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Vanity Fair Scores with World Cup Feature

In 38 days, it begins. The World Cup captivates more people around the globe than any other event, sporting or otherwise. Every four years, in pubs and corporate boardrooms, thatched huts and flophouses, fans of “the Beautiful Game” gather around televisions and transistor radios—and now, for the deep of pocket, iPhones and 3-D flat screens—to cheer for their heroes. They watch and listen by the billions, holding their breath at every corner kick, falling to their knees or leaping for joy at every goal scored. That this year’s tournament is in South Africa, where apartheid was the law of the land until 1994, only adds to the heightened sense of celebration—this is about a whole lot more than just soccer.

For the June issue of Vanity Fair, Annie Leibovitz set out to capture some of the sport’s biggest stars, including Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, and Brazil’s Kaká. Leibovitz’s portraits are, well, revealing. And underwear has never looked so patriotic. In America, these men might not enjoy the same name recognition as the stars of the N.F.L.—that game that we call football—but for most of the planet, they are more than just showstoppers. They are gods.

A. A. Gill, in his accompanying June-issue essay, captures just how important football (don’t you dare call it “soccer,” he warns) and the World Cup are to the 6.8 billion of us who live on Planet Earth. “Football took to the world pitch at about the same time as the modern independent nation-state,” Gill writes. “After a flag, a national anthem, and a press release decrying Yankee imperialism, the next thing newly minted nations do is build a stadium and come up with a national grudge match.”

Grudges old and new will be settled (or worsened) beginning on June 11, as South Africa opens the World Cup in Soweto against Mexico. Must-see games abound from there on, with England vs. U.S.A. (June 12) and most any matchup from the so-called Group of Death—Ivory Coast vs. Portugal (June 15), Brazil vs. Ivory Coast (June 20), Portugal vs. Brazil (June 25)—topping the list from the opening round.

You don’t have to be a footie fan to enjoy the tournament. (How many of you follow swimming when it’s not the Olympics and Michael Phelps?) To keep up with all the news and festivities, check in every day with our soccer football blog, Fair Play, which will be filing from South Africa . And as you’re watching and reading, remember the closing quote to Gill’s essay, from the great Scottish player and coach Bill Shankly: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

Germany left off favorites list

Brazil, England and Spain are the favourites to win the World Cup, UEFA president Michel Platini said on Thursday. Germany was not mentioned.

"I see three teams who have the quality to win it - in alphabetical order, Brazil, England and Spain," the former French international told a news conference at the UEFA Congress.

"Other teams may be hard to beat but they may not have the potential in absolute terms to win the World Cup."

Brazil have lifted the trophy five times, England were winners in 1966 and Spain are the European champions.

In contrast, Germany (West Germany) has won the World Cup three times, placed second four times, and received two third place finishes.

The president of European soccer's governing body also mentioned Argentina, France, Netherlands, Italy, Ivory Coast and Portugal as teams that could cause trouble for his top three at the finals in South Africa in June and July.

While the German team may feel slighted by Platini's comments, you can't help but think an 'underdog' status is an enviable place to be.

2010 FIFA World Cup Odds

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa June 11 through July 11 and Spain has been made the opening favorites to win this year’s Cup.

This will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, which is the premier international football tournament. The Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. With South Africa’s win over Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process, this will be the first time that the Cup has been hosted by an African nation.

Despite never winning a title, oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com has made Spain a 9/2 favorite to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their odds best Brazil (5/1), England (11/2) and Argentina (9/1), among other teams.

Brazil has won the most FIFA World Cup titles at five (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). They were also runners-up in 1950 and 1998, took third place in 1938 and 1978, and fourth place in 1974.

Italy is right behind Brazil with four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006). The Italians were also runners-up in 1970 and 1994, took third place in 1990 and fourth place in 1978. Italy is 11/1 to win this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Germany (3), Argentina (2), Uruguay (2), France (1) and England (1) are the only other countries to win a title. Germany is 12/1 to win in 2010, Uruguay is 100/1 and France is 14/1. USA is a 50/1 underdog.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup takes place on June 11 and wraps up on July 11. Thrity-two teams will compete in this year’s Cup at 10 venues and nine host cities throughout South Africa. For a complete list of odds on this year’s FIFA Cup, see below.

