The USA beat South Africa, 1-0, in Cape Town on Wednesday thanks to a goal by Juan Agudelo, who at age 17 became the youngest player in history to score for the U.S. national team.
The Colombian-born Agudelo, one of five players making their U.S. debut, volleyed home off the underside of the crossbar after receiving a return pass from 20-year-old Mikkel Diskerud, like Agudelo also a second-half sub and debutant.

For all of recent memory, South Africa and much of the rest of the world has heard one slogan over and over again "Can you feel it? It is here." Those words are finally almost true, as we have 24 hours until South Africa and Mexico kick off the 2010 World Cup. After years of preparations, worries, excitement and every possible emotion, South Africa will have its month in the sun.

The MLS Generation adidas squad completed an unbeaten tour of Spain on Wednesday by beating Atletico Madrid's reserves, 4-1, on the strength of two goals from Kansas City striker Teal Bunbury.

Just a day after beating Rayo Vallecano in a rain-soaked game, the Generation adidas squad rolled to its easiest win of the trip.

Who will win the World Cup?(survey software)
With only 4 months to go until I touch down in Cape Town, and the disappointing African Cup of Nations behind us, we can look forward to the world's greatest spectacle in South Africa. Spain and Brazil are clearly the big time favorites going into the World Cup, and I wonder if any other team has a legitimate chance.

In case you haven't seen it, here is Wayne 'Wazza' Rooney's reaction to being booed by the England fans after our caged tigers had gained a good point (well made) against Algeria in Cape Town. He actually says "It's nice to see your whole fans booing ya, that's what loyal support is".
- Feel free to comment below -

Morning all and welcome, once more, to the daily World Cup column on Soccerlens.

There's exactly one week left, and two of the biggest fish have now been comprehensively removed from the pond.

Who'd have thought that the oft-cited South American dominance, that had been so prevalent in the early stages of the tournament, would culminate in Uruguay (rather than Brazil and Argentina) reaching the semi-finals?

Because of the sheer size of South Africa as a country, internal flights are going to be critical for fans attending the 2010 World Cup Finals.To give a simple example : Cape Town to Johannesburg is a 17 hour drive and let's face it, no one wants to drive for 17 hours when there's football to be watched and drinking to be done.

As mentioned on my most recent installment of Eat Soccer Radio, Budweiser is underwriting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 32 individuals to spend 5 weeks in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.
As part of their sponsorship of the 2010 World Cup, Budhouse is a reality show that will allow its participants to attend World Cup matches, live in a luxurious compound of some kind in Cape Town, take a number of excursions throughout Southern Africa, participate in charity work, meet FIFA soccer/football stars, and have unprecedented backstage access.

Striker Wayne Rooney and left-back Ashley Cole joined defender Ledley King on England's lengthening list of training absentees and added to manager Fabio Capello's selection problems on Monday.

The highly-rated duo, and King, took part in a squad meeting with manager Fabio Capello on the pitch at England's first training session following Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw with the United States, but swiftly departed when the remaining 19 players began work.

Jamie Sabau - Getty Images

Robbie Rogers (right) will get another U.S. national team shot when the Americans meet South Africa in Cape Town next week.

View full size photo »

Mea culpa: how soccer writers sometimes get it wrong

I write for a living.

Editor's Note: After yesterday's visit to the Football For Hope Center, Robbie Rogers shared his thoughts on the experience.

My first trip to South Africa has started off in a very special way, and one that I didn't really expect. We kicked off our first full day together at The Football For Hope Center in Khayelitsha.

The World Cup is less than six months away and organizers are running into a bit of a problem. What happens if nobody shows up?

There are two reasons for the slow sales of World Cup tickets: safety and price

Sepp Blatter and FIFA insist that South Africa's violent crime rate is not a problem.

*Reporter Phil Collin talked to the Galaxy player who can't stop scoring and another who won't let anyone else score in this story.

*Real Salt Lake will be without three regular starters when they visit the Galaxy Saturday.

*Want more proof the organizers of this World Cup have no clue what they're doing?

21.06.2010 - Calígula - GRUPO G / PARTIDO Nº 30 - Con goles de Raúl Meireles (28'), Simao (52'), Hugo Almeida (55'), Tiago (59', 88'), Liedson (80') y Cristiano Ronaldo (86'), Portugal venció a Corea del Norte (2º eliminado de la Copa) 7-0 en Cape Town – Green Point Stadium de Ciudad del Cabo
Luego de sacarse los brazaletes negros (homenaje a Saramago) y de salidar a descendientes de emigrantes portugueses, bajo la lluvia de Ciudad del Cabo, Portugal tomó la iniciativa del partido para remontar el pálido 0-0 de su presentación anterior (Costa de Marfil).

