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2010 FIFA World Cup facts for kids

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2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
Ke nako (Setswana and Sesotho)
It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity (English)
Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensdom (Afrikaans)
Isikhathi. Gubha Ubuntu Base-Afrika (Zulu)
Lixesha. Ukubhiyozela Ubuntu baseAfrika (Xhosa)
Inguva. Kupemberera hupenyu hweAfrica (Shona)
Ke nako. Keteka Botho ba Afrika (Southern Sotho)
Tournament details
Host country South Africa
Dates 11 June – 11 July
Teams 32 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s) 10 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Spain (1st title)
Runners-up  Netherlands
Third place  Germany
Fourth place  Uruguay
Tournament statistics
Matches played 64
Goals scored 145 (2.27 per match)
Attendance 3,178,856 (49,670 per match)
Top scorer(s) Diego Forlán
Thomas Müller
Wesley Sneijder
David Villa
(5 goals each)
Best player Diego Forlán
Best young player Thomas Müller
Best goalkeeper Iker Casillas
Fair play award  Spain
← 2006
2014 →
2010 FIFA World Cup Spain with cup
Spain's Joan Capdevila holding the FIFA World Cup Trophy after defeating the Netherlands in the final

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was a huge international football (soccer) tournament. It was the 19th time this world championship for men's national teams was held. The event took place in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, 2010.

South Africa was chosen to host the tournament in 2004. This made it the first African nation to ever host the FIFA World Cup finals!

Thirty-two teams from around the world competed. They first played in groups, and the best teams moved on to the knockout stage. In the exciting final match, Spain beat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time. This was Spain's first World Cup title! They also became the first European team to win the World Cup outside of Europe.

Interestingly, the host nation, South Africa, did not make it past the first round. Also, the two teams from the 2006 World Cup final, Italy and France, were also eliminated early. This was the first time the host country was knocked out in the group stage. New Zealand was the only team that didn't lose any games, but they also didn't advance past the group stage.

Host Cities and Stadiums

For the 2010 World Cup, matches were played in 10 stadiums across nine cities in South Africa. The opening game and the final match were both held at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest city.

Some stadiums were at high altitudes, which could affect how the ball moved and how players performed. Six of the ten stadiums were over 1,200 meters (about 3,900 feet) above sea level. The two stadiums in Johannesburg, FNB Stadium (Soccer City) and Ellis Park Stadium, were the highest, at about 1,750 meters (about 5,700 feet).

The FNB Stadium, Cape Town Stadium, and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth hosted the most games, with eight matches each.

Johannesburg Cape Town Durban
FNB Stadium
(Soccer City)		 Ellis Park Stadium Cape Town Stadium
(Green Point Stadium)		 Moses Mabhida Stadium
(Durban Stadium)
26°14′5.27″S 27°58′56.47″E / 26.2347972°S 27.9823528°E / -26.2347972; 27.9823528 (Soccer City) 26°11′51.07″S 28°3′38.76″E / 26.1975194°S 28.0607667°E / -26.1975194; 28.0607667 (Ellis Park Stadium) 33°54′12.46″S 18°24′40.15″E / 33.9034611°S 18.4111528°E / -33.9034611; 18.4111528 (Cape Town Stadium) 29°49′46″S 31°01′49″E / 29.82944°S 31.03028°E / -29.82944; 31.03028 (Moses Mabhida Stadium)
Capacity: 84,490 Capacity: 55,686 Capacity: 64,100 Capacity: 62,760
FNB Stadium, Johannesburg.jpg Ellis Park Stadium.jpg Kapské město, fotbalový stadion - Jihoafrická republika - panoramio.jpg Moses Mabhida Stadion durban aerial view 1.jpg
Pretoria
Loftus Versfeld Stadium
25°45′12″S 28°13′22″E / 25.75333°S 28.22278°E / -25.75333; 28.22278 (Loftus Versfeld Stadium)
Capacity: 42,858
Loftus Versfeld Stadium.jpg
Port Elizabeth Stadiums in Johannesburg
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
33°56′16″S 25°35′56″E / 33.93778°S 25.59889°E / -33.93778; 25.59889 (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium)
Capacity: 42,486
Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth (cropped).jpg
Rustenburg Polokwane Nelspruit Bloemfontein
25°34′43″S 27°09′39″E / 25.5786°S 27.1607°E / -25.5786; 27.1607 (Royal Bafokeng Stadium) 23°55′29″S 29°28′08″E / 23.924689°S 29.468765°E / -23.924689; 29.468765 (Peter Mokaba Stadium) 25°27′42″S 30°55′47″E / 25.46172°S 30.929689°E / -25.46172; 30.929689 (Mbombela Stadium) 29°07′02.25″S 26°12′31.85″E / 29.1172917°S 26.2088472°E / -29.1172917; 26.2088472 (Free State Stadium)
Royal Bafokeng Stadium Peter Mokaba Stadium Mbombela Stadium Free State Stadium
Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 41,733 Capacity: 40,929 Capacity: 40,911
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng.jpg Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (8714600990).jpg Mbombela Stadium Aerial View.jpg Free State Stadium1.jpg

