2010 FIFA World Cup - wikipedia 2010 FIFA World Cup `` FIFA 2010 '' redirects here. For the video game, see FIFA 10. This article is about 2010 FIFA World Cup. For the video game, see 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa ( video game ). For other uses, see 2010 World Cup ( disambiguation ). 2010 FIFA World Cup FIFA Sokker - Wêreldbekertoernooi in 2010 2010 FIFA World Cup official logo Ke Nako. Celebrate Africa 's Humanity 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 ← 2006 2014 → The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men 's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals. The matches were played in 10 stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the opening and final played at the Soccer City stadium in South Africa 's largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty - two teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round - robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These 16 teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated the Netherlands ( third - time losing finalists ) 1 -- 0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta 's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title. Spain became the eighth nation to win the tournament and the first European nation to win a World Cup hosted outside its home continent : all previous World Cups held outside Europe had been won by South American nations. As a result of their win, Spain represented the World in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Host nation South Africa, 2006 champions Italy and 2006 runners - up France were all eliminated in the first round of the tournament. It was the first time that the hosts had been eliminated in the first round. New Zealand, with their three draws, were the only undefeated team in the tournament, but they were also eliminated in the first round. Contents 1 Host selection 1.1 Bribery and corruption 2 Qualification 2.1 List of qualified teams 3 Preparations 3.1 Construction strike 4 Prize money 5 Venues 5.1 Team base camps 6 Final draw 7 Referees 8 Squads 9 Match summary 10 Results 10.1 Group stage 10.1. 1 Group A 10.1. 2 Group B 10.1. 3 Group C 10.1. 4 Group D 10.1. 5 Group E 10.1. 6 Group F 10.1. 7 Group G 10.1. 8 Group H 10.2 Knockout stage 10.2. 1 Round of 16 10.2. 2 Quarter - finals 10.2. 3 Semi-finals 10.2. 4 Third place play - off 10.2. 5 Final 11 Statistics 11.1 Goalscorers 11.2 Discipline 11.3 Final ranking 12 Awards 12.1 Main awards 12.2 Dream Team 13 Symbols 13.1 Mascot 13.2 Official song 13.3 Match ball 13.4 Vuvuzelas 14 Event effects 14.1 Social 14.1. 1 Resettlement and eviction 14.2 Economy 14.3 Quality 15 Media 15.1 Broadcasting 15.2 Filming 15.3 Video games 15.4 FIFA Fan Fest 16 See also 17 References 18 External links Host selection Main article : FIFA World Cup hosts § 2010 FIFA World Cup Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a short - lived rotation policy, abandoned in 2007, to rotate the event among football confederations. Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup : Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and a joint bid from Libya and Tunisia. Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya 's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements. The winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich ; in the first round of voting, South Africa received 14 votes, Morocco received 10 votes and Egypt no votes. South Africa, which had narrowly failed to win the right to host the 2006 event, was thus awarded the right to host the tournament. Having successfully campaigned for South Africa to be granted host status, an emotional Nelson Mandela raised the FIFA World Cup Trophy. During 2006 and 2007, rumours circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country. Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa 's preparations. FIFA officials repeatedly expressed their confidence in South Africa as host, stating that a contingency plan existed only to cover natural catastrophes, as had been in place at previous FIFA World Cups. Bribery and corruption On 28 May 2015, media covering the 2015 FIFA corruption case reported that high - ranking officials from the South African bid committee had secured the right to host the World Cup by paying US $10 million in bribes to then - FIFA Vice President Jack Warner and to other FIFA Executive Committee members. On 4 June 2015, FIFA executive Chuck Blazer, having co-operated with the FBI and the Swiss authorities, confirmed that he and the other members of FIFA 's executive committee were bribed in order to promote the South African 1998 and 2010 World Cups. Blazer stated, `` I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup. '' On 6 June 2015, The Daily Telegraph reported that Morocco had actually won the vote, but South Africa was awarded the tournament instead. Qualification Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification The qualification draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban on 25 November 2007. As the host nation, South Africa qualified automatically for the tournament. As happened in the previous tournament, the defending champions were not given an automatic berth, and Italy had to participate in qualification. With a pool of entrants comprising 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams at the time, the 2010 World Cup shares with the 2008 Summer Olympics the record for most competing nations in a sporting event. Some controversies arose during the qualifications. In the second leg of the play - off between France and the Republic of Ireland, French captain Thierry Henry, unseen by the referee, handled the ball in the lead up to a late goal, which enabled France to qualify ahead of Ireland, sparking widespread comment and debate. FIFA rejected a request from the Football Association of Ireland to replay the match, and Ireland later withdrew a request to be included as an unprecedented 33rd World Cup entrant. As a result, FIFA announced a review into the use of technology or extra officials at the highest level, but decided against the widely expected fast - tracking of goal - line referee 's assistants for the South African tournament. Supporters watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, with vuvuzelas. Costa Rica complained over Uruguay 's winning goal in the CONMEBOL -- CONCACAF playoff, while Egypt and Algeria 's November 2009 matches were surrounded by reports of crowd trouble. On the subject of fair play, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said : I appeal to all the players and coaches to observe this fair play. In 2010 we want to prove that football is more than just kicking a ball but has social and cultural value... So we ask the players ' please observe fair play ' so they will be an example to the rest of the world. Slovakia was making its first appearance as an independent nation but had previously been represented as part of the Czechoslovakia team that had last played in the 1990 tournament ; North Korea qualified for the first time since 1966 ; Honduras and New Zealand were both making their first appearances since 1982 ; and Algeria were at the finals for the first time since the 1986 competition. Teams that failed to qualify for this tournament included Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Croatia, all of whom had qualified for the previous three finals ; Sweden, Poland, and Ecuador, who had qualified for the previous two editions ; and Euro 2008 semi-finalists Russia and Turkey. As of 2018, this was the last time South Africa, New Zealand, North Korea, Paraguay, Slovakia and Slovenia qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals. List of qualified teams The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament. AFC ( 4 ) Australia ( 20 ) Japan ( 45 ) North Korea ( 105 ) South Korea ( 47 ) CAF ( 6 ) Algeria ( 30 ) Cameroon ( 19 ) Ghana ( 32 ) Ivory Coast ( 27 ) Nigeria ( 21 ) South Africa ( 83 ) ( host ) CONCACAF ( 3 ) Honduras ( 38 ) Mexico ( 17 ) United States ( 14 ) CONMEBOL ( 5 ) Argentina ( 7 ) Brazil ( 1 ) Chile ( 18 ) Paraguay ( 31 ) Uruguay ( 16 ) OFC ( 1 ) New Zealand ( 78 ) UEFA ( 13 ) Denmark ( 36 ) England ( 8 ) France ( 9 ) Germany ( 6 ) Greece ( 13 ) Italy ( 5 ) Netherlands ( 4 ) Portugal ( 3 ) Serbia ( 15 ) Slovakia ( 34 ) Slovenia ( 25 ) Spain ( 2 ) Switzerland ( 24 ) Qualified countries Countries that failed to qualify Countries that did not enter Country not a FIFA member Preparations Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and five of the existing venues were upgraded. Construction costs were expected to be R 8.4 billion ( just over US $1 billion or € 950 million ). South Africa also improved its public transport infrastructure within the host cities, including Johannesburg 's Gautrain and other metro systems, and major road networks were improved. In March 2009, Danny Jordaan, the president of the 2010 World Cup organising committee, reported that all stadiums for the tournament were on schedule to be completed within six months. The country implemented special measures to ensure the safety and security of spectators in accordance with standard FIFA requirements, including a temporary restriction of flight operation in the airspace surrounding the stadiums. At a ceremony to mark 100 days before the event, FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised the readiness of the country for the event. Construction strike On 8 July 2009, 70,000 construction workers who were working on the new stadiums walked off their jobs. The majority of the workers receive R 2500 per month ( about £ 192, € 224 or US $313 ), but the unions alleged that some workers were grossly underpaid. A spokesperson for the National Union of Mineworkers said to the SABC that the `` no work no pay '' strike would go on until FIFA assessed penalties on the organisers. Other unions threatened to strike into 2011. The strike was swiftly resolved and workers were back at work within a week of it starting. There were no further strikes and all stadiums and construction projects were completed in time for the kick off. Prize money The total prize money on offer for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as US $420 million ( including payments of US $40 million to domestic clubs ), a 60 percent increase on the 2006 tournament. Before the tournament, each of the 32 entrants received US $1 million for preparation costs. Once at the tournament, the prize money was distributed as follows : US $8 million -- To each team eliminated at the group stage ( 16 teams ) ( $8.98 million in 2018 US dollars ) US $9 million -- To each team eliminated in the round of 16 ( 8 teams ) ( $10.10 million in 2018 US dollars ) US $14 million -- To each team eliminated in the quarter - finals ( 4 teams ) ( $15.71 million in 2018 US dollars ) US $18 million -- Fourth placed team ( $20.20 million in 2018 US dollars ) US $20 million -- Third placed team ( $22.44 million in 2018 US dollars ) US $24 million -- Runner up ( $26.93 million in 2018 US dollars ) US $30 million -- Winner ( $33.67 million in 2018 US dollars ) In a first for the World Cup, FIFA made payments to the domestic clubs of the players representing their national teams at the tournament. This saw a total of US $40 million paid to domestic clubs. This was the result of an agreement reached in 2008 between FIFA and European clubs to disband the G - 14 group and drop their claims for compensation dating back to 2005 over the financial cost of injuries sustained to their players while on international duty, such as that from Belgian club Charleroi S.C. for injury to Morocco 's Abdelmajid Oulmers in a friendly game in 2004, and from English club Newcastle United for an injury to England 's Michael Owen in the 2006 World Cup. Venues Map all coordinates using : OpenStreetMap Google Maps Download coordinates as : KML GPX In 2005, the organisers released a provisional list of 13 venues to be used for the World Cup : Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg ( two venues ), Kimberley, Klerksdorp, Nelspruit, Orkney, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, and Rustenburg. This was narrowed down to the ten venues that were officially announced by FIFA on 17 March 2006. The altitude of several venues affected the motion of the ball and player performance, although FIFA 's medical chief downplayed this consideration. Six of the ten venues were over 1200m above sea level, with the two Johannesburg stadiums ( Soccer City and Ellis Park ) the highest at approximately 1750m. The stadiums in order of altitude are : Soccer City and Ellis Park Stadium, 1753m ; Royal Bafokeng Stadium, 1500m ; Free State Stadium, 1400m ; Peter Mokaba Stadium, 1310m ; Loftus Versfeld Stadium, 1214m ; Mbombela Stadium, 660m ; Cape Town Stadium, Moses Mabhida Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium near sea level. The most used venues in this tournament was the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, which hosted 8 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 Pretoria Johannesburg Durban Cape Town Pretoria Port Elizabeth Bloemfontein Polokwane Rustenburg Nelspruit 2010 FIFA World Cup ( South Africa ) Port Elizabeth Loftus Versfeld Stadium Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 25 ° 45 ′ 12 '' S 28 ° 13 ′ 22 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 25.75333 ° S 28.22278 ° E ﻿ / - 25.75333 ; 28.22278 ﻿ ( Loftus Versfeld Stadium ) 33 ° 56 ′ 16 '' S 25 ° 35 ′ 56 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 33.93778 ° S 25.59889 ° E ﻿ / - 33.93778 ; 25.59889 ﻿ ( Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ) Capacity : 42,858 Capacity : 42,486 Polokwane Nelspruit Bloemfontein Rustenburg 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 ) 25 ° 34 ′ 43 '' S 27 ° 09 ′ 39 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 25.5786 ° S 27.1607 ° E ﻿ / - 25.5786 ; 27.1607 ﻿ ( Royal Bafokeng Stadium ) Peter Mokaba Stadium Mbombela Stadium Free State Stadium Royal Bafokeng Stadium Capacity : 41,733 Capacity : 40,929 Capacity : 40,911 Capacity : 38,646 The following stadiums were all upgraded to meet FIFA specifications : Cecil Payne Stadium Dobsonville Stadium Gelvandale Stadium Giant Stadium HM Pitje Stadium King Zwelithini Stadium Olympia Park Stadium Orlando Stadium Princess Magogo Stadium Rabie Ridge Stadium Rand Stadium Ruimsig Stadium Seisa Ramabodu Stadium Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium Super Stadium Team base camps The base camps are used by 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. In February 2010, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team. Fifteen teams were in Gauteng Province, while six teams were based in KwaZulu - Natal, four in the Western Cape, three in North West Province and one each in Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape. Eastern Cape ( 1 ) Ghana Gauteng ( 15 ) Argentina Australia Germany Honduras Italy Mexico Netherlands New Zealand North Korea Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Switzerland United States KwaZulu - Natal ( 7 ) Algeria Cameroon Greece Ivory Coast Nigeria Paraguay Portugal Mpumalanga ( 1 ) Chile North West Province ( 3 ) England South Korea Spain Northern Cape ( 1 ) Uruguay Western Cape ( 4 ) Brazil Denmark France Japan Final draw See also : 2010 FIFA World Cup seeding The FIFA Organising Committee approved the procedure for the final draw on 2 December 2009. The seeding was based on the October 2009 FIFA World Ranking and seven squads joined hosts South Africa as seeded teams for the final draw. No two