London- Watching the Miracle of Bloemfontein from England was doubly delightful as the BBC were forced to eat their words on the US for the first time since World Cup 2002.Korea was a flash in the pan, as the 2006 edition and the US defeat to England at Wembley last year confirmed, you see.3-0 and 4-0 to the Spanish, confidently predicted the punditry duo of former Arsenal and England defenders

You can watch the Italy v Egypt match live here.

Egypt v Italy (Group B)
Date: Thursday 18th June
Venue: Johannesburg
Kickoff: 19:30 GMT

After giving defending champions Brazil a scare in Bloemfontein, Egypt take on Marcello Lippi's Italy in Johannesburg in their second Group B match.

The US will attempt to further its newly acquired penchant for miracle working as they face European champions and world number one Spain on Wednesday night in cold and rainy Bloemfontein.

Watch the Brazil v South Africa semifinal live online - right here.

Spain v USA (1st Semifinal)
Date: Wednesday 24th June 2009
Venue: Bloemfontein
Kickoff: 19:30 GMT

Brazil

On paper alone Brazil should win this - such is the gulf in class when talent between the two sides is compared.

FBL-WC2010-CONFED-ESP-USA-MATCH13
Originally uploaded by katnguyen2 Aunque usted no lo quiera creer o aceptar el equipo de las barras y las estrellas va ganando a los brasileños al medio tiempo de la gran Final de la confederaciones.
Landon Donovan y Dempsey pusieron arriba a los norteamericanos, Luis Fabiano acorto distancias apenas empezando el segundo tiempo.

U.S. Men's National Team defender Heath Pearce has been with the team since the beginning of the summer when the team met up May 26 in Miami. Since then he's been to Costa Rica, Chicago, Pretoria, Rustenberg, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago (again), and finally New York.

When I wanted to write a preview of the Bafana Bafana vs Jamaica match in Bloemfontein this evening, I thought I would just go and see what the online experts say.

Kickoff.com Bafana's One problem is Two Shoes

Former Bafana Bafana midfielder John "Shoes" Moshoeu says that while South Africa has not been doing very well in their last few international games, all is not yet lost.

The FIFA 2010 World Cup Finals Group Stage Draw was released on Friday, December 4, 2009. There are some interesting match-ups including USA and England in Group C and Group G features Portugal, Ivory Coast, and Brazil. Some of other top seeds such as Italy and Spain have have easier groups and should make the knockout stage.

In-demand Valencia striker David Villa has stated that he has already made a decision on where his future lies.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are leading the chase for the Spanish striker, who is also reportedly wanted by Premier League giants Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

The Confederations Cup: before and now
The Confederations Cup has removed its nerdy glasses and shaken out its hair... why, but you're beautiful. Who knew?
The 2009 Confed Cup has been, if not quite a revelation, then a very enjoyable surprise. I had presumed that the players, most of whom arrived in South Africa off the back of long domestic campaigns, would treat the event, like, meh.

Watch the Spain v USA semifinal live online - right here.

Spain v USA (1st Semifinal)
Date: Wednesday 24th June 2009
Venue: Bloemfontein
Kickoff: 19:30 GMT

The Spanish juggernaut faces surprise package USA in the first semifinal on Wednesday night.

The moment of truth has arrived. The United States face European champion Spain today at Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein in the first semifinal of the Confederations Cup. Watch it live beginning at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN and Univision. The...

(Spagna-Iraq 1-0)
A Bloemfontein, le Furie Rosse di Del Bosque superano, di misura, l'ultradifensivista Iraq di Milutinovic e restano a punteggio pieno (sei reti fatte e zero subite) dopo il pokerissimo rifilato alla Nuova Zelanda. Ai campioni d'Europa basta, dunque, il gol di David Villa, siglato al 10' del secondo tempo di una gara difficile per gli iberici, ma solamente per la difficolt nel penetrare le blindatissime linee nemiche.

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein: Scorers: David Villa 52, Fernando Llorente 72 Missed penalty: David Villa 51 Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 38,212 Teams South Africa: 16-Itumeleng Khune; 2-Siboniso Gaxa, 4-Aaron Mokoena, 14-Matthew Booth, 3-Tsepo Masilela; 10-Steven Pienaar, 6-MacBeth Sibaya (21-Katlego Mashego 83), 13-Kagisho Dikgacoi, 5-Benson Mhlongo, 12-Teko Modise; 17-Bernard Parker (8-Siphiwe Tshabalala 90+2).

