Get ready Sahelis – this Friday is the first day of the 2010 World Cup!  One of the biggest sporting events of the world, this year’s tournament is expecting a televised audience of about 26.3 billion people.  Don’t know your cleats from your clean sheets?  Wonder why there isn’t a green card?  Can’t decide which team to root for? We’ve put together a World Cup Cheat Sheet for all of our Sahelis – from some basics about the game to interesting facts you might not have known about the tournament, consider this your go-to list for every water cooler conversation you get pulled into or every World Cup watching party you get invited to.First things first – learn the lingo!  In preparation for this year’s tournament, the men at GQ Magazine have put together a handy guide with basic terms and definitions.  Perfect for the Sahelis who are beginners to the world of soccer.

•   Some tournament basics:  This year’s tournament will be held in South Africa, where the 64 matches will be played across 10 different venues in the country.  The 32 qualifying teams are divided into eight groups, and every team plays each of the other teams in its group once.  The top two teams in each group advance to the single-elimination knockout stage: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final.
•   The official song of the 2010 World Cup is called “Wake Waka (This Time for Africa)”, a collaboration between Shakira and the South African band Freshlyground. Shakira and Freshlyground will perform the song at the World Cup kickoff concert in Soweto, South Africa on June 10. 
• South Asian teams do not have the best history in the World Cup: The India National Football team qualified for the tournament in 1950, but when regulations required them to wear cleats, the Indian team, unaccustomed to wearing official footwear, withdrew from the tournament.  The India, Bangladesh and Pakistan teams have never played in a World Cup tournament.
•  Their national team may not be participating, but that hasn’t stopped Bangladeshis from getting caught up in the World Cup excitement.  The entire nation gets wrapped up in an intense rivalry over loyalties to Argentina or Brazil, the two favorites in the country, while local vendors sell thousands of national flags of teams participating in the tournament.
• Not above being a little shallow? A German magazine has picked the best-looking players of the tournament, while Gawker keeps it patriotic and chooses the best-looking players on the US team.
• This year, Algeria is the only Muslim team to play in the tournament.  This hasn’t always been the case: in 2006 there were three Muslim teams (Tunisia, Iran and Saudi Arabia), as there were in 2002 (Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Tunisia). In 1998 there were four (Morocco, Iran, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia).
• On Friday June 12, the USA team will face England for the first time in a World Cup match since 1950.  The 1-0 American victory over England in 1950 is often referred to as one of the greatest upsets in soccer history.  England is currently the heavy favorite for this match, but the Americans have Tim Howard, thought to be one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world – can they repeat history and pull out another upset? Another colonial revenge match to watch out for:  Portugal vs. Mexico on June 25.
• Not unlike the Super Bowl, World Cup commercials often draw just as much attention as the game itself.  Sponsors pull out all the stops to create heart-stopping ads, many of which are mini-movies that have become YouTube sensations in the weeks leading up to the beginning of the tournament.  Check out two of our favorites by ESPN and Nike.
• Favorites for this year’s tournament are Brazil, Spain, Argentina, and England.  But don’t let that stop you from rooting for another team – check out Time Magazine’s team-by-team guide and pick your own favorite. Want to pick a favorite player while you’re at it?  Check out NY Daily News’ list of players to watch on each team.Are you excited yet?  See the full matchup schedule here, and follow all of the latest World Cup coverage on the official World Cup blog.  The first match airs at 10am this Friday June 11 on ESPN, check your local listings for more details. 

Are you excited yet?  See the full matchup schedule here, and follow all of the latest World Cup coverage on the official World Cup blog.  The first match airs at 10am this Friday June 11 on ESPN, check your local listings for more details. 

5 Comments For This Post

• I always get world cup fever when it rolls around. Thanks for the great cheat sheet!

  BY Udita on June 7th, 2010 at 4:05 pm

• Thank you for the great posting. With the world cup coming round you’re starting to come across far better discussions on sports worldwide. Continue the good work please. The web needs it.

  BY Emmanuel Aguado on June 12th, 2010 at 1:16 am

• Watched the match between England and USA. Too bad it was a draw. lol Wondering if there will be more tie matches??

  BY Malcolm Kayser on June 12th, 2010 at 6:32 pm

• I hate that the US lost to Ghana..It really sucks..but there is always next time

  BY Watch world cup 2010 online on June 27th, 2010 at 11:51 pm

• Did anybody see Arlen Robben in the match with Netherlands against. Slovakia? Stunning!

  BY Randy Cummings on June 30th, 2010 at 12:22 am

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