Soccer Watch

Game on for the U.S. National Team players, who agreed to terms with the U.S. Soccer Federation on Friday, and will play in the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign, which begins Feb. 9 in Trinidad and Tobago. The Players Association is still without a contract (since 2002), but they did get a better – if hardly exorbitant – pay rate for the coming campaign. If the U.S. plays up to expectations, the star players could earn about $50,000 for the 10 games; what's more significant is support for part-timers and reserves, who've been on almost volunteer status before now.

With a new coach over the holiday break and three straight wins since then, Real Madrid finally seemed to be putting their game together. Then last week they got bounced from the Spanish League Cup by second division Valladolid, and it looks like it's back to the drawing board once again. The heavily tarnished Galacticos may have added some grit to their glitz last week, though, pinching tough Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen from English club Everton.

Four-time defending French champion Olympique Lyon lost their first game of the league season on Sunday, amid freezing rain and sleet in the northern city of Lille. That leaves just one unbeaten team in Europe: Inter Milan, which is nonetheless barely hanging on to fourth place in Italy with just six wins (and 14 ties) in its 20 games.

Fox Sports World will become Fox Soccer Channel on Feb. 7, going from about 20 hours of soccer programming a day to, oh, maybe 21. They'll still carry rugby through August 2005, but no word on what they'll do with cricket and motor sports. Fox will give viewers a first look at the channel during the Super Bowl pregame show.