yep, it's France vs. Togo, with everything on the line for the French. As for Togo ... well, we're hoping their country at least pays them enough money to get home.

Your live blogger's name is Nick Bromberg, an amiable chap (unless you happen to like the Kansas Jayhawks). He'll be typing at you the rest of the afternoon, so drop him a line in the comments and Viva La Togo!

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2-0 France is the final. They outshot Togo 17-8 and dominated the game in all aspects. It could have definitely been worse, if not for a few miscues after beautiful passes. I hope you all enjoyed my coverage, as I had a lot of fun doing this. France advances to take on Spain, setting up a very intriguing matchup and, as Dave O'Brien wants you to know, Zidane is going to be back.

89: Togo's best chance of the match is a cross that doesn't get near anyone.

86: Togo has essentially given up. No real offensive effort from them. There's no sense of urgency, but at the same time they don't really have anything to play for.

Now Marcelo is complimenting Jorge. I will agree, after a rocky first half, Jorge was nonexistent in the second, and that's the way it should be.

I think Dave O'Brien has a hard on for Zidane. Yes we know he is out. Get over it.

81: Diarra in for Viera.

80: Offsides by a step. Trezeguet had a break going, but was just offside.

79: Viera gets hit on the head and they bring out the ice and the stretcher. thankfully he walks off on his own. Getting taken off on a stretcher and then running back on five minutes later is so ridiculous.

77: Govou in for Ribery.

75: Cross from Silvestre to Trezeguet who send it wide. Dossevi in for Adebayor. Trezeguet has been silent in the second half while Henry has picked it up a little.

74: Malouda is subbed out for France.

72: Agassa picks off a long cross from Ribery. He's been the lone bright spot for Togo. They have had no offensive pressure on Barthez.

70: Heck of a chance for the French but Agassa is able to kick out a lacksadaisical cross.

68: I take back what I was saying earlier, as France keeps pushing the pace. Now they settle back in. If the chances are there, they're not shying away from them.

68: Agassa comes out and kicks the ball away from Trezeguet.

67: Ribery drills a hard cross, but too hard and it skips out.

66: Looks like France is going to pull back a bit now that they have the cushion. It's going to be up to Togo to push the pace and create a couple of scoring chances.

If I understand it correctly. No matter what happens in the other game and as long as France keeps the 2-0 lead. The French are in the next round.

France does seem fairly content to keep pressing and GOAL FRANCE!!!!!! Nice long cross to Henry, who just had one defender on him, and fired a shot across his body and Agassa was helpless. Great assist from Viera, who headed the longball to Henry. (minute 60)

58: Henry attempts a sliding shot from a longball and misses. Might have been partially deflected by Agassa. Henry would have been much better off on his feet.

We'll see if France stays on the attack; or shoves everyone back and plays defensive for the rest of the game.

55: GOAL FRANCE!!!!!!!! Ribery with some nice moves from just inside the goal box, fires a short groundcross to Viera who twirls and fires a rocket into the top right corner. Agassa had no chance. 1-0 France.

53: Great heel pass from Henry leads to a cross to Ribery who had just 7 yards to goal, and wound up kicking it 10 feet over the crossbar. How many times can France give away point blank looks?

51: Shot by Togo sent wide.

50: France is controlling the ball in the Togo zone again, but just like the first half, they can't get anything substantial. Henry really hasn't had any good chances. They've all been from Trezeguet.

45: Togo kicks to start the second half and promptly loses possession once they get inside the French zone.

HALFTIME: Togo is definitely outmatched, but they're busting ass all over the place. Gotta give them credit. They're not playing like they're out of the World Cup. If Agassa wasn't having the game of his life though, it could be 2-0. (And some help on a couple of iffy offsides.)

Cross by Malouda a shade too high and skips out past the goal line. It was actually touched by a Togo defender, corner ensues that once again was snared by Agassa.

One minute of stoppage time.

45: Corner by Malouda easily snared by Agassa. No real chance.

44: Caution! Mamam with a yellow card. Three cards already in the first half. Jorge is not slowing down for anyone.

43: Cross by France sent way too wide. Henry didn't really have a chance.

Is anything more annoying than "If the scores hold up...." There's 50 minutes of soccer left Dave. Come on! A lot can happen and will.

39: HOLY TOLEDO! Shot deflected by Agassa, Trezeguet shoots again, Agassa trips over the ball and has the presence of mind to cover it up before it sneaks across the line! Trezeguet needed to go two feet to the left, he had plenty of net to work with.

38: Henry with a great chance again that's deflected up in the air and Togo clears and begins a fast break. Henry and Trezeguet have really been noticeable in this match. Ribery has also been involved a lot.

37: Caution! Yellow on Azuowanou for a tackle on Viera. (at least I can spell that right.)

This just in Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa are worse than a Hawk Harrelson-Tim McCarver announcing duo would be.

35: Offside on Henry. He was all alone with just one defender coming at an angle from 20 yards away. Could have and probably would have been a goal or at least a very good chance. Once again, it was a very close call. Marcelo says no. Therefore it must not have been offsides.

33: Trezeguet stopped by Agassa. Agassa was sprawled out on the ground but Trezeguet had no chance to get the ball in the air over his head due to the cluster around the goal.

32: Trezeguet goes head over heels over Agassa. Corner for France which is batted out but France retains possession.

