2010 FIFA World Cup
The first World Cup on African soil.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The matches were played in 10 stadiums in nine host cities, with the opening and final at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams participated via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the final, Spain beat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first world title.
Quick Facts
- Host nation
- South Africa
- Group
- C (England, Algeria, Slovenia)
- Group record
- 2 wins
- 1 loss
- 6 points (2nd place)
- Round reached
- Round of 16
- Eliminated by
- Ghana (1-1, lost 4-2 on penalties)
- Manager
- Bob Bradley
- Top scorer (usa)
- Landon Donovan (3 goals)
Lore & Background
The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, FIFA selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals. The winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter on 15 May 2004 in Zürich; in the first round of voting, South Africa received 14 votes, Morocco received 10 and Egypt no votes. On 28 May 2015, media reported that high-ranking officials from the South African bid committee had secured the right to host the World Cup by paying US$10 million in bribes to then-FIFA Vice President Jack Warner and to other FIFA Executive Committee members.
On 4 June 2015, FIFA executive Chuck Blazer confirmed that he and other members of FIFA's executive committee were bribed in order to promote the South African 1998 and 2010 World Cup bids. On 6 June 2015, The Daily Telegraph reported that Morocco had actually won the vote, but South Africa was awarded the tournament instead.
Reader's Guide
In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These 16 teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. Host nation South Africa were eliminated in the group stage, as were both 2006 World Cup finalists, Italy and France. It was the first time that the hosts had been eliminated in the group stage and the first of three successive World Cups that the defending champions would be eliminated in the group stage. New Zealand, with their three draws, were the only undefeated team in the tournament, but they were also eliminated in the group stage.
Did You Know?
- Spain became the first European nation to win the World Cup outside its home continent.
- It was the first time the FIFA World Cup was passed between two different nations representing the same continent (as the previous cup holder had been Italy).
- Spain became the first national team to win the tournament after losing the first match at the finals.
More in Tournaments & Competitions
Elsewhere in United States Mens National Team
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