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Barely in it’s first week, the World Cup has taken the world by storm. Everywhere I look, it’s World Cup this and World Cup that. While at my local Chicago Starbucks this morning, I even spotted a man wearing a FIFA soccer jersey. That is saying quite a lot coming from a city that just won it’s first Stanley Cup in almost 50 years.
I won’t even pretend that I am a World Cup expert. I’m quite the opposite – a complete World Cup novice. Except for David Beckham and Pelé, I probably couldn’t tell you any other footballers that I know or have read about. Although I’m a newbie at soccer, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like to watch it. After all, have you seen those guys! I don’t understand how a girl is actually supposed to watch the games without being completely distracted by the players.
You don’t have to be a FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association for my fellow soccer/football novices) or even a soccer enthusiast to enjoy watching the World Cup. All you really need is the inside scoop to the schedule of matches, the favorites to win, and the World Cup lingo.
World Cup 2010 Schedule of Matches
With over 30 teams and what seems like endless match-ups in the Cup this year, it might be a little overwhelming to decide who to watch. Here’s a down and dirty list of the most popular matches coming up:
Most Popular World Cup 2010 Matches
*all times are Eastern
- Brazil vs. North Korea, June 15, 2:30 p.m.
- Spain vs. Switzerland, June 16, 10:00 a.m.
- France vs. Mexico, June 17, 2:30 p.m.
- United States vs. Algeria, June 23, 10 a.m.
- Ghana vs. Germany, June 23, 2:30 p.m.
- Netherlands vs. Cameroon, June 24, 2:30 p.m.
- Brazil vs. Portugal, June 25, 10 a.m.
You can find the full World Cup 2010 schedule and even watch some of the games live from South Africa on ESPN3.
Top 10 Favorites to Win World Cup 2010
If you want to appear at least half intelligent about FIFA football, you’ll need to know the favorites to win this year and the reasons behind their expected success. Despite David Beckham’s absence from the 2010 championship games (he’s injured ladies), England has a strong showing and makes the Top 10 List. But England will have a tough time beating out the true favorites. In most professional sports circles, you’ll find that Spain is the absolute favorite to win this year (apparently they have a flawless team), but Brazil is a close second, as always. Let’s see who else makes the cut…
- Spain
- Brazil
- Netherlands
- England
- Argentina
- Germany
- Italy
- France
- Ivory Coast
- Portugal
World Cup Slang
Finally, avoid feeling lost when you hear the words niggle, cheeky, or WAG, by brushing up on a few colorful World Cup words and phrases. The more you know the lingo, the less you will appear like a novice.
For more in depth details on the teams, players, or match ups at World Cup 2010, check out these very informative sites:
Ciao!