The United States secured an unlikely place in the Confederations Cup semifinals by beating Egypt 3-0 Sunday. The Americans had looked to be heading out of the tournament after losses to Italy and Brazil, but Charlie Davies, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey scored in a vastly improved performance to edge the African champions for a place in the next round on goal difference.

What: Semifinal round, Confederations Cup
When: 2:30 ET, Wednesday, June 24
Where: The Free State Stadium; Mangaung/Bloemfontein, South Africa
TV: ESPN, ESPN360.com, Univision
Preview
Latham: U.S. believes it can win
Lalas: U.

Che impresa. I pronostici erano, alla viglia, tutti dalle parti dell'undici di Del Bosque. I campioni d'Europa erano attesi da una passeggiata "di salute", contro gli Stati Uniti di Bradley, gi entusiasti e soddisfatti di aver conquistato la qualificazione in un girone che contava Brasile e Italia.

As part of our coverage of the US Mens National Team's road to South Africa we present to you the following article as a US media partner of Media Club South Africa. The original article appears on their website here.
MediaClubSouthAfrica.com reporter

The US football team's entry into the Confederations Cup final after their shock win over heavyweights Spain has sparked enormous American interest in the 2010 Fifa World Cup, according to officials.

South Africa 2010 world cup schedule, as I promised yesterday is here. art of the Five African nations who placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup, was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a new policy to rotate the event between football confederations (which was later abandoned in October 2007).

Benni McCarthy is Back in the Bafana Bafana Squad

When Carlos Alberto Parreira returned as head coach, the writing was on the wall, Benni Mc Carthy would be asked to come back. The door to the Bafana Bafana team would once again be opened to the man who has scored 31 goals in 76 caps for his country.

Brazil had to rely on a 90th-minute Kaka penalty to overcome plucky Egypt and claim a barely-deserved win to start their Confederations Cup defence in Bloemfontein.
Egypt lodge protest after alleged use of video evidence.
Player Ratings

With South Korea safely qualified for the 2010 World Cup, it was time to head to South Africa and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. This competition is a rehearsal for the massive festival of football that comes next summer. It features the champion of each of the six continental confederations as well as the World Cup host, South Africa obviously, and the world champions, Italy.

June 24 (ProstAmericaSoccer)They are undefeated for 35 games. They are Champions of Europe. They have won the last 15, and they stand between unfancied Team USA and the Confederations Cup final.

At 11.30 Pacific time, soccer fans all over our nation will take early lunch breaks, extend late ones, tune in on the internet, or just open a cold one or brew a hot one, and sit back, watch and hope.

FIFA Confederations Cup Final, Johannesburg
BRAZIL 3:2 USA
USA - Dempsey 10'
USA - Donovan 27'
BRA- Luis Fabiano 46'
BRA- Luis Fabiano 74'
BRA- Lucio 84'
Brazil retained the Confederations Cup after a real game of two halves at Ellis Park saw the United States take a shock 2-0 lead before succumbing to a Brazilian tempest in the second half to lose 3-2.

- The U.S. upset of Spain in the semifinal delighted everybody in South Africa. In addition to giving Bafana Bafana hope of an equally improbable victory against Brazil, the win by the U.S. erased the sour taste left by the previous crowd favorite, Egypt.

The game was in Bloemfontein, on a bitterly cold night, and it started off slow.

Jamaica Coach, Tappa Whitmore

Even though the media may be reporting that Jamaica has picked a media strength team for its international friendly against Bafana Bafana in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, this is going to be no walkover for the South African National Team.

According to the Reggaeboyz website, Jamaica coach, Tappa Whitmore said his players had worked hard and well together in training and that this game was an opportunity to show that they can compete with anybody.

Final FIFA world cup 2010 draw and final world cup schedule is finally there!
We were waiting for this long time, so much talks about world cup fixtures, and other more and less important stuffs from analyzing team power, predicting results of world cup to some betting and where find world cup tickets to other topics.

Well we know how the Final Draw turned out – terrible for South Africa but here are the groups for the 2010 World Cup, in case anyone doesn't know yet. And the Official Match Schedule.