Two of the best and most entertaining teams in the World Cup square off today in Cape Town as high-flying Argentina takes on young and dangerous Germany for a place in the World Cup semifinals.

Lionel Messi and Mezut Oezil will square off to see which of them can create the most magic, while Miroslav Klose and Gonzalo Higuain battle to see who can challenge for the tournament Golden Boot.

Via Du Nord - David Beckham and Jack Warner have done so much for American soccer. Now, they're going even further, helping to spare the United States from the crippling financial responsibility of hosting the World Cup:
Quote: David Beckham will guide players and coaches in Trinidad this weekend to help boost support for England's World Cup bid.

The U.S. men's national team is in PPL Park in Chester, Pa. tonight to take on Colombia in the second of two home friendlies this week (8pm, ESPN2).

The Americans recorded a 2-2 tie against Poland on Saturday in Chicago, and will be looking to finish the month off with a win before taking a break until a November 17th friendly against South Africa in Cape Town.

Man oh man, what a few weeks it's been. Apologies for the brief hiatus but the finals crunch has proved pretty time consuming. So I figured now would be as good a time as any to introduce a new segment called "In case you've been living under a rock..." where I'll run through all the top events that I've missed since my last post.

Are you ready for 3 minutes, 2 competitors and 1 ball? Well, you should be.
Red Bull is offering American freestyle footballers an opportunity to battle for a chance to represent in the 2010 World Championship in South Africa.
If you love soccer, tricks, music (and an ultra hip crowd), it is an event that you can't miss.

David Beckham will probably travel to South Africa with the England squad for World Cup 2010, it was announced this morning. Everything hinges on a meeting with the surgeon who recently repaired the damage to the player's torn tendon. The necessary facilities for Beckham's continued rehabilitation also need to be in place before he can travel.

I couldn't help but raise a smile to this BBC blog I read the other day regarding the ‘luckiest fan in the world'.
Twenty-Nine year old South African Thulani Ngcobo has ticket for the final, the semis, and the two quarters. All in all he has tickets for over half the World Cup matches after winning a sponsor's competition last year.

Benni McCarthy is probably South Africa's greatest ever striker. The Cape Town born striker is Bafana Bafana's all time top goalscorer with either 35 or 31 international goals (depending on who you read) and also one of the more experienced players, having spent time in the Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and English leagues and played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

While we tick the four days down to the World Cup, we also tick four days down to our worlds being flooded with the soundtrack of incessant buzzing, something which will haunt us for months to come. Which means either acclimation, insanity, the mute button or a shoe through the television will be soon to follow.

(All times are Eastern U.S.)
FRIDAY'S MATCHES

SOUTH AFRICA vs. MEXICO
Soccer City/Johannesburg, 10 a.m.
English: ESPN.
Spanish: Univision.
Portuguese: ESPN Deportes.
Online: ESPN3.com
Delay: ESPN Classic, 6 p.

Friday, June 11th, 19:30 GMT, Cape Town Stadium

The second match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup opener doubleheader will feature an interesting Uruguay squad against a vastly more experienced France side. The Uruguayans will look to get a much need three points in a wide open Group A using the incredible firepower up front of strikers Diego Forlan and Luis Suárez.

France and Uruguay played out a drab draw in Cape Town.

Back England to win WC on pens at 33/1 with 888Sport and get £20 refund!

Join CaughtOffside's World Cup 2010 Fantasy Football League and win £5k!

France go close

Evra Yellow Card

Ribery Yellow Card

We know how you feel.

For parts of the France vs. Uruguay match, I couldn't tell if it was snoring or vuvuzelas I was hearing from Cape Town as the match went on.

Yes, it was that boring.

The two sides played to a 0-0 draw and left Group A all knotted up with each team having a point after the first set of games.

