Soccer Watch

The Austin Lightning are on the road this weekend, visiting the undefeated El Paso Patriots. They'll be back in town next Saturday, June 18, for the second half of a back-to-back, home-and-away matchup with their archrival DFW Tornados.

No late drama in Asia, and no surprises either, as South Korea, Japan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday became the first teams to qualify for next summer's 2006 World Cup in Germany. Closer to home, the United States took a big step toward joining them with a decisive 3-0 win over Costa Rica on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The game was closer than it sounds, with U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller coming up huge on several occasions. A Wednesday night game in Panama, after press time, concludes the first half of the WC Qualifying campaign with the U.S. and Mexico looking secure. Europe saw a few surprises, however, as reigning Euro champ Greece lost to Ukraine at home Wednesday to put their chances in jeopardy, while Spain needed extra time to salvage a 1-1 draw with Bosnia. Full report and standings are on "Soccer Watch Online."