Soccer: A-Z of the 2010 World Cup

With the World Cup less than a month away, Michael Brown gives the alphabetical rundown on this year's tournament.

A is for Africa
The World Cup has never been hosted by an African nation before but Fifa president Sepp Blatter was a big reason this year's event is heading to South Africa. There had been wide spread concerns the Republic wouldn't be ready but Fifa have declared they are happy with everything. Blatter was last seen laying concrete outside Jo'burg's new stadium Soccer City.

B is for Brazil

The South Americans have won the World Cup a record five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) and are joint favourites with Spain to add a sixth this year. A Seleção are also the only country to play at every World Cup since the first in 1930 (19 in total). The have drawn a difficult group, though, with Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea.

C is for Cameroon
The African nation changed world perceptions when 42-year-old dancing striker Roger Milla helped them into the quarter-finals in 1990. Many immediately said it was only a matter of time before an African nation won the World Cup. They're still waiting. Cameroon's result was matched by Senegal in 2002.

D is for the Dutch

The Netherlands and Spain are the two countries most neutrals would like to see win in 2010. The pair are ranked second and fourth respectively but an approach to playing good football has often cost them when it really counts. The Dutch are two-time runners up (1974 and 1978) but Spain's best finish was fourth in 1950. This time, though, Spain go in as European champions and won all 10 qualifying games while the Dutch conceded only two goals (the fewest of any team) in winning all eight of their qualifiers.

E is for England

No other country will be hyped up so much only for it to end in disappointment. England have a good squad and won nine of their 10
qualifying matches under Italian coach Fabio Capello but something always goes wrong (they have lost a record three penalty shootouts, equal worst with Italy). There will be many English saying their prayers each night that Wayne Rooney is fully fit because they have no hope without him.

F is for Fifa

There was supposed to be a recession last year but not in the Republic of Fifa. The world footballing body made a profit of US$196 million in 2009 and, for the first time, topped US$1 billion in revenue. The World Cup is an extraordinarily profitable venture. In 2006, Fifa collected US$2.8 billion in revenue. This time around, it is expected to increase to between US$3.5 billion-$4 billion, making it the highest in World Cup history.

G is for Grafite

You have to love the Brazilians. They are so cool they go by only one name - Kaka, Kleberson, Lucio, Elano ... Even the coach is just Dunga. Grafite was the surprise selections in Brazil's 23-man World Cup squad,
named in place of the more illustrious Ronaldinho and Adriano.

H is for the Hand of Frog

The French are lucky to be here. If it wasn't for Thierry Henry's piece of handy work (blatant handball) they might have lost out to Ireland
in their do-or-die World Cup qualifier. It's easily forgotten they are still ranked 10th in the world and were beaten finalists four years ago.

I is for Italy

The current world champions have won four titles (second only to Brazil's five) and largely do it on the back of a pragmatic and defensive approach. The Azzurri are favourites to win group F ahead of Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand but there are few expectations beyond that. They have an ageing side apparently on the wane but, like Germany, often find a way to grind out results to go deep into the tournament.

J is for Jabulani

Adidas has launched its official ball for the World Cup - the Jabulani - which is said to have fewer panels. This apparently means it will retain more speed than previous models when struck from long range but also be easier to grip for goalkeepers. It will also make adidas millions.

K is for Korea

Both North and South Korea will compete at the same World Cup for the first time. In the case of North Korea, this will be their second World Cup after they made the quarter-finals in 1966. Relations with the South remain strained and they claimed their hosts fed them "adulterated foodstuff" (poisoned food) in their 1-0 defeat to South Korea last year.

L is for Loftus Versfeld

Pretoria's venue is one of 10 stadiums being used for the tournament. Five new stadiums were built for the World Cup and one - Johannesburg's Soccer City - was so completely overhauled it might as well be new. South Africa spent US$1.3 billion to get them ready for the World Cup and one, Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium, has a cable car which climbs to the top of an expansive arch 106m above the playing surface.

M is for Messi

Lionel Messi is the best player on the planet at present, presumably much to Cristiano Ronaldo's distaste, but it's not sure if he will be able to prove it in South Africa. Argentina would be one of the tournament's favourites if it wasn't for the fact they are coached by the erratic Diego Maradona.

N is for New Zealand

That's right, we're there. For just the second time in history. We might not win a game but it doesn't really matter.There are three nations ranked in the top 20 - Croatia (9),Russia (11) and Egypt (13) -
who aren't there. Although little is expected of New Zealand, we won't be the lowest-ranked side at the World Cup. At 78, the All Whites are ahead of South Africa (90) and North Korea (106).

