11.   Essendon finished atop the standings at the end of the regular season and was hot favorite to win back-to-back premierships against the rookie Lions.

12.   Fierce rivals Indonesia and Thailand finished atop their respective soccer preliminary groups Tuesday to stay on course to meet in the Southeast Asia Games final.

13.   In the ladies qualifying, Daria Timoshenko of Russia finished atop of Group B, followed by compatriot, Viktoria Volchkova, and Julia Sebestyen of Hungary.

14.   It reached the cup semifinals and also finished atop the Serie B standings to earn promotion to the top flight.

15.   Italy and the United States finished atop the medals table with five golds each.

16.   Italy finished atop the medal tables with six medals overall and three gold.

17.   Korea finished atop Pool A, with Japan second.

18.   Mali, which finished atop Group D with six points after opening with victories over Portugal and Uruguay, will face Cameroon on Thursday in the second round.

19.   On its third trip to the World Cup, Denmark finished atop its first-round group and delivered the final blow that sent home defending champion France.

20.   Paraguay finished atop the group with six points, and will meet a third-placed team on Wendesday in single-elimination or knockout play.