2010 FIFA World Cup: The Top 25 Surprises

From shock results to unexpected performances, dedicated followers to fashion to kung-fu fighting the 2010 World Cup was full of surprises.

We count down the Top 25 Surprises from South Africa.

No. 25: Honduras’ Sergio Mendoza Is Still Playing Soccer

After its opening game defeat to Switzerland, Spain recovered its form to begin its run to the world title with a 2-0 win over Honduras.

Spanish striker David Villa spent most of the game positioned on the left wing, from where he scored both of his team’s goals.

Honduras fullback Sergio Mendoza still probably wakes up screaming at the memory of it.

The poor guy was given the absolute run-around by Villa and it is a credit to the Honduran’s strength of character that he finished the match and the tournametn and didn’t bolt for the nearest airport.

No. 24: Greece Scored a Goal

After an opening game 2-0 defeat to South Korea, Greece had now played four games in its World Cup history without scoring a goal.

33 minutes into its second match with Nigeria, the Euro 2004 winners looked no closer to breaking that duck, until the African side’s fullback Sani Keita earned himself a stupid red card.

Greece took advantage of the extra man and a minute before halftime scored its first ever World Cup goal.

Dimitris Salpigidis’ strike needed a deflection to beat Nigeria’s goalkeeper, but they all count.

No. 23: Bastian Schweinsteiger’s Hot Girlfriend

German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was one of the stars of the tournament, especially as he inspired his team’s 4-0 rout of Argentina in the quarterfinal.

And while we understand how fame and money can be as attractive as looks, the fact that the far-from-an-oil-painting soccer player has hooked up with the stunning Sarah Brandner is surprising.

Unless of course, that he’s just a really nice guy with a great sense of humor and that’s what she goes for.

No. 22: Denmark’s Jon Dahl Tomasson Is Terrible In Front Of Goal

Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson is his country’s leading all-time goal-scorer.

He hit the back of the net four times at the 2002 World Cup to win the bronze shoe.

But boy did he suck in South Africa.

In Denmark’s crucial final Group E match against Japan, Tomasson missed countless opportunities to score.

And when I say missed, I mean he literally missed the ball as the former Milan forward failed to make connection with countless passes aimed at his feet or head.

He even missed a penalty, though just about managed to scramble in the rebound that fell kindly to him.

One of the worst performances by a striker at the tournament saw his team exit the World Cup at the first stage.

No. 21: Iker Casillas Kisses Sara Carbonero On Air

Following his team’s defeat of Holland, Spain’s World Cup winning captain Iker Casillas couldn’t help grabbing a kiss with his girlfriend, who happened to be conducting a post-match interview with the player at the time.

Spanish TV reporter Sara Carbonero looked completely surprised by Casillas’s kiss and definitely lost her usual on-air composure for a few moments.

No. 20: Argentina Had Fun

After a stuttering qualifying campaign, many Argentina fans did not expect much from their team, despite the abundance talented players in its roster.

Many pundits presumed Argentina would continue the poor form of previous years, so it was something of a surprise to see a team performing with such joy and not weighed down by the pressure that caused so many other teams to play frightened soccer.

An early goal in the opening game against Nigeria would have helped to settle nerves and Argentina really turned on the style in its 4-1 win over South Korea.

After the 4-0 quarterfinal defeat to Germany, you might have expected Argentinean fans to be disappointed at the humiliating manner of their team’s exit.

But the players arrived home to a hero’s reception, as the nation embraced a side that played skillful soccer appreciated all over the world.

No. 19: Jong Tae-se—Global Icon

An unlikely global icon emerged at the 2010 World Cup from the secretive nation of North Korea.

Before the tournament word began to spread about the man known as the “people’s Wayne Rooney” especially after he promised to score in every game.

He didn’t, but his tears during the rendition of his country’s national anthem before North Korea’s opening match with Brazil marked him out as a new World Cup icon.

His performance in that game was notable as well, especially in the first half when he ran Brazil’s much-vaunted defense ragged.

No. 18: Chile’s Wasted Chances

Chile arrived in South Africa with a reputation as an entertaining team that had scored 32 goals in 18 qualifying matches.

The South American side certainly lived up to its billing and exciting, attacking displays ensured Chile became most neutral fan’s favorite team.

However, despite all the thrilling passing and skills displayed by the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Matias Fernandez and Jorge Valdivia, Chile was infuriatingly wasteful in front of goal.

Despite dominating its games against Honduras and Switzerland, Chile only scored one goal in each game.

Though it would not have been favorites to beat either Spain or second round opponents Brazil, if the Chilean attack could have been marginally more clinical in front of goal, it may have ran both teams closer.

No. 17: Nigel De Jong—Kung Fu Master

Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong impressed in his role tough-tackling midfielder enforcer as his side reached the World Cup final.

However, a surprise awaited in the match-up with Spain, when De Jong revealed a hitherto unsuspected aptitude for the Chinese martial art of kung fu.

Even more surprising was that he didn’t receive a red card for his studs-up assault on Spain’s Xavi Alonso.

No. 16: Dunga’s Awful Dress Sense

Germany coach Joachim Low’s pitch-side dress sense set off a run on v-neck sweaters in his home country.