El fixture completo y todos los resultados de la Copa del Mundo Sudáfrica 2010.
Grupo A11/6 - Soweto: Sudáfrica 1 - 1 México
11/6 - Cape Town: Uruguay 0 - 0 Francia
16/6 - Pretoria: Sudáfrica 0 - 3 Uruguay
17/6 - Polokwane: México 2 - 0 Francia
22/6 - Bloemfontein: Sudáfrica 2 - 1 Francia
22/6 - Rustenburg: México 0 - 1 Uruguay
Grupo B12/6 - Port Elizabeth: Corea del Sur 2 - 0 Grecia
12/6 - Johannesburg: Argentina 1 - 0 Nigeria
17/6 - Soweto: Argentina 4 - 1 Corea del Sur
17/6 - Bloemfontein: Nigeria 1 - 2 Grecia
22/6 - Polokwane: Argentina 2 - 0 Grecia
22/6 - Durban: Nigeria 2 - 2 Corea del Sur
Grupo C12/6 - Rustenburg: Inglaterra 1 - 1 Estados Unidos
13/6 - Polokwane: Argelia 0 - 1 Eslovenia
18/6 - Johannesburg: Estados Unidos 2 - 2 Eslovenia
18/6 - Cape Town: Inglaterra 0 - 0 Argelia
23/6 - Pretoria: Estados Unidos 1 - 0 Argelia
23/6 - Port Elizabeth: Inglaterra 1 - 0 Eslovenia
Grupo D13/6 - Pretoria: Serbia 0 - 1 Ghana
13/6 - Durban: Alemania 4 - 0 Australia
18/6 - Port Elizabeth: Alemania 0 - 1 Serbia
19/6 - Rustenburg: Australia 1 - 1 Ghana
23/6 - Soweto: Alemania 1 - 0 Ghana
23/6 - Nelspruit: Australia 2 - 1 Serbia
Grupo E14/6 - Soweto: Holanda 2 - 0 Dinamarca
14/6 - Bloemfontein: Japón 1 - 0 Camerún
19/6 - Durban: Holanda 1 - 0 Japón
19/6 - Pretoria: Dinamarca 2 - 1 Camerún
24/6 - Cape Town: Holanda 2 - 1 Camerún
24/6 - Rustenburg: Dinamarca 1 - 3 Japón
Grupo F14/6 - Cape Town: Italia 1 - 1 Paraguay
15/6 - Rustenburg: Nueva Zelanda 1 - 1 Eslovaquia
20/6 - Bloemfontein: Paraguay 2 - 0 Eslovaquia
20/6 - Nelspruit: Italia 1 - 1 Nueva Zelanda
24/6 - Polkwane: Paraguay 0 - 0 Nueva Zelanda
24/6 - Johannesburg: Italia 2 - 3 Eslovaquia
Grupo G15/6 - Port Elizabeth: Costa de Marfil 0 - 0 Portugal
15/6 - Johannesburg: Brasil 2 - 1 Corea del Norte
20/6 - Soweto: Brasil 3 - 1 Costa de Marfil
21/6 - Cape Town: Corea del Norte 7 - 0 Portugal
25/6 - Durban: Brasil 0 - 0 Portugal
25/6 - Nelspruit: Corea del Norte 0 - 3 Costa de Marfil
Grupo H16/6 - Nelspruit: Honduras 0 - 1 Chile
16/6 - Durban: España 0 - 1 Suiza
21/6 - Port Elizabeth: Suiza 0 - 1 Chile
21/6 - Johannesburg: España 2 - 0 Honduras
25/6 - Pretoria: España 2 - 1 Chile
25/6 - Bloemfontein: Suiza 0 - 0 Honduras
Octavos de final
26/6 - Port Elizabeth: Uruguay 2 - 1 Corea del Sur
26/6 - Rustenburg: Estados Unidos 1 - 2 Ghana
27/6 - Bloemfontein: Alemania 4 - 1 Inglaterra
27/6 - Soweto: Argentina 3 - 1 México
28/6 - Durban: Holanda 2 - 1 Eslovaquia
28/6 - Johannesburg: Brasil 3 - 0 Chile
29/6 - Pretoria: Paraguay 0 - 0 Japón (5-3 en penales)
29/6 - Cape Town: España 1 - 0 Portugal
Cuartos de final
2/7 - Port Elizabeth: Holanda 2 - 1 Brasil
2/7 - Soweto: Uruguay 1 - 1 Ghana (4-2 en penales)
3/7 - Cape Town: Alemania 4 - 0 Argentina
3/7 - Johannesburg: Paraguay 0 - 1 España
Semifinales
6/7 - Cape Town: Holanda 3 - 2 Uruguay
7/7 - Durban: Alemania 0 - 1 España
Tercer puesto
10/7 - Port Elizabeth: Uruguay 2 - 3 Alemania
Final
11/7 - Soweto: Holanda 0 - 1 España


Repasa también los 145 goles marcados en Sudáfrica 2010.

