The Soccer World Cup
No other prize is greater than that of The World Cup when it comes to soccer. For the winner, the bragging rights of the World’s Best Team come into play and the loser will forever wish it had made the grade. This is the most coveted honor that can be bestowed upon a soccer team and the players will do their best to try and win it all for their country.
The hunt for the World Cup is a long and hard fought battle, which will have many winners and losers among the field of 32 teams. The World Cup tournament is the ultimate test of soccer skill as the teams vie to make it all the way.
The way in which soccer does this final show down is somewhat unique in the world of sports and that is why it is so popular to this day. While other sports use the ranking system to determine the teams that will move on, in soccer it is all about the winners and losers respectively. Nothing else matters at the end of the day. That is why soccer is considered to be one of the last true pure sports in the entire world.
For fans of soccer, the World Cup tournament is a time of great celebration and also some disappointment. There is nothing greater then seeing the team that you love so much advancing, and nothing more disappointing then seeing them lose it all at the drop of a hat. It is no secret that the teams need to be in top form when playing for the cup. Only those that have what it takes and use it will advance and the rest will simply go home, for there is no prize for second place.
In the end, there is no greater challenge for all of the soccer teams in the world then to make it all the way to the top of the heap. To win the soccer World Cup is to be known as the best in the world and that is a feeling that can never be replaced. This may be hard to understand for those that have never watched the sport, but just tune in and see. There is something special about soccer that makes it one of the most grueling and exciting professional sports the world over. Only time will tell which team gets to hoist the trophy and be known as the best in the world.
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FIFA 2010 World Cup
The 2010 World Cup, to be hosted by South Africa, will be the first World Cup to be staged in the African continent. It is expected to be the World Cup where stars like Messi, Walcott, Pato, Aguero and Gourcuff come of age in the international arena. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Kaka will be in their prime then, and can be expected to dominate the tournament. On the other hand, it is also expected to be the last time footballers like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry play at the quadrennial event.
This World Cup will be the first one where the hosts will take part in the qualifiers despite being assured of a spot in the tournament , the reason being that the tournament qualifiers are also taken as the qualifiers for the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola.
The qualifiers have thrown up some interesting groups. Asia for instance, has both the Koreas placed in the same group in Round 3. The same round also has Australia and China grouped together. In Europe, England are in Group 6 with Croatia, the team that ended their Euro 2008 hopes, and Ukraine.
Will another Asian team be able to repeat what South Korea did six years ago ? Or is it the turn of a team from the Black Continent to shine ? There is certainly no dearth of potential there- Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast all possess teams capable of beating the best on their day.
There are doubts over whether South Africa can pull this off- crime rates in the country are high, and the infrastructure is not yet in place. Sepp Blatter however has said that barring a natural catastrophe, the World Cup will be staged in South Africa. The Bafana Bafana are coached by Carlos Alberto Parriera, but their performance at AFCON 2008 has clearly demonstrated that the Brazilian has plenty to think about if his side are to get past the group stage.
Will be it brilliant Brazil again ? Or amazing Argentina ? or will the Dutch make this tournament their own ? Only time will tell.
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