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South Africa 20

10

 
Background

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

FIFA's World Cup 2010 Organising Committee divided the 32 qualifying teams into eight groups for the final tournament at the World Cup Final Draw, held on 4 December 2009 at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.

Seeded Asia/North America/Oceania Africa/ South America Europe
South Africa Australia Algeria Denmark
Brazil Japan Cameroon France
Spain DPR Korea Côte d'Ivoire Greece
Netherlands Korea Republic Ghana Portugal
Italy Honduras Nigeria Serbia
Germany Mexico Chile Slovakia
Argentina United States Paraguay Slovenia
England New Zealand Uruguay Switzerland

 

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

 

First Phase Table
Group C
Team P W D L F A GD Pts
United States 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
England 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5
Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 =0 4
Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 -2 1

12 June 2010 - 7:30pm SAST
England 1 United States 1 [1-1]
Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, Rustenburg (38,646)
Gerrard
Dempsey

"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


The Second Phase

26 June 2010 - all SAST
3:00pm - Uruguay 2 Korea Republic 1
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Die Baai (30,597)
Suárez (2)
Chung-Yong
7:30pm - United States 1 Ghana 2 AET [1-1]
Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, Rustenburg (34,976)
Donovan (pen)
Boateng, Gyan
27 June 2010
3:00pm - Germany 4 England 1 [2-1]
Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein (40,510)
Klose, Podolski, Müller (2)
Upson
ENGLAND ARE ELIMINATED
7:30pm - Argentina 3 Mexico 1 [2-0]
Sokkerstad, Johannesburg
(84,377)
Tévez (2), Higuaín
Hernández

"OLD GUARD REVEAL ALL OLD FAILINGS
"...when the time came to raise their game yesterday, they were outclassed, out-thought and even outfought...
"...there will rarely be a better advertisement for the introduction of goalline technology.
"Capello talked about the injustice, but when he goes back through the DVD of the game, he will ask himself if he ever saw such a brainless, naive, indisciplined performance from his teams at AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid." - The Times, 28 June 2010

"On seeing replays at the interval, the referee is alleged to have muttered, "Oh my God"..." - Daily Express, 28 June 2010

"For me to stand here and say that's the reason we got beat would be a lie." - Steven Gerrard

"...the first time in their World Cup history that England had lost by a three-goal margin...Germany were devastating on the counter-attack and often scythed through a poor England defence with slick and swift passing." - World Soccer

"Surprisingly for a coach with Fabio Capello's experience and knowledge, England stuck to the same old same old - a tired 4-4-2 formation that was ponderous and predictable.
"The fact is if England had not messed up in the group stages, they would not have been travelling the difficult route of playing Germany with the likelihood then of meeting Argentina. But on this showing, would they have mastered Ghana in the 'easier' side of the draw? Doubtful."
- NORMAN GILLER (World Cup 2010 Day by Day - NMG Publishing)

28 June 2010 - all SAST
3:00pm - Netherlands 2 Slovakia 1
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban (61,962)
Robben, Sneijder
Vittek (pen)
7:30pm - Brazil 3 Chile 0
Coca Cola Park, Johannesburg
(54,096)
Juan, Luís Fabiano, Robinho
29 June 2010
3:00pm - Paraguay 0 Japan 0
AET [0-0] Pens [5-3]
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria (36,742)
  
Penalty Shoot-out:- Barreto 1-0, Endo 1-1, Barrios 2-1, Hasebe 2-2, Riveros 3-2, Komano crossbar, Valdez 4-2, Honda 4-3, Cardozo 5-3.
7:30pm - Spain 1 Portugal 0
Kaapstad-stadion, Kaapstad (62,955)
Villa
Ricardo Costa
Round of sixteen

Quarter Finals

2 July 2010 - all SAST
3:00pm - Netherlands 2 Brazil 1
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Die Baai (40,186)
Sneijder (2)
Robinho
Felipe Melo
7:30pm - Uruguay 1 Ghana 1
AET
[1-1]
Pens [4-2]

Sokkerstad, Nasrec, Johannesburg (84,017)
Forlán
Muntari
Suárez
Penalty Shoot-out:- Forlán 1-0, Gyan 1-1, victorino 2-1, Appiah 2-2, Scotti 3-2, Mensah saved, Pereira miss, Adiyah saved, Abreu 4-2.
3 July 2010
3:00pm - Argentina 0 Germany 4
Coca Cola Park, Johannesburg (64,100)
Müller, Klose (2), Friedrich
7:30pm - Paraguay 0 Spain 1
Kaapstad-stadion, Kaapstad (55,539)
Villa

Semi Finals

6 July 2010 - both 7:30pm SAST
Uruguay 2 Netherlands 3
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban (62,479)
Forlán, Pereira
van Bronckhurst, Sneijder, Robben
7 July 2010
Germany 0 Spain 1
Kaapstad-stadion, Kaapstad
(60,960)
Puyol

 

Third Place Play-off

10 July 2010 - 7:30pm SAST
Uruguay 2 Germany 3
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Die Baai
(36,007)
Cavani, Forlán
Müller, Jansen, Khedira

 

The 2010 Final

11 July 2010 - 7:30pm SAST
Netherlands 0 Spain 1
Sokkerstad, Johannesburg (84,490)
Iniesta
Heitinga

 

CG/GI