teams from the same confederation were to be drawn in the same group, except allowing a maximum of two European teams in a group. Pot 1 ( Host & Top seven ) Pot 2 ( Asia, North America & Oceania ) Pot 3 ( Africa & South America ) Pot 4 ( Europe ) South Africa Brazil Spain Netherlands Italy Germany Argentina England Australia Japan North Korea South Korea Honduras Mexico United States New Zealand Algeria Cameroon Ghana Ivory Coast Nigeria Chile Paraguay Uruguay Denmark France Greece Portugal Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Switzerland The group draw was staged in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The ceremony was presented by South African actress Charlize Theron, assisted by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. The balls were drawn by English football star David Beckham and African sporting figures Haile Gebrselassie, John Smit, Makhaya Ntini, Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu. Referees Main articles : 2010 FIFA World Cup officials and 2010 FIFA World Cup controversies § Refereeing FIFA 's Referees ' Committee selected 29 referees through its Refereeing Assistance Programme to officiate at the World Cup : four from the AFC, three from the CAF, six from CONMEBOL, four from CONCACAF, two from the OFC and ten from UEFA. English referee Howard Webb was chosen to referee the final, making him the first person to referee both the UEFA Champions League final and the World Cup final in the same year. Squads The Brazilian and North Korean teams before their group stage match For more details on this topic, see 2010 FIFA World Cup squads. As with the 2006 tournament, each team 's squad for the 2010 World Cup consisted of 23 players. Each participating national association had to confirm their final 23 - player squad by 1 June 2010. Teams were permitted to make late replacements in the event of serious injury, at any time up to 24 hours before their first game. Of the 736 players participating in the tournament, over half played their club football in five European domestic leagues ; those in England ( 117 players ), Germany ( 84 ), Italy ( 80 ), Spain ( 59 ) and France ( 46 ). The English, German and Italian squads were made up of entirely home based players, while only Nigeria had no players from clubs in their own league. In all, players from 52 national leagues entered the tournament. FC Barcelona of Spain was the club contributing the most players to the tournament, with 13 players of their side travelling, 7 with the Spanish team, while another 7 clubs contributed 10 players or more. In another first for South Africa 2010, one squad included three siblings. Jerry, Johnny and Wilson Palacios made history thanks to their inclusion in Honduras 's 23 - man list. Unusually, the game between Germany and Ghana had two brothers playing for opposite nations, with Jérôme Boateng and Kevin - Prince Boateng playing respectively. Match summary The 32 national teams involved in the tournament together played a total of 64 matches starting from the group stage matches and progressing to the knockout stage matches, with teams eliminated through the various progressive stages. Rest days were allocated during the various stages to allow players recovery during the tournament. Preliminary events were also held in celebration of the World Cup event. All times listed in the table below are in South African Standard Time ( UTC + 02 ). Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIFA World Cup 2010 matches. Day Time Venue Stage Team 1 Result Team 2 Thursday 10 June Preliminary events 20 : 00 Soweto FIFA Kick - off Celebration Concert Friday 11 June 14 : 00 Johannesburg ( SC ) Opening ceremony First round of group stage matches 16 : 00 Johannesburg ( SC ) Group A South Africa 1 -- 1 Mexico 20 : 30 Cape Town Uruguay 0 -- 0 France Saturday 12 June 13 : 30 Port Elizabeth Group B South Korea 2 -- 0 Greece 16 : 00 Johannesburg ( EP ) Argentina 1 -- 0 Nigeria 20 : 30 Rustenburg Group C England 1 -- 1 United States Sunday 13 June 13 : 30 Polokwane Algeria 0 -- 1 Slovenia 16 : 00 Pretoria Group D Serbia 0 -- 1 Ghana 20 : 30 Durban Germany 4 -- 0 Australia Monday 14 June 13 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Group E Netherlands 2 -- 0 Denmark 16 : 00 Bloemfontein Japan 1 -- 0 Cameroon 20 : 30 Cape Town Group F Italy 1 -- 1 Paraguay Tuesday 15 June 13 : 30 Rustenburg New Zealand 1 -- 1 Slovakia 16 : 00 Port Elizabeth Group G Ivory Coast 0 -- 0 Portugal 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( EP ) Brazil 2 -- 1 North Korea Wednesday 16 June 13 : 30 Nelspruit Group H Honduras 0 -- 1 Chile 16 : 00 Durban Spain 0 -- 1 Switzerland Second round of group stage matches 20 : 30 Pretoria Group A South Africa 0 -- 3 Uruguay Thursday 17 June 13 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Group B Argentina 4 -- 1 South Korea 16 : 00 Bloemfontein Greece 2 -- 1 Nigeria 20 : 30 Polokwane Group A France 0 -- 2 Mexico Friday 18 June 13 : 30 Port Elizabeth Group D Germany 0 -- 1 Serbia 16 : 00 Johannesburg ( EP ) Group C Slovenia 2 -- 2 United States 20 : 30 Cape Town England 0 -- 0 Algeria Saturday 19 June 13 : 30 Durban Group E Netherlands 1 -- 0 Japan 16 : 00 Rustenburg Group D Ghana 1 -- 1 Australia 20 : 30 Pretoria Group E Cameroon 1 -- 2 Denmark Sunday 20 June 13 : 30 Bloemfontein Group F Slovakia 0 -- 2 Paraguay 16 : 00 Nelspruit Italy 1 -- 1 New Zealand 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Group G Brazil 3 -- 1 Ivory Coast Monday 21 June 13 : 30 Cape Town Portugal 7 -- 0 North Korea 16 : 00 Port Elizabeth Group H Chile 1 -- 0 Switzerland 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( EP ) Spain 2 -- 0 Honduras Tuesday 22 June Third round of group stage matches 16 : 00 Rustenburg Group A Mexico 0 -- 1 Uruguay 16 : 00 Bloemfontein France 1 -- 2 South Africa 20 : 30 Durban Group B Nigeria 2 -- 2 South Korea 20 : 30 Polokwane Greece 0 -- 2 Argentina Wednesday 23 June 16 : 00 Port Elizabeth Group C Slovenia 0 -- 1 England 16 : 00 Pretoria United States 1 -- 0 Algeria 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Group D Ghana 0 -- 1 Germany 20 : 30 Nelspruit Australia 2 -- 1 Serbia Thursday 24 June 16 : 00 Johannesburg ( EP ) Group F Slovakia 3 -- 2 Italy 16 : 00 Polokwane Paraguay 0 -- 0 New Zealand 20 : 30 Rustenburg Group E Denmark 1 -- 3 Japan 20 : 30 Cape Town Cameroon 1 -- 2 Netherlands Friday 25 June 16 : 00 Durban Group G Portugal 0 -- 0 Brazil 16 : 00 Nelspruit North Korea 0 -- 3 Ivory Coast 20 : 30 Pretoria Group H Chile 1 -- 2 Spain 20 : 30 Bloemfontein Switzerland 0 -- 0 Honduras Saturday 26 June Knockout stage matches 16 : 00 Port Elizabeth Round of 16 Uruguay 2 -- 1 South Korea 20 : 30 Rustenburg United States 1 -- 2 ( a.e.t. ) Ghana Sunday 27 June 16 : 00 Bloemfontein Germany 4 -- 1 England 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Argentina 3 -- 1 Mexico Monday 28 June 16 : 00 Durban Netherlands 2 -- 1 Slovakia 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( EP ) Brazil 3 -- 0 Chile Tuesday 29 June 16 : 00 Pretoria Paraguay 0 -- 0 ( a.e.t. ) ( 5 -- 3 p ) Japan 20 : 30 Cape Town Spain 1 -- 0 Portugal Wednesday 30 June Rest days Thursday 1 July Friday 2 July 16 : 00 Port Elizabeth Quarter - finals Netherlands 2 -- 1 Brazil 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Uruguay 1 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) ( 4 -- 2 p ) Ghana Saturday 3 July 16 : 00 Cape Town Argentina 0 -- 4 Germany 20 : 30 Johannesburg ( EP ) Paraguay 0 -- 1 Spain Sunday 4 July Rest days Monday 5 July Tuesday 6 July 20 : 30 Cape Town Semi-finals Uruguay 2 -- 3 Netherlands Wednesday 7 July 20 : 30 Durban Germany 0 -- 1 Spain Thursday 8 July Rest days Friday 9 July Saturday 10 July 20 : 30 Port Elizabeth Third place match Uruguay 2 -- 3 Germany Sunday 11 July 18 : 30 Johannesburg ( SC ) Closing ceremony 20 : 30 Final Netherlands 0 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) Spain Results Group stage The first round, or group stage, saw the thirty - two teams divided into eight groups of four teams. Each group was a round - robin of six games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The teams finishing first and second in each group qualified for the Round of 16. The South American teams performed strongly, with all five advancing to the knockout stages ( four as group winners ), and four made the quarter - finals ( the only team from South America to not make it this far was Chile, who lost to Brazil ) ; but only Uruguay advanced to the semi-finals. The overall performance of African teams on the first occasion that the continent hosted the event was judged disappointing by observers such as Cameroon great Roger Milla. Of the six African nations only three won any matches ( Ghana, South Africa and Ivory Coast ), and only one ( Ghana ) progressed out of the first round. South Africa became the first host in FIFA World Cup history to not make it out of the group stage, finishing third in Group A behind Uruguay and Mexico, but ahead of France. Only six out of 13 UEFA teams progressed to the last 16, a record low since the round of 16 was adopted in 1986. Still, the final was played by two European teams. Both of the finalists from the preceding tournament, winners Italy and France, were eliminated in the initial stage of the competition, the first time this happened at a World Cup. It was also only the third time the reigning champions were eliminated in the first round of the finals ( after Brazil in 1966 and France in 2002 ). Surprisingly, New Zealand, a team projected by many not to attain even one point in Group F, ended the tournament as the only undefeated team after drawing their three group matches, but they finished behind Paraguay and Slovakia and were eliminated. Tie - breaking criteria Teams were ranked on the following criteria : 1. Greater number of points in all group matches 2. Goal difference in all group matches 3. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches 4. Greatest number of points in matches between tied teams 5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams 6. Greatest number of goals scored in matches between tied teams 7. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee Group A Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group A Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Uruguay 0 0 + 4 7 Advance to knockout stage Mexico + 1 South Africa ( H ) 5 − 2 France 0 − 3 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria ( H ) Host. 11 June 2010 South Africa 1 -- 1 Mexico Soccer City, Johannesburg Uruguay 0 -- 0 France Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town 16 June 2010 South Africa 0 -- 3 Uruguay Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria 17 June 2010 France 0 -- 2 Mexico Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane 22 June 2010 Mexico 0 -- 1 Uruguay Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg France 1 -- 2 South Africa Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Group B Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group B Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Argentina 0 0 7 + 6 9 Advance to knockout stage South Korea 5 6 − 1 Greece 0 5 − 3 Nigeria 0 5 − 2 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 12 June 2010 South Korea 2 -- 0 Greece Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Argentina 1 -- 0 Nigeria Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg 17 June 2010 Argentina 4 -- 1 South Korea Soccer City, Johannesburg Greece 2 -- 1 Nigeria Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 22 June 2010 Nigeria 2 -- 2 South Korea Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Greece 0 -- 2 Argentina Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane Group C Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group C Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification United States 0 + 1 5 Advance to knockout stage England 0 + 1 5 Slovenia 0 Algeria 0 0 − 2 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 12 June 2010 England 1 -- 1 United States Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg 13 June 2010 Algeria 0 -- 1 Slovenia Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane 18 June 2010 Slovenia 2 -- 2 United States Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg England 0 -- 0 Algeria Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town 23 June 2010 Slovenia 0 -- 1 England Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth United States 1 -- 0 Algeria Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria Group D Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group D Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Germany 0 5 + 4 6 Advance to knockout stage Ghana 0 Australia 6 − 3 Serbia 0 − 1 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 13 June 2010 Serbia 0 -- 1 Ghana Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria Germany 4 -- 0 Australia Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban 18 June 2010 Germany 0 -- 1 Serbia Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth 19 June 2010 Ghana 1 -- 1 Australia Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg 23 June 2010 Ghana 0 -- 1 Germany Soccer City, Johannesburg Australia 2 -- 1 Serbia Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit Group E Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group E Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Netherlands 0 0 5 + 4 9 Advance to knockout stage Japan 0 + 2 6 Denmark 0 6 − 3 Cameroon 0 0 5 − 3 0 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 14 June 2010 Netherlands 2 -- 0 Denmark Soccer City, Johannesburg Japan 1 -- 0 Cameroon Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 19 June 2010 Netherlands 1 -- 0 Japan Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Cameroon 1 -- 2 Denmark Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria 24 June 2010 Denmark 1 -- 3 Japan Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg Cameroon 1 -- 2 Netherlands Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Group F Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group F Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Paraguay 0 + 2 5 Advance to knockout stage Slovakia 5 − 1 New Zealand 0 0 0 Italy 0 5 − 1 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 14 June 2010 Italy 1 -- 1 Paraguay Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town 15 June 2010 New Zealand 1 -- 1 Slovakia Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg 20 June 2010 Slovakia 0 -- 2 Paraguay Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Italy 1 -- 1 New Zealand Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit 24 June 2010 Slovakia 3 -- 2 Italy Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Paraguay 0 -- 0 New Zealand Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane Group G Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group G Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Brazil 0 5 + 3 7 Advance to knockout stage Portugal 0 7 0 + 7 5 Ivory Coast + 1 North Korea 0 0 12 − 11 0 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 15 June 2010 Ivory Coast 0 -- 0 Portugal Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Brazil 2 -- 1 North Korea Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg 20 June 2010 Brazil 3 -- 1 Ivory Coast Soccer City, Johannesburg 21 June 2010 Portugal 7 -- 0 North Korea Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town 25 June 2010 Portugal 0 -- 0 Brazil Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban North Korea 0 -- 3 Ivory Coast Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit Group H Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Group H Pos Team Pld GF GA GD Pts Qualification Spain 0 + 2 6 Advance to knockout stage Chile 0 + 1 6 Switzerland 0 Honduras 0 0 − 3 Source : FIFA Rules for classification : Tie - breaking criteria 16 June 2010 Honduras 0 -- 1 Chile Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit Spain 0 -- 1 Switzerland Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban 21 June 2010 Chile 1 -- 0 Switzerland Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Spain 2 -- 0 Honduras Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg 25 June 2010 Chile 1 -- 2 Spain Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria Switzerland 0 -- 0 Honduras Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Knockout stage Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage All times listed are South African Standard Time ( UTC + 02 ) The knockout stage comprised the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. There were four rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round. The successive rounds were the round of 16, quarter - finals, semi-finals, and the final. There was also a play - off to decide third and fourth place. For each game in the knockout stage, any draw at 90 minutes was followed by thirty minutes of extra time ; if scores were still level, there was a penalty shootout to determine who progressed to the next round. Round of 16 Quarter - finals Semi-finals Final 26 June -- Port Elizabeth Uruguay 2 July -- Johannesburg ( Soccer City ) South Korea 1 Uruguay ( pen. ) 1 ( 4 ) 26 June -- Rustenburg Ghana 1 ( 2 ) United States 1 6 July -- Cape Town Ghana ( a.e.t. ) Uruguay 2 28 June -- Durban Netherlands Netherlands 2 July -- Port Elizabeth Slovakia 1 Netherlands 28 June -- Johannesburg ( Ellis Park ) Brazil 1 Brazil 11 July -- Johannesburg ( Soccer City ) Chile 0 Netherlands 0 27 June -- Johannesburg ( Soccer City ) Spain ( a.e.t. ) Argentina 3 July -- Cape Town Mexico 1 Argentina 0 27 June -- Bloemfontein Germany Germany 7 July -- Durban England 1 Germany 0 29 June -- Pretoria Spain Third place Paraguay ( pen. ) 0 ( 5 ) 3 July -- Johannesburg ( Ellis Park ) 10 July -- Port Elizabeth Japan 0 ( 3 ) Paraguay 0 Uruguay 2 29 June -- Cape Town Spain Germany Spain Portugal 0 Round of 16 In this round, each group winner ( A-H ) was paired against the runner - up from another group. South American teams again performed strongly in the round of 16, with four teams advancing to the quarter - finals including Brazil who defeated fellow South Americans Chile. England 's 4 -- 1 loss to Germany was their biggest ever margin of defeat at a World Cup finals. It was also the first time that a World Cup finals match between these two traditional rivals had a decisive result in regulation time, their three previous meetings all being tied at 90 minutes, with two settled in extra time and one in a penalty shootout. Ghana defeated the United States to become the third African team to reach the last eight ( after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002 ), and the only African team to have achieved both a top 8 finish and a separate top 16 finish ( in 2006 ). Paraguay and Ghana reached the quarter - finals for the first time. The round was marked by some controversial referees ' decisions, including : A disallowed goal by England in their 4 -- 1 loss against Germany, where the shot by Frank Lampard was seen to cross substantially over the goal line when shown on television broadcast replays. An allowed goal by Argentina in their 3 -- 1 win over Mexico, where Argentine striker Carlos Tevez was seen to be offside when shown on television broadcast replays, which were shown inside the stadium shortly after the incident. FIFA President Sepp Blatter took the unusual step of apologising to England and Mexico for the decisions that went against them, saying : `` Yesterday I spoke to the two federations directly concerned by referees ' mistakes (... ) I apologised to England and Mexico. The English said thank you and accepted that you can win some and you lose some and the Mexicans bowed their head and accepted it. '' Blatter also promised to re-open the discussion regarding devices which monitor possible goals and make that information immediately available to match officials, saying : `` We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have the first opportunity in July at the business meeting. '' Blatter 's call came less than four months after FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke said the door was closed on goal - line technology and video replays after a vote by the IFAB. Uruguay v South Korea 26 June 2010 16 : 00 Uruguay 2 -- 1 South Korea Suárez 8 ', 80 ' Report Lee Chung - yong 68 ' Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance : 30,597 Referee : Wolfgang Stark ( Germany ) United States v Ghana 26 June 2010 20 : 30 United States 1 -- 2 ( a.e.t. ) Ghana Donovan 62 ' ( pen. ) Report Prince 5 ' Gyan 93 ' Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg Attendance : 34,976 Referee : Viktor Kassai ( Hungary ) Germany v England 27 June 2010 16 : 00 Germany 4 -- 1 England Klose 20 ' Podolski 32 ' Müller 67 ', 70 ' Report Upson 37 ' Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Attendance : 40,510 Referee : Jorge Larrionda ( Uruguay ) Argentina v Mexico 27 June 2010 20 : 30 Argentina 3 -- 1 Mexico Tevez 26 ', 52 ' Higuaín 33 ' Report Hernández 71 ' Soccer City, Johannesburg Attendance : 84,377 Referee : Roberto Rosetti ( Italy ) Netherlands v Slovakia 28 June 2010 16 : 00 Netherlands 2 -- 1 Slovakia Robben 18 ' Sneijder 84 ' Report Vittek 90 + 4 ' ( pen. ) Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Attendance : 61,962 Referee : Alberto Undiano Mallenco ( Spain ) Brazil v Chile 28 June 2010 20 : 30 Brazil 3 -- 0 Chile Juan 34 ' Luís Fabiano 38 ' Robinho 59 ' Report Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance : 54,096 Referee : Howard Webb ( England ) Paraguay v Japan 29 June 2010 16 : 00 Paraguay 0 -- 0 ( a.e.t. ) Japan Report Penalties Barreto Barrios Riveros Valdez Cardozo 5 -- 3 Endō Hasebe Komano Honda Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria Attendance : 36,742 Referee : Frank De Bleeckere ( Belgium ) Spain v Portugal 29 June 2010 20 : 30 Spain 1 -- 0 Portugal Villa 63 ' Report Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Attendance : 62,955 Referee : Héctor Baldassi ( Argentina ) Quarter - finals The three quarter - finals between European and South American teams all resulted in wins for Europeans. Germany had a 4 -- 0 victory over Argentina, and the Netherlands came from behind to beat Brazil 2 -- 1, handing the Brazilians their first loss in a World Cup match held outside Europe ( other than in a penalty shootout ) since 1950 when Uruguay won the decisive match 2 -- 1. Spain reached the final four for the first time since 1950 after a 1 -- 0 win over Paraguay. Uruguay, the only South American team to reach the semi-finals, overcame Ghana in a penalty shoot - out after a 1 -- 1 draw in which Ghana missed a penalty at the end of extra time after Luis Suárez controversially handled the ball on the line. Netherlands v Brazil 2 July 2010 16 : 00 Netherlands 2 -- 1 Brazil Sneijder 53 ', 68 ' Report Robinho 10 ' Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance : 40,186 Referee : Yuichi Nishimura ( Japan ) Uruguay v Ghana 2 July 2010 20 : 30 Uruguay 1 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) Ghana Forlán 55 ' Report Muntari 45 + 2 ' Penalties Forlán Victorino Scotti M. Pereira Abreu 4 -- 2 Gyan Appiah Mensah Adiyiah Soccer City, Johannesburg Attendance : 84,017 Referee : Olegário Benquerença ( Portugal ) Argentina v Germany 3 July 2010 16 : 00 Argentina 0 -- 4 Germany Report Müller 3 ' Klose 68 ', 89 ' Friedrich 74 ' Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Attendance : 64,100 Referee : Ravshan Irmatov ( Uzbekistan ) Paraguay v Spain 3 July 2010 20 : 30 Paraguay 0 -- 1 Spain Report Villa 83 ' Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance : 55,359 Referee : Carlos Batres ( Guatemala ) Semi-finals The Netherlands qualified for the final for the third time with a 3 -- 2 win over Uruguay. Spain reached their first ever final with a 1 -- 0 victory over Germany. As a result, it was the first World Cup final not to feature at least one of Brazil, Italy, Germany or Argentina. Uruguay v Netherlands 6 July 2010 20 : 30 Uruguay 2 -- 3 Netherlands Forlán 41 ' M. Pereira 90 + 2 ' Report Van Bronckhorst 18 ' Sneijder 70 ' Robben 73 ' Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Attendance : 62,479 Referee : Ravshan Irmatov ( Uzbekistan ) Germany v Spain 7 July 2010 20 : 30 Germany 0 -- 1 Spain Report Puyol 73 ' Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Attendance : 60,960 Referee : Viktor Kassai ( Hungary ) Third place play - off Germany defeated Uruguay 3 -- 2 to secure third place. Germany holds the record for most third - place finishes in the World Cup ( 4 ), while Uruguay holds the record for most fourth - place finishes ( 3 ). Uruguay v Germany 10 July 2010 20 : 30 Uruguay 2 -- 3 Germany Cavani 28 ' Forlán 51 ' Report Müller 19 ' Jansen 56 ' Khedira 82 ' Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance : 36,254 Referee : Benito Archundia ( Mexico ) Final Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Final The final was held on 11 July 2010 at Soccer City, Johannesburg. Spain defeated the Netherlands 1 -- 0, with an extra time goal from Andrés Iniesta. Iniesta scored the latest winning goal in a FIFA World Cup final ( 116 ' ). The win gave Spain their first World Cup title, becoming the eighth team to win it. This made them the first new winner without home advantage since Brazil in 1958, and the first team to win the tournament after having lost their opening game. A large number of fouls were committed in the final match. Referee Howard Webb handed out 14 yellow cards, more than doubling the previous record for this fixture, set when Argentina and West Germany shared six cards in 1986, and John Heitinga of the Netherlands was sent off for receiving a second yellow card. The Netherlands had chances to score, most notably in the 60th minute when Arjen Robben was released by Wesley Sneijder to be one - on - one with Spain 's goalkeeper Iker Casillas, only for Casillas to save the shot with an outstretched leg. For Spain, Sergio Ramos missed a free header from a corner kick when he was unmarked. Iniesta finally broke the deadlock in extra time, scoring a volleyed shot from a pass by Cesc Fàbregas. This result marked the first time that two different teams from the same continent had won successive World Cups ( following Italy in 2006 ), and saw Europe reaching 10 World Cup titles, surpassing South America 's nine titles. Spain became the first team since West Germany in 1974 to win the World Cup as European champions. The result also marked the first time that a European nation had won a World Cup Finals that was not hosted on European soil. A closing ceremony was held before the final, featuring singer Shakira. Afterwards, the former South African President Nelson Mandela made a brief appearance on the pitch, wheeled in by a motorcart. Netherlands v Spain 11 July 2010 20 : 30 Netherlands 0 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) Spain Report Iniesta 116 ' Soccer City, Johannesburg Attendance : 84,490 Referee : Howard Webb ( England ) Statistics Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup statistics Goalscorers For the full list of goalscorers, see 2010 FIFA World Cup goalscorers South African winger Siphiwe Tshabalala was the first player to score a goal in the competition, in their 1 -- 1 draw against Mexico, the opening game of the tournament. Danish defender Daniel Agger was credited with the first own goal of the tournament, in his side 's 2 -- 0 loss to the Netherlands. Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín was the only player to score a hat - trick in the tournament, in Argentina 's 4 -- 1 win over South Korea. It was the 49th World Cup hat - trick in the history of the tournament. Spain set a new record for the fewest goals scored by a World Cup - winning team, with eight. The previous record low was 11, set by Brazil in 1994, England in 1966, and Italy in 1938. Spain had the fewest goalscorers for a champion as well ( three -- Villa with five goals, Iniesta with two and Puyol with one ). They also had the fewest goals conceded for a champion ( 2 ), equal with Italy ( 2006 ) and France ( 1998 ). Spain 's victory marked the first time that a team won the World Cup without conceding a goal in the knockout stage. The four top scorers in the tournament had five goals each. All of the four top scorers also came from the teams that finished in the top four, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Uruguay. The Golden Boot went to Thomas Müller of Germany who had three assists, compared to one for the three others. The Silver Boot went to David Villa of Spain, who played a total of 635 minutes, and the Bronze Boot to Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands, who played 652 minutes. Diego Forlán of Uruguay had five goals and one assist in 654 minutes. A further three players scored four goals. Only 145 goals were scored at South Africa 2010, the lowest of any FIFA World Cup since the tournament switched to a 64 - game format. This continued a downward trend since the first 64 - game finals were held 12 years earlier, with 171 goals at France 1998, 161 at Korea / Japan 2002 and 147 at Germany 2006. Discipline Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup disciplinary record 28 players were suspended after being shown two consecutive yellow cards ( 13 players ), a single red card ( 8 players ), or a yellow card followed by a red card ( 7 players ). Final ranking Champion Runner - up Third place Fourth place Quarter - finals Round of 16 Group stage Shortly after the final, FIFA issued a final ranking of every team in the tournament. The ranking was based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. All 32 teams are ranked based on criteria which have been used by FIFA. The final ranking was as follows : R Team GF GA GD Pts. Spain 7 6 0 8 + 6 18 Netherlands 7 6 0 12 6 + 6 18 Germany 7 5 0 16 5 + 11 15 Uruguay 7 11 8 + 3 11 Eliminated in the quarter - finals 5 Argentina 5 0 10 6 + 4 12 6 Brazil 5 9 + 5 10 7 Ghana 5 5 + 1 8 8 Paraguay 5 + 1 6 Eliminated in the round of 16 9 Japan + 2 7 10 Chile 0 5 − 2 6 11 Portugal 7 + 6 5 12 United States 5 5 0 5 13 England 5 − 2 5 14 Mexico 5 − 1 15 South Korea 6 8 − 2 16 Slovakia 5 7 − 2 Eliminated in the group stage 17 Ivory Coast + 1 18 Slovenia 0 19 Switzerland 0 20 South Africa 5 − 2 21 Australia 6 − 3 22 New Zealand 0 0 0 23 Serbia 0 − 1 24 Denmark 0 6 − 3 25 Greece 0 5 − 3 26 Italy 0 5 − 1 27 Nigeria 0 5 − 2 28 Algeria 0 0 − 2 29 France 0 − 3 30 Honduras 0 0 − 3 31 Cameroon 0 0 5 − 3 0 32 North Korea 0 0 12 − 11 0 Awards Main awards Golden Ball : Diego Forlán ( Uruguay ) Golden Boot : Thomas Müller ( Germany ) Golden Glove : Iker Casillas ( Spain ) Best Young Player : Thomas Müller ( Germany ) FIFA Fair Play Trophy : Spain Dream team For the first time, FIFA did not release an official All - Star Team, but instead published a Dream Team decided by an online public vote. People were invited to select a team ( in a 4 -- 4 -- 2 formation ) and best coach ; voting was open until 23 : 59 on 11 July 2010, with entrants going into a draw to win a prize. Six of the eleven players came from the Spanish team, as did the coach. The remainder of the team comprised two players from Germany, and one each from