The same is unlikely to be true for Dunga, whose awful shirts and polo necks were designed by his fashion student daughter.

We’ve heard of looking like you’ve been dressed by your mother, but you’d assume daughters would have better taste.

No. 15: Ivory Coast Playing For a Draw Against Portugal

A number of teams played its opening World Cup match in a cagey fashion, hoping to avoid a defeat that could severely dent its chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.

It was a logical tactic, especially for Portugal who would have figured that adding a win over North Korea to a draw with Ivory Coast would set them up for a final group match with Brazil, who would probably have already qualified.

So Portugal set out to get a 0-0 draw in its opening match against the African side, who bizarrely employed the same tactic.

What Ivory Coast’s well-remunerated coach Sven Goran Eriksson failed to account for was that his team’s second game against Brazil was likely to result in a defeat and not trying to beat Portugal simply played into the Iberian team’s hands.

Especially after North Korea shipped seven goals against Portugal, which left the Elephants needing to score at least eight against the Koreans and hope that Brazil would achieve more than the draw it needed top the group.

Neither long-shot scenario occurred, leaving Eriksson to take his million-dollar payout for his temporary post and go home early.

No. 14: Nigeria Banned From International Soccer

Appalled at the national team’s poor showing in South Africa, Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan banned the side from competing in international soccer for two years.

It seems like a bizarre solution to the team’s ails as one would presume more practice at the top level would be required, not less.

And shouldn’t a man named Goodluck be a bit more optimistic about the future than Nigeria’s leader appears to be?

FIFA is likely to step in as its rules prevent political interference in soccer matters.

Its solution? To suspend Nigeria from FIFA, a move that would prevent the country from participating in international soccer matches.

Nice work FIFA.

No. 13: South Africa’s Decent Showing

Though the World Cup has a tradition of the host nation always qualifying for the knockout stages, nobody expected much from South Africa who opened the tournament as the second lowest ranked of the competing nations.

But, once Siphiwe Tshabalala had cracked home the tournament’s opening goal in a 1-1 draw with Mexico, the home fans knew their team wouldn’t let them down.

A disappointing defeat to Uruguay followed, but Bafana Bafana showed its quality in a 2-1 win over France.

Though South Africa became holders of the unenviable record of the only World Cup host to fail at the first hurdle, the country can be proud of the spirit and achievements of its side.

No. 12: How Un-annoying the Vuvuzelas Were

Before the World Cup began all people could talk about was how annoying the vuvuzelas would be.

Anyone who hadn’t heard the South African fan’s favorite plastic trumpet might have assumed it was the soccer equivalent of Mariah Carey hitting a high note whilst scraping her fingernails down a chalkboard.

Actually, it was just a low-pitched drone that hummed away in the background of your living room like a swarm of bees flying through a meadow.

And if the vuvuzela really was that annoying, why did thousands of fans from all over the world merrily blast away on them during each World Cup match?

Some people, it seems, have a need to moan about anything that doesn’t conform to their idealized view, the sound of which is much more annoying than vuvuzelas.

No. 11: Serbia’s Dark Horses Fall At the First

Prior to the World Cup anyone who wished to convince you of their real insight into the game would tap the side of nose and say “Serbia, definite dark horses”.

In fact, Serbia turned out to be pretty poor: let down by terrible forwards and defenders who insisted on handling the ball in their own penalty area.

Serbia’s surprise defeat of Germany was merely the result of a bad referee and Germany’s first World Cup penalty miss in years.

But the European qualifiers couldn’t even capitalize on its luck by beating the old men of Australia and the dark horses fell at the first hurdle.

No. 10: Group of Death (By Boredom)

When the draw for the World Cup was made back in December, everyone positively drooled over Group G which featured Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal.

It was labeled the Group of Death, but the closest it came to that was the morbid boredom felt by anyone who sat through Brazil and Portugal’s 0-0 draw.

If it wasn’t for North Korea’s spirited showing in its opening match against Brazil, the group might have passed by without any excitement.

Even the Koreans' subsequent 7-0 mauling at the hands of Portugal was a dull game, despite the unusually high scoreline.

No. 9: Uruguay’s Fourth Place Finish

Uruguay may have boasted one of the strongest sets of attackers heading to South Africa, but the South American side was still not expected to do well at the World Cup.

The team’s qualifying campaign had been plagued by inconsistency and Uruguay had only reached the tournament by means of a play-off against Costa Rica.

La Celeste then faced a tricky group featuring Mexico, France and host nation South Africa.

But Oscar Tabarez’s side showed its steel in a hard-fought scoreless draw with France and then went on to entertain, lead by the inspirational Diego Forlán and aided by the goals (and hand) of young Ajax striker Luis Suarez.

True, Uruguay may have had one of the easiest paths to the semifinal, but fans of the highest-placed South American side will hardly care.

No. 8: Keisuke Honda—Japan’s Rising Star

Little was expected of its team by Japanese fans before the World Cup started, never mind the rest of the world.

So what a pleasant surprise when it turned out that the team was quite fun and in Keisuke Honda, had one of the breakout stars of the tournament.

