Soccer Watch

The Women's World Cup kicks off in Germany this Sunday, June 26, with Nigeria vs. France at 7:45am, Germany vs. Canada at 10:30am, and two games daily for the first eight days. All 32 matches will be live in HD on ESPN or ESPN2, as well as on ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV. The top-ranked U.S. plays North Korea on Tues­day, June 28, 10:45am; Colombia on Saturday, July 2, 10:30am; and Sweden on Wednesday, July 6, 1:30pm. See the full schedule with this column online at austinchronicle.com/sports.

Gold Cup semifinals – USA vs. Panama and Mexico vs. Honduras – are taking place in Houston as we go to press. The final is Saturday, June 25, 7:30pm (FSC, Univision).

U-17 World Cup continues through July 10 in Mexico; the U.S. won its opener, 3-0, over the Czech Republic.

Women's World Cup

All 32 Women's World Cup matches in Germany will be aired live and in high definition on ESPN (23 games) and ESPN2 (nine), as well as on ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV.

SCHEDULE:

Sunday, June 26

7:45am ESPN2 Nigeria vs. France (A)

10:30am ESPN Germany vs. Canada (A)

Monday, June 27

7:45am ESPN Japan vs. New Zealand (B)

10:45am ESPN Mexico vs. England (B)

Tuesday, June 28

7:45am ESPN Colombia vs. Sweden (C)

10:45am ESPN USA vs. Korea DPR (C)

Wednesday, June 29

7:45am ESPN Norway vs. Equa. Guinea (D)

11am ESPN Brazil vs. Australia (D)

Thursday, June 30

10:45am ESPN Canada vs. France (A)

1:30pm ESPN2 Germany vs. Nigeria (A)

Friday, July 1

7:45am ESPN Japan vs. Mexico (B)

11am ESPN New Zealand vs. England (B)

Saturday, July 2

6:45am ESPN2 Korea DPR vs. Sweden (C)

10:30am ESPN USA vs. Colombia (C)

Sunday, July 3

6:45am ESPN2 Australia vs. Equa. Guinea (D)

11am ESPN Brazil vs. Norway (D)

Tuesday, July 5

11am ESPN England vs. Japan (B)

11am ESPN2 New Zealand vs. Mexico (B)

1:30pm ESPN France vs. Germany (A)

1:30pm ESPN2 Canada vs. Nigeria (A)

Wednesday, July 6

10:45am ESPN Equa. Guinea vs. Brazil (D)

10:45am ESPN2 Australia vs. Norway (D)

1:30pm ESPN Sweden vs. USA (C)

1:30pm ESPN2 Korea DPR vs. Colombia (C)

Quarterfinals

Saturday, July 9

10:30am ESPN 1B vs. 2A (No. 26)

1:15pm ESPN 1A vs. 2B (No. 25)

Sunday, July 10

5:30am ESPN 1C vs. 2D (No. 27)

10am ESPN 1D vs. 2C (No. 28)

Semifinals

Wednesday, July 13

10:30am ESPN Winners: Match 26 vs. 28

1:15pm ESPN Winners: Match 25 vs. 27

Third-Place Match

Saturday, July 16

10am ESPN2

Championship

Sunday, July 17

1pm ESPN

Groups & World Rankings

Group A

Germany 2

Canada 6

France 7

Nigeria 27

Group B

Japan 4

England 10

Mexico 22

New Zealand 24

Group C

USA 1

Sweden 5

Korea DPR 8

Colombia 31

Group D

Brazil 3

Norway 9

Australia 11

Equatorial Guinea 61