Soccer Watch

Euro2004 ended with a bang on the Fourth of July, as 80-1 underdog Greece beat host Portugal 1-0 to claim its first-ever major trophy. The Greeks, who had never even won a game at either a Euro or World Cup Final tournament, became the first team ever to close out the tournament with three straight shutouts – all 1-0, over France, the Czech Republic, and Portugal.

So with the European season finally at a close, attention turns to the Copa America – the South American equivalent of the Euro championship – which kicked off Tuesday night with host Peru staging a late comeback to earn a draw against Bolivia, 2-2, and defending champ Colombia edging Venezuela 1-0. And here's a treat: All 26 games are being broadcast live, right through the final on July 25. The games are on TeleFutura and Univision, broadcast channels 51 and 62, respectively. (Both are also available on Grande cable, but Time Warner only carries Univision.) First-round games continue through next Wednesday, July 14, nightly at 5:15 and 7:30pm, except on Sunday, 2:45 and 5pm; quarterfinals are next Sat-Sun, July 17-18. Here's the first-round draw; the top two in each group, plus two third-place finishers, advance to the quarterfinals: Group A: Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela (Tue, 7/6; Fri, 7/9; Mon, 7/12) Group B: Uruguay, Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico (Wed, 7/7; Sat, 7/10; Tue, 7/13) Group C: Brazil, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Chile (Thu, 7/8; Sun, 7/11; Wed, 7/14) For a complete schedule, plus scores and standings as they occur, see "Soccer Watch Online."

Also from South America: Colombian underdog Once Caldas upset Argentine defending champ Boca Juniors in a dramatic penalty shootout Thursday night to take the Copa Libertadores, the continental club championship.

The Austin Lightning play their last two scheduled home games this weekend, facing the Nashville Metros Saturday at 7:30pm, and the Memphis Express Sunday at 2:30pm – both at Williamson County Regional Park in Cedar Park. For directions, see www.austinlightningsoccer.com.

Finally, the U.S. men play Poland this Sunday, July 11, in one of their final tune-ups before going into World Cup qualifying in August; it's live on ESPN2, 5:55pm.