Wolrld Cup 2010 A-Z

Africa- Five out of six were rubbish

Blatter- Now is the time for technology

Cristiano- Played to the detriment of his team mates

Dunga- Brought Brazil to their lowest ebb

England- The second round was too good for them

Forlan- Manchester United reject carried his team to the semis with an array of long range strikes

Gyan- Unlucky to miss his penalty but brave to step up five minutes later, Africa's newest star.

Howard Webb- Referreed the final but it was a game beyond anyones control

Injuries- The tournament was deprived of Ballack, Essien, Mikel, Nani, limited Torres and almost Robben

Jabulani- The ball the superstars couldn't get to grips with

Klose- So close to a new World Cup record

Leftovers- Ten stadiums with no purpose

Maradona- Diego was 2010s most charasmatic manager

New Zealand- The only country to leave South Africa unbeaten

Oracle- Paul the psychic octopus was 8 for 8

Parades- The scenes in Madrid on Monday and Amsterdam on Tuesday were breathtaking

Quality- Spain shone through in the end after a slow start

Raymond- The French coach lost total control as his side brought further disgrace upon themselves

Shakira- Waka Waka

Thousands- Of empty seats

Underperformers- Kaka, Ronaldo, Rooney, Torres and to a lesser extent Messi

Vuvazela- Brought a unique atmosphere but by the end droned out any other variation

Wesley- Sneijder was perhaps minutes away from the greatest season ever recorded

Xavi- Spain's heartbeat in midfield

Yakubu's miss- Cost Nigeria a 2nd round place

Zzzzzzz- The first series of group games

World Cup Awards

Best Team: Spain

Best Team Not To Win: Germany

Best Individual Goal: Giovanni van Bronckhorst v Uruguay

Best Team Goal: Miroslav Klose v Argentina

Honourable Mentions: Diego Forlan v Germany, Luis Suarez v South Korea, Fabio Quagliarella v Slovakia, Keisuke Honda v Denmark, Nicklas Bendtner v Cameroon

Best Player:
1. Diego Forlan
2. Bastian Schweinsteiger
3. David Villa

Honourable Mention: Wesley Sneijder, Mesut Ozil

Best Young Player: Thomas Muller

Team of the Tournament- in the spirit of the World Cup itself, the team is 4-2-3-1:

                                     1.Iker Casillas

2.Phillip Lahm 4.Diego Lugano 5.Carles Puyol 3.Fabio Coentao

            6.Bastian Schweinsteiger   8.Xavi Hernandez

  7.Arjen Robben    10.Wesley Sneijder     11.Thomas Muller

                                  9.Diego Forlan

Substitutes:
12.Eduardo
13.Gio van Bronckhorst
14.Arne Friedrich
15.Andres Iniesta
16.Alexis Sanchez
17.David Villa
18.Asamoah Gyan

Best Game:
1. Italy 2-3 Slovakia
2. Uruguay 1-1 Ghana
3. Germany 3-2 Uruguay

Best Individual Performance: Thomas Muller v England

Surprise Package (Team): Uruguay
                           (Player): Thomas Muller

Best Player of Group Stage: Leo Messi

Team of Group Stage: Argentina

Worst Refereeing performance: Brazil v Holland

Worst Miss: Yakubu v South Korea

Worst Game: Japan 0-0 Paraguay
                     England 0-0 Algeria
                     Brazil 0-0 Portugal

Worst Team: Algeria

Worst XI:

                                    1.Robert Green
2.Jonas Guttierez 4.Martin Demichelis 5.Fabio Cannavaro 3.Patrice Evra
                       6.Felipe Melo    8.Daniele de Rossi
7.Cristiano Ronaldo       10.Kaka       11.Rafael van der Vaart
                                9.Wayne Rooney       


Best Name: Maximiliano Perreira (Uruguay)
                   Siphiwe Tschabalala (South Africa)
                   Fabio Quagliarella (Italy)
                   Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Holland)

Best Save: Iker Casillas v Arjen Robben

Worst Tackle: Nigel de Jong v Xabi Alonso

Best piece of Skill: Keisuke Honda's Cruyff turn v Denmark, in the lead up to Japan's third goal.

Best Quote: "What's the matter, Schweinsteiger, are you nervoussh?"- Diego Maradona

Villain: Mark van Bommel

Lasting Memories: Iker's tears and Gyan's penalty miss

Instantly Forgettable: Synical tackles, defensive football and England

2014?: No vuvazelas please

Cliche of the Tournament: Ghana representing the hopes and dreams of a continent

Worst Pundit: Alan Hansen- "pace, movement and desire"

Legacy: 4-2-3-1

World Cup Final 2010

      Holland   0-1   Spain   AET

                              Iniesta 116'       

Holland (4-2-3-1): Stekelenberg, Van Der Weil, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Van Bronckhorst (Braafheid), De Jong (van der Vaart), Van Bommel, Sneijder, Kuyt (Elia), Robben, Van Persie.

Spain (4-2-3-1): Casillas, Ramos, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Busquets, Alonso (Fabregas), Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro (Navas), Villa (Torres).

World Cup Final: Preview

        Holland   v   Spain

         Sunday July 11th

             Soccer City

                            Johannesburg

Probable Teams:

Holland (4-5-1): Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Van Bronckhorst(c), De Jong, Van Bommel, Sneijder, Kuyt, Robben, Van Persie.

Spain (4-5-1): Casillas(c), Ramos, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Busquets, Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Villa.