World Cup Corner

In 2006, the World Cup Soccer competition was held in Germany. There were 32 qualified teams, which represented six continents along with six past winners.

The qualified teams consist of:
USA
Mexico
Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago
Ecuador
Brazil
Paraguay
Angola
Argentina
Australia
Côte d’Ivoire
Croatia
Czech Republic
England
France
Germany
Ghana
Iran
Italy
Japan
Korea
Saudi Arabia
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Serbia and Montenegro
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Togo
Tunisia
Ukraine

During each of the 64 matches at FIFA competition, an outstanding individual performer earned the Man of the Match award from the Technical Study Group.
The final match, the Man of the Match award was given to Pirlo Andrea, Midfielder from Italy, third place went to Schweinsteiger Bastian, Midfielder from Germany, Semi-finals gave Thurman Lilian, Defender from France, and Pirlo Andrea, Midfielder from Italy the award. Quarterfinals individuals that received the award included:
Zidane Zinedine, Midfielder from France
Hargreaves Owen, Midfielder from England
Gattuso Gennaro, Midfielder from Italy
Ballack Michael, Midfielder from Germany

The FIFA does not only have one team as winner but also recognizes individual accomplishes as seen with the Man of the Match award and other awards such as the Golden Ball Award which is presented to the outstanding player at each FIFA World Cup finals, the leading goal scorer at every FIFA World Cup™ finals is awarded the adidas Golden Shoe, and the best young player is recognized.

Italy walked away the winner of the World Cup Soccer Tournament in 2006, and now all the teams are preparing for the up and coming 2010 tournament to be held in South Africa. This World Cup with the 19th FIFA World Cup and is planned to held from June 11 and July 11, 2010. This will be the first time the tournament will be held in Africa.

Five African nations applied to be hosts of the 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament which include Egypt, Libya (to co-host with Tunisia), Morocco, and South Africa. The FIFA Executive Committee made the decision not to allow co-hosting the event therefore Libya and Tunisia both withdrew their application. The votes can in and South Africa received 14 votes, Morocco received 10 votes, and Egypt received 0 votes. The teams have not all started the start the qualification process, however, South Africa automatically qualifies as the host continent.

South Africa is preparing for fans from across the world to visit for the 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament. The first step was the Safa House, which is the Johannesburg headquarters of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, The project has now been completed and the keys were handed over to the South African Football Association as the new owners.

Next in line are the preparations of the ten stadiums that will be used for the 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament, which include:
Soccer City in Johannesburg, Gauteng
Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Gauteng
Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, North West
Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo
Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
Loftus Versveld in Pretoria, Gauteng
King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, Western Cape
Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State

Preparing the stadiums and accommodations all over South Africa for this unique event can be seen and heard throughout the streets, as it will take time to construct or renovate all stadiums and accommodations for such an enormous sporting event.

Everyone all over the world is now turning their eyes and ears to South Africa and the next World Cup Soccer Tournament as the last one is still fresh in the minds of all those that either attended the matches or watched on television.