Soccer, called football in every country but ours, is the most popular sport in the world. So one might say that right now the world is experiencing “Football Fever,” with the start of the month-long FIFA World Cup Finals Soccer Tournament just a few days away.
The 19th annual tournament starts June 11 and continues for a month. 32 teams, including the United States, will compete for a total of $17.6 million in prize money, including $3.75 million for the winning team. This year’s World Cup Finals will be held in South Africa with matches played at 10 stadiums in 10 cities.
How do teams get to the World Cup?
Qualifying campaigns generally last 12 months. Qualifying games are played during the regular professional football season, which means the top players on teams all over the world must return to their home country every other month to play for their national team. Imagine Derek Jeter and all of the Yankees splitting up for two weeks every other month during the baseball season to return to South America or Asia to play qualifying games with their countrymen for the World Baseball Classic.
In addition to the 31 teams that qualify, the host nation is given automatic entry into the World Cup Finals. Europe has more than twice as many teams (13) qualified for the finals than any other region (Africa has 6, South America 5, Asia 4, North America 3, and Oceania 1).
Factoid: While they will not play each other at all in the tournament, the 2010 finals marks the first time that both North and South Korea have qualified for the same tournament. While South Korea recently had some success in the 2002 World Cup, North Korea is the lowest ranked team in the tournament and with games against Brazil, Portugal, and the Ivory Coast, they are not expected to even score a single goal.
Then what?
The Finals (what we know as the World Cup) begin with eight groups of four teams that play each other in round robin fashion. The eight top seeded teams (Italy, Spain, England, France, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, and Germany) are in separate groups, increasing the odds that all will advance. The remaining 3 teams for each group are randomly selected.
Following the completion of group play, the winners and runners up advance to the Round of 16, when single elimination games begin—you win and you move on, you lose and you are out. From the round of 16 winners move on to the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the World Cup Finals Championship Game where the next World Cup Champion will be crowned.
Who’s going to win?
This year’s tournament marks the first played in Africa and likely will present an African team with their best chance of winning the World Cup. Ivory Coast is considered Africa’s best team and best hopes of progressing deep into the tournament, however a recent injury to their star Didier Drogba (recently seen on the cover of Vanity Fair) has tempered expectations.
As the reigning European Champion—Europe holds its own Championship Tournament between 16 top European nations every four years between World Cups—Spain is considered the favorite to win this year’s World Cup. However, no European nation has ever won the World Cup when the Finals Tournament has been held outside of Europe. With an aging squad and following struggles during the qualification, Italy is not expected to defend the trophy as current holders of the title 2006 World Cup Champions.
Brazil is second favorite to win the trophy, as six time champions and purveyors of “the beautiful game,” they are always expected to advance well into the late stages of the tournament. While their playing style is generally the complete opposite to Brazil, Germany has always produced good results in the World Cup Finals tournament and will likely advance to the quarterfinals or beyond. In 13 of the last 15 World Cup Finals tournaments played since 1950, Brazil and/or Germany has played in the Championship Match, an amazing run of consistent greatness for both teams.
Want more World Cup coverage?
It’s everywhere, whether you’d like to look at the players “up close and personal” like Annie Liebovitz did in the photos she took of scantily clad players in the most recent issue of Vanity Fair, or read about how future soccer stars are made in this week’s Sunday Times magazine. And if you’re lucky enough to go, the Times had a story June 2nd in the travel section about must-see sites in several of the cities. For more info on the game, the politics, and the news, Vanity Fair even has a special soccer section of their website.
If you’re a soccer novice you can learn the basic rules and how the game is played here.
Are you coming down with the fever? Here are some videos to get you in the mood:
In the giving mood?
Finally, in the days of childhood obesity, soccer can help kids exercise, and it can improve their health. If you’d like to learn more about an organization that uses soccer to help kids (and also teaches them about poetry, which improves literacy), check out America Scores. Great program that works! Yes, they’re my former employer, and I still do some consulting work for the LA branch, but outside research shows their program helps kids get healthy and learn to read, so it’s not just me who thinks they’re worthy.
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