Games Preview
Few pundits expect England to be overly troubled by any of their opponents in Group C.
All eyes will be on Group B in South Africa thanks to the presence in the Argentina dugout of one Diego Armando Maradona.
Football teams from Germany, Ghana, New Zealand, Algeria and Slovenia landed in South Africa on Monday, bringing to 25 out of 32 the total number of teams in South Africa for the FIFA World Cup which kicks off on Friday.
To suggest late last year that Argentina coach Diego Maradona, a man known for his mood swings, was capable of forging a World Cup-winning team would have been laughable to his fiercest critics.
Robinho scored twice and Kaka was also on target as Brazil routed Tanzania 5-1 on Monday in their last friendly before the World Cup.
There is an intriguing first-round quartet at the 2010 World Cup with Group A featuring France, Mexico, hosts South Africa and Uruguay.
Chinese referee Mu Yuxin will be the only Chinese to play on the 2010 World Cup pitch in South Africa, the second Chinese referee to judge World Cup after once-renowned Lu Jun.
Brazil renewed their criticism of the World Cup ball on Thursday, coach Dunga saying players from other countries were also unhappy with it.
South Africa's fractious parliament united on Thursday to back the national soccer team amid hopes the World Cup can bring together the country in the same way the Rugby world cup did after the fall of apartheid. Many lawmakers wore the yellow jersey of the national team Bafana Bafana (The Boys), and parliamentary officials had their hands full trying to prevent excited members of parliament from blowing the noisy vuvuzela trumpets favoured by fans at matches.
Coaches finally put World Cup hopefuls out of their misery on Tuesday when they named their final squads for the tournament, shattering some dreams while also handing out the opportunity of a lifetime.
Semifinals Fixtures
| July 7 |
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July 8 |
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Top Scorers
|
Player |
Team |
Goals |
David Villa | ESP | 5 |
| Sneijder | NED | 5 | |||
| Diego Forlan |
URU |
5 | |||
| Mueller |
GER |
5 | |||
|
Vittek |
SVK | 4 | |||
|
Klose |
GER |
4 |
|||
|
Higuain |
ARG |
4 |
|||
|
Asamoah Gyan |
GHA |
3 | |||
| Donovan | USA | 3 | |||
| Luis Suarez | URU | 3 | Fabiano | BRA | 3 |
URU 2 - 3 NED 
GER 0 - 1 ESP 