Noticias de fútbol, marcadores en directo, resultados y …

1. St Iker: Any side that aspires to win football’s greatest prize needs a world class goalkeeper on top of his game. Italy had Buffon in 2006, and for South Africa 2010 read Iker Casillas. The Madrid stopper is considered Spain’s finest keeper of all time; lightning reactions, in command of his area and solid with his feet; he has it all. In the Bernabeu they call him ‘San Iker’, and after saving their skin on literally hundreds of occasions, you do begin to if there are any extra-terrestrial powers hidden within those gloves.

2. For club and country: Right across the Spanish first eleven you will find pockets of players that ply their trade together at club level, and that understanding is irreplaceable. In defence you have Pique and Puyol from Barca, in midfield Xavi and Iniesta (and Sergio Busquets when Senna isn’t available) and upfront; Villa and Silva from Valencia. They all know each other so well they have developed an almost telepathic understanding, and instantly transform club form onto the international stage.

3. Euro Euforia: For years Spain had gone into tournaments among the favourites, only to disappoint time and time again. Them and England had mastered the art of crashing out in the quarter-finals. But Euro 2008 changed all that. Whilst England didnt even manage to qualify, Spain waltzed their way to Vienna and defeated the Germans to lift the Euro 2008 trophy. They have finally discarded the ‘Perennial Underachievers’ tag that had plagued them for so long; now for the World Cup.

4. Villa Maravilla: Is their a more lethal marksmen in the game right now than David Villa? Right now only Eto’o and Luis Fabiano for Brazil comes close. The other pretender will be lining up right next to him; Fernando Torres. Villa was a revelation in Euro 2008, scoring 4 in 4 to send Spain rocketing towards the final, finishing the tournament as top scorer. Unfortunately for the Valencia hotshot he was unable to play against the Germans due to injury, but he will be raring to put that right in South Africa. The striker has 33 goals for Spain, and has scored three goals already in a World Cup: he has to be a solid bet for topscorer in 2010’s showpiece.

5. Superstylin: Is there an international team that plays with the same panache and flair than Spain right now? The answer has to be a resounding no. Spain have won over the world with their characteristic incisive, one-touch passing. They score goals for fun, as their qualifying group rivals will testify. They run rings round teams, grinding them into submission, almost toying with their opposition at times. They have a settled first eleven and fixed formations for any given circumstance or fixture. Teams just cannot get the ball off them, and as any wily football coach will tell you: you cant score goals if you don’t have the ball.

6. Fight with Flair: As mentioned above we all knew about Spain’s flair, but as yesterdays friendly against Argentina showed, they’re not afraid to get stuck in. Argentina came out in the second half with a gameplan to get stuck into Spain’s miniature midfield men. Masherano and Gago set about Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso with a ruthlessness one would expect from a team led by Diego Maradona. But Spain gave as good as they got, and never lost their heads in the heat of the battle. Villa, Alonso, Xavi and co. showed they can fight fire with fire, and Spain ended up putting the Argentinians to bed. This bodes well for a World Cup where teams will have no choice but to bully Spain.

7. Supersubs: When Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina and Alvaro Negredo find it difficult to break into the first eleven, you know you´re dealing with a special group of players. They have world-class players as back-up in all departments: Senna gets injured, in comes Busquets. Silva needs a rest, let’s bring on Juan Mata. Third choice stiker Negredo feels like a breather? Bring on La Liga’s top scorer from 2008, Dani Güiza. Incredible.

8. Mixing it up: The Spanish have a fantastic mix of wise old heads and spriteful youth. Players like Puyol, Casillas, Xavi and Senna have been there and done it. The younger players such as Iniesta, Silva and Cesc were all part of the Euro 2008 winning team, so nothing will phase them next year. And with some cracking youth coming through in the shape of Jesus Navas, Juan Mata, Pablo Hernandez and Nacho Monreal, Spain are in a fantastic position to let them loose in friendlies before next summer.

9. Anybody out there? Who are realistic challengers to Spain’s assault on South Africa? Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France and Germany are the usual suspects. England and Holland will make a splash, but you can normally rely on those already mentioned to mount the more serious challenges. Spain have beaten them all in the last two years, with the exception of Brazil, and we were denied our opportunity to see them pit their wits against each other at the Confederations Cup due to an unexpected giantkilling from USA. Man for man, I would put my 10euros on Spain, but in no way should one underestimate the Brazilians, who always seem to wheel out the performances for the big occasions.

10. It’s their turn! Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France and Germany have all won the thing, so it has to be Spain’s turn, right? France proved you can win a World Cup and European Championship in succession with their double in 1998 and 2000, so Spain shouldn’t feel overawed by the prospect. World Cups are naturally difficult to predict, and anything can happen in 90 minutes of knock-out football. But I’ve already made my prediction, and if ‘La Roja’ manage to shake off the burden of expectation and turn it on in South Africa, the trophy will surely be heading to Barajas Airport on July 12th 2010.

