The nineteenth FIFA World Cup Finals were awarded to South Africa by the FIFA Executive Committee in Zürich on 15 May 2004.

Having decided to awarded the World Cup to the African continent, South Africa (fourteen votes) beat rival bidder Morocco (ten votes) in the final round of votes. Libya's bid to co-host with Tunisia had been disqualified before the secret ballot due to the statute that FIFA would no longer accept shared hosting bids, and Egypt did not receive a single vote.

The Draw

The Build-Up

1 June: Fabio Capello announced his 23-man squad for the tournament after spending the afternoon breaking the bad news first to the seven players on the standby list.

2 June: Capello signed a new two-year contract with the FA and then flew out to Johannesburg with the squad, accompanied by David Beckham.

3 June: Following an eleven-hour flight, England arrived at their training base, the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus at Rustenberg, and they were all personally welcomed by the King of Bafokeng.

4 June: England captain, Rio Ferdinand damaged his knee ligaments at the end of the first training session and was ruled out of the tournament. David James missed training with a slight knee problem, but Gareth Barry took part, whilst still recovering from an ankle injury.

5 June: Michael Dawson, ruled out of the squad, four days earlier, arrived at Rustenberg as Ferdinand's replacement.

6 June: James returned to training, but there were still concerns about his knee, and Matthew Upson missed the session, because he had a temperature.

7 June: England beat Platinum Stars, 3-0, with Fabio Capello having a half-time rant at the players, following a frustrating first half.

"I've not seen him like that before," Terry said. "That was the worst, the angriest, I'd seen him.
"...We'd worked all week on pressing and not letting the opposition turn and get time on the ball and we didn't do that." - The Times

8 June: The players went on a safari trip to the Pilanesberg National Park, following their morning training session.

9 June: More tension at the training camp, as Capello explodes with rage, when mistakenly accusing journalists of spying on the players in the medical centre.

10 June: James Milner missed a third day's training with a stomach virus. Steven Gerrard, England's new captain, revealed his confidence in Wayne Rooney's ability:

"The stage is set for Wayne. He's a fantastic age, he's in great shape and he's coming off the back of an unbelievable season, probably his best...Hopefully he can be our main goalscorer..." - The Times

11 June: The players trained in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. Milner took part in the ninety-minute session, but none of the players were to be told of their inclusion in the first match until two hours before kick-off. Capello admitted that his dream was to win the World Cup:

"It was a dream to be England manager and I hope the next dream comes off, too. Why not? I'm focused always to win. I've built teams, worked with teams, worked with players and always been focused to win. That's all that matters to me: to win and get to the final. In my mind, we play to win. That's all. I exist to win...This team is OK to reach the final." - The Times

"CAPELLO IN NEED OF QUICK ANSWERS
"Of all the English goalkeeping errors down the years...this was as excruciating as any.
"For a brief time...it looked encouraging for England.
"Capello's team had enough chances to win the game.
"victory, in many ways, would have papered over the cracks."
"MAN OF THE MATCH: Ashley Cole 7/10 - did not make a mistake and got forward whenever he sensed an opening." - The Times, 14 June 2010

"The keeper's clanger punctured all those English pre-tournament expectations, but a draw was no more than the United States deserved for their efforts." - World Soccer

13 June 2010 - 12:30pm SAST
Algeria 0 Slovenia 1 [0-0] Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane (30,325)	Koren
	Ghezzal
18 June 2010 - all SAST
3:00pm - Slovenia 2 United States 2 [0-0] Coca Cola Park, Johannesburg (45,573)	Birsa, Ljubijankič Donovan, Bradley
7:30pm - England 0 Algeria 0 [0-0] Kaapstad-stadion, Kaapstad (64,100)

"WOEFUL ENGLAND AT POINT OF NO RETURN
"...a wretched performance, in which their fear of failure could almost be smelt from the back of the stands.
"...England's problem, it is abundantly clear, is psychological rather than tactical.
"Everything was too rushed." - The Times, 19 June 2010

"There was no tempo, no aggression and, worryingly, little sign of a coherent plan as Algeria happily stood toe to toe. England were ponderous and pedestrian." - Daily Express, 19 June 2010

"it was a struggle to remember a worse World Cup performance by England." - World Soccer

"This was not the England side that I knew. Rooney did not play like Rooney." - Fabio Capello

23 June 2010 - both 3:00pm SAST
Slovenia 0 England 1 [0-0] Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Die Baai (36,893)	Defoe
United States 1 Algeria 0 [0-0] Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria (35,827)	Donovan
	Yahia

"UPSON ARRIVES ON CUE TO SAVE DAY
"...their most comprehensive performance since the end of the qualifying campaign...
"...with Slovenia sensing weakness, they were reliant on some heroic defensive blocks from Glen Johnson, John Terry and, finally, Upson.
"...there was a sustained period in the middle of the game...when England looked menacing." - The Times, 24 June 2010

"The scoreline does not do England justice. This was arguably their best performance in a tournament since the destruction of Croatia six years ago." - Daily Express, 24 June 2010

"England should have won by a more convincing margin - and, as it turned out, one more goal would have seen them top the group..." - World Soccer

"The players were the same that we see in the Premier League...This is what I wanted to see, the spirit, and to see them fight together. We'll now go forward. We need to find consistency in the knockout stages." - Fabio Capello