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World Cup
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, (UPI) -- The 2010 World Cup opens Friday with host South Africa playing Mexico, kicking off a tournament that will, 64 games later, crown the world soccer champion.
The event is to end July 11 with a championship game in Johannesburg. Over the next month, games will be played in nine locations around South Africa, from Polokwane in the north to the southeast city of Cape Town.
FIFA rankings have Brazil ranked No. 1 in the world, followed by Spain with Portugal third, the Netherlands fourth, defending World Cup champion Italy in fifth and Germany ranked sixth.
Brazil, which is the only team to qualify for all 19 World Cup finals tournaments, has won the cup more often -- five times -- than any other country.
The tournament is one of the most followed events on the sports calendar, rivaling if not surpassing the Olympic Games. That is due to the universality of soccer and the basic simplicity of the game. All players really need is a ball, which allows soccer to be contested in the poorest or most grand situations.
The South Africa-Mexico game lived up to locals' expectations in excitement, with South Africa getting the first goal -- and just missing two other chances for goals -- before a late Mexico goal left the team in a 1-1 draw.
Another key first match will pit England against the United States Saturday. Brazil will open its group play Tuesday against North Korea and has an important match June 25 with Portugal. For Spain, play starts Wednesday against Switzerland.
The 32 qualifying teams are drawn into eight groups, which compete in round-robin play. The top two finishers in each group advance to the single-loss elimination knockout round.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, (UPI) -- The 2010 World Cup opens Friday with host South Africa playing Mexico, kicking off a tournament that will, 64 games later, crown the world soccer champion.
The event is to end July 11 with a championship game in Johannesburg. Over the next month, games will be played in nine locations around South Africa, from Polokwane in the north to the southeast city of Cape Town.
FIFA rankings have Brazil ranked No. 1 in the world, followed by Spain with Portugal third, the Netherlands fourth, defending World Cup champion Italy in fifth and Germany ranked sixth.
Brazil, which is the only team to qualify for all 19 World Cup finals tournaments, has won the cup more often -- five times -- than any other country.
The tournament is one of the most followed events on the sports calendar, rivaling if not surpassing the Olympic Games. That is due to the universality of soccer and the basic simplicity of the game. All players really need is a ball, which allows soccer to be contested in the poorest or most grand situations.
The South Africa-Mexico game lived up to locals' expectations in excitement, with South Africa getting the first goal -- and just missing two other chances for goals -- before a late Mexico goal left the team in a 1-1 draw.
Another key first match will pit England against the United States Saturday. Brazil will open its group play Tuesday against North Korea and has an important match June 25 with Portugal. For Spain, play starts Wednesday against Switzerland.
The 32 qualifying teams are drawn into eight groups, which compete in round-robin play. The top two finishers in each group advance to the single-loss elimination knockout round.