The World Cup will feature the top 32 teams in the world including South Africa, who, as host country, receives an automatic bid. National pride is at stake in this fierce international competition.
The Italians will obviously seek a repeat, while teams on the rise like Portugal and their young phenom Cristiano Ronaldo will aim to advance to the next level. After a dissapointing 2006 FIFA World Cup the Brazilians will regroup and try to regain world cup glory.
The United States team will try to redeem itself after a lackluster performance. Team U.S.A. will depend on new captain Landon Donovan and a younger generation of soccer players to carry the American banner forward in 2010. Fans from across the globe will travel to South Africa to fill stadiums and cheer their teams to victory. The atmosphere at the World Cup South Africa will be unparalleled.
From now until then, national teams from the various FIFA geographical zones will try to grab one of 31 positions during the qualifying rounds. The zones include Africa, Asia, North and Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Oceania and Europe
Brief World Cup History
Uruguay won the inaugural world cup in 1930. Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a sell-out crowd in its capital of Montevideo. The South American country added another title in 1950 when the competition resumed after an extended hiatus. Due to World War II, the competition was canceled in 1942 and 1946. Six other nations have one or more titles including Brazil with five, Italy with four, Germany with three, Argentina, who is tied with Uruguay with two, and finally England and France with one title each. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Italy emerged victorious, defeating France 5-3 on penalty kicks after the two extra times finished in a 1-1 draw. In 2014, the World Cup will be held in Brazil

