FIFA World Cup 2010: Revisiting Spain’s triumph

The tournament was filled with some historical moments which are still remembered.

In the history of the World Cup, the 2010 World Cup is one of the most important and historical chapters. The 2010 World Cup was the first to be held in the African continent. From the theme anthem to the matches, the 2010 World Cup was iconic in every way. In that edition, Spain emerged as the winner, and today we're going to review the entire tournament and how things played out.

Group Stage Tumbles

32 nations participated in the 19th edition of the World Cup. Talking about draws, there weren't any “group of death” conditions for top nations, but there were some big matchups in the group stages.

In Group A, the host country South Africa was accompanied by powerhouse nations such as Uruguay, Mexico, and France. Uruguay dominated the proceedings and topped the group. France, the 2006 World Cup finalists, suffered a devastating exit. On goal difference, Mexico edged out the hosts for second place.

In Group B, Argentina lined up with South Korea, Greece, and Nigeria. The South American giants won the group quite easily and were followed by South Korea.

Group C was one of the most interesting ones. Unexpectedly the United States topped the group and a big nation like England was stamped in the second spot.

Group D was dominated by Germany, which emerged as the leader. Ghana lost one match and drew one to follow them into the knockout stages. 

Top Nations avoided further scare

Dutch swept Denmark, Japan, and Cameroon in Group E to advance, while Japan finished in second place.

In Group F, the defending champions Italy tumbled against minnows like Paraguay, Slovakia which was the biggest headline after the group stage.

The top two teams in Group G were Brazil and Portugal, who avoided any shocks against Ivory Coast and North Korea to qualify for the knockout round.

Spain and Chile finished on the same points in the final group, but Spain had a better goal difference, allowing them to finish first. Switzerland narrowly missed out by only two points.

Controversial Round of 16 

Amidst the intense group stage battles, the Round of 16 matches were the cherry on top. Almost every game went down to the wire, and some of them still live on in memory.

Uruguay and South Korea met in the first round of 16 clashes. Uruguay won as expected but it was an even game. Suarez's winner in the 80th minute earned them a place in the next round.

In the second match, Ghana and the United States went to extra time, where Gyan scored in the 93rd minute to continue Ghana's historical run.

The third clash was between two powerhouses, England and Germany. Germany had dominated early on and took the lead 2-0 in the 32nd minute only. However, England came back and scored in the 37th minute. Although Germany won the match 4-1, Lampard's disallowed goal was the highlight, as it could have changed the outcome.

In the fourth round of 16, Argentina faced Mexico on the 27th of June. The Argentines easily defeated Mexico with three goals.

The fifth match was between Netherlands and Slovakia. The Dutch side dominated the whole game but they did have a late scare when Slovakia scored one goal in the 90th minute.

In the next match, Brazil took on their Copa America rivals Chile. The Brazilian came on the top with a 3-0 thrashing to Chile.

The second last Round of 16 contests between Paraguay and Japan turned out to be an exciting contest. Match went to penalties where Paraguay emerged as winners.

The final match of round 16 was between Spain and Portugal, who had been excellent in the group stages. The match seemed in balance. But Villa scored the lone goal that took Spain to the quarter-finals.

Iconic Quarter Finals

Brazil faced off against the Netherlands in the first quarterfinals of the World Cup. Despite the early advantage for the Brazilians, the Dutch prevailed thanks to Sneijder's brace.

The second match involved Ghana and Uruguay. This match is considered one of the greatest ever Quarter-Finals. Despite Uruguay's victory on penalties, Luis Suarez's handball which kind of stopped Ghana's run was the bigger headline.

Germany completely destroyed Maradona's Argentina in the third quarter-finals. They handed the South Americans an embarrassing 4-0 loss.

In the last quarterfinals, Spain faced Paraguay, an underdog. Spain dominated the whole game and won quite easily.

Heartbreaking Semis

After the eventful Quarter Finals, the drama didn't stop in Semis as well. In the first match, Uruguay went down against an excellent Netherlands team who won the game 3-2 to make it into the finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history.

In the second match, Spain pulled off a nervy victory over Germany. Germany was the hot favourite after thumping Argentina in quarters, but Spain managed to neutralize them.

Historical final to conclude

The whole World Cup had many ups and downs and the final match between Spain and Netherlands was the perfect conclusion to this mega-event. It was the first time the tournament was held on an African continent, and both teams in the finals were experiencing it for the first time as well.

Despite the fact that the match was neck-and-neck in every aspect, the Dutch came with a really rough intent and fouled many times. The match seemed all set for penalties, but Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute sealed the victory for Spain. 

Diego Forlan was awarded the golden ball for his emphatic performance throughout the tournament, while Thomas Muller received the golden boot award for his five goals and three assists.