South Africa 2010 - World Cup Memories and betting suggestions.

It was a tournament of firsts. The first World Cup to be held in Africa. The first to be rendered almost unwatchable on television that to the incessant buzz of a gazillion vuvuzelas. Even England found a new way to play awfully, lose heavily and still feel like they had been robbed, that familiar taste of ‘what-might-have-been’ lingering in the mouth. At the end of it all, Spain would add a first World Cup to their success at the European Championships in 2008, confirming their status as undisputed kings of football.

England fans would want to cover their eyes for much of the 2010 World Cup.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/7827873/World-Cup-vuvuzela-instruments-that-would-generate-same-noise.html

After the circus of 2006, the WAG’s, the falsely heightened expectations, England’s build up to 2010 was a low key affair. Now managed by the firm Italian hand of Italian Fabio Capello, this world cup would be no fun at all for players and fans alike. The squad, under house-arrest at their Rustenberg training base, was a mixed bag. If the 2006 squad looked capable of greatness the class of 2010 appeared to be anything but. Peter Crouch, a good bloke and decent Premier League striker had the number 9 shirt, was this the man who would fire England to glory? Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon, Stephen Warnock, Glen Johnson, Matthew Upson all solid players in their own right but world beaters? Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard had both edged the wrong side of thirty and so England’s hopes were very much on the shoulders of Wayne Rooney. The hero of 2004, the villain of 2006, could this be Wazza’s World Cup?

Bang average. England's squad in 2010 did little to inspire confidence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_squads#England

England’s group fixtures were an unmitigated disaster. First came a draw against the USA that England were luck to get. Gerrard’s goal early gave England hope before a dreadful mistake from goalkeeper Rob Green, dropped for the remainder of the competition, gifted the Americans their equaliser. The nil-nil draw with Algeria was possibly the worst game of football I had ever seen and so hopes of progression, as so often seems to be the case, rested on the final group game with Slovenia. Another awful performance followed but England won the game thanks to a goal from Jermaine Defoe. Progress had been achieved but yet again England had finished second in a group they should won at a canter. It would be Germany and not Ghana in the last 16.

No hiding place. Goalkeeping, hardest gamein the world, son.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/7823911/England-v-USA-Fabio-Capello-backs-Robert-Green-after-costly-error-in-World-Cup-draw.html

Germany in 2010 were the polar opposite of England. A team on the rise, building something special under the young, enthusiastic guidance of Joachim Löw. Their squad was packed with young, exciting and gifted players, the general consensus was that we had no chance at all. Look in the history books and you will see that Germany thrashed England 4-1, day but the reality could have been very different. Now a fully fledged grown-up I watched the game deep in the London suburbs at a gentle family barbecue. We ate burgers in the sun, played football with the kids and at kick-off time made our way reluctantly indoors. England were 2-0 down after 32 minutes, both goals massively avoidable. The team managed by the Italian looking like they had never defended before. However from somewhere England found reserves of character that had been so absent from the three group games. Upson pulled a goal back, a deft header that gave Manuel Neuer no chance in the German goal. Then came THE moment. On 38 minutes the ball breaks to Lampard on the edge of the box and he strikes it sweetly towards goal. The ball crashes off the underside of the crossbar, lands a FULL yard behind the goal line and then bounces out into Neuer’s hands. We start to celebrate and dreams of an amazing comeback form briefly in our minds only to be dashed seconds later. The game continues, no goal is given, none of us could believe what we had witnessed. It was unbelievable at the time and remains so to this day. If you have never seen the moment then watch it now. Stop reading this, click the video below, scroll to 3 minutes and 45 seconds and watch it. How a mistake as horrendous as this could occur in a World Cup knockout game is simply beyond comprehension.

Is this the worst refereeing guff in football history? Yes.

Would England have won the game if that goal had stood? Perhaps it would have made no difference in the final shake up. Germany after all would beat Argentina 4-0 in the quarter-finals, they were a great side. However, football is funny game, the best team do not always win. Two each at half-time and the match takes on a different complexion. How buoyed would England have been? How would Germany have reacted to playing so well and yet not being ahead? These of course are questions without answers but even from the highlights you can see how well England played in the second-half. Yes Germany scored twice more in the second half but England had to push for an equaliser and so inevitably would appear at the back. So another World Cup exit and again there lingered a familiar feeling of injustice. Not for the first time in these blogs I wonder what might have been had VAR been around in 2010. Technology will be present in Russia, will that change England's luck?

Iniesta celebrates after sticking in the winner.

http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/news/your-favorite-world-cup-moments-iniesta-makes-history-for-spain/inhr825jqp2v1h8byml4pfum2

The rest of the tournament belonged to spain. Just as at the Euro’s in 2008, their possession based tiki taka football proved too much for opponents to resist. In the final against the Netherlands it took until deep into extra-time for Iniesta’s goal to arrive but Spain never altered their approach. They never panicked and started lumping it towards the big man up top. Instead they passed and probed and then they passed some more. It was perfect tournament football, after all you cannot conceded if the opponents never have the ball, but it drew criticism too. Some called it boring, monotonous, too risk averse, Spain didn’t care though, they were champions of the world for the very first time.

On top of the world. The undisputed kings of football.

http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/news/your-favorite-world-cup-moments-iniesta-makes-history-for-spain/inhr825jqp2v1h8byml4pfum2

WORLD CUP BETTING - Tip 6
Stupid patriotic bet klaxon.
England to win the World Cup and Harry Kane to be top scorer. 1 point at 100/1 with Unibet.

I know this is a stupid bet but sometimes you just have to follow your heart and go for broke. Maybe after all the disappointments and disasters England have enough karma in the tank to have a good run this year.

Check out the other posts in this World Cup Memories series below:

https://steemit.com/sbc/@marcusbraeburn/germany-2006-world-cup-memories-and-betting-suggestions

https://steemit.com/sports/@marcusbraeburn/japan-and-south-korea-2002-world-cup-memories-and-betting-suggestions

https://steemit.com/sports/@marcusbraeburn/france-98-world-cup-memories-and-betting-suggestions

https://steemit.com/sports/@marcusbraeburn/italia-90-world-cup-memories-and-betting-suggestions

https://steemit.com/sbc/@marcusbraeburn/mexico-1986-world-cup-memories-and-betting-suggestions