World Cup Slime Soccer is like actual soccer in general, the difference is slime soccer is two dimensional, with 1 (semi-circular) player on every team, tiny nets, a wall on each side and a quite smaller field. You have an option to play with two players for a minute, two minutes or eight minutes. Plus you can have a chance to play another by pressing «World Cup». If you see a line under each net, do not go on the one under your net for too long because if you do, you will be «pinged» and your opponent will earn the point.

During the qualifying round, the game will be played against either with Argentina, Belgium, Australia, Iceland, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Cameroon or Denmark. It will be a 30 seconds game and not that hard to beat, especially if you know some soccer ball tricks and how to beat it. Primarily, do not go and grab the ball easily, instead, let your opponent to bring it to you. Have the patience to wait for it. One bet soccer tip is at a right time, with appropriate jump, it will go into the net. If it’s in the air, no better trick awaits your opponent.

In the quarter finals, the game will be played against Denmark, Ecuador, Mexico, France, USA, Italy, Japan or Russia. It is a two minutes game with extra time if deemed to be necessary.

For the Semis, it will be against either with Russia, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa or South Korea. Same with 2 minute game with extra time if necessary but this time more defensive and smarter.

In the finals, the game is against either with South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Brazil, and England, Germany or funny thing called the Night Elves. It is a 5 minute game.

The 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa promises to be one of the best in soccer history with fantastic teams such as Spain and Brazil favourites to win the coveted trophy.

Let’s look at some of the contenders and the pitfalls they face if they want to reach the final.

Spain have a wonderful team and should cruise through their group but will face a very tricky second round match as they will face Brazil, Ivory Coast or neighbours Portugal. If Spin progress in round two I expect them to reach the final.

Brazil are always one of the favourites but they need to get off to a good start as they are in the group of death with some good teams.

England have some players like Gerrad, Lampard and Ferdinand competing in probably their final big tournament so I expect them to cruise past their group but might face the Germans in the second round and possibly Brazil in the semi finals so it’s a tall order to see them winning the world cup. The fitness of Wayne Rooney is sure to be key.

France were awful in the qualifiers and players such as Henry are past their best so I don’t expect them to go far, especially with their eccentric manager who is not rated even by the French public!

Italy and Holland have decent teams but it’s unlikely either will feature past the semi final stage.

Argentina have the worlds best player in Lionel Messi but will Maradona get the best out of him in his defensive formation? A dodgy qualifying campaign suggests they will not win the world cup?

And outsiders Portugal have a gem in Ronaldo but rarely do one man teams win the trophy?

The FIFA Under-20 World Cup has been around in various forms since the year 1977. As we know it today, 24 teams with 21 players each, born on or after January 1, 1989, are eligible to compete. The Championship takes place every two years, with Argentina holding the record with six titles. Though, sadly enough, they failed to qualify this year. Brazil follows with four titles and Portugal with two titles. Spain, Germany, and the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have won one title each.

Without Argentina to defend its 2007 title, the title could belong to anyone, though bookmakers consider Brazil, Germany and Spain as favorites. But Egypt, who automatically qualify as hosts, Ghana and Italy cannot be ruled out to deliver a surprise! Spain, Venezuela, Ghana and Uruguay have six points each from two matches, so their place in one of the top two spots in their respective groups is secure. While Germany, Italy and Paraguay have four points each from their two matches. Now, the battle is on for the remaining places.

Here’s a look at the groups: In Group A, there’s Egypt, Paraguay, Italy and Trinidad and Tobago. Group B has Spain and Venezuela through to Round 16, with Nigeria beating Tahiti in a not so impressive game, though keeping their hopes alive. The situation in Group C seems tighter, as both Korea Republic and USA bounced back in style. The Koreans managed to draw against Germany, and the US crushed Cameroon 4-1. Group C sees Germany securing 4 points to make it to the knockouts, with the US, Cameroon and South Korea in need of victories to make it.

Group D comprises of England, Uruguay, Ghana and Uzbekistan, out of which Ghana and Uruguay convincingly sealed their berths in the last sixteen. Ghana’s Black Satellites, who won the 2009 African Youth Championship, are in good playing form, so watch out for them! Both Ghana and Uruguay have secured six points and can no longer be dislodged. The defeated teams, England and Uzbekistan, will now meet in the final group match, with England hoping to salvage its pride and avoid elimination.

The action now shifts to Group E and F, with Brazil, Australia, Costa Rica and the Czech Republic in Group E. This Group remains open since Brazil failed to beat the Czechs, ending in a draw, resulting in both teams going through to the knockouts. Group F has South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Honduras and Hungary, with UAE going into the last Round 16 after defeating Honduras. Favourites Brazil are looking to claim their fifth title, and as usual, expectations are high. It remains to be seen which team takes centre stage wearing their national youth soccer uniforms with pride in the finals on October 16 at the Cairo International Stadium.

Historical Fact

Based on historical data, no team from Europe has ever lifted the World Cup outside Europe. A country from the host continent eventually won every single World Cup except for Brazil in 1958 when they won in Sweden. When the first World Cup on Asian soil was held in 2002 in Korea and Japan, the eventual winner was not an Asian country but Brazil again. Asian countries were not ready to win yet, although S. Korea came close. These are the historical facts of the World Cup for the past 100 plus years. Eight years on, do you think an African country is actually ready to lift the World Cup on their home soil? Foolhardy are the ones who bet against history.

