* Use the map on these pages and an atlas to identify the countries playing in the World Cup (competing countries are marked here in different colours).

* Adopt a country playing in the World Cup (work in pairs or groups). Find out as much as you can about the country and its people, using the Internet and encyclopaedias (books or CD-ROMs).

* Try to discover something about the waether; how people look and dress; their languages; national foods; things they grow, make and export; their music, art and dance.

* Prepare a pack telling other teams about your adopted country.

* Work out the route each national team has to take to get to Japan or South Korea? How many countries will they crosss? How far will they travel? What is the time difference between the two countries?

* Look at a list of world temperatures in newspapers or on the Internet. What clothes should teams take with them? Will they need special training to help them prepare for a change in climate? * Create a file on the two host countries.

The 32 countries playing in the World Cup are:

Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, USA, Uruguay.