France and Uruguay are two former World Cup winners and Mexico is known as a very strong team, but South Africa will have to rely on the wide experience of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and the passion and skill of Bafana Bafana if we want to avoid the humiliation of becoming the first host team in World Cup history to get knocked out in the first round.

Hasta el minuto 90 tuvo que esperar Dunga para poder respirar tranquilo. Fue en el descuento cuando Kaká transformó una pena máxima cometida por Al Muhamadi al despejar con el brazo derecho un balón que se colaba en la portería egipcia. De esta forma, el nuevo jugador del Real Madrid le dio a la canarinha una victoria que no se mereció en absoluto.

Un solitario tanto de David Villa, diez minutos después del comienzo de la segunda mitad, fue suficiente para que la selección española doblegara a la iraquí y consiguiera de esta forma el pase matemático a las semifinales de la Copa Confederaciones.

A diferencia del encuentro ante Nueva Zelanda, a España le costó mucho abrir la lata, ya que el sistema defensivo armado por Bora Milutinovic, seleccionador del combinado asiático, imposibilitó la creación de oportunidades de gol por parte del ataque de 'la roja' en buena parte del choque.

Are you in South Africa and in need of tickets to the FIFA Confederations Cup?
Well, you might be in luck!
FIFA's giving away free tickets!
FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said a number of complimentary (i.e. FREE) tickets will be handed out to institutions "which have been very supportive of the event.

You can watch the Spain v South Africa match live online - here.

Spain v South Africa (Group A)
Date: Saturday 20th June
Venue: Bloemfontein
Kickoff: 19:30 GMT

Hosts South Africa could join Spain in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup if they avoid defeat in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

(Spagna-Sudafrica 2-0)
SPAGNA (4-3-1-2) - Reina; Puyol, Piqué, Raul Albiol, Arbeloa; Fabregas, Sergio, Riera (dall'81' Cazorla); Xavi; Torres (60' Llorente), Villa (60' Pablo). Ct: Vicente Del Bosque.
SUDAFRICA (4-2-3-1) - Khune; Gaxa, Mokoena, Booth, Masilela; Mhlongo, Sibaya (83' Mashego); Pienaar, Dikgakoi, Modise; Parker (93' Tshabalala).

España y Brasil parece ser que no van a tener el mínimo problema de clasificarse a la final de la Copa Confederaciones, pues el nivel mostrado por este par de selecciones ha quedado muy lejos.

El campeón de Europa, España, se medirá ante la Selección de Estados Unidos, mientras que Brasil disputara su pase a la final ante el país anfitrión, Sudáfrica.

Advancing to the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinals by defeating Egypt 3-0 and scoring more goals overall in Group B than Italy, the U.S. now faces a No. 1-ranked Spain team that has been on an runaway train of an international record 15-consecutive victories and tying Brazil's international record with 35 games unbeaten.

www.fifa.com
Ainda o Espanha/EUA. Para mostrar a minha abertura de espírito aí vai mais um artigo sobre o assunto:Ler todo o atigo aqui
"Puyol, a fiercely proud competitor, was obviously angry about Spain's loss and performance, but normally you'd expect the captain of a big side to show enough respect for his opponent to shake their hands.

