The final acts of the world's quadrennial outbreak of soccer madness are about to be played out.

Thirty-two teams started out in the 2006 FIFA World Cup back on June 9. Now, four remain:

• France, who eliminated well-regarded Spain and Brazil, the defending champions;
• Germany, the host team who eliminated Sweden and flashy Argentina;
• Italy, who eliminated the upstarts from Australia and Ukraine; and
• Portugal, who eliminated the Netherlands and England and is the only team of the four to never win a World Cup title.

On Tuesday, Germany and Italy face off, while on Wednesday, Portugal and France meet. The winners will go on to Sunday's championship game -- and the losers will play for third-place scraps on Saturday (game times and broadcasters below).

Update: Italy beat Germany 2-0 in extra time

Germany and France the favourites

TSN soccer analyst Vic Rauter told CTV.ca he expects a France-Germany final to emerge, with Germany riding a wave of home-crowd emotion to win its fourth World Cup title.

However, that doesn't mean Rauter doesn't admire France, who started the tournament wracked with dissent.

Even France's fans were booing the 1998 World Cup champs. Dark visions of another humiliating early exit like the one from the 2002 tournament -- in which Les Bleus didn't score a single goal -- were dancing through peoples' minds.

While the team only managed draws in its first-round games against Switzerland and South Korea before beating Togo 2-0, the adversity seemingly had the advantage of drawing the team together.

"They're jelling at just the right time," Rauter said.

He said France also benefits from having the best field leader in the sport -- Zinedine "Zizou" Zidane, who has said he'll retire after this World Cup.

He likened Zidane to hockey legend Mark Messier -- an immensely talented player with a fierce will to win who inspires his teammates.

The other favourite, Germany, has its own interesting story line, Rauter said.

Germany won all its matches, beating Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador. But in March, Germany lost a friendly match against Italy by a 4-1 score and that almost led to the firing of coach Juergen Klinsmann.

Rauter said Klinsmann has been somewhat suspect because he lives in California, that home of zany new-age thinking. He incorporated some of that new thinking about issues like team and sports psychology into coaching the German team.

"They are a proud people," Rauter said of the Germans, and they were wondering why German methods and thinking weren't good enough.

But Klinsman managed to sell his team on his system, and he now has everyone onside.

Germany has two of the tournament's top scorers -- Miroslav Klose, 5 goals, and Jurgen Podolski, 3 goals. However, both Klose and team captain Michael Ballack had to leave Saturday's semifinal with severe leg cramp problems, although they will reportedly be available Tuesday.

Italy and Portugal

Italian defender Alessandro Nesta is doubtful, as he is still recovering from a thigh injury.

While Rauter likes Germany, Italy has won four previous World Cup matches against Germany and leads 13-7 historically, with eight draws. In this tournament, Italy beat Ghana and the Czech Republic while tying the USA.

The two teams will be playing at Dortmund's Westfalen Stadium, where Germany is 13-1.

Italy has had to fight through off-field adversity, with Italian soccer mired in a massive game-fixing scandal -- just as in 1982, which was the last time Italy won a World Cup title.

On June 30, Gianluca Pessotto, a former national team member, fell from a window at soccer club Juventus's headquarters -- reportedly while holding rosary beads. Pessotto has been hospitalized in serious condition. Five current Italian national team members play for Juventus and travelled back to Italy to visit their injured friend in hospital. 

"I think with the scandal and the situation with Pessotto, they will be eager to show their team spirit,'' Germany's assistant coach Joachim Loew told The Associated Press.

The final team in the mix, Portugal, is perhaps the most unheralded of the four, but has had a good track record in international soccer.

They lost the 2004 European Championship to Greece by a 1-0 score.

Veteran Louis Figo is Portugal's field leader. Rauter said Figo is as important to Portugal as Zidane is to France.

While Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is considered one of the world's best, and France's Fabien Barthez won a World Cup in 1998, Portugal's Ricardo saw his stock skyrocket after he stopped three English penalty kicks on Saturday.

Portugal has won five straight games at this World Cup, and have won 19 straight games since February 2005. Their Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has seen his teams win 12 straight at the World Cup -- including the 2002 title for Brazil. In the opening rounds of the tournament, Portugal beat Mexico, Angola and Iran.

Figo and star winger Cristiano Ronaldo have been undergoing physiotherapy, but should be ready to go on Wednesday.

However, Ricardo told reporters Sunday his team has no illusions they are in for an easy time against France.

"We know it'll be extremely difficult. They've got a great team with fantastic players," he said.

With files from The Associated Press

Game times:

• Tuesday, July 4: Germany vs. Italy semifinal (Rogers Sportsnet, 2:30 p.m. ET)
• Wednesday, July 5: France vs. Portugal semifinal (TSN, 2:30 p.m. ET)
• Saturday, July 8: Third-place game (Rogers Sportsnet, 2:30 p.m. ET)
• Sunday, July 9: Championship game (CTV, 1:30 p.m. ET)