South American Futbol - Libertadores, Sudamericana, World Cup 2010

It’s about time someone steps up. That’s what all Argentines have been impatiently saying for some time. Their country’s national team boasts one of the richest squads in the World Cup, but since the championship side of 1986, it hasn’t been able to reproduce the kind of success that has developed its history in soccer’s [...]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Four years can be a very long wait. Right before the 2002 World Cup, a then-ranked world No. 1 Argentina team came into the tournament as the firm favorite. It then bowed out, somewhat surprisingly, in the first round in what can be regarded as the greatest setback in the history [...]

By Gregory Sica, SI.com FIFA world ranking: No. 33. How they qualified for Germany: Finished 8-4-6 for fourth place in CONMEBOL qualifying, with the same point total as Ecuador but an inferior goal differential. Previous World Cups: Six appearances (1930, 1950, 1958, 1986, 1998, 2002). Reached the final 16 in ’98, ’02. Manager: Aníbal Ruiz, fourth [...]

By Gregory Sica, SI.com FIFA world ranking: No. 32. How they qualified for Germany: Won Africa’s Group 3 with a 7-1-2 record, one point in front of Cameroon. Previous World Cups: None. Manager: Henri Michel, third year with team. Key players Star striker Didier Drogba is easily Ivory Coast’s most important player, and he’ll take most of [...]

By Gregory Sica, SI.com FIFA world ranking: No. 42. How they qualified for Germany: As champions of the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament, the Aussies went on to play South America’s fifth-ranked team, Uruguay, in a two-leg playoff. After losing the first leg 1-0 in Montevideo, they tied the series with a 1-0 win in [...]

By Gregory Sica, SI.com FIFA world ranking: No. 9. How they qualified for Germany: Finished 10-4-4 for second place in CONMEBOL qualifying, with the same point total as Brazil but an inferior goal differential. Previous World Cups: 13 appearances (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002). Champions in [...]

If you’re a fan of U.S. soccer, you were undoubtedly focused on head coach Bruce Arena last week as he named his 23-man roster for this summer’s World Cup. But 6,000 miles away, another American is very quietly making headlines of a different kind. Mark Schulte, a former defender for the Columbus Crew, has broken [...]

By Gregory Sica, SI.com FIFA world ranking: No. 39. How they qualified for Germany: Finished 8-4-6 for third place in CONMEBOL qualifying, with the same point total as Paraguay but with a superior goal differential. Previous World Cups: One appearance (2002). They were eliminated in the first round. Manager: Luis Suárez, third year with squad. [...]