World Cup soccer at a glance
Sunday, 6 June 2010
By Iftu Ahmed
Aurora, IL, USA
Group A
In 1904, FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) was formed in Paris, France. Only seven countries, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, were its first founding representative members.
Group B
Diego Maradona was a transition from legendary player to national team coach.
Group C
Even though England, the modern soccer's birth place, but England was not a founding member of FIFA. England joined the World Cup in 1950.
In the 1950 World Cup, the USA lost 3-1 to Spain, but stunned the world beating England 1-0. It is considered as one of the greatest upsets in soccer history. It is interesting that the USA and England will meet again.
Group D
Gerd Muller, the German player remains the highest goal-scorer in World Cup soccer history. He played the World Cup in 1970 and 1974 and scored 14 World Cup goals. He is the only footballer to score World Cup hat-tricks twice in 1970.
The current FIFA ranking between Australia and Nigeria is tied for 20th.
Group E
The Netherlands and Denmark both were FIFA's founding members.
A Japanese game called Kemari, similar to Chinese kicking game Tsu Chu was played in the same era. Tsu Chu was developed as early as 2500 BC. A match between Chinese Tsu Chu and Japanese Kemari was played approximately 50 AD. Perhaps it was the first international football match.
Group F
Rome is the capital of Italy and one of the world's great historic cities.
Harpastum, the rugby style-football was played by Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC), the Roman emperor and his generals. It was a physical fitness program for the Roman army.
The Romans when they had a growing empire, took Harpastum to the British Isles. History says that Harpastum matches were played between the Romans and the British natives. Later, the English developed soccer.
Group G
No nation in the world has won World Cup soccer more than 4. It was Brazil alone won 5 times World Cup soccer.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento alias Pele of Brazil remains the all-time greatest soccer player. He played World Cup four times, in 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970. He was ranked 3rd with 12 World Cup goals. Besides, he is the first footballer to score over 1000 goals.
It was Pele, who helped the US in making soccer more popular. In 1975, he signed a $3.5 million contract with New York's Cosmos Club, and in 1977, Cosmos became champions in North American Soccer League (NASL). Pele was behind of it.
Group H
Both Spain and Switzerland were FIFA's founding members.
Aurora, IL, USA
Group A
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | Best Performance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| *France | 10 | Winner, 1998 | 12 | RaymondDomenech |
| Mexico | 17 | Quarterfinal, 1970 and 1986 | 14 | JavierAguire |
| Uruguay | 18 | Winner, 1930 and 1950 | 10 | Oscar Tabarez |
| South Africa (Host 2010) | 83 | First round, 1998 and 2002 | 2 | Carlos AlbertoParreira |
Group B
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | Best Performance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| Argentina | 7 | Winner, 1978And 1986 | 14 | *Diego Maradona |
| Greece | 12 | First round, 1994 | 1 | Otto Rehhagel |
| Nigeria | 20 | Second round, 1994 and 1998 | 3 | Lars Lagerback |
| South Korea | 47 | Fourth place, 2002 | 7 | Huh Jung-Moo |
Group C
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | Best Performance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| England | 8 | Winner, 1966 | 13 | Fabio Capello |
| *USA | 14 | Third place, 1930 | 8 | Bob Bradley |
| Slovenia | 23 | First round, 2002 | 1 | Matjaz Kek |
| Algeria | 31 | First round, 1982 and 1986 | 2 | Rabah Saadane |
In the 1950 World Cup, the USA lost 3-1 to Spain, but stunned the world beating England 1-0. It is considered as one of the greatest upsets in soccer history. It is interesting that the USA and England will meet again.
Group D
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | BestPerformance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| *Germany | 6 | Winner, 1954, 1974 and 1990 | 16 | Joachim Low |
| Serbia | 16 | Fourth place, 1930 and 1962 | 11 | Radomir Antic |
| *Australia | 20 | Second round, 2006 | 2 | Pim Verbeck |
| Ghana | 32 | Second round, 2006 | 1 | Milovan Rajevac |
The current FIFA ranking between Australia and Nigeria is tied for 20th.
Group E
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | BestPerformance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| *The Netherlands | 4 | Runner up 1974and 1978 | 8 | Bert van Marwijk |
| Cameroon | 19 | Quarterfinal, 1990 | 5 | Paul Le Guen |
| *Denmark | 35 | Quarterfinal,1998 | 3 | Morten Oslen |
| *Japan | 45 | Second round, 2002 | 3 | Takeshi Okada |
A Japanese game called Kemari, similar to Chinese kicking game Tsu Chu was played in the same era. Tsu Chu was developed as early as 2500 BC. A match between Chinese Tsu Chu and Japanese Kemari was played approximately 50 AD. Perhaps it was the first international football match.
Group F
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | BestPerformance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| *Italy | 5 | Winner, 1934, 1938, 1982 & 2006 | 16 | Marcello Lippi |
| Paraguay | 30 | Second round, 1986, 1998 & 2002 | 7 | Gerardo Martino |
| Slovakia | 38 | Debut | Debut | Vladimir Weiss |
| New Zealand | 78 | First round, 1982 | 1 | Ricki Herbert |
Harpastum, the rugby style-football was played by Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC), the Roman emperor and his generals. It was a physical fitness program for the Roman army.
The Romans when they had a growing empire, took Harpastum to the British Isles. History says that Harpastum matches were played between the Romans and the British natives. Later, the English developed soccer.
Group G
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | BestPerformance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| *Brazil | 1 | Winner, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2006 | 18 | Dunga |
| Portugal | 3 | Third place, 1966 | 4 | Carlos Queiroz |
| Ivory Coast | 27 | First round, 2006 | 1 | Sven-GoranEriksson |
| North Korea | 105 | Quarterfinal, 1966 | 1 | Kim Jong-Hun |
Edson Arantes do Nascimento alias Pele of Brazil remains the all-time greatest soccer player. He played World Cup four times, in 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970. He was ranked 3rd with 12 World Cup goals. Besides, he is the first footballer to score over 1000 goals.
It was Pele, who helped the US in making soccer more popular. In 1975, he signed a $3.5 million contract with New York's Cosmos Club, and in 1977, Cosmos became champions in North American Soccer League (NASL). Pele was behind of it.
Group H
| Teams | FIFA Ranking | BestPerformance/s | Appearance/s | Coach |
| *Spain | 2 | Fourth place, 1950 | 12 | Vicente del Bosque |
| Chile | 15 | Third place, 1962 | 7 | Marcelo Bielsa |
| *Switzerland | 26 | Quarterfinal, 1934, 1938 & 1954 | 8 | Ottmar Hitzfeld |
| Honduras | 40 | First round, 1982 | 1 | Reinaldo Rueda |