World Cup 2010
After more than two years, the contest to whittle down 201 countries to the 32 that will go to the World Cup in South Africa next year is down to its last dozen places. A few will remain in question into November, but Wednesday is D-Day for most of those nations whose attempts to qualify have gone down to the wire.It comes back to where the World Cup started, in the same Estádio Centenário in Montevideo where Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina, 4-2, in the final.Forget Diego Maradona and the soap opera for just a few moments. Smell the liniment, smell the fear, sense the opportunity of players of two nations, divided only by the River Plate and by centuries of political and cultural rivalry.
They are that close. Celeste, sky blue, is Uruguay’s national color. White and sky-blue stripes are normally the colors of Argentina, which, as the away team in Montevideo, must change to a darker uniform.The one imponderable is Carlos Amarilla, the Paraguayan electrical engineer chosen to referee this match. Mr Amarilla has a history of awarding controversial penalty kicks. ... Heaven forbid that it should recur Wednesday in the Centenário.
After more than two years, the contest to whittle down 201 countries to the 32 that will go to the World Cup in South Africa next year is down to its last dozen places. A few will remain in question into November, but Wednesday is D-Day for most of those nations whose attempts to qualify have gone down to the wire.It comes back to where the World Cup started, in the same Estádio Centenário in Montevideo where Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina, 4-2, in the final.Forget Diego Maradona and the soap opera for just a few moments. Smell the liniment, smell the fear, sense the opportunity of players of two nations, divided only by the River Plate and by centuries of political and cultural rivalry.
They are that close. Celeste, sky blue, is Uruguay’s national color. White and sky-blue stripes are normally the colors of Argentina, which, as the away team in Montevideo, must change to a darker uniform.The one imponderable is Carlos Amarilla, the Paraguayan electrical engineer chosen to referee this match. Mr Amarilla has a history of awarding controversial penalty kicks. ... Heaven forbid that it should recur Wednesday in the Centenário.