Brazil, the Netherlands and Uruguay. Goalkeeper : Iker Casillas ( Spain ) Defenders : Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol ( Spain ), Maicon ( Brazil ), Philipp Lahm ( Germany ) Midfielders : Andrés Iniesta, Xavi ( Spain ), Bastian Schweinsteiger ( Germany ), Wesley Sneijder ( Netherlands ) Forwards : Diego Forlán ( Uruguay ), David Villa ( Spain ) Coach : Vicente del Bosque ( Spain ) Symbols A Spain shirt, autographed by members of the World Cup - winning squad, on display in Madrid Mascot Main article : Zakumi The official mascot for the 2010 World Cup was Zakumi, an anthropomorphised African leopard with green hair, presented on 22 September 2008. His name came from `` ZA '' ( the international abbreviation for South Africa ) and the term kumi, which means `` ten '' in various African languages. The mascot 's colours reflected those of the host nation 's playing strip -- yellow and green. Official song Main article : FIFA World Cup official songs The official song of the 2010 World Cup `` Waka Waka '' was performed by the Colombian singer Shakira and the band Freshlyground from South Africa, and is sung in both English and Spanish. The song is based on a traditional African soldiers ' song, `` Zangalewa ''. Shakira and Freshlyground performed the song at the pre-tournament concert in Soweto on 10 June. It was also sung at the opening ceremony on 11 June and at the closing ceremony on 11 July. The official anthem of the 2010 World Cup was `` Sign of a Victory '' by R. Kelly with the Soweto Spiritual Singers, which was also performed at the opening ceremony. Match ball Main article : Adidas Jabulani The match ball for the 2010 World Cup, manufactured by Adidas, was named the Jabulani, which means `` bringing joy to everyone '' in Zulu. It was the eleventh World Cup match ball made by the German sports equipment maker ; it featured eleven colours, representing each player of a team on the pitch and the eleven official languages of South Africa. A special match ball with gold panels, called the Jo'bulani, was used at the final in Johannesburg. The ball was constructed using a new design, consisting of eight thermally bonded, three - dimensional panels. These were spherically moulded from ethylene - vinyl acetate ( EVA ) and thermoplastic polyurethanes ( TPU ). The surface of the ball was textured with grooves, a technology developed by Adidas called GripnGroove that was intended to improve the ball 's aerodynamics. The design received considerable academic input, being developed in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. The balls were made in China, using latex bladders made in India, thermoplastic polyurethane - elastomer from Taiwan, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester / cotton fabric, and glue and ink from China. Some football stars complained about the new ball, arguing that its movements were difficult to predict. Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César compared it to a `` supermarket '' ball that favored strikers and worked against goalkeepers. Argentinian coach Diego Maradona said : `` We wo n't see any long passes in this World Cup because the ball does n't fly straight. '' However, a number of Adidas - sponsored players responded favourably to the ball. Vuvuzelas A man sounding a vuvuzela Main article : Vuvuzela The 2010 finals amplified international public awareness of the vuvuzela, a long horn blown by fans throughout matches. Many World Cup competitors complained about the noise caused by the vuvuzela horns, including France 's Patrice Evra, who blamed the horns for the team 's poor performance. Other critics include Lionel Messi, who complained that the sound of the vuvuzelas hampers communication among players on the pitch, and broadcasting companies, which complained that commentators ' voices were being drowned out by the sound. Others watching on television complained that the ambient audio feed from the stadium only contains the sounds of the vuvuzelas and the natural sounds of people in the stands are drowned out. A spokesperson for ESPN and other networks said that they were taking steps to minimise the ambient noise on their broadcasts. The BBC also investigated the possibility of offering broadcasts without vuvuzela noise. Event effects A FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour aeroplane, sponsored by Coca - Cola. ( 2010 ) Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup event effects Social Tournament organiser Danny Jordaan dismissed concerns that the attack on the Togo national team which took place in Angola in January 2010, had any relevance to the security arrangements for the World Cup. There were also reports of thefts against visitors to the country for the World Cup. Tourists from China, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, Japan and Colombia had become victims of crime. On 19 June after the match between England and Algeria, a fan was able to break through the FIFA - appointed security staff at Green Point stadium and gain access to the England team dressing room. The breach took place shortly after Prince William and Prince Harry had left the room. The trespasser was then released before he could be handed over to the Police. English FA lodged a formal complaint with FIFA and demanded that security be increased. Resettlement and eviction Police patrol Blikkiesdorp, a settlement for the evicted. As with many ' hallmark events ' throughout the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been connected to evictions, which many claim are meant to ' beautify the city ', impress visiting tourists, and hide shackdwellers. On 14 May 2009, the Durban - based shack - dwellers ' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo took the KwaZulu - Natal government to court over their controversial Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums Act, meant to eliminate slums in South Africa and put homeless shackdwellers in transit camps in time for the 2010 World Cup. Another prominent controversy surrounding preparations for the World Cup was the N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town, which planned to remove over 20,000 residents from the Joe Slovo Informal Settlement along the busy N2 Freeway and build rental flats and bond - houses in its place in time for the 2010 World Cup. NGOs, international human rights organisations, and the Anti-Eviction Campaign have publicly criticised the conditions in Blikkiesdorp and said that the camp has been used to accommodate poor families evicted to make way for the 2010 World Cup. However some have argued that evictions are ordinarily common in South Africa and that in the lead up to the tournament many evictions were erreonously ascribed to the World Cup. Economy Some groups experienced complications in regards to scheduled sporting events, advertising, or broadcasting, as FIFA attempted to maximise control of media rights during the Cup. Affected parties included an international rugby union Test match, a South African airline, and some TV networks, all of whom were involved in various legal struggles with World Cup organisers. During the tournament, group ticket - holders who did not utilise all their allotted tickets led to some early - round matches having as many as 11,000 unoccupied seats. While the event did help to boost the image of South Africa, financially it turned out to be a major disappointment. Construction costs for venues and infrastructure amounted to £ 3 billion ( € 3.6 billion ), and the government expected that increased tourism would help to offset these costs to the amount of £ 570 million ( € 680 million ). However, only £ 323 million ( € 385 million ) were actually taken in as 309,000 foreign fans came to South Africa, well below the expected number of 450,000. Local vendors