30: Jorge reaches into his pocket for the first time, and it's a yellow. Makelele with a late tackle. If Marcelo doesn't like it, it must not have been a cardable offense.

28: Ribery with a great great chance and tried to hit the Mediterreanean. Bad shot. (I called him Marie earlier, I apologize. These names are killing me)

28: Barthez with a shaky save.

28: After a Togo possession on the France side of the field (shocking!) France goes on the fast break, but Agassa snatches the cross out of the air.

26: Makelele attempts to do the Togoan Samba with a Togo player. That's a foul. I've been meaning to ask is a person from Togo a Togon? Togoan?

25: Corner by France. after about two attempts, finally cleared out by Togo.

24: Henry with a chance, but can't control the pass.

And as I just typed that, awesome chance for France but Trezeguet literally whiffs on the shot, and sends a slow dribbler right to Agassa. Should be 1-0.

21: Cross from Silvestre to Trezeguet; headed, but an easy save for Agassa. I am actually shocked that France hasn't scored by now.

Marcelo went off on a rant against Larrionda, then seemed to give him a backhanded compliment. Dumbass.

On that note, our Mr. Belding for the afternoon (I can't believe I forgot to mention this already) is Jorge Larrionda. I'm surprised there haven't been any red cards. Agassa should be out of this game. Those saves were red cardable.

O'Brien says that Henry doesn't need Trezeguet but Trezeguet needs Henry. So basically Trezeguet is AC Slater to Henry's Zack Morris.

17: Too much dribbling by Ribery. Made about 7 cuts. If he would have tried to thread a cross through, I think he would have had a much better chance.

16: Quick shot by Henry goes horribly wide. Resembled much more of a cross than an actual shot. he was almost at point blank range.

15: Our first nomination for an oscar goes to Kader Toure. He's fine. He cried, they gave him a bottle, and now he's back playing.

15: Nice save Agassa on a laser that might have gone wide.

14: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFSIDE! Very close call. Great pass from Henry leading to a cross to Trezeguet who put it in the back of the net while Agassa was complaining about offside. Trezeguet was *maybe* a half step ahead of the defense.

13: Cross to Trezeguet cleared out partially by Togo. France retains possession on the Togo side of midfield.

12: France keeping the pressure on. Togo steals it, bad cross forces a shot on the side of the net.

9: Barthez punches out a cross by Togo. They're finally off of their heels and don't look like a team of fifth graders. Balboa says Barthez is the weak link for France. All I know is that Coupet is the starting goalie in Fifa World Cup 06, so maybe he's right.

8: Togo with some offense of their own. Couldn't make anything of it. 2 on 5 wasn't going to work.

7: Trezeguet already making an impact. Header deflected just over the bar by Agassa. Nice save.

7: Trezeguet tripped up inside the box. No call.

5: France still in Togo's zone. Although they have only had one real chance, it's only a matter of time until France gets one in the back of the net.

The dude in the picture looks like Leon Carosi from Saved By The Bell. Just saying.

3: France is keeping the ball on the attack. Just wide by Trezeguet. You can already tell that France is the better team. Hell, with all of Togo's money drama, maybe the French gave them a tidy sum to fold up......

2: Henry's cross deflected and cleared downfield by Togo.
Lineups:

Togo
Agassa, Nibombe, Abalo, Tchangai, Aziawonou, Cherif-Toure, Senaya, Salifou, Forson, Mohamed, Adebayor

France
Barthez, Gallas, Silvestre, Thuram, Sagnol, Malouda, Makelele, Vieira, Ribery, Trezeguet, Henry

The game is in Cologne. So maybe the French won't smell bad. (Bad joke.) Trezeguet will be joining Henry on the front line to try to ignite the attack. No Zidane because of his two yellows.

(In best Jim Mora voice:) PAINTBALL? We're talking PAINTBALL? Whew. After a few tense minutes, the Worldwide Idiot In Sports finally switched over to the soccer game.

We've tried to come up with two countries more radically different than Switzerland and Togo, which is one of those things that make the World Cup great. It's going to be an absolutely crazy week in the World Cup, and we have to start somewhere. So we're starting here.

Your live-blogger today is Craig Barker, who has his own blog at TFTD, an acronym for something of which we are unawares. Email us with thoughts for him, play along in the comments and hey, you kids be safe out there.

Post Game: Togo will go home with nothing, Switzerland will move to the top of the group, and now it gets very interesting on Friday. The Swiss and Koreans have four points and sit atop the group G, they'll play. France will play Togo on Friday. So, hmmm, you could end up with three teams with five points...Hmmm.

Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you for waking up early with me. I'd like to thank all of my peeps who hooked me up with some of the random knowledge you got during the game, and we'll see you again tomorrow. Have a great day. —CDB

Stoppage Time: We'll have three minutes of stoppage time...The corner is punched out, and then the long shot tipped over the crossbar by Zuberbuehler, corner for Togo, and the header goes high...Swizzle goal kick...It's just sort of there now...throw in Togo....still pressing forward, but Switzerland's having none of it...And now a booking for Vogel...Free kick Togo...taken wide, but no, they'll redo the free kick. By the way, love the refs wearing the headset mikes like Garth Brooks. Zuberbuheler snags it and sends it a long punt...And we must be getting close now...And there's the final whistle and that's the ball game.

