They have become a small but unmistakable sideshow to the 2006 World Cup. The smallest "players" to touch the fields for the games at the World Cup are the children who escort the 22 starters before each of the 64 matches.

Eliza Hillmann from Biesenthal near Berlin had the honor of going out with Germany's team captain in his country's quarterfinal contest against Argentina.

He would experience something only few ever get to -- being on the playing field at Berlin's Olympic Stadium in front of 72,000 cheering spectators. The nine-year old needed some luck to be chosen but her arts-and-crafts skills also played a role in her getting the opportunity to walk out of the players' tunnel with German national team mid-fielder Michael Ballack before the match.

Folding paper to get on the big stage

Eliza was one of tens of thousands German kids who participated in a contest sponsored by the McDonald's fast-food chain for the opportunity to accompany a World Cup player onto the field. Children were given a standard card as the foundation and told to do with it what they wanted to.

The young schoolgirl made a playing field out of it and pasted players onto it. To win the attention of the judges, she folded it so that when it was opened a ball sprung out together with a soccer player and herself as an escort. Her creativity paid off.

A lot of preparation

Going onto the field with Michael Ballack, Ronaldinho or Zinedine Zidane is not just a matter of appearing 45 minutes before the kick-off. Organizers treat the 22 youngsters like little professionals, asking them to meet seven hours beforehand for breakfast. Afterwards, the parents are given the rest of the day off and the children taken to the stadium on a VIP bus.

"The kids are all given two complete kits -- from socks to jerseys. And they can keep them," said Ralf Thielicke enthusiastically, the father of six-year old escort Vincent. "Now he wears the uniform whenever he plays."

It doesn't seem to bother most parents and children that the McDonald uniforms are also an inexpensive advertising platform for the hamburger chain.

Reaching for the stars

For Eliza, the moment that she walked into the stadium will remain etched in her memory forever.

"I just looked up into the stands. I couldn't recognize any single person. They were just all small blue dots. And Ballack didn't just sing the national anthem -- he bellowed it out. Besides Ballack, my favorite players are Philipp Lahm and Schweini (Sebastian Schweinsteiger)," she said of the experience.

Eliza wants to be just as good as the current stars on the German national team. She's already taken the first step on that journey; she joined her local team, SV Biesenthal 09, five weeks ago.