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Brief History of the FIFA World Cup
Although FIFA was founded in 1904, the first world cup
proper didn't take place until 1930, when FIFA named Uruguay as the host country
of the first World Cup tournament. Only selected nations were invited to send a
team, however the time and costs involved in travelling to Uruguay meant the
only European teams making the trip were from Belgium, France, Romania, and
Yugoslavia. A total of 13 nations took part comprising 7 from South America,
2 from North America and 4 from Europe.
The first goal in World Cup history was scored by France and the final was
between Uruguay and Argentina with Uruguay winning 4–2, thus becoming the
first nation to win the World Cup as we know it.
Long haul travel continued to cause problems for the world
cup tournament which had been decided to be held every four years, with few
South American teams willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 and 1938
tournaments including the holders Uruguay. The tournament was further
disrupted due to World War II, with the 1942 and 1946 competitions being
cancelled.
The 1950 World Cup was held in Brazil and was the first to
include British teams. The tournament also saw the return of Uruguay, who
subsequently won the tournament again by defeating Brazil. In the 1950
tournament most of the 13 competing teams were from Europe and South America. By
1998, 32 teams participated including teams from Africa, Asia and North America
and in 2006, 198 nations attempted to qualify. In 2010, 204
countries played in the qualification rounds.
About the World Cup Trophy
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A new trophy was designed for the 1974 tournament by the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. Made of solid 18 carat gold it is 36cm/14-inches high and weighs 6.175 kg/13.6lb with the bottom side of the trophy bearing the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. Winners keep the trophy until the next tournament and are given a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original. |
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From
1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup
winner. The winner could only keep the cup until the next tournament
however in 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled
them to keep the trophy forever. Unfortunately, the trophy was
stolen in 1983, and it is thought that it was melted down by
the thieves.
2010 FIFA World Cup Groups
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Group A France Mexico South Africa Uruguay |
Group B Argentina Greece Nigeria South Korea |
Group C Algeria England Slovenia United States |
Group D Australia Germany Ghana Serbia |
Group E Cameroon Denmark Japan Netherlands |
Group F Italy New Zealand Paraguay Slovakia |
Group G Brazil Ivory Coast North Korea Portugal |
Group H Chile Honduras Spain Switzerland |
2010 FIFA World Cup Fixtures
| Group Stage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date and UK Time | Group | Match |
| 11 Jun, 15:00 | A | South Africa v Mexico |
| 11 Jun, 19:30 | A | Uruguay v France |
| 12 Jun, 12:30 | B | Korea Republic v Greece |
| 12 Jun, 15:00 | B | Argentina v Nigeria |
| 12 Jun, 19:30 | C | England v USA |
| 13 Jun, 12:30 | C | Algeria v Slovenia |
| 13 Jun, 15:00 | D | Serbia v Ghana |
| 13 Jun, 19:30 | D | Germany v Australia |
| 14 Jun, 12:30 | E | Netherlands v Denmark |
| 14 Jun, 15:00 | E | Japan v Cameroon |
| 14 Jun, 19:30 | F | Italy v Paraguay |
| 15 Jun, 12:30 | F | New Zealand v Slovakia |
| 15 Jun, 15:00 | G | Ivory Coast v Portugal |