90th minute: Barnetta's first name is Tranquillo. I don't know why I like that, but I do. Abassa makes a long goal kick, and Togo, to their credit, is still fighting, but not much doing but a corner.

89th minute: And now it's all over but the shouting, a supersub makes a difference and we'll run out the clock here in Dortmund.

88th minute: Like Derek Bell, the Swiss have gone into Operation Shutdown. Unlike Derek Bell, I know where they are right now. The Swiss counter...a one timer, and Barnetta finds the far post for a 2-0 lead. Elegant, elegant play.

87th minute: Togo sends in a lazy cross, easily defended. The Swiss make their last sub...Frei steps off and Lustrinelli comes in.

86th minute: Togo's staring elimination in the face, and it's like a bucket of truth to them....Togo sends in wide, and again, the Swiss mark amazingly well. Now we'll have a Togolese corner, just their second of the match.

85th minute: The Swiss are ready to sub again. A free kick high for Barnetta. Shouldn't Barnetta be wearing 9mm as his jersey number?

84th minute: You know, I have no other chance to say it. I envy Drew Carey (I also have been told I look like him.) He basically has made enough money that he can do whatever he wants with his life and he has chosen to become the U.S. soccer version of a Deadhead. I wonder if he and Lamar Hunt are hanging out in Germany.

83rd minute: Togo now setting up, and again, they were so close, and the Swiss swarm like the Brettano's security force on a shoplifter.

82nd minute: Possession is now about even, and again, well...Switzerland pushes forward and the pass hits their player in the back of the head. Sorry, it was just kind of funny.

81st minute:A long shot by Frei, and it's over...And off the goal kick, the Swiss go in off sides.

80th minute: The Swiss push up...and Togo resets... Like Admiral Stockdale, it feels like I'm watching a ping-pong match out here. And I am also out of ammo.

79th minute: The Swiss counter, and Togo resets...and Switzerland counters again

78th minute: And a Swiss sub as Cabanas gets somked out, he'll need a little THC from his team, and in comes Streller.

77th minute: You know this game is not very exciting, Dave and Marcelo are now talking about other African teams. And you thought I was riffing on nothing.

76th minute: Did you know Adebayor played for Arsenal? Zuberbuehler punts out and Togo collects it.

75th minute: Free kick nearside near the edge of the box for Togo. Switzerland burns time by not giving the ten yards. And the free kick, nothing, cleared by the Swiss with some nice defende, and now Togo resets. A lot of credit to the Swiss defense. Like a Cable Car, they are not in over their heads, in fact, they are very much in the Fray.

74th minute: Marcelo, I know that Togo needs to score, but as my friend Mike likes to remind me, the other team is trying to win the game too.

73rd minute: A nice bicycle effort, nope...Togo pushes across and attempts to reset. Again, pushing up into traffic, and the Swiss defend.

72nd minute: Sing along with the chorus, Togo counters, nothing. Switzerland counters and the cross in saved by Abassa.

71st minute: Now we'll have another corner, Switzerland's seventh of the game....Will it be lucky.............nope, cleared away by Togo. A shot back in, and a low save by Abassa.

70th minute: Derisive Whistles abound as Frei breaks into a million little pieces after a "hard" foul.

69th minute: Togolese sub...Out Dossevi, in Senaya, David Schwimmer, and iced mocha drinks. Togo's looking for a spark.

68th minute: Togo gets its first corner, but well, not so much. Oh, as a warning, Shep Messing is calling the Ukraine game. Ben Franklin once said that "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Shep Messing is proof that Bristol hates us and wants to be miserable.

67th minute: Now, the Swiss counter punch wide, but the cross is met with a save. Togo plays it in and is defended by Mueller.

66th minute: Togo is pushing, you can sense that the Swizzle sticks are happy to let the Sparrow Hawks take their shots, because it doesn't seem like anything will happen.

65th minute: Oh, I have been told my soccer grammar is wanting. Sorry about that. Togo pushes deep into the corner, resets, and nothing. Now Togo bats it out and we'll have a throwin.

64th minute: Togo offsides leads to a Swiss reset and now the ref...Oh, beautiful chance by Yakin, and again, Abassa up to the task. As the brother of a former All-American goal keeper, I can tell you, the goalie never gets enough credit when they keep their team in it. It's still 1-0 Switzerland.

63rd minute: A foul leads to another Togolese reset. They're trying the outside now. I think next they may try the upside, but like Soundgarden, I have heard they are down on it.

62nd minute: Togo reset, and a shot wide by Salifou. The Swiss are running a perfect movement.

61st minute: Give Togo credit, they are fighting the good fight, but there's nothing doing.

60th minute: The partisan Swiss crowd is making themselves heard. They're singing that song, you know, the one you always hear. But not ole. Meanwhile, the U.S. is still trying to develop its soccer anthem culture, but I think our use of Steam's Kiss Him Goodbye in World Cup 2002 was effective.

59th minute: Corner for the Swizzle, but they'll just chill til the next episode. Adebayor makes a run, but the ball goes out of bounds.

58th minute: A foul leads to a Togolese reset short of midfield, now the Swiss steal, counter, and Alexander Frei makes a great shot, if the goal were atop the summit of Mont Blanc.

57th minute: Togo's setting up in the midfield, but the Swiss are having none of it.