The CSKA Moscow player had only joined the Russian club in 2010 and would remain unknown to most European fans until his goal earned Japan a win in its opening Group E game against the favored Cameroon.

In the final decisive match with Denmark, Honda scored a wonderful free-kick to open the scoring and sealed Japan’s place in the second round with a brilliant piece of skill that set up a goal for Shinki Okazaki.

Rumors abound that he might be leaving CSKA after only six months at the club if one of Europe’s bigger names decide what was witnessed in South Africa is proof enough of Honda’s drive to succeed.

No. 7: Landon Donovan’s Leadership

To most non-US soccer fans, Landon Donovan was nothing more than a pretty-boy marketing tool—a cut-price David Beckham.

Two unsuccessful stints in Germany appeared to prove that the US midfielder couldn’t hack it in the big leagues and was better off staying in the MLS with all those semi-retired Europeans.

But, the inklings of genuine quality that began with a short-term loan to English Premier League club Everton, were dramatically confirmed by a series of inspiring World Cup performances from the LA Galaxy midfielder.

Donovan was the driving force behind his team’s stirring comeback from a 2-0 halftime deficit against Slovenia and grabbed the last minute winner that earned USA a place in the knockout stages.

In the second round match with Ghana, Donovan stepped up to score the equalizing penalty that sent the game to extra-time.

Though he could not prevent USA’s eventual defeat at the hands of the Black Stars, Donovan departed South Africa with a much-enhanced reputation.

No. 6: England’s Olden Generation

The 2010 World Cup was supposed to be the last opportunity for England’s Golden Generation to win the major international title their talents seemed to deserve.

With the brilliant Italian coach Fabio Capello in charge, the team had breezed through qualifying and was one of the favorites to lift the World Cup.

But by the final whistle of the second round 4-1 defeat at the hands of Germany, England’s players looked less gold and more old.

Even Capello’s tactics looked outdated as his team lined up in a flat 4-4-2 that had been long abandoned by most of the tournament’s other sides, not to mention the Premier League teams that England’s players spent their club seasons with.

No. 5: New Zealand Undefeated

Only one team out of the World Cup’s 32 competing nations left South Africa without losing a game.

Surprisingly, that team was New Zealand, who started the tournament as one of the lowest-ranking teams but finished in third place in Group F after three hard-earned draws.

And to think the All-Whites were supposed to be the tournament’s whipping boys.

No. 4: Slovakia Eliminating Italy

Despite being World Cup holders Italian fans didn’t expect much from its national team in South Africa.

Italy had been in poor form for a long time and only an easy draw in Group F gave fans any hope of going somewhere in the knockout stages.

Even after two sluggish draws against Paraguay and Oceania minnows New Zealand, it was still expected that the Azzurri would get the result it needed against Slovakia to qualify.

After all, Slovakia had made a worse start to the tournament to Italy having also drawn with the All-Whites, but lost to Paraguay.

Yet, by the time Italy finally started playing like world champions it was 2-0 down and eventually lost 3-2 thereby relinquishing its crown in the first round.

No. 3: Switzerland’s Defeat Of Spain

There were a number of surprise results at the 2010 World Cup, including New Zealand’s draw with Italy and South Africa’s defeat of France.

But none could match Switzerland’s 1-0 win against Spain.

The European Champions came to South Africa on the back of a 6-0 thrashing of Poland in a warm-up match and had only lost one match in the past two years.

Switzerland were one of the most unfancied European sides and many commentators presumed the Swiss would be happy to come away from the game in Durban without conceding too many goals.

But the Swiss brilliantly implemented a game plan of all-out defense that soaked up Spanish pressure, before unleashing one manic counter-attack that resulted in the winning goal by Gelson Fernandes.

Despite Spain hitting the crossbar with a Xavi Alonso shot, Switzerland hung on for a famous win and the shock result of the tournament.

No. 2: The Big Stars Performing Poorly

Perhaps it was the curse of the Nike commercial but almost all of the pre-tournament hyped players flopped at the 2010 World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo struggled in a disappointing Portugal team, England’s Wayne Rooney was almost anonymous, while Leo Messi tried his best for Argentina but failed to score a goal and could not prevent his team’s humiliating exit at the hands of Germany.

It was a bad World Cup to be a star player, with even Spain’s Fernando Torres proving the lowlight of his country’s successful campaign.

Spain’s David Villa could claim to be one of the few pre-tournament stars to live up to his billing, while the other stars included the relatively unknown Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller of Germany and Japan’s Keisuke Honda.

No. 1: Germany Is the Neutral’s Favorite

A disturbing trend that began at the 2006 World Cup had turned into a full-blown fashion in 2010: Germany is an entertaining team.

For so long, World Cups have been defined by ruthless, machine-like Germany teams grinding their way to the late stages, knocking out all your favorite teams along the way.

This time, Germany was that favorite team and continued the thrilling, free-scoring soccer with which it began to make friends four years previously.

And rather than being peopled by uninspiring Teutonic figures, the new Germany is a cosmopolitan mix of young players that represent the new country taking shape.

Watch out for Germany in 2014.