2010 FIFA World Cup: Six Everton Players Prep for South Africa

With the World Cup less than two weeks away, here's a quick look at the six Everton players in the tournament and how they are doing for their respective countries.

This group will not feature Leighton Baines, who was surprisingly left off Fabio Capello's England squad on Tuesday, or Victor Anichebe, who did not make the final 23 for Nigeria on Monday.

Steven Pienaar—South Africa

Pienaar looked very good in a South Africa win over the weekend. The World Cup host-country-to-be beat Guatemala 5-0. Pienaar played the entire 90 minutes and clearly looked to be the best player on the pitch.

Tim Howard—United States

Howard looked okay in the U.S. victory over Turkey on Saturday. He will get one more warm-up this coming Saturday when the Americans play Australia in South Africa. It will be the final tune-up for both teams.

Tim Cahill—Australia

Speaking of the Aussies, Cahill looked good in their win over Denmark over the weekend. He played only the first half. Expect him to go deeper, if not all the way, against the U.S. on Saturday.

John Heitinga—Netherlands

Hietinga has looked strong in defense for Holland.

As I write this, the Netherlands are up 2-0 over Ghana with just a few minutes left and Heitinga has played the whole game. He also looked solid last week in a win over Mexico, playing all 90 minutes.

Joseph Yobo and Yakubu Ayegbeni—Nigeria

Yakubu played the first half in Nigeria's most recent friendly on Sunday versus Columbia, a 1-1 draw. Yobo did not play in that game, but did go last week at Craven Cottage against Saudi Arabia.

And lastly, a Landon Donovan update for those of us who like to think of Landon as a Toffee and believe his return is inevitable.

Landon assisted on both goals on Saturday in the U.S. win over Turkey. He continues to play at an extremely high level, which Everton fans will be pleased to hear.

Although England fans? Maybe not so much.