56th minute: Switzerland back forward, but a high cross is picked off by Abassa.

55th minute: Hmm, Marcelo, the heart of your team is also known as the middle. Thank you former USMNT captain obvious. Switzerland holds far side of the offensive end, and now a throw in. Nice thought, but Togo defends and counters.

54th minute: Shania Twain and Mutt Lange make their home in Switzerland. What is it with Canadian singers and Switzerland. Hmm, I now have a craving for some chicken. Believe me, this filler is important, because it's just back and forth again.

53rd minute: Off advantage, Yakin makes a great shot, but it's just wide.

52nd minute: It's a fact: Celine Dion represented Switzerland when she won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Shot in, but again, Zuberbuehler gets it. And another booking, this time it's Romao, and he gets his second, so he'll be out for the finale.

51st minute: Barnetta gets a nice shot off his left foot, but Agassa makes a lovely save. The corner is nothing to right how about, and now Togo counters, but earns a foul in the offensive box.

50th minute: Swiss with a free kick just over the midstripe, but Togo resets.

49th minute: The refs are being evaluated. I just want to know how Dick Bavetta ended up at the top of the sheet. Fouls are coming fast and furious now, and Togo has a free kick just over the midfield line. Zuberbuehler is right there, but gets hammered...no, wait, he gets a lovetap and drops like he's been shot by a sniper.

48th minute: Switzerland attacks, and Togo counters. Togo is really trying to reset, but nothing doing.

47th minute: I just heard Marcelo said Togo has nothing to lose here. Which is not really true, they could lose the game. Hmm, you know, that last sequence tells me that if this were a hockey game, we'd say it was getting chippy. Adebayor gets booked, for arguing afterward.

46th minute: OK, so I have grabbed some food. I've got some groceries, some peanut butter to last a couple of days, but I ain't got time for that now. Hey, where did you get a Cobb salad?

Meanwhile, my comedic cruch, Daniel Gygax, rolled boxcars and is now out. Yakin is in, and Gygax will go sulk with his monster manual.

End of Halftime: OK, so let's reset here. Basically, there's been good flow, which I know from watching enough soccer growing up, is the polite way of saying "Not a whole lot is happening at either offensive end." Meanwhile, one of the questions is, can Switzerland hold on? Well, only time Will(iam) Tell. Can Togo level the score? Who knows, but we have 45 more minutes to find out.

Oh, a little Dortmund knowledge for you from Wikipedia: The Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt) is one of the largest in Germany, and is host to the largest "christmas tree" in the world, formed by stacking hundreds of trees into the shape of a pyramid.

Then again, anyone could have added that, so please verify your sources.

Halftime: To save you the googling, by the way, it's Jim Noir doing the song in the ubiquitous adidas commercials.

Hmm, Stockard Channing announcing Manchester United games...No, must stop having the crazy thoughts.

Stoppage time: One minute's worth of stoppage time. And it's one minute of my life that I am never getting back. There's the whistle for the Half. A 1-0 lead for Switzerland at the half. I am going to go get a breakfast Hot Pocket, I'll be back in five.

45th minute: A nice shot by Togo, and a diving header by the Swiss to clear. Kader tries to push forward, but nothing doing. Wow, Salifou gets booked after a very very dangerous Ty Cobb esque slide tackle

44th minute: Togo makes one final first half push. I hope they know their timeout situation, and it's a weak effort. Magestic punt by Zuberbuehler, and now it's just sort of back and forth across the midfield line. I like this, it's like the Swiss want to make you think they are working, when really, they aren't.

43rd minute: Throw in for Togo, but Kader sends it out for a goal kick for Switzerland. The implication from Marcelo is that FIFA, much like KAOS, are not an organization to be messed with. Quick, get me Shtarker.

42nd minute: The Swiss are already playing the Dean Smithesque four corners, stalling, but not so much that it's obvious. As annoying as it is, it is the right strategy, it's just annoying as a fan.

41st minute: It's a nice first half, it's a lot of let them play action, and again, Togo pushes hard and can't decide what to do, earning a goal kick for Switzerland.

40th minute: Long shot by Mamam, but easily handled by Zuberbuehler.

39th minute: The physicality of this game has definitely picked up, but the fouls are not always following. The Togolese push up and again, the Swiss counter. Punt by Agassa.

38th minute: Ooh, the Swiss push forward, and Gygax pushes upward but is just a bit late. And Gygax's magic armor didn't help as he pulls up lame. Punt by the Swiss.

37th minute:The Togolese once again quickly counter, but the Swiss get back on defense, and begins the counter rush, but nothing there, so now the Togolese push back but Kader was offsides. It was a nice coast to coast to coast rush there. Offsides even at 4 all.

36th minute: Goal kick for the Swiss. Wow, seriously, the Togolese got robbed there. Again, a lot of back and forth in the midfield,

35th minute: Oooh, Adebayor is moving up into the box and is tripped up clearly, but NO CALL. That's a huge issue. So, yeah, that's fascinating.