were prohibited from selling food and merchandise within a 1.5 kilometre radius of any stadium hosting a World Cup match. For a vendor to operate within the radius, a registration fee of R 60,000 ( approximately to US $7,888 or € 6,200 ), had to be paid to FIFA. This fee was out of most local vendors ' reach, as they are simple one - man - operated vendors. This prevented international visitors from experiencing local South African food. Some local vendors felt cheated out of an opportunity for financial gain and spreading South African culture, in favour of multinational corporations. FIFA president Sepp Blatter declared the event `` a huge financial success for everybody, for Africa, for South Africa and for FIFA, '' with revenue to FIFA of £ 2.24 billion ( € 2 billion ). Quality In a December 2010 Quality Progress, FIFA President Blatter rated South Africa 's organisational efforts a nine out of 10 scale, declaring that South Africa could be considered a plan B for all future competitions. The South African Quality Institute ( SAQI ) assisted in facility construction, event promotion, and organisations. The main issue listed in the article was transportation. Media Broadcasting Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights Production set of the FIFA international broadcast centre during the event The 2010 FIFA World Cup was expected to be the most - watched television event in history. Hundreds of broadcasters, representing about 70 countries, transmitted the Cup to a TV audience that FIFA officials expect to exceed a cumulative 26 billion people, an average of approximately 400 million viewers per match. FIFA estimated that around 700 million viewers would watch the World Cup final. New forms of digital media have also allowed viewers to watch coverage through alternative means. `` With games airing live on cell phones and computers, the World Cup will get more online coverage than any major sporting event yet, '' said Jake Coyle of the Associated Press. In the United States, ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged a 2.1 rating, 2,288,000 households and 3,261,000 viewers for the 64 World Cup games. The rating was up 31 percent from a 1.6 in 2006, while households increased 32 percent from 1,735,000 and viewers rose from 2,316,000. The increases had been higher while the US remained in the tournament. Through the first 50 games, the rating was up 48 percent, households increased 54 percent and viewers rose 60 percent. Univision averaged 2,624,000 viewers for the tournament, up 17 percent, and 1,625,000 households, an increase of 11 percent. An executive of the Nielsen Company, a leading audience research firm in the US, described the aggregate numbers for both networks ' coverage of the USA - Ghana match as `` phenomenal ''. Live World Cup streaming on ESPN3.com pulled in some of the largest audiences in history, as 7.4 million unique viewers tuned in for matches. In total, ESPN3.com generated 942 million minutes of viewing or more than two hours per unique viewer. All 64 live matches were viewed by an average of 114,000 persons per minute. Most impressive were the numbers for the semi-final between Spain and Germany, which was viewed by 355,000 people per minute, making it ESPN3. com 's largest average audience ever. Filming Sony technology was used to film the tournament. 25 of the matches were captured using 3D cameras. Footage was captured in 3D through Sony 's proprietary multi-image MPE - 200 processors, housed in specially designed 3D outside broadcast trucks. It supplied its flagship HDC - 1500 cameras as well as its new HDC - P1 unit, a compact, point - of - view ( POV ) - type camera with 3, 2 / 3 - inch CCD sensors. The 3D games were produced for FIFA by Host Broadcast Services. Video games In PlayStation Home, Sony has released a virtual space based on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the Japanese version of Home on 3 December 2009. This virtual space is called the `` FevaArena '' and is a virtual stadium of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, featuring different areas for events, a FIFA mini-game, and a shop with FIFA related content. On 27 April 2010, EA Sports released the official 2010 World Cup video game. FIFA Fan Fest FIFA expanded the FIFA Fan Fest, hosting in Sydney, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, as well as several venues around South Africa. The Durban Fan Fest was the most popular in South Africa during the tournament followed by the Cape Town Fan Fest. See also Association football portal South Africa portal Book : FIFA World Cup July 2010 Kampala attacks, a series of terrorist bombings in Kampala, Uganda, timed to coincide with the final match Listen Up ! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album Paul the Octopus and Mani the parakeet, animals who predicted results of the matches References Jump up ^ `` Players -- Top goals ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 6 July 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Adidas Golden Ball ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Hyundai Best Young Player ''. FIFA.com. 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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for 2010 FIFA World Cup. 2010 FIFA World Cup Official Site ( Archived ) 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa TM, FIFA.com The official 2010 host country website Official Technical Report RSSSF Archive of finals 2010 FIFA World Cup Stages Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Knockout stage Final General information Qualification Broadcasting rights Controversies Discipline Event effects Matches Officials Opening ceremony Seeding Statistics Squads Symbols and animals Adidas Jabulani Mani the parakeet Official album Official video game Paul the Octopus Vuvuzela Zakumi 2010 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Spain Runners - up Netherlands Third place Germany Fourth place Uruguay Quarter - finals Argentina Brazil Ghana Paraguay Round of 16 Chile England Japan Mexico Portugal Slovakia South Korea United States Group stage Algeria Australia Cameroon Denmark France Greece Honduras Italy Ivory Coast New Zealand Nigeria North Korea Serbia Slovenia South Africa Switzerland 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums Cape Town Stadium ( Cape Town ) Ellis Park Stadium ( Johannesburg ) Free State Stadium ( Bloemfontein ) Loftus Versfeld Stadium ( Pretoria ) Mbombela Stadium ( Nelspruit ) Moses Mabhida Stadium ( Durban ) Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ( Port Elizabeth ) Peter Mokaba Stadium ( Polokwane ) Royal Bafokeng Stadium ( Rustenburg ) Soccer City ( Johannesburg ) FIFA World Cup Tournaments Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea / Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 2026 2030 2034 Qualification 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Finals 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Squads 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Seedings 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Broadcasters 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Bids 2014 2018 and 2022 2026 2030 Records and statistics All - time table Goalscorers top goalscorers finals goalscorers hat - tricks own goals Penalty shoot - outs Player appearances Red cards Referees Team appearances Teams with no appearances Miscellaneous Awards Balls Economics Final draw History Hosts Mascots Official films Official songs Organisers Trophy Video games Notes : There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. In 1950, there was no final ; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage. 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Question: where was the world cup held in 2010
Answer: South Africa