Teams and Players

FIFA World Cup 2010 Brazil North Korea 3
The Brazilian and North Korean teams before their group stage match

Each of the 32 teams had a squad of 23 players. Most of these players played for clubs in Europe, especially in England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France.

A cool fact about the 2010 World Cup is that the Honduras team had three brothers on their squad: Jerry, Johnny, and Wilson Palacios. Also, in the game between Germany and Ghana, two brothers, Jérôme and Kevin-Prince Boateng, played against each other for different countries!

Match Results

The 32 national teams played a total of 64 matches. These games started with the group stage and then moved to the knockout stage. Teams were eliminated as the tournament went on. All times listed below are in South African Standard Time (UTC+02).

Tournament Statistics

Top Goal Scorers

Siphiwe Tshabalala from South Africa scored the very first goal of the tournament. He scored in the opening game, which was a 1–1 draw against Mexico.

Gonzalo Higuaín from Argentina was the only player to score three goals in one game (a hat-trick). This happened in Argentina's 4–1 win over South Korea.

Spain, the winning team, set a new record for scoring the fewest goals by a World Cup champion, with only eight goals. They also had the fewest goals conceded (only 2), meaning they let in very few goals. Spain was the first team to win the World Cup without letting in any goals during the knockout stage.

The top four goal scorers in the tournament each scored five goals. These players were Thomas Müller (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), David Villa (Spain), and Diego Forlán (Uruguay). Thomas Müller won the Golden Boot award because he also had three assists, which are passes that lead to a goal.

In total, 145 goals were scored in the 2010 World Cup. This was the lowest number of goals in any World Cup since the tournament started having 64 games.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Final Team Rankings

2010 world cup

After the tournament, FIFA created a final ranking for all 32 teams. This ranking was based on how far each team went in the competition, their overall results, and the strength of the teams they played against.

R Team G Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts.
1  Spain H 7 6 0 1 8 2 +6 18
2  Netherlands E 7 6 0 1 12 6 +6 18
3  Germany D 7 5 0 2 16 5 +11 15
4  Uruguay A 7 3 2 2 11 8 +3 11
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5  Argentina B 5 4 0 1 10 6 +4 12
6  Brazil G 5 3 1 1 9 4 +5 10
7  Ghana D 5 2 2 1 5 4 +1 8
8  Paraguay F 5 1 3 1 3 2 +1 6
Eliminated in the round of 16
9  Japan E 4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 7
10  Chile H 4 2 0 2 3 5 −2 6
11  Portugal G 4 1 2 1 7 1 +6 5
12  United States C 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5
13  England C 4 1 2 1 3 5 −2 5
14  Mexico A 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4
15  South Korea B 4 1 1 2 6 8 −2 4
16  Slovakia F 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4
Eliminated in the group stage
17  Ivory Coast G 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
18  Slovenia C 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
19  Switzerland H 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
20  South Africa A 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4
21  Australia D 3 1 1 1 3 6 −3 4
22  New Zealand F 3 0 3 0 2 2 0 3
23  Serbia D 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3
24  Denmark E 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3
25  Greece B 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
26  Italy F 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2
27  Nigeria B 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
28  Algeria C 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2 1
29  France A 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
30  Honduras H 3 0 1 2 0 3 −3 1
31  Cameroon E 3 0 0 3 2 5 −3 0
32  North Korea G 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0