34th minute: They're telling the story about how Adebayor had his former coach canned. Since we're all telling stories since I am a hockey geek, I should mention that both Carolina and Edmonton have connections to Switzerland. Carolina's backup netminder is Martin Gerber, who minded the store for Switerland in the 2006 Olympics, shutting out Canada 2-0. Meanwhile back in 1998, Michel Riesen became the first Swiss-born player to sign an NHL contract when Edmonton locked him up. He played 12 games for the Oilers back in 2000-01 and recorded one assist and is now back with Davos in Switzerland. On the plus side, he did excel at enforcing the neutral-zone trap.

33rd minute: If you're wondering, I love soccer, but seriously, it is beginning to resemble the soccer scene in The Simpsons episode, "The Cartridge Family" Togo builds, but a turn over and then quickly back forward. Adebayor shoots, and Zuberbuehler makes the quick harmless save.

32nd minute: The Swiss push up, but Togo is there for the punt, which goes long. Throw in Togo, and they drop it back to mid to reset.

31st minute: Togo with a free kick and it hooks in, but it's too long and too wide, but you know, other than that, a great effort.

30th minute: The Swiss botch it and Togo try to capitalize but shoot wide. The Swiss counter and seem content to hold possession at midfield. I may have to make that phrase a macro, it's going to come up a lot.

29th minute: The Swiss hold at midfield

28th minute: Gygax rolls an 11 and takes a tumble. Free kick at midfield for Switzerland. And like Dominican ball players, apparently Togo's birth certificates are age whatever you want them to be.

27th minute: Kader with a shot for Togo, and it's a lot of pretty moves but poor choice of shot, as it's again right on on Zuberbuehler, which is I think a sponsor of Plymouth Whalers' hockey. Oh no, wait, that's Zuber Buick, my bad.

26th minute: Togo's Adebayor pushes in a beautiful cross, but no one is home. Get the man some help! Apparently, by the way, my Closed Captioning wants Togo to get some more men in the Biloxi.

25th minute: And we get our first sub of the game as Agboh goes off and Salifou goes in for Togo. Salifou had started against Korea, so we'll see if this can provide a little more punch for the Sparrow Hawks.

24th minute: The Swiss again push up, but it's very Oakland soccer, there's not a whole lot of there there. Togo resets, but the Swiss defense counters quickly.

23rd minute: Togo with another shot right on.

22nd minute: Togo is looking confused, and the Swiss look like they want to make them pay, which, of course, would go into a private numbered account in Zurich.

21st minute: Gygax rolls a six and it's an offsides. Marcelo just made the point and I am glad I am not the only one, in pushing up so much, the Swiss are opening themselves up to a quick counter attack, but Togo is not able to do anything yet. It's like the Swiss are leaving holes.

20th minute: By the way, for all of you Swiss fans out there, I'd like to apologize that this entry is not written in Helvetica. Offside by the Swiss and Togo will counter. A long ball, out of bounds and a throw in for the Swiss, who play it back.

19th minuteA rare foul and Togo pushes forward, and, nope, offsides. There genuinely is a good flow in this match.

18th minute: Like Roger McDowell, we learn that Alexander Frei is the second spitter. Corner for the Swiss. It's a modified short corner and cleared out by Togo.

17th minute: And Switzerland finds the back of the net as Alexander Frei, their striker, gets a beautiful set up and puts Switzerland up 1-0. So much for my theory on possession meaning very little.

16th minute: Switzerland's running an almost 2:1 possession edge, but as we have seen, that means very little. Togo gets a quick shot, but the keeper is more than up to the task.

15th minute: Our Pittsburgh bureau checks in: "You know, Craig, I hesitate to call it a conspiracy theory, but Togo was believed to be behind the death of Princess Diana. They had released a Princess Diana stamp the week before her death, and the sudden upswing in sentimental purchasing filled the coffers of the Gnassingbé Eyadéma regime. I hesitate to call it a conspiracy theory because I only know one person who thought it, he didn't really believe it, really all they would need is one Togolese driver, so it kind of fails the whole conspiracy definition, so it's more like a lone guy hypothesis."

My friends are insane, but that is why they are my friends.

Oh, and in game action...Togo pushes it forward, but the Swiss defense are sounding the clarion call of the alpenhorn, rallying the troops and push back towards center.

14th minute: Gygax's shot earns Switerland a corner, and the long service is well defended, but the Swiss hold on.

13th minute: Now Togo will reset and push forward. The Swiss steal and counter attack, but nothing comes of it.

12th minute: A Swiss throw-in, and we're back to more possession by the Swiss at midfield.

11th minute:Now, a corner kick chance for the Swiss. It's a short corner, well defended by the Togo defenders.

10th minute: The Swiss are just holding it in midfield, no attack, but they are Swiss, so it sort of figures.

9th minute: In the interests of equal time, I see that Switzerland's coach Jakob "Kobi" Kuhn lead his nation to a pair of World Cups in the 1960s. The Togolese are pushing in hard, crossing it across the six, and a header that misses just wide.

8th minute: The Swiss give it up at midfield, but Togo takes it in off sides.

7th minute: A word about Togo's coach Otto "Price" Pfister. What exactly does your career trajectory look like when you have gone from coaching Rwanda to Burkina Faso to Senegal to Côte d'Ivoire to Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) to Ghana to Bangladesh to Togo? Goal kick by Togo, nothing major.

6th minute: Togo gets a quick transition shot, but it's right at Bueller.

5th minute:The Swiss are holding deep, and there's a long shot by Cabanas, but no dice.

