2010 World Cup

2010 World Cup

Thu, Jun 10 2010 05:47 PM Sarah Nagelbush

On Friday, June 11^th, the eyes of the world will turn toward South Africa. The 19^th edition of the World Cup will be staged, for the first time in its history, on the continent of Africa. Starting on June 11^th, the first of 32 teams will compete. These teams include six African nations, including the host country of South Africa; as well as 13 European countries; five from South America; three from central and North America; Australia and New Zealand; and three Asian nations, including both South and North Korea.

For those who don't know how the World Cup works, the teams are broken down into eight groups of four teams. The host country is in Group A, along with three other teams. The United States is in Group C, along with England, Algeria, and Slovenia. The United States' first match will be on the afternoon of Saturday, June 12^th against England. Each team plays all the other teams in their group and the two teams with the most points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and no points for a loss) advance to the next round, called the round of sixteen. The winners of those matches advance to the quarterfinals, then onto the semifinals and finally, on July 11^th, the final – played in Johannesburg.

Even if you know nothing about soccer, the World Cup is an exciting time to support your country (wherever you're from), learn about other cultures and catch a glipmse of what is called the beautiful game. All the matches, from the first match (South Africa vs. Mexico) to the final, will be shown live on the networks of ESPN and ABC. If you feel like getting involved, you can fill out a bracket (also called a wallchart), just like for the NCAA Final Four.

Enjoy the 2010 World Cup and don't forget to check out our display of soccer related materials at the library!

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