2010 FIFA World Cup – June 11 – July 11 – South Africa

Spain 9/2

Brazil 5/1

England 11/2

Argentina 9/1

Italy 11/1

Germany 12/1

Netherlands 12/1

France 14/1

Ivory Coast 25/1

Portugal 28/1

USA 50/1

Chile 50/1

Serbia 50/1

Ghana 50/1

Paraguay 66/1

Mexico 80/1

Cameroon 80/1

South Africa 100/1

Nigeria 100/1

Uruguay 100/1

Denmark 100/1

Australia 100/1

Greece 125/1

Switzerland 200/1

Slovenia 200/1

Slovakia 200/1

Japan 300/1

Algeria 250/1

South Korea 300/1

Honduras 500/1

New Zealand 1500/1

North Korea 1500/1

Final Draw for 2010 World Cup Announced

The 32 teams participating at next year's FIFA World Cup finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

An estimated global television audience of 200 million joined the 2,000 invited guests in the Draw Hall in watching the colourful and entertaining ceremony unfold. With African sporting stars such as athlete Haile Gebreselassie, rugby player John Smit, cricketer Makhaya Ntini, and footballers Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu assisting with the draw, along with England icon David Beckham, it was always going to be an exhilarating evening, but the undoubted centrepiece came when the eight groups were revealed.

While South Africans smiled upon learning that the host nation's Opening Match on 11 June would be played against Mexico at Soccer City, it was the outcome of Group D which caused the biggest stir. Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana will battle it out for the two qualifying places for the Round of 16, meaning that two nations with a proud footballing heritage will have to depart the tournament early.

The early stages of the draw brought a very interesting match-up as England were paired together with USA in a match which will take place in Rustenburg on Saturday 12 June, which brought back memories of the clash at Brazil 1950, which USA won 1-0. However, Fabio Capello and Bob Bradley avoided a nightmare group, with Algeria and Slovenia also coming out of the hat.

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

Although the dates and locations of each of the 48 matches are known for the group-stage games, the kick-off times will be announced shortly, upon conclusion of a meeting between FIFA, the Local Organising Committee and broadcasters.

France, Greece, Algeria, Slovenia, Portugal and Uruguay qualify for World Cup

France qualified for its fourth consecutive World Cup when officials missed an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry that led to William Gallas' overtime goal in a 1-1 tie against Ireland on Wednesday night.

Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, Algeria, Uruguay also advanced to next year's tournament Wednesday on the final day of qualifying, completing the field next year in South Africa .

The 32 nations will be drawn into eight groups on Dec. 4 in Cape Town, and the first World Cup on the African continent opens June 11.

With help from Swedish referee Martin Hansson, who failed to call the hand ball, France avoided a penalty-kicks shootout at Saint-Denis, outside Paris, and won the home-and-home, total-goals playoff 2-1. The French had come away with a 1-0 victory in Dublin last Saturday.

The game appeared headed to penalty kicks when Florent Malouda sent a free kick to Henry at the post to the right of goalkeeper Shay Given in the 103rd minute. Henry got between defender Paul McShane and Given, stopped the ball with his left hand, then used his hand again and poked the ball with his outstretched right foot in front of the net.

"He almost caught it and walked into the net with it," said Robbie Keane, who had put the Irish ahead in the 33rd minute.

Gallas headed the ball into the net from a yard as Irish players raised their hands in protest at Hansson.

Soccer does not allow officials to use video replay, although the assistant referees can point out infractions to the referee.

"I will be honest, it was a hand ball. But I'm not the ref," Henry said. "I played it. The ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him."

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni was livid and had to be calmed by officials. Irish fans - about 8,000 in one section behind the goal - chanted "Cheat! Cheat!" at Henry.

"I'm not only disappointed tonight, I'm also very sad," Trapattoni said. "The referee should have asked Henry, I'm sure he would have admitted there was a hand ball."

In the other European playoffs, Greece won 1-0 at Ukraine on Dimitrios Salpigidis' 31st-minute goal for a 2-1 aggregate victory; Slovenia upset visiting Russia 1-0 behind Zlatko Dedic's 44th-minute goal to leave the aggregate tied 2-2 and advance on away goals; and Portugal won 1-0 at Bosnia-Herzegovina on Raul Meireles' 56th minute for a 2-0 aggregate win that gave FIFA player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo a World Cup trip.

Algeria qualified for its first World Cup since 1986, beating Egypt 1-0 in a tiebreaker playoff at Khartoum, Sudan, on Antar Yahya's goal in the 39th minute. Yahya scored with a right-footed volley that beat goalkeeper Essam El Hadary.

Uruguay earned the final berth for next year's World Cup, tying visiting Costa Rica 1-1 to win on 2-1 aggregate. Sebastian Abreu scored for Uruguay on a header in the 70th minute, but Walter Centeno tied the score on a 16-yard shot in the 74th.

