World Cup Live

The World Cup Finals are, without any shadow of a doubt, the pinnacle in any footballer’s professional life, and the fact that the finals only occur once every four years means that an international player can only hope to play in two, or at most three, World Cup Finals in their career. But it’s not just the players that get excited about a forthcoming World Cup; for many fans the finals are the culmination of four years agonising wait. Well, players and fans alike can breathe a huge sigh of relief because the World Cup Finals of 2010 will be taking place in South Africa very shortly – from June 11^th until July 11^th to be more precise.

Thirty-two teams from FIFA’s six continental federations have secured the golden ticket and the right to play at the greatest show on earth, but that doesn’t begin to tell half the story. 204 international teams started on the road to qualification from August 2007 and battled right through to the World Cup qualification pay-offs which took place in November 2009. Out of the thirty-two teams present, only host nation South Africa didn’t have to qualify.

After all the usual controversies of qualification, for the most part all the usual suspects will be taking their place on the big stage. The format for this year’s World Cup will be following the same format of recent years, with the first stage comprising of eight groups of four teams playing a round-robin system. The top two teams of each group will then subsequently progress to the first knockout stage and from there things start to get very interesting for all parties concerned.

From the very first kick of the first match, until the final whistle in the World Cup Final itself (both these games will be at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, by the way), billions of fans across the globe will be dancing to the tune of their favourite team. Arguably the biggest sporting event in the world in terms of people watching the games, the World Cup Finals of summer 2010 promises to be one of the best ever.

For the first time ever, the continent of Africa will be represented by six teams, Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and hosts South Africa, and are second only to Europe (thirteen teams) in terms of teams representing their continent. Could this be the year that African football finally takes the world by storm? Pele himself has always said that an African team would win the World Cup sooner rather than later, and this summer’s event has to be the best opportunity they’ve ever had.

In terms of favourites to lift the trophy this summer though, Brazil and Spain have to be the two sides everyone else has to beat. Spain have been unstoppable in recent years, and are current European champions, while Brazil are, well, Brazil. Of the others, England, Germany and Holland are more likely to go close, while Diego Maradona’s Argentina side have been struggling somewhat of late but will always be a threat when thrown into the mix.

Although it has been a rocky ride for the South African authorities to get things running smoothly in anticipation of the World Cup, and most notably stadium and infrastructure completion, things look pretty much set for a wonderful extravaganza of football in the summer.

For your part, all you have to do is ensure you sign up with oleolefootball.watchlive.net so you don’t miss a single second of the action. Every single game will be shown live, so there is no excuse to not sign up. Who can afford to miss the talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres, and that little magician Lionel Messi? Join up now – June 11^th 2010 is not that far away!

Without any doubts, the World Cup is the most prestigious football event any player can hope to participate in. Only being held every four years, it is a truly unique experience for both fans and players. The next edition of the FIFA World Cup will take place in South Africa in June 2010.

In order to determine the participating teams, qualifying rounds are being held on each continent between August 2007 and November 2009. There is a total of 31 spots up for grabs plus the automatically granted spot for the host nation. Recent changes in the qualifying system included Australia being moved to the Asian qualifying group while New Zealand will face the sixth placed team from Africa for a World Cup berth.

The competitions itself starts off with a round-robin stage consisting of eight groups with four teams each. Subsequently the best two teams from every group will advance to the knockout stage featuring elimination games all the way to the finals. Over a period of four weeks a total of 64 exciting games will be played, culminating in the finals kick-off on the 11^th of July in Johannesburg.

Although every FIFA World Cup is bound to have its upsets, it appears to be a safe bet that the battle for the title will mainly concern the top-tier teams from Europe and South America. In particular Brazil and Argentina are facing a lot of pressure given their disappointing performances in the last World Cup. In fact, the Brazilian Seleção around Ronaldinho faced harsh critique at home after being eliminated in the quarterfinals by France in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Likewise, defending champions Italy as well as Spain, Portugal, England, Germany and the Netherlands can rightfully be considered championship contenders. Especially the Spanish team around Fernando Torres and Xavi is coming off a huge confidence boost after winning the Euro 2008 title. In contrast, host nation South Africa is hoping to play well in front of their home crowd, but unfortunately anything else than a group-stage knockout would be a big surprise.

There have been a few problems during the planning stages of the World Cup, but the South African Football Association repeatedly assured that all issues will have been addressed until the event gets underway. More specifically, the construction of soccer stadiums had been delayed various times, ultimately leading to most parts being manufactured and assembled overseas. Likewise, there are still concerns regarding infrastructural deficits in South Africa.

Join oleolefootball.watchlive.net now and follow the soccer World cup live on your computer. All World Cup games will be broadcasted live, featuring stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres. After two years of qualifying tournaments leading up to the main event, the much anticipated FIFA World Cup will get underway in June 2010. Taking place in South Africa, it will be the first time that the event is held on African soil.