4th minute: Deep defensive end throw in by Togo, and the Swiss control in the middle of the field. It's very much in the feeling out stages right now.

3rd minute: It's worth noting that the last time the Swiss scored in the World Cup was actually a game that I attended, their 4-1 victory over Romania at the Pontiac Silverdome during the 1994 World Cup. It's a fact, do with it what you will.

Switzerland pushes play up, but again, nothing doing. Gygax rolls a natural 1, but it's a fumble. The Swiss push again, but its cleared out of the box.

2nd minute: Tchangai is wearing the captain's armband for Togo in place of Abalo. Togo's made several changes to their starting lineup for this game, so we'll have to see how well that pays off for them.

Togo takes an early oppurtunity, but nothing comes of it. Foul by Togo's Agboh.

1st minute: The Worldwide Leader smiles upon us, as its Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa. Woo woo.

It's a wet pitch in Dortmund today, a cool afternoon with a light rain and roughly 66 degrees. That would be Fahrenheit. I would really be worried about global warming if that were Celsius.

An early goal kick for Togo

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Check 1...2...3...4..."Thunder Road" baby, "Thunder Road".

Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name's Craig Barker, and I'll be taking you through the next ninety minutes of action from Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, the Group G blood feud that is...Togo and Switzerland. It goes without saying that an important game for both sides. Of course, I just said it, so, anyway...

The Sparrow Hawks of Togo are trying to rebound from the team's 2-1 loss to the South Koreans, so keep your eye on them, as they will also do this without their captain Jean-Paul Abalo, who was booked in the 53rd minute of the Korea match. The other big news of the weekend is that Togo has been, to steal a line from Neko Case, Maybe Sparrows, as their participation in this game was thrown into doubt after still not having received the bonuses promised them for qualifying for their first World Cup. Reuters states that "Players from the tiny West African country have demanded 155,000 euros ($196,300) each to play and 30,000 euros for each win, half that for each draw. But officials from the country with an average per capita income of well below $1,000 have said those demands are too high." Aim high gentlemen, aim high!

Meanwhile, the Oath Comrades of neutral Switzerland are trying to earn three critical points after their goalless draw with France in the first game. With the 1-1 result in Leipzig yesterday between the French and Korean sides, this is still any team's group. Word out of Bern is that the Swiss consider this game of the utmost importance; I've been told that they've gone so far as to raise their defense condition to the highest level, a beige alert.

I've got my crack research staff (as opposed to my research staff on crack) covering my back and we're hoping to give you a glitch-free rundown of this action. I also realize I am stepping into the time slot that was held down all last week by the Mighty MJD, so that is some major shoes to fill.

Oh, and to start the discussion fodder in the comments, I need your help. I'm building the playlist for my tenth high school reunion, and the only restriction I placed on it was, that in order to capture the proper Zeitgeist, the songs had to be released between 1992 and 1996. So, if you have any suggestions, please throw them in the comments and I'll check them out later. Thank you for your support.

Meanwhile, to save the grousing, since Will didn't do it, here's a picture of female fan of Switzerland, a Swiss Miss if you will. And here is Togo's representative, Miss World Cup 2006, Edwige Madze Badakcu.

Oh, and TFTD is just the shortened form of the blog's original name, Thought for the Day. People looking for actual inspiration kept landing on my site, hence the shortform.

Referees: It's an all Paraguayan crew headed by Carlos Amarilla. An electrical engineer by trade, you may remember Carlos from his efforts in the U.S./Czech Republic game. Sadly, Spanish is not the official language of either nation, so expect a lot of gesturing to explain.

National Anthems: The Swiss national anthem is "Swiss Psalm" a piece written by Alberich Zwyssig which has lyrics in English as well as all four of Switzerland's national languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansch. It replaced the previous anthem because the Swiss were concerned that it was based on a British tune, namely "God Save the King". Wow, replacing your anthem because you're worried it sounds British. Well, I've heard worse reasons.

The Togolese anthem is "Salut à toi, pays de nos aïeux", or "Hail to thee, land of our forefathers" which has served as Togo's anthem from 1960-1979 and again from 1991 to the present. (One party rule led to a different, much peppier anthem during the interim.)

Anyway, we kick off today's live blog tripleheader with Korea Republic — or South Korea, however you wish to refer to it — against Togo, the second game of the World Cup to be played in Frankfurt. (England's 1-0 win over Paraguay was the first one.)

All week, weekend impresario The Mighty MJD is taking you through the 9 a.m. games, and his soccer stylings are after the jump. Feel free to follow along, add your own comments and email him with your thoughts. And enjoy!

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90:00: Alright, I'm out of here. Enjoy the other games today... Brazil/Croatia should be fun. Have a good one.

90:00: And that'll do it. Korea is your winner, 2-1. You gotta feel bad for Togo. They played well, their defense was pretty immaculate for most of the game. But one huge mistake costs them.

90:00: I am sad.

90:00: Struggling to even get possession of the ball here... foul committed, and a free kick here for Korea. Less than a minute to go for Togo.

90:00: Three minutes of stoppage time here... three more minutes for Togo to get an equalizer.

89:18: It's evidently a very bad idea to take a 1-0 lead in a game that MJD is live-blogging.

88:24: Not looking good for Togo here. A free kick flies just over the foot of Adebayor... goal kick for Korea.