Credit Football Italia:

"I respect the scepticism around Italy, but I don't share it. I have no doubts we are ready for our debut" against Paraguay, said Marcello Lippi.The Azzurri begin the defence of their 2006 World Cup trophy in Cape Town on Monday evening, but few tip them as favourites.

14.06.2010 - Calígula - GRUPO F / PARTIDO Nº 11 - Abriendo el Grupo F en Cape Town (Green Point de Ciudad del Cabo), Italia y Paraguy, en un duelo de guapos, empataron 1-1 con goles de Alcaraz (´40 PAR) y De Rossi (´63 ITA).
Más allá de un Jabulani indomable, sumando dramatismo, la lluvia de Ciudad del Cabo le cayó bien a un partido de emotiva entrega (lo mejor que vimos hasta ahora) y reconocidos estilos.

Hello, world. We are about to head out to Gansbaii for about 36 hours to go shark diving and check out the South African natural life...
In the meantime I figured I'd give you a quick look into what my fantasy World Cup team has looked like over the first 4-5 days of the World Cup.
The team is almost all done for it's "First Round, First Group game" stage and I still have Kaka, Xavi, and Pique to go - I am hoping for some nice Spain / Brazil results.

Match Details England-Algeria, Group C, Cape Town, Friday 18 June, 20.30 (local time) Why Algeria would win? Algeria lost to Slovenia in their first game and they are desperate to win this game to stay alive. Expect this team to work hard and determined in the game. Algeria have a chance to push forward as Ledley King is [.

>> Click Here To Watch Portugal Vs North Korea Live Now <<

Portugal Vs North Korea Live Streaming & Match Preview
FIFA World Cup 2010 – Portugal Vs North Korea Live Online Click Here
Monday, June 21st 2010
Kick Off : 12:30 BST
Venue : Green Point Stadium, Cape Town South Africa

Portugal and North Korea will participate in a match for the group G of the World Cup, to be played at the Green Point Stadium on Monday 21 June 2010, kick-off set for 12:30 PM.

Finally, Carlos Quieroz is able to witness a performance that he must be extremely pleased about. This could have been a potential banana skin for the immensely talented but unpredictable Portuguese side. The last time these two sides met, Portugal won 5-3 at Goodison Park in the 1966 World Cup quarterfinal stage.

Captain Steven Gerrard has said England will be driven on by the fear of failure in their make or break World Cup encounter with Slovenia.
And the Liverpool midfielder knows it is vital that Fabio Capello's side do not buckle under the pressure in Port Elizabeth.
Gerrard accepts England "stopped doing the things we're good at" during the goalless draw with Algeria in Cape Town on Friday.

photo by Christina Holmes

Another lovely day here in Durban. Warm, sunny and a great vibe.

We went on a quest to find plug adapters since all our electronics cannot fit the South African adapters. After tryin Pick n Pay we were successful only at Makro. Rio and Jammie were great hosts and showed us the way around.

An insurance saleswoman was unable to eat or speak for a few days after bursting her windpipe while blowing a vuvuzela at a street party in Cape Town.
Doctors diagnosed her with a ruptured throat.
In other news, the games continued.
In our Round of 16 preview we picked Uruguay over Korea, a 2 - 1 scoreline in the Ghana - US game, a 3 - 1 Argentina win over Mexico, as well as a Holland win over Slovakia.

Tuesday, June 29th, 19:30 GMT, Cape Town Stadium

The hype over this match is incredible. The number two FIFA ranked team in the world in Spain and the number three ranked team in Portugal. It's unfortunate that this match isn't happening deeper into the tournament. This Round of 16 match-up should be one for the ages.

OK, Cape Town has many party venues, but one of the newest can be found in the brand new Strand Towers Hotel – Called the Mexican Shebeen Action Bar.

Created especially for the 2010 World cup vibe – with 14 screens so you do not miss any of the action, the Mexican Shebeen Action Bar is a place of piñatas, tequila, mechanical bull riding, penalty shoot out nets, and a vibe like no other.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal side were eliminated by Spain after only conceding one goal in four matches. It is said that misery loves company but apparently this was not the case for Cristiano in Cape Town.

In comments published by the Madrid broadsheet, Marca, Ronaldo explained his reasons for not attending the post-match press conference and the uproar over one of his statements in the media mixed zone.