LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – The Croatia vs. Guatemala 2011 match tonight could end the FIFA U-20 run for both countries, if they draw. Whichever team wins tonight’s Croatia vs. Guatemala match will advance for Group D to the round of six, news confirms Saturday. Tonight’s match ends the Group action for this tournament.

In Group D, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have already advanced to the round of sixteen. But the winner of tonight’s Croatia vs. Guatemala will advance as well in Group D; in the case of a draw, both will go home. Several other matches today have decided the scheduled for the round of sixteen. Ecuador vs. Costa Rica 2011 ended with a 3-0 win for Ecuador. Australia fell dramatically in a 1-5 loss to Spain also making news Saturday. The other remaining match tonight is Saudi Arabia vs. Nigeria 2011.

Already advancing to the round sixteen are Brazil and Portugal, which await news announcement of their competitors. Argentina vs. Egypt will face off from Medellin. France vs. Ecuador will battle in Cartagena. Colombia vs. Costa Rica take to the field in Bogota.

Meantime, Cameroon vs. Mexico will challenge from Pereira. And Spain vs. New Zealand will ignite fans in Manizales. All round of sixteen matches will be played August 9 and August 10. The quarterfinals will start three days later.

Guatemala needs to score tonight, a point that fans and news have remarked about. Guatemala loss to Nigeria by a shocking five goals and to Saudi Arabia by an incredible six goals. Croatia hasn’t been much better; Croatia has yet to win a game in this Copa Mundial tournament.

• Comments (0)

SOUTH AFRICA (LALATE) – Andres Iniesta’s shirt was a tribute to Dani Jarque today. Andres Iniesta’s shirt, a message of memory for Dani Jarque, remains of the great latest images of this 2010 World Cup.

With a scoreless game, Spain and Netherlands went into overtime. A stunning assist gave Andres Iniesta the game winning goal at nearly the 111th minute of play. Upon his winning shot, Andres ran to the sidelines and ripped off his Spanish jersey. Underneath was a white shirtless t-shirt with blue letters written on it. The letter read “Dani Jarque seimpre con nosotros” (“Dani Jarque is always with us”).

The reference is to the famed defender Dani Jarque who sadly passed in August last year of a heart attack. Afterwards, Iniesta explained further the shirt and his thoughts about Dani: “This is for Dani Jarque, for my family, for all of the people. It is the result of hard work over a long time and some difficult moments.”

Jarque died during a pre-season training trip in August 2009. “I wanted to carry Dani with me. We wanted to pay tribute to him and we thought it was the best opportunity to do so.”

Coach Vicente del Bosque added tonight “I think our effort, our flair … is never ending, that will last forever. We have excellent players in this squad and they demonstrate that every time they go on the pitch.”

• Comments (1)

SOUTH AFRICA (LALATE) – Spain has won the World Cup 2010. Spain’s win of the FIFA World Cup came after 111 minutes of action. Spain and Netherlands, scoreless, went into overtime. But that all changed with a sudden striking goal from Andrés Iniesta.

Tonight, Andres is the hero of a nation.

The midfielder from Albacete is 26. Xavi said of Andrés Iniesta in 2009 the following “Iniesta is easily Spain’s most complete player. He has everything.” Andrés Iniesta’s heroes include Denmark star Michael Laudrup.

Past failures have been overcome by Spain tonight in a stunning event.  A game that had often a slow pace was dominated in goal attempts by Spain that couldn’t materialize. Shots were 21 for Spain versus 14 for the Dutch. Spain had 64% time of possession, the Dutch only 37%.

Spain won this World Cup with just 8 goals in 7 games, the lowest in history.

• Comments (0)

SOUTH AFRICA (LALATE) – SCORE. Current score on Netherlands vs Spain is still 0-0. Netherlands vs Spain remains scoreless in the first half of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final underway. Current time is at 10′ in the first half.

Early in the first few minutes, David Villa was awarded a free kick, resulting in an assisted header being blocked by the Dutch goalkeeper.

Brazil Coach Dunga says Netherlands is a tough team to beat. “We know the Netherlands are a very difficult team to play against. Their football is actually very similar to South American football. They don’t try to stay defending and rely on long balls. They have technical quality and we will need to be ready for that.”

Spain team-mate Cesc Fabregas has said the following about David Villa: “David is an amazing player – he has mobility, he scores goals and is brave. I would love to have him in my team at Arsenal. He’d be amazing in the English league.”

UPDATE: CURRENT SCORE IS 0-1 AT 117′

SPAIN SCORES !!!

Netherlands vs Spain numbers so far line up as follows. Shots are 1 vs 1, fouls are 3 v 0, corners are 0 v 1, offsides are 0 v 2, and time of possession are 36% vs 65%.

• Comments (0)

SOUTH AFRICA (LALATE) – The FIFA World Cup Golden Boot 2010 will go to Thomas Muller, Wesley Sneijder, or David Villa. The Golden Boot is based upon a calculation of both goals and assist. Muller is ahead going into today’s World Cup final.

Along with the Golden Boot (or Golden Shoe), there is a Silver and Bronze. Ronaldo won the golden in 2002 and the bronze in 1998 and 2006. Germany’s Miroslav Klose won gold in 2006. Two Italians have won since the 1980s, Paolo Rossi and Salvator Schillaci.

The boot is awarded to the player with the most goals. If there is a tie, the player with the most assists wins. If there is a still a tie, the award goes to the player with the least amount of playing time.

• Comments (0)