World Cup 2010 (The Takeaway)

A dramatic ten yard header guaranteed the advancement of the Spanish soccer team to the World Cup finals. They defeated Germany 1-0, scoring at 73 minutes into the match.   Sid Lowe, covers Spanish soccer for UK’s Guardian newspaper. He reports from Barcelona, Spain and describes the mood of a country that is celebrating its first foray into World Cup finals.

The Netherlands defeated Uruguay in the semifinals yesterday, 3-2, to advance to their third World Cup finals ever, and their first since 1978. For the championship, they'll face the winner of today's match between Germany and Spain. Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin looks ahead to the final World Cup game.

It doesn't get more dramatic than yesterday's World Cup match between the U.S. and Algeria. The stakes? If Team USA won, they would be off to the Cup's second round—but if they tied or lost, America's best hope for soccer glory in decades would be on a plane back home. Team USA had repeated chances to score, missed open goals, and sent balls bouncing off of the goal post.  Then, just over a minute into injury time, Landon Donovan scored the critical goal that would send Team USA into the next round of the World Cup with a 1-0 win.  They now sit atop their Group C division, tied with England. (Watch Landon Donovan's goal after the jump.) The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, recaps all of the excitement of yesterday's game. He'll also tell us about yesterday's record-shattering match at Wimbledon between American John Isner and Nicolas Mahut of France. In what became the longest match in tennis history, Isner and Mahut faced off for ten hours, resulting in a tied score at 59-59 at the end of the seven-hour-long fifth set. And it's not over yet. The game will resume today after being suspended for darkness.

What are you watching for in this World Cup? A favorite team? Hoping for upsets? Our sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin says we might see some young talent emerge while older leaders have to sit out with injuries.  Ivory Coast was expected to be a force to be reckoned with, but luck was against them. They have as tough a schedule as anyone in the tournament and they are starting off with their captain and star goal scorer, Dider Drogba, injured on the bench. Likewise, England has an injured captain, Rio Ferdinand, who was the anchor of their defense. Will we see stand out performances from the bench?

In 1950, the U.S. soccer team took the field in Belo Horizonte, Brazil as 500-1 long shots to win the World Cup. Their opponents were the "Kings of Football," the English, who were 3-1 favorites to win it all. Behind the brilliant goal keeping of Frank Borghi, the U.S. was able to pull off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, defeating England 1-0. Tomorrow, team USA will try and pull off a similar upset as they begin their World Cup campaign with an opening match against England. Who are you rooting for and why? How do you celebrate the teams? Special foods? Special rituals? Share your World Cup stories with us. New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey brings the trans-Atlantic World Cup rivalry up to date with predictions for tomorrow's game and a few key players to watch out for. Below: We take a trip down memory lane with Frank Borghi as he shares his memories of the 1950 "Miracle on Grass" match, and his excitement for tomorrow's game. Listen:  

The FIFA World Cup is just two days away. Thirty-two teams will face off in 65 games over the course of one full month of soccer madness in South Africa. For those of us back here in the USA, we'll have to settle for clustering around television screens or surreptitious web feeds on our work computers.  Sports Illustrated's Jen Chang tells us the most essential games to watch and, ahem, how to do it at work. Some of the matches, like the opening game between South Africa and Mexico, have important off the field elements: a planned appearance by Nelson Mandela. Other games, like Brazil vs. Ivory Coast, will be captivating for the different styles of play set to face off.