2010 FIFA World Cup Fans

The finals tournament sees 736 players representing 32 teams compete for the World Cup trophy in games held in ten stadiums across South Africa. The qualifying teams were selected through a qualification process that began in August 2007. With a pool of entrants comprising 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams, the 2010 World Cup shares with the 2008 Summer Olympics the record for most competing nations in a sporting event.
The finals began on 11 June with the group stage, in which the 32 qualifying teams played 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 beginning on 26 June, in which games level after normal time are settled using extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout, up to and including the World Cup Final, scheduled for 11 July at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. The tournament will be the first ever World Cup held outside Europe to be won by a European side and the final, between Netherlands and Spain, will be between two teams that have never won the World Cup before.