Awards and Recognition

Main Awards

  • Golden Ball: Diego Forlán (Uruguay) - This award goes to the best player of the tournament.
  • Golden Boot: Thomas Müller (Germany) - For the top goal scorer.
  • Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (Spain) - For the best goalkeeper.
  • Best Young Player: Thomas Müller (Germany) - For the best player under 21.
  • FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Spain - For the team with the best sportsmanship.

All-Star Team

FIFA also announced an All-Star Team based on player performance.

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Manuel Neuer

Philipp Lahm
Joan Capdevila
Carles Puyol
Sergio Ramos

Mark van Bommel
Thomas Müller
Wesley Sneijder
Sergio Busquets

David Villa
Luis Suárez

Fan-Voted Dream Team

For the first time, fans could vote online for their own "Dream Team" of the tournament. Six players and the coach from the winning Spanish team were chosen by the public.

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Iker Casillas

Philipp Lahm
Sergio Ramos
Carles Puyol
Maicon

Xavi
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Wesley Sneijder
Andrés Iniesta

David Villa
Diego Forlán

World Cup Fun Facts

Official Symbols

  • Mascot: The official mascot was Zakumi, a friendly African leopard with green hair. His name combines "ZA" (for South Africa) and "kumi," meaning "ten" in several African languages, referring to the year 2010.
  • Match Ball: The official match ball was called the Jabulani, which means "bringing joy to everyone" in the Zulu language. It had 11 colors, representing the 11 players on a team and the 11 official languages of South Africa. A special gold ball, the Jo'bulani, was used for the final game. Some players found the new ball tricky to control!
  • Music: The official song was "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", performed by Colombian singer Shakira and the South African band Freshlyground. It was sung in English and Spanish and became very popular.

The Vuvuzela Sound

Vuvuzela blower, Final Draw, FIFA 2010 World Cup
A man sounding a vuvuzela

The 2010 World Cup made the vuvuzela famous around the world. This long horn was blown by fans throughout the matches, creating a very loud, buzzing sound.

Many players and commentators complained about the noise. Some players said it made it hard to talk to their teammates on the field. TV viewers also noticed that the vuvuzela sound often drowned out other stadium noises. Broadcasting companies even looked into ways to reduce the vuvuzela sound for TV audiences.

Media Coverage

Watching the Games

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was expected to be one of the most-watched TV events ever! Hundreds of TV channels broadcast the games to billions of people worldwide. FIFA estimated that about 700 million viewers watched the World Cup final match.

New digital ways to watch also became popular. Many people watched games live on their phones and computers, making it the most online-covered sports event at the time.

Filming Technology

Sony technology was used to film the tournament. For the first time, 25 matches were filmed using 3D cameras, offering a new way to experience the game.

Video Games

Fans could also play the official 2010 World Cup video game released by EA Sports. There was even a virtual stadium in PlayStation Home where fans could gather.

Fan Festivals

FIFA also set up "Fan Fests" in major cities around the world, like Sydney, Berlin, and Rio de Janeiro. These were special areas where fans could gather to watch the games on big screens and celebrate together. The Fan Fests in Durban and Cape Town were very popular in South Africa.

Images for kids

  • FNB Stadium, Johannesburg

    FNB Stadium, Johannesburg

  • Ellis Park Stadium

    Ellis Park Stadium

  • Kapské město, fotbalový stadion - Jihoafrická republika - panoramio

    Cape Town Stadium

  • Moses Mabhida Stadion durban aerial view 1

    Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

  • Loftus Versfeld Stadium

    Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria

  • Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth (cropped)

    Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

  • Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng

    Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

  • Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (8714600990)

    Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane

  • Mbombela Stadium Aerial View

    Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

  • Free State Stadium1

    Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 2010 para niños

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