Editors Picks
Amid all the pre-World Cup speculation, few people predicted that Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo would all have failed to live up to their expensive hype.
It only lasts a month but life without the FIFA World Cup will be a difficult adjustment for Chinese soccer fans, say psychologists.
Spain's 1-0 extra time victory over Netherlands in the World Cup final on Sunday left them with a probably unwanted record of the fewest goals ever scored by the winners of the tournament.
In a tournament where the expected headline-grabbers turned out to be mere footnotes it was good old-fashioned teamwork that proved the key factor for the countries advancing to the latter stages.
The World Cup unveiled a new South Africa to the rest of the planet, upending stereotypes and nightmare scenarios about a country that proudly showed off its modern accomplishments.
The next trend in Germany, I believe, will not be the V-neck blue sweater, but the octopus barbecue. The sweater failed to bring luck to German coach Joachim Loew. Instead the World Cup semifinal match between Spain and Germany went the way Octopus Paul had predicted - a Spanish victory.
The World Cup champions will be European. Either Dutch, Spanish or German, to be precise.
As the South African World Cup heads to its conclusion, the immediate focus on the soccer agenda will turn not to the next tournament in Brazil but rather the potential hosts of the two editions in 2018 and 2022.
South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday that the FIFA World Cup has created thousands of jobs, boosted South Africa's economy and provided good returns on investment.
Lately, I have had several dinners with my friends. Most of them are complaining that they lost a lot, if not a fortune, on the Germany-Argentina match.
Semifinals Fixtures
| July 7 |
|
July 8 |
|
Top Scorers
|
Player |
Team |
Goals |
David Villa | ESP | 5 |
| Sneijder | NED | 5 | |||
| Diego Forlan |
URU |
5 | |||
| Mueller |
GER |
5 | |||
|
Vittek |
SVK | 4 | |||
|
Klose |
GER |
4 |
|||
|
Higuain |
ARG |
4 |
|||
|
Asamoah Gyan |
GHA |
3 | |||
| Donovan | USA | 3 | |||
| Luis Suarez | URU | 3 | Fabiano | BRA | 3 |
URU 2 - 3 NED 
GER 0 - 1 ESP 