The 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup was hosted by South Africa in 2010. This edition of world cup always has a special place in the hearts of the fans. The tournament was a complete package in itself right from the official soundtrack, wavin flag song, Siphiwe Tshabalala and team’s celebration and some of the interesting match-ups of the tournament. Lets take a look at top 5 iconic moments from the 2010 edition.
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1. Siphiwe Tshabalala’s goal and celebration
The 2010 edition of the world cup kick started on June 11, 2010. South Africa and Mexico locked horns for the opening fixture at the Soccer City, Johannesburg. The best moment of the game came at the 55th minute when Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the opener for the hosts. The fans will always remember the celebration more than the goal scored. Tshabalala’s teammates joined him and pulled off some dance moves after their goal. Mexican skipper Rafa Marquez scored an equaliser at the 79th minute to share the spoils with South Africa.
2. Uruguay v Ghana quarter-finals : Suarez handball and penalty shoot-out drama
The quarter-finals between Uruguay and Ghana is one of the talking points of the tournament. The scoreline was at 1-1 and went to extra time. At 120th minute, Luis Suarez handballed Ghana’s possible winner off the line. El Pistolero was sent off for his deliberate handball. Ghana had a chance to win by converting the penalty. Asamoah Gyan missed his penalty which took the match to penalty shoot-out. La Celeste took advantage of the line of events which favoured them and clinched the tie in penalty shoot-out. Uruguay won the shoot-out by 4-2. Suarez became a villain in Ghana’s history and gave an iconic moment to remember forever.
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3. Iniesta’s iconic moment in the 2010 final
The finals between Spain and Netherlands went to the extra time after a goalless 90 minutes. The first half of extra time also ended goalless. Dutch centre-back John Heitinga was sent off at the 109th minute after receiving a second yellow card of the match. Cesc Fabregas gave the pass which would seal the world title for Spain with an Andres Iniesta volley at the 116th minute of the game. Spain were crowned champions of the world for the first time in their history after a stellar run throughout the tournament.
4. Paul the Octopus
Paul the Octopus is a vulgaris species, and the great mollusk soothsayer for Germany. Paul’s rise to fame is largely due to its 100% record of prediction at the 2010 world cup. Earlier Paul was used to predict Germany’s fixture at Euro 2008 and got 4 out of 6 right. At the 2010 world cup, Paul predicted all the results of Germany matches correctly. It also predicted the finals winner to be Spain. Paul got a clean 8/8 record at the 2010 world cup.
5. Waka Waka : 2010 Official FIFA World Cup song
Colombian pop singer Shakira made her second appearance for FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in 2010. After her Hips don’t lie in 2006, Shakira took the world by storm with her Waka Waka song for the 2010 World Cup. Waka Waka got a world wide reach and many people celebrated that song. Shakira’s Waka Waka is rated as one of the best official soundtrack of FIFA World Cup.