As I already wrote week ago about world cup 2010 schedule., I wanted to give you some more informations about matches schedule (WC games schedule) and about places where matches will be played.
Here is a complete table of2010 World Cup schedule
2010 World Cup schedule
Day Venue & Time Stage Team 1 Result Team 2 Friday, 11 June Johannesburg, 16:00 Group A South Africa – A2 Cape Town, 20:30 A3 – A4 Saturday, 12 June Johannesburg, 13:30 Group B B1 – B2 Port Elizabeth, 16:00 B3 – B4 Rustenburg, 20:30 Group C C1 – C2 Sunday, 13 June Polokwane, 13:30 C3 – C4 Durban, 16:00 Group D D1 – D2 Pretoria, 20:30 D3 – D4 Monday, 14 June Johannesburg, 13:30 Group E E1 – E2 Bloemfontein, 16:00 E3 – E4 Cape Town, 20:30 Group F F1 – F2 Tuesday, 15 June Rustenburg, 13:30 F3 – F4 Port Elizabeth, 16:00 Group G G3 – G4 Johannesburg, 20:30 G1 – G2 Wednesday, 16 June Nelspruit, 13:30 Group H H3 – H4 Durban, 16:00 H1 – H2 Pretoria, 20:30 Group A South Africa – A3 Thursday, 17 June Polokwane, 13:30 A4 – A2 Bloemfontein, 16:00 Group B B4 – B2 Johannesburg, 20:30 B1 – B3 Friday, 18 June Port Elizabeth, 13:30 Group D D1 – D3 Johannesburg, 16:00 Group C C4 – C2 Cape Town, 20:30 C1 – C3 Saturday, 19 June Rustenburg, 13:30 Group D D4 – D2 Durban, 16:00 Group E E1 – E3 Pretoria, 20:30 E4 – E2 Sunday, 20 June Bloemfontein, 13:30 Group F F4 – F2 Nelspruit, 16:00 F1 – F3 Johannesburg, 20:30 Group G G1 – G3 Monday, 21 June Cape Town, 13:30 G4 – G2 Bloemfontein, 16:00 Group H H4 – H2 Johannesburg, 20:30 H1 – H3 Tuesday, 22 June Bloemfontein, 16:00 Group A A4 – South Africa Rustenburg, 16:00 A2 – A3 Polokwane, 20:30 Group B B2 – B3 Durban, 20:30 B4 – B1 Wednesday, 23 June Pretoria, 16:00 Group C C2 – C3 Port Elizabeth, 16:00 C4 – C1 Johannesburg, 20:30 Group D D4 – D1 Nelspruit, 20:30 D2 – D3 Thursday, 24 June Johannesburg, 16:00 Group F F4 – F1 Polokwane, 16:00 F2 – F3 Rustenburg, 20:30 Group E E2 – E3 Cape Town, 20:30 E4 – E1 Friday, 25 June Durban, 16:00 Group G G4 – G1 Nelspruit, 16:00 G2 – G3 Pretoria, 20:30 Group H H4 – H1 Bloemfontein, 20:30 H2 – H3 Saturday, 26 June Port Elizabeth, 16:00 Round of 16 - Match 1 1A – 2B Rustenburg, 20:30 Round of 16 - Match 3 1C – 2D Sunday, 27 June Bloemfontein, 16:00 Round of 16 - Match 4 1D – 2C Johannesburg, 20:30 Round of 16 - Match 2 1B – 2A Monday, 28 June Durban, 16:00 Round of 16 - Match 5 1E – 2F Johannesburg, 20:30 Round of 16 - Match 7 1G – 2H Tuesday, 29 June Pretoria, 16:00 Round of 16 - Match 6 1F – 2E Cape Town, 20:30 Round of 16 - Match 8 1H – 2G Wednesday, 30 June Rest days Thursday, 1 July Friday, 2 July Port Elizabeth, 16:00 Quarter-final C 5 – 7 Johannesburg, 20:30 Quarter-final A 1 – 3 Saturday, 3 July Cape Town, 16:00 Quarter-final B 2 – 4 Johannesburg, 20:30 Quarter-final D 6 – 8 Sunday, 4 July Rest days Monday, 5 July Tuesday, 6 July Cape Town, 20:30 Semi-final I A – C Wednesday, 7 July Durban, 20:30 Semi-final II B – D Thursday, 8 July Rest days Friday, 9 July Saturday, 10 July Port Elizabeth, 20:30 Third place play-off Loser I – Loser II Sunday, 11 July Johannesburg, 20:30 FINAL Winner I – Winner II

With anticipation growing ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the official Match Schedule has been released. To find out where the games will be played in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Tshwane/Pretoria between 11 June and 11 July 2010.

No momento em que esta entrada está a ser colocada, Carlos Queiroz, Carlos Godinho e Pedro Osório (Agência Cosmos), encontram-se provavelmente a viajar em direcção a Joanesburgo, naquela que é a primeira deslocação da FPF Àfrica do Sul, para a preparação da estadia da Selecção Nacional com vista ao Mundial 2010.

Ontem novo dia de visitas, desta vez mais ao sul, na zona de Bloemfontein. Curiosas visitas iniciadas num local que é pertença de portugueses oriundos da Madeira e onde o Brasil esteve durante a Confederations Cup. Visitámos outros locais, alguns em zonas de enorme beleza, como se pode ver pelas imagens, e onde África se sente de outra forma, mais tranquila e selvagem.