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July 12: World Cup Starting XI: Before we go, time to hand out the hardware. Diego Forlan (Golden Ball) and Thomas Muller (Golden Boot) are the best of the bunch, but who else are among Brent and Hadi’s World Cup Starting XI? | |
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July 11: Ole, ole, ole! Spain wins World Cup: Dutch dreams are crushed as Andres Iniesta’s extra-time goal gives Spain their first World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands, the fourth straight 1-0 win for the Spanish in the knockout round of World Cup 2010. | |
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July 11: Dutch courage vs. Spanish elan: After Germany edge out Urugauy in the consolation game, we get ready for the main event. Half a billion people will tune in to see which team sheds the ‘choker’ tag as Spain face the Netherlands at Soccer City in Soweto. | |
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July 9: The Oracle of A-Paul-O: Paul the Octopus picks Spain, Mani the Parakeet goes Dutch and Paris Hilton catches a tiger by the tail in a round-up of strange animal activity at World Cup 2010. | |
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July 8: Englishmen in World Cup Final: Without any concerns of Uruguayan complications to worry about, Premier League referee Howard Webb has been tabbed to handle the World Cup Final. | |
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July 7: Puyol powers Spain into final: Not only will a European nation win the World Cup outside Europe for the first time, the tournament is guaranteed a first-time winner after Carles Puyol’s second-half header gave Spain a 1-0 victory over Germany. | |
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July 7: Formation of the Future?: This World Cup might revolutionize soccer for years to come. Germany and the Netherlands have used a 4-2-3-1 to such perfection, it may replace the traditional 4-4-2 as the formation of choice. | |
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July 6: Dutch dump Uruguay out: So ends the streak. With Uruguay’s defeat to the Netherlands, the last of the South American teams drop out. That means, for the first time ever, a European team will win a World Cup outside Europe. | |
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July 4: Maradona’s men meet their match: There were long faces and dark mutterings around the family home of my Futbol Guapa after her Albicelestes met another early exit from the World Cup, thrashed 4-0 by Germany’s young stars. | |
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July 3: Oranje bowl over Brazilians: Wesley Sneijder scores a pair as the Dutch dump Brazil out of the quarterfinals, while Ghana feels penalty pain in a controversial loss to Uruguay. | |
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July 2: Life’s a beach at the World Cup: Simon Hagens spends some time in Plettenburg Bay, then says a fond farewell to South Africa after attending the playoff match between Spain and Portugal. | |
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June 30: Make or break for Maradona: Diego Maradona hasn’t been able to stop smiling since arriving in South Africa. His Albicelestes have been tearing opponents to shreds so far. But Argentina’s coach faces a big test Saturday against Germany. | |
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June 29: Holy Spit! Spain beats Portugal: They started the World Cup with a shock loss to Swizterland. But Spain, the reigning champions of Europe, are in the quarterfinals after a 1-0 win over Portugal. | |
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June 28: Albion withers: Once more, The Three Lions have failed to reach the final of a major tournament… and once more, the finger-pointing and navel-gazing has started in earnest. | |
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June 24: Arrivederci Italia: For the first time since 1974, Italy has crashed out of the World Cup in the group stage, losing a 3-2 decision to Slovakia to finish bottom of Group F. | |
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June 24: Party time in Port Elizabeth: Reporting from South Africa, Simon Hagens says a sea of red and white gave England the boost it needed to beat Slovenia in the final Group C match. | |
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June 23: French are toast: Les Bleus ended their World Cup folly with a 2-1 loss to South Africa, with wacky coach Raymond Domenech leaving on a sour note. | |
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June 20: European Curse: Call it Vuvuzela’s Revenge: Many of Europe’s traditional soccer powers have been stinking up the pitch at this World Cup. | |
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June 19: South American teams still unbeaten: The five teams from South America, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, are a combined 6-0-2 heading into Brazil’s clash with Ivory Coast. | |
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June 19: Soaking up the scene in Cape Town: Reporting from South Africa, Simon Hagens says England’s fans are giving Cape Town’s bars a big boost after the host country’s loss 3-0 to Uruguay. | |
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June 16: Swiss bliss is Spain’s pain: The upset of the tournament so far, and one of the biggest upsets in decades, has turned Group H into a dogfight for reigning European champions Spain, who went down to Switzerland 1-0. | |
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June 14: Country champ, club chump: After witnessing Miroslav Klose and Lucas Podolski dismantle the Aussies, one has to wonder: why couldn’t these guys do it all season for their clubs? | |
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June 13: If you all hate vuvuzelas, clap your hands: The constant drone of the vuvuzelas is beginning to give me a migraine; and I don’t get migraines. If I wanted to hear that noise, I’d hang fly paper from my ears and enjoy their frustration in full Dolby surround sound. | |
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June 11: Kickoff! Day one at the World Cup: The first day of the World Cup! I was like a kid on Christmas morning, up at 5:00 am. Think that may have had more to do with late-night beers and chicken wings with Brent and Kev the night before. |
Dr. Z’s World Cup Predictions
Dentist by day, football prognosticator by night, Dr. Hadi Zogheib is scouting out each group at World Cup 2010 and predicting first round scores and standings. Check out the good doctor’s complete analysis.
Group A Group B Group C Group D
Group E Group F Group G Group H