| 15 Jun, 19:30 | G | Brazil v Korea DPR |
| 16 Jun, 12:30 | H | Honduras v Chile |
| 16 Jun, 15:00 | H | Spain v Switzerland |
| 16 Jun, 19:30 | A | South Africa v Uruguay |
| 17 Jun, 12:30 | B | Argentina v Korea Republic |
| 17 Jun, 15:00 | B | Greece v Nigeria |
| 17 Jun, 19:30 | A | France v Mexico |
| 18 Jun, 12:30 | D | Germany v Serbia |
| 18 Jun, 15:00 | C | Slovenia v USA |
| 18 Jun, 19:30 | C | England v Algeria |
| 19 Jun, 12:30 | E | Netherlands v Japan |
| 19 Jun, 15:00 | D | Ghana v Australia |
| 19 Jun, 19:30 | E | Cameroon v Denmark |
| 20 Jun, 12:30 | F | Slovakia v Paraguay |
| 20 Jun, 15:00 | F | Italy v New Zealand |
| 20 Jun, 19:30 | G | Brazil v Ivory Coast |
| 21 Jun, 12:30 | G | Portugal v Korea DPR |
| 21 Jun, 15:00 | H | Chile v Switzerland |
| 21 Jun, 19:30 | H | Spain v Honduras |
| 22 Jun, 15:00 | A | Mexico v Uruguay |
| 22 Jun, 15:00 | A | France v South Africa |
| 22 Jun, 19:30 | B | Nigeria v Korea Republic |
| 22 Jun, 19:30 | B | Greece v Argentina |
| 23 Jun, 15:00 | C | Slovenia v England |
| 23 Jun, 15:00 | C | USA v Algeria |
| 23 Jun, 19:30 | D | Ghana v Germany |
| 23 Jun, 19:30 | D | Australia v Serbia |
| 24 Jun, 15:00 | F | Slovakia v Italy |
| 24 Jun, 15:00 | F | Paraguay v New Zealand |
| 24 Jun, 19:30 | E | Denmark v Japan |
| 24 Jun, 19:30 | E | Cameroon v Netherlands |
| 25 Jun, 15:00 | G | Korea DPR v Ivory Coast |
| 25 Jun, 15:00 | G | Portugal v Brazil |
| 25 Jun, 19:30 | H | Switzerland v Honduras |
| 25 Jun, 19:30 | H | Chile v Spain |
| Last 16 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 26 Jun, 15:00 | LS1 | Winner of Group A v Runner-up of Group B |
| 26 Jun, 19:30 | LS2 | Winner of Group C v Runner-up of Group D |
| 27 Jun, 15:00 | LS3 | Winner of Group D v Runner-up of Group C |
| 27 Jun, 19:30 | LS4 | Winner of Group B v Runner-up of Group A |
| 28 Jun, 15:00 | LS5 | Winner of Group E v Runner-up of Group F |
| 28 Jun, 19:30 | LS6 | Winner of Group G v Runner-up of Group H |
| 29 Jun, 15:00 | LS7 | Winner of Group F v Runner-up of Group E |
| 29 Jun, 19:30 | LS8 | Winner of Group H v Runner-up of Group G |
| Quarter-final | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jul, 15:00 | QF1 | Winner of LS5 v Winner of LS6 |
| 2 Jul, 19:30 | QF2 | Winner of LS1 v Winner of LS2 |
| 3 Jul, 15:00 | QF3 | Winner of LS4 v Winner of LS3 |
| 3 Jul, 19:30 | QF4 | Winner of LS7 v Winner of LS8 |
| Semi-final | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jul, 19:30 | SF1 | Winner of QF2 v Winner of QF1 |
| 7 Jul, 19:30 | SF2 | Winner of QF3 v Winner of QF4 |
| Third-place play-off | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jul, 19:30 | Loser of SF1 v Loser of SF2 | N | |||
| Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Jul, 19:30 | Winner of SF1 v Winner of SF2 | Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg | |||
World Cup Recipes
A note from the Editor
Below are some recipes I've personally selected which represent the best of
traditional cuisine from most of the 32 qualifying countries so you can prepare
authentic dishes to enjoy whilst you're watching the excitement. Just click the
team to see the full recipe.
Happy Cooking, Eating and Football watching !
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Group A France Mexico South Africa Uruguay |
Group B Argentina Greece Nigeria South Korea |
Group C Algeria England Slovenia United States |
Group D Australia Germany Ghana Serbia |
Group E Cameroon Denmark Japan Netherlands |
Group F Italy New Zealand Paraguay Slovakia |
Group G Brazil Ivory Coast North Korea Portugal |
Group H Chile Honduras Spain Switzerland |