Costa Rica will miss the World Cup for the first time since 1998. The Ticos were seconds from qualifying last month when they allowed an injury time goal in a 2-2 tie against the United States, dropping them behind Honduras into fourth place in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Egypt, whose only World Cup appearances were in 1934 and 1990, forced its playoff by beating Algeria 2-0 with an injury-time goal in Cairo last Saturday that left the Pharaohs even atop Africa Group C and set off several violent outbursts.

The embassy and sites of Egyptian businesses such as Egypt Air and telecom group Orascom were attacked on Saturday. Several Algerian players had been injured before the match in Cairo as Egypt fans pelted Algeria's team bus with rocks.

Security was stepped up near the Egyptian Embassy in the Algerian capital, Algiers, but there were no signs of violence. The streets of Algiers quickly filled with celebrating citizens, some setting off fireworks. Traffic came to a standstill in the centre of town.

Women in hijabs, or veils, were seen brandishing the Algerian flag, a rare site in the North African nation.

The jubilant atmosphere crossed the Mediterranean to Marseille and Paris, where there are large Algerian populations. Streams of youths hanging from cars, honking horns and brandishing the Algerian flag made victory laps down Paris' Champs-Elysees.

In Gelsenkirchen, Lukas Podolski scored his second goal of the match in injury time for a 2-2 exhibition tie against Ivory Coast in Germany's first game since goalkeeper Robert Enke committed suicide last week.

In other exhibition games, the United States allowed three second-half goals in a 3-1 loss at Denmark; Giorgio Chiellini scored on a header following a corner kick in the 28th minute to give defending World Cup champion Italy a 1-0 victory over visiting Sweden; and European champion Spain won 5-1 at Austria on two goals by David Villa and one each by Cesc Fabregas, Daniel Guiza and Pablo Hernandez.

At Donetsk, Salpigidis scored for Greece, which will be making its second World Cup appearance after going 0-3 at the 1994 tournament in the United States. Salpigidis took a through pass from Georgios Samaras and put the ball in for his second international goal in 29 appearances.

"We've heard a lot of criticism during the qualifiers and this is an answer to our critics," Salpigidis said. "We never stopped believing in ourselves."

At Maribor, Dedic took a 25-yard pass from Valter Birsa and slotted the ball to the left corner past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. The difference in the playoff, a rare blemish on the career record of Russia coach Guus Hiddink, was Nejc Pecnik's 87th-minute goal in Slovenia's 2-1 loss at Moscow last Saturday.

Slovenia, which gained independence in 1991, went 0-3 at the 2002 World Cup.

"My guys became immortal!" Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek said.

Fans waited to find out whether Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor would fulfil his promise to clean players' boots if they qualified. Pahor told Slovenian television that he followed through.

"I didn't do it thoroughly, but enough for the trip to South Africa," he told Slovenian television.

At Zenica, Nani's pass found Meireles, who scored on a low shot in the 56th minute. Portugal, which lost to France in the 2006 World Cup semifinals advanced despite not having Ronaldo, sidelined with an ankle injury.

"It is difficult to comfort the boys. They are devastated," Bosnia coach Miroslav Blazevic said.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press.

Japan first to qualify for World Cup 2010

Japan has become the first country to qualify for football's 2010 World Cup, clinching its place with a 1-0 win away at Uzbekistan on Saturday.

A goal in the ninth minute by Shinji Okazaki proved enough for Japan to secure a fourth straight World Cup berth, qualifying with two games to spare.

Hosts South Africa are automatically in the event, while Australia can qualify with a win or draw away at Qatar later Saturday.

Uzbekistan must win its final qualifier and rely on Bahrain losing its two remaining matches if it is to have a chance of progressing.

Australia can join its Asia Group 1 rival in the 32-team finals with at least a draw in its match against Qatar later.

Coach Takeshi Okada, who guided Japan to its first World Cup in 1998, repeated the feat. Shinji Okazaki scored the game’s only goal after nine minutes.

That lifted Japan atop the group with 14 points to Australia’s 13, with Bahrain and Qatar next on seven.

In today’s Group 2 matches, Iran held North Korea to a goalless draw in Pyongyang. The point lifts North Korea to 11 points, level with leader South Korea and a point ahead of Saudi Arabia. Iran has seven points.

The two third-place finishers enter a playoff series, with the winner facing Oceania’s top team in another playoff for a World Cup spot. South Africa has an automatic berth as host.