Through some fortuitous timing on my part, and the benevolence of my wonderful wife, I was able to spend a large part of our recent honeymoon in South Africa…for the 2010 World Cup! Since arriving back Stateside, I’ve attempted to settle back into a life devoid of 24/7 football and the sweet hum of the […]

So the World Cup is now a week old, every team has played at least once. It is now becoming clear whether your team was a sound bet or as dodgy as a Northern Rock balance sheet. There have already been a few surprises, and those following a minnow may have had a nice surprise. Also […]

Update – ESPN.com via Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Pirlo plans to be fit by the final group stage match against Slovakia. Add Andrea Pirlo to the growing list of World Cup injuries. The Italian midfielder and AC Milan star could miss an undefined number of matches after suffering a second degree calf injury […]

You’ve got to hand it Sven Goran Eriksson. He gets some good gigs. His latest as boss of Ivory Coast for the World Cup will see him once again perform on the highest stage of all and, whisper it quietly, he might do really, really well. Ivory Coast is possibly Africa’s best side and any […]

The final round of the group games saw several well fancied sides struggling for form and in danger of going out, but Group B's final game saw Ghana edge it 1-0 to progress with Ivory Coast in to the quarter finals. It had certainly been a weird group with Mali pulling out but eventually, the […]

Now that's what I call a tournament mascot. I don't need modern interpretations of peace, harmony and good will like the dreadful trio that South Korea and Japan gave us in 2002. Dreadful mascots and a dreadful tournament. I want giant animals or characters that can play football or playing football. This is Palanquina, who […]

Well we all know how the competition started but the tournament kicked off in earnest on Sunday evening with the host nation Angola entertaining Mali. Hopes were high after all the political wrangling that engulfed the weekend, football could return to the forefront. What no-one expected was a series of breathless games and major shocks […]

So, if the only time you've ever come across this tournament is when certain Premiership managers whine about it, let me welcome to you to one of World Football's best kept secrets. Over the years, the African Cup Of Nations has grown and grown to be one of the most respected tournaments in World Football. […]

Without the season started Sevilla already bad news comes again. The biggest signing in club's history will not be available for the rest of the year as he will have to endure a severe knee injury. Arouna Kone's career is now in jeopardy after suffering a severe knee injury in a national team friendly against […]