The 2010 World Cup is the quadrennial soccer tournament that pits the 32 finest national teams in the sport against one another. The next installment of the tourney will be held in June and July 2010 in South Africa. The World Cup, which features countries from every continent inhabited by man, is widely considered the most significant sporting event in the world.

The tournament features a group stage and a knockout round. In the group stage, the teams are assembled into eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing. Ties are worth one point, and wins three; if two teams are tied in points total, the team that advances is decided by goal differential. The knockout stage is a basic single-elimination tournament with the 16 teams that make it out of the elimination round. Games that are tied after regulation go to 30 minutes of overtime, and then penalty kicks.

European and South American nations have dominated the tournament. Uruguay won the first tournament in the nation's history (in 1930) http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/worldcup/index.html, and Brazil has the record for most tournaments won (five). Italy is the defending champ, and in 2006, all four semi-finalists were European teams. If the favorites this year come out on top, it means a continuation of the status quo; Spain, the number 1 team in the world according to Fifa, has lost only once since 2006, while Brazil, the number 2 team, won last year's Confederation's Cup and never lacks talent. The second cut of Cup favorites also hail from the same continents: Argentina, England, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, and Germany are a few of the other dangerous contenders.

Group Stage

• Group A:
• June 11, 4 p.m., Johannesburg; South Africa- Mexico
• June 11, 8:30 p.m., Cape Town; Uruguay- France
• June 16, 8:30 p.m., Pretoria; South Africa- Uruguay
• June 17, 8:30 p.m., Polokwane; France- Mexico
• June 22, 4 p.m., Rustenburg; Mexico- Uruguay
• June 22, 4 p.m., Bloemfontein; France- South Africa

Group B:

• June 12, 4 p.m., Johannesburg; Argentina- Nigeria
• June 12, 1:30 p.m., Port Elizabeth; South Korea- Greece
• June 17, 4 p.m., Bloemfontein; Greece- Nigeria
• June 17, 1:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Argentina- South Korea
• June 22, 8:30 p.m., Durban; Nigeria- South Korea
• June 22, 8:30 p.m., Polokwane; Greece- Argentina

• Group C:
• June 12, 8:30 p.m., Rustenburg; England-United States
• June 13, 1:30 p.m., Polokwane; Algeria-Slovenia
• June 18, 4 p.m., Johannesburg; Slovenia-United States
• June 18, 8:30 p.m., Cape Town; England-Algeria
• June 23, 4 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Slovenia-England
• June 23, 4 p.m., Pretoria; United States-Algeria

• Group D:
• June 13, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Germany - Australia
• June 13, 4 p.m., Pretoria; Serbia - Ghana
• June 18, 1:30 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Germany - Serbia
• June 19, 4 p.m., Rustenburg; Ghana - Australia
• June 23, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Ghana -Germany
• June 23, 8:30 p.m., Nelspruit; Australia - Serbia

Group E:

• June 14, 1:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Netherlands - Denmark
• June 14, 4 p.m., Bloemfontein; Japan - Cameroon
• June 19, 1:30 p.m., Durban; Netherlands - Japan
• June 19, 8:30 p.m., Pretoria; Cameroon - Denmark
• June 24, 8:30 p.m., Rustenburg; Denmark - Japan
• June 24, 8:30 p.m., Cape Town; Cameroon - Netherlands

• Group F:
• June 14, 8:30 p.m., Cape Town; Italy - Paraguay
• June 15, 1:30 p.m., Rustenburg; New Zealand -Slovakia
• June 20, 1:30 p.m., Bloemfontein; Slovakia - Paraguay
• June 20, 4 p.m., Nelspruit; Italy - New Zealand
• June 24, 4 p.m., Johannesburg; Slovakia - Italy
• June 24, 4 p.m., Polokwane; Paraguay - New Zealand

• Group G:
• June 15, 4 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Ivory Coast - Portugal
• June 15, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Brazil - North Korea
• June 20, 1:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Brazil - Ivory Coast
• June 21, 1:30 p.m., Cape Town; Portugal - North Korea
• June 25, 4 p.m., Durban; Portugal - Brazil
• June 25, 4 p.m., Nelspruit; North Korea- Ivory Coast

• Group H:
• June 16, 1:30 p.m., Nelspruit; Honduras - Chile
• June 16, 4 p.m., Durban; Spain - Switzerland
• June 21, 4 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Chile - Switzerland
• June 21, 8: 30 p.m., Johannesburg; Spain - Honduras
• June 25, 8: 30 p.m., Pretoria; Chile - Spain
• June 25, 8: 30 p.m., Bloemfontein; Switzerland - Honduras

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html

Knockout stage

(1 refers to group winner, 2 to the second place finisher. W refers to the winner and L refers to the loser of a previous knockout stage game.)

• Round of 16:
• June 26, 4 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Match 49, 1A-2B
• June 26, 8:30 p.m., Rustenburg; Match 50, 1C-2D
• June 27, 4 p.m., Bloemfontein; Match 51, 1D-2C
• June 27, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Match 52, 1B-2A
• June 28; 4 p.m., Durban; Match 53, 1E-2F
• June 28, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Match 54, 1G-2H
• June 29, 4 p.m., Pretoria; Match 55, 1F-2E
• June 29, 8:30 p.m., Cape Town; Match 56, 1H-2G

Quarterfinals

• July 2, 4 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Match 57, W53-W54
• July 2, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Match 58, W49-W50
• July 3, 4 p.m., Cape Town; Match 59, W52-W51
• July 3, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Match 60, W55-W56

Semifinals

• July 6, 8:30 p.m., Cape Town; Match 61, W58-W57
• July 7, 8:30 p.m., Durban; Match 62, W59-W60

Third Place

• July 10, 8:30 p.m., Port Elizabeth; Match 63, L61-L62

Finals

• July 11, 8:30 p.m., Johannesburg; Match 64, W61-W62

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/kostage.html