Turns out there are many good reasons to watch World Cup Football

USA's football playing--i.e. Landon Donovan's amazing goal--is a thing of beauty this time around. Woo-hoo! Hooray, hooray, etcetera. But we shouldn't let the brilliant athleticism distract us from the brilliant athletes. Herewith, a few personal favorites from around the globe, swiped from the comprehensive collection I stumbled upon here. (You can thank me in comments.)

Yoann Gourcuff of France
(A sexy new Bond, perhaps?
Also, sweaty hair is the new six-pack.)

Eric Abidal of France
(Six-packs--ce sont magnifique--are the new soulful eyes.)

Glen Johnson of England
(Who says Brits don't have gorgeous smiles?!)

Diego Benaglio of Switzerland
(That stubble just slays me.)

Ján Ďurica of Slovakia
(A lovely blend of Daniel Craig and Vladimir Putin.)

Oguchi Onyewu of the United States
(Oh my...words simply fail me.)

Benny Feilhaber of the United States
(A young Brad Pitt, minus the beard and minus Angelina.)

Fernando Torres of Spain
(Many will rush to help him to his feet.)

Kaká of Brazil
(So adorable, but why so serious?)

Fabio Cannavaro of Italy
(Carved out of some heavenly substance by God himself.)

Michael Ballack of Germany
(Tragically, he's out with an injury this season;
also--Matt Damon!)

Atsuto Uchida of Japan
(The cutest, punkiest haircut of them all.)

Georgios Samaras of Greece
(Soulful eyes are the new...*sigh* never mind.)

Didier Drogba of Côte d'Ivoire
(Cheekbones! And that elegant French insouciance.)

Alessandro Nesta of Italy, 2006
(This pic is a delicious souvenir from the last World Cup,
saved forever on my hard drive. Hey, why not?)

(Big H/T to Sarkastic's Livejournal, via Mark Morford at the SFGate.)