85:43: Togo continues to get a little more offense than they probably should be getting right now, against a team that's a man up, and should be in full defensive mode.

84:52: Corner for Togo... can't get a head to it. Korea turns it back the other way very quickly, but a nice job to break up the play.

81:58: A Park cross comes in just behind three sets of waiting Korean feet.

80:22 A long Kader Toure blast goes just a little bit wide. Evidently, Korea isn't real good at you-can't-have-the-ball mode.

79:23: Tommy Smyth is an ESPN Mobile subscriber. So he's the one.

77:25: Togo gets it anyway, and with some nifty passing, creates another chance for themselves. They committ a little bit of a desperation foul at the end of the attack, however.

77:00 And Korea is in full you-can't-have-the-ball mode.

74:20: And they almost put another one in immediately afterwards. Very nearly went through the wickets of the Togo keeper. Togo is reeling.

71:46: GOOOOOAL! Korea gets on the board again, and finally takes the lead. Right on the edge of the box, a fantastic shot. He took a pass went against the grain, found some room, and just labeled one for the opposite top corner. Beautiful goal. Ahn Jung-Hwan.

70:39: A Korean header goes just wide. We've got some up-and-down action here, ladies and gentlemen.

68:42: Another chance for Togo on a long pass ahead... just couldn't control it well enough on the first touch.

67:10: Togo continues to create offense... so much for my analysis. Korea got away with a pretty blatant foul there, too. Kim Nam-Il checks into the game for Korea.

65:27: Park puts a shot on goal at the end of a nice possession for Korea.

64:27: It's Togo again... Adebayor creates another pretty good chance, and again, it goes over the goal. Our Togolese brothers don't know the meaning of the word quit.

62:50: And somehow, a chance for Togo. A great chance, ever. They had the ball at their feet in the box, in great position... a follow-up shot sails over the bar. Man... that was a hell of an opportunity.

61:39: Another close call for Korea... a cross just missed the diving head of Cho Jae-Jin.

60:04: Ludovic Assemoassa is down for Togo. Here comes the stretcher. I think he hurt one of his asses.

58:32: Korea's just firing away now. It's like a shooting range out there. And I think we can pretty much rule out the chances of any Togolese offense here.

57:01: Kinda sucks that as soon as this game got exciting, Togo lost the lead... makes it very difficult to enjoy this game.

55:58: Corner for Togo here. Nothing doing, and a quick Korean counter attack. They get a corner of their own... Lee Young-Pyo gets upended in the box, but no call.

53:47: And they score. Dammit. Lee Chun-Soo buried it, and... that's not good for Togo. Huge mistake by Abalo. I mean, that just killed them. They have no momentum, it's tied, and they're a man down.

52:43: Red card on Jean-Paul Abalo. Park was loose, heading towards the box, and Jean-Paul Abalo took him down. He's been sent off. Korea is now on a permanent power play, and they've got a free kick in great position here.

51:36: I'm sorry. That was wrong.

50:50: Much more of an attack here for the Koreans. Another decent look at it, and another poor shot. They just still seem a little bit off... perhaps they had a bad batch of horse for breakfast.

48:29: This is a little more like it... if Shep Messing had been calling his game, I think I'd have killed myself in the 12th minute.

47:32: It's Kader Toure no a nice run... that was nice. He abused a Korean defender and put a good shot on goal. Nice stop by the Korean keeper. The corner isn't converted.

46:39: Ji-Sun Park gets a look at the goal, and blasts it well wide. A strike of no real conviction there. Sorry. Tommy Smyth is rubbing off on me.

45:52: Korean guy almost gets kicked in the mustache. Togo certainly isn't shy about playing physical defense.

45:00: Alright, we're back. And let's discuss for a minute which ESPN guys have hit on Julie Foudy. Stuart Scott is a certainty. And I think Berman may have pulled the "You're with me, Umbros" routine with her. Rece Davis, probably too shy, but I think he wants to.

45:00: That'll do it for the first half. Freakin' Togo is winning a World Cup game. Back with you shortly...

45:00: A bit of a Korean flurry here towards the end, but the Togo defense is dealing with everything. Another corner here... again, a bad one. Cleared by Togo.

44:45: The good news is that there's now a team in the World Cup that looks just as lethargic as the United States looked yesterday. If Korea loses to Togo, all the sudden, we're not so embarrassing.

44:14: Korea gets another corner... this one is wasted. They go to the far post, but well over any available Korean noggins.

41:01:: Free kick, just outside the box now for Togo... pretty weak call in my opinion, but hey, it happened. The shot... is a good one, but is saved. Lee Woon-Jae with an excellent save, keeping Korea alive in this one. The ensuing header is knocked wide.

40:13: Korean shot on goal hits the Togo keeper directly in the tummy.

38:39: Of course, Togo's not putting together a lot of offense, either. Their goal was a very sudden thing. I think long, sustained attacks are going to be pretty rare today.

37:33: Cho Jae-Jin fires one over the bar for Korea. They can't find their groove today.

35:49: Awww... adorable Korean child in the stands is upset.

34:34: Corner here for Korea. First of the game. Headed on and blocked by a Togo guy, and then knocked into touch. I don't know how these little Korean fellows got their heads to it, but they did.

33:43: Otto Pfister's jeans go halfway down his ass. I think he watches a lot of rap videos.