O is for Oceania

No one really knows what to do with the football confederation once described as a collection of islands in the South Pacific, especially after Australia decided it wanted to leave home and move in with Asia in 2006. Oceania are confident of retaining the same qualifying path in 2014, meaning New Zealand (if they win Oceania) would need only to beat the fifth-placed Asian team again. A decision on the 2014 World Cup pathway is expected by the end of the year.

P is for Polokwane

New Zealand will play all three of their games in some of the less-glamorous venues in South Africa - Rustenburg (Slovakia), Nelspruit (Italy) and Polokwane (Paraguay). The lack of suitable accommodation around the towns means they will base themselves at the Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate - a 280ha resort with five and six star accommodation, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and equestrian centre - on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Q is for Queiroz

The Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has been roundly pilloried in
his own country in recent times because of a lacklustre qualifying campaign that saw them have to navigate Bosnia in a playoff. But the world's No 3-ranked side went through qualifying without captain Cristiano Ronaldo and no side with the winker in it can be entirely discounted. They have a difficult group alongside Brazil and Ivory Coast and will do well to match the last World Cup when they were
semifinalists.

R is for Ryan Nelsen

The All Whites can only hope their skipper won't miss the World Cup. He's played only 41 times for his country since making his debut against Poland in 1999 and has played infrequently over the past five years because of injury and Premiership commitments. He missed last year's Confederations Cup because of injury. This time around, the biggest threat is the impending birth of his second child and he's said "nothing on this earth" would prevent him from being there for that. Hold on, Monica.

S is for Security

There are more than a handful of fans who have decided to stay away from South Africa because of concerns over security. The host nation has spent more than US$220 million on extra security for the tournament, including helicopters, water cannons, highway patrols and 41,000 dedicated officers. The All Whites have hired a South African security firm previously used by the All Blacks and Hurricanes to help protect them.

T is for Trophy

It stands 36.5cm tall, is made of 18 carat solid gold and weighs 6.175kg. The World Cup trophy is the most sought-after prize in world sport. It recently arrived in South Africa after a world tour that took in 86 countries in 225 days. The original World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was awarded to Brazil in perpetuity in 1970 for winning their third tournament but it was stolen in 1983 and never recovered.

U is for Uruguay

Uruguay became the last country to qualify for the World Cup when they beat Costa Rica in a playoff. Little is expected of them in South Africa, although they have a chance of progressing from a group that also contains the hosts, France and Mexico. La Celeste possess one of the most illustrious footballing histories but that success is now fading. They won the first of their two World Cups at home in 1930 and added another in 1950.

V is for vuvuzela

Some will tell you vuvuzelas are rooted in African history and were once used to call villagers to a meeting. Others will say the tradition was started in a Chinese plastics factory. Regardless, the long, plastic
horns are annoying and many have tried to have them banned from football stadiums. Blatter disagreed, saying they were the sound of Africa. You might want to watch games with the sound turned down.

W is for WAGS

Certain sections of the British press will focus on the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) as much as the players next month. England boss Fabio Capello had been expected to take a hard line against allowing contact during the tournament but appears to be softening his approach "in the interests of nurturing a team spirit". All Whites management have also said they will allow "organised interface".

X is for Xhosa

Xhosa is South Africa's second-most common language, after Zulu, and is spoken largely in the southeast of the country. Notable Xhosa include Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Desmond Tutu. South Africa has 11 official languages - Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu - making it third to only Bolivia and India in number.

Y is for Yellow Fever

The Wellington Phoenix supporters have 80 going on the official Yellow Fever tour and an estimated 120 heading to South Africa in total. It's hard to gauge exactly how many All Whites fans will follow the team, with estimates ranging from 500 to 1500. Former All Black Andy Leslie and former All Whites Noel Barkley and Danny Hay are leading tour parties to the Republic.

Z is for Zulu

The Zulu Royals were among the early winners of South Africa's first black professional league established in 1971. The Durban club later changed its name to AmaZulu (the Zulus) and are still among South Africa's biggest and best supported clubs. Football went professional in South Africa in 1959 but it was a whites-only league. Black and white clubs amalgamated their leagues in 1978, the first sport after boxing to cross the colour barrier. AmaZulu feel their striker Ayanda Dlamini should be in the South African World Cup squad.