Our approach will be to bet on a South American country to lift the World Cup again outside of Europe, with some money put into an African country to do a first in history.

Analysis of Teams

Brazil has been winning too often and their odds are pretty low at 4.5, but still good. Some money must go to them.

Argentina is the dark horse. Not many people give them a chance because they have a certain eccentric Diego Maradona at their helm. They do have wonderfully talented players at their disposal and I just have this feeling that they will make all their critics eat their words by bonding together despite all their unwanted attention on Diego. Reminds me a bit of Italy at the last World Cup. The Italians had lots of trouble with team spirit, someone dying and so on. But they managed to use that as a bonding tool to get the team together to play effective football to win the World Cup.

England, as usual is over rated. Fabio Capello will only get them so far. History will not be kind to this talented lot of players. Gerard, Rooney, Lampard, Terry will have a good World Cup, but only up to the Semis again. I have a strange feeling that they will go out on penalties again. Guess who will miss the crucial spot kick?

My, famed Portugal will go out in round one this time. Too bad they are in the group of Death. They are too dependent on Ronaldo. I am afraid Carlos is not a Scolari this time round. Anyway, apart from Ronaldo, the other players are all mediocre.

I like the African teams. This World Cup might just be their one. Over the past World Cups they have shown the world that they are talented, skillful and capable of upsetting the best. Remember Roger Milla and the Indomitable Lions. Now with more high profile players in Europe and more importantly, with better technical coaches hired, and on their home soil, this could be the World Cup that new grounds are broken. The first African Nation to lift the World Cup on home soil? It will not be South Africa, not with Piennar type of players. The real caliber players are with Ivory Coast and even Ghana. Players like Drogba, Toure, Kalou, Essien are great players with great experience. They might just take the next great leap for African players.

As for Asian teams, I think they have had their go. It is neither their time nor place to bring in another great performance this time round. Teams underestimated their abilities in 2002. They won’t make the same mistakes again.

Spain. Sigh…. They have the lowest odds. Though talented, they will come up short against the South Americans. Winning the European Championship is one thing. Winning the World Cup against Brazil and Argentina is another. Furthermore, they are not in Europe. Good luck to them.

Germany and Italy? Their era is over. Look at their leagues at the moment. Hard to imagine them coming out with winners away from Europe.

Group Winners and Runners-Up Proposal (1 denotes group winner, 2 denotes runners-up) (Refer to http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/standings/index.html for Groupings)

A1 – France A2 – Uruguay B1 – Argentina B2 – Nigeria C1 – England C2 – Algeria D1 – Germany D2 – Ghana E1 – Holland E2 – Cameroon F1 – Italy F2 – Paraguay G1 – Brazil G2 – Ivory Coast H1 – Spain H2 – Chile

Playoffs Proposal ( http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/kostage.html )

Second Round Fixtures Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Final/3rd-4th

France v Nigeria Nigeria Ghana England v Ghana Ghana

Holland v Paraguay Holland Brazil Brazil v Chile Brazil

Germany v Algeria Germany Argentina Argentina v Uruguay Argentina

Italy v Cameroon Italy Ivory Coast Spain v Ivory Coast Ivory Coast

Eavesdrop in the air you will get to hear «Shakira Waka Waka» and a bouquet of allotropic question from every nook and corner of the world. Who will win this long race? Who will be the final rider to this long race? Who will smile at the end? Who will win world cup football 2010?

Now mercury is at the apex among the football aficionados, supporters, spectators, football fans and citizens of the participant countries. When football-fever of 19th FIFA World Cup have pervaded the world-we with our consortium trying to share the warmth of it either from its adjacent or sitting before the television set.

Johannesburg, the city in South Africa, at its Soccer City stadium has witnessed the most awaited spectacular and vibrant opening ceremony with the hullabaloos of 94000 spectators. Other Global spectators enjoyed this splendid sensational moment before television set to arrest it for the next four years.

32 teams from 32 different countries will meet in South Africa to fight for the prestigious Football World Cup 2010 trophy.

Our great expectations were solidified by the mega start between the hosts and Mexico immediately after inaugural ceremony that would continue till July 11 in 64 games.

Brazil, Argentina, Spain, England, France are ahead in favorite list to win the mega-marathon race and Lionel Messi (Argentina), Wayne Rooney (England), Steven Garrard (England), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Kaka (Brazil), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Fernando Torres (Spain) are among the top seeds.

Brazil or Argentina? How England will finish? Messi or KAKA? Fernando Torres (Spain) or Rooney (England)? Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal) or Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)?

Who will write the epilogue of this mega-marathon event? We have to wait till the final scene at Soccer City Stadium – Johannesburg. 10 stadiums around South Africa will personify the greatness of heroes coming from 32 countries.

There is a feeling that this World Cup can have a profound impact on how the continent of Africa is perceived by the millions watching from abroad. Here remained our great expectation that we will find rewritten football records in the lexicon of football history after the end of this two months’ mega marathon workshop.