WORLD CUP 2010 – BIG PICTURE II

PareByokeJuly 16, 201011min1150

Halfway in – 2010 World Cup – The Big Picture – Boston.com

Nearly halfway through the month-long 2010 World Cup Tournament in South Africa, over a dozen teams have been eliminated from the original group of 32, with the Round of 16 beginning tomorrow, June 26th. Television and web viewership has been setting records all over the world as supporters tune in to watch the events in South Africa and react along with the fans and players in the stadiums as they celebrate their wins and suffer through losses. Collected here are recent photos from the 2010 World Cup, as some of the players and their supporters have been experiencing it – in South Africa and around the globe. (43 photos total)

Awesome photographs for colour, contrast, sharpness and moments for posterity. Good selection from a million photos. SPAIN deserved and won world will remember.

BBC Sport – Football – World Cup 2010: Dutch return to heroes’ welcome

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8816050.stm

World Cup runners-up the Netherlands were given a heroes’ welcome by fans as they went on an open-top boat tour of Amsterdam’s canals on Tuesday.


Hundreds of thousands lined the waterways to cheer the squad, with two defying warnings by jumping in canal.

The Dutch, who earlier met Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Queen Beatrix, lost 1-0 to Spain in Sunday’s final at Johannesburg’s Soccer City.


In an ill-tempered match they had eight bookings, with John Heitinga sent off.


Netherlands winger Arjen Robben admitted he was still haunted by his missed chance in the final, when he was sent clean through with only Spanish keeper Iker Casillas to beat


“You want nothing more than to score that goal,” he said. “It was a big chance. It hurts to miss a chance like that.”


But the Dutch fans seemed in forgiving mood, with houses along the canals decked out with flags and giant footballs.


More than 20 million viewers switch on World Cup final

BBC News – More than 20 million viewers switch on World Cup final

More than 20 million British viewers tuned in to the World Cup final, with the BBC drawing more viewers than ITV.

On BBC1, viewers watching Spain’s clash with the Netherlands peaked at 17.9 million, with a 60% share of the audience, figures show.

On ITV, which was also showing the final, figures peaked at 3.8 million, a 13% share of the audience.

Spain scored four minutes before the end of extra time to win 1-0.

The game averaged 15.1 million (a 54% share of viewers) on BBC1 and 3.3 million (12%) on ITV1.

The BBC said it had won the highest audience for a World Cup final on the channel since France won the tournament in 1998.

It said its figures were up 1.2 million on 2006.