32:15: It was Kader Toure on the goal, and not a second too soon. Thank goodness... perhaps Korea will try now.

30:40:: GOOOOOAL! Oh, Togo's on the board, my friend. Great pass ahead gets a Togo guy loose in the box, just ahead of a couple of Koreans, and he slides one in with a beautiful strike. Holy thunder. Togo has a World Cup lead.

29:04: Hey, a Chan Ho Park mention. And another one for ESPN News personality Michael Kim.

26:53: I'm not going to lie to you... this game sucks. Korea can't put anything together.

24:16: The shot on the free kick goes harmlessly wide.

23:35: Romao picks up a yellow card on the Togo side. The commentators are pretty much saying that he sucks at soccer, but tries hard. I can respect that.

22:15: I think Togo's making it a point to get a body on Ji-Sun Park, and not in any sort of a polite way. He's spent a lot of time on the grass.

21:25: Seems like the Korean team has an indordinate amount of mustaches. I didn't know that South Korea took such pride in their culture of mustache-cultivation.

19:32: Foul on a Togo guy, who just jams an elbow into Park's back. Free kick, handled by the Togo keeper, who's sporting a high-top fade.

16:03: A shot for Korea gets blocked. Ji-Sun Park with a weak little chance there. Seems like goals are going to be rare today.

15:16: Adebayor crosses one into the box, well over the head of Kader Toure, who dove like Greg Lougainis.

13:13: Koren head coach Dick Advocaat has stolen Avery Johnson's nickname, "The Little General." I don't think there's any relation, though.

11:48: A long ball into the Togo box is headed away after a slightly mistimed run. They haven't done anything, but Togo isn't nearly as embarrassing as I'd been led to believe they were. For a team with no head coach for most of the week, they're pretty damn good.

9:02: Togo's Kater Toure fires a shot from inside the box well over the net. Best shot so far. This is not quite the same as yesterday's Japan/Australia game.

7:43: Hey, it's the ref's 14th wedding anniversary. I believe 14 is the yellow card anniversary.

6:24: Somewhat odd that a game between Korea and Togo features two coaches as white as Wilford Brimley.

5:05: Not a lot of action thus far. Perhaps a slight edge to Korea, but no one's really threatened.

3:56: Lee Chun-Soo (and again, I'm going to seriously mangle some names today, and I apologize in advance) is the rare blonde Asian guy with a black, wispy, mustache. You have to admire that.

0:00: We're underway. Korea awarded a free kick, and it's blocked into touch.

0:00: Otta Pfister's going with the top-three-buttons-undone look, with the gold cross hanging down there. All the talk about prostitution in Germany this week. I think the Pfister is taking advantage.

0:00: SWEET. Foreign commentators today. If I knew their names, I'd be happy to tell you how much I enjoy them, but... really, to me they're just accents.

0:00: Young Boys, of course, being a Swiss soccer team.

0:00: Togo midfielder Yao Aziawonou plays with Young Boys.

0:00: And hey, the Togo coach is named "Pfister," and if you don't think I'm going to the "Pfister" well often today, you don't know me that well. You probably know by now, too, that he quit on his team a few days ago, and then yesterday, agreed to come back.

0:00: Some things you should know before we get started: The star for South Korea is Ji-Sun Park, who plays for Manchester United. For Togo, it's Emmanuel Adebayor, who plays for Arsenal and bagged 11 goals in 12 quailfying games.

And for her victory, the lovely Edwige Madze Badakou received a pretty crown, 2,000 euros, the use of a convertible for a year, and evidently, a very friendly touch from a competitor in the pagent. The use of a car for a year seems a little cheap, but I really admire the sportsmanship of her competitor there. Hooray for the international spirit of sisterhood.

The pageant had one contestant from each of the countries involved. I can't find a picture of the representative from the United States anywhere. I believe that US Soccer officials decided to just put Landon Donovan in a dress. He came in fourth.

Togo wins Miss World Cup contest [BBC News]

• 1. Much Adu About Age. In May 2001, Souleymane Mamam became the youngest player ever to play a World Cup qualifier when he played for Togo against Zambia at the age of 13 years, 310 days. That is, if you believe those who claim June 20, 1987 as his birthday. Some Web sites list it as 1985, which would have made him nearly 16. Currently, Mamam plays on loan from Manchester United for the Belgian second division club Royal Antwerp FC.

• 2. Togo Is On The Air!. If you are an SCTV fan, you know Togo is mentioned in the opening credits of the venerable ex-TV comedy series (as people around the world toss out their TVs). News of Togo is always conveyed in the SCTV News with Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) and "Count" Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty). "It is the first thing I think of when I hear Togo." — (thanks to Greg Kelly).

• 3. Meet Togo's Biggest Star. Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor may have the physique of a basketball player, but he is Togo's leading scorer; with 11 goals to finish as the top scorer in the African Zone. None were more important than those scored in the home and away qualifiers against Senegal that effectively won the Togolese first place.

• 4. Fun With Mr. Atlas. OK, raise your hand if you thought Togo was a tropical island. Come on ... yeah, we thought so. Actually it is a small nation (smaller even than West Virginia) on the west coast of Africa; possibly the world's skinniest country. Their national soccer team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks), will be making their first-ever appearance in the World Cup finals.

(Tomorrow: Czech Republic)