Latest Updates News About The wait is over. The FIFA World Cup 2010 has been kicked off with splendid opening ceremony in which Shakira and others performed and captivated the audience.
Brazil and Argentina are the two heavyweight contenders coming out of South America but Chile and Paraguay are in good form and could potentially spring a couple of surprises if things go their way.
Over in Europe, the pre-tournament talk has been all about how no European team has won football's biggest tournament outside of Europe. England, for all their failures in the past decade are once again hyped up by the media as a huge favourite to land the elusive title with Fabio Capello at the helm. David Villa and Fernando Torres will be the strikeforce to watch in South Africa, with Spain touted as the most likely challenger to dethrone Italy as world champions.
Asia are well represented with South Korea, Japan and Australia looking to show the world just how much Asian football has progressed.
African teams will be hoping to press on and stake a claim on the big prize on their own turf. Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon will lead out but watch out for Algeria who could be the surprise package to advance from Group C.
South Africa and Mexico will play the opening match. The two countries kick off the 19th edition of the finals and first ever on the African continent in Johannesburg with plenty of expectation on the host nation.
