World Cup 2010

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you will know that the 2010 World Cup is upon us. St George’s flags are starting to appear in pubs, windows and on cars. The big screens are up ready to air the games, with chalk boards letting the world know where you can watch the England team try their damnedest to win the coveted champions title.

A few months back, the nation started to worry as some of our best players were written off with injuries, unable to take part in the competition this time round. David Beckham and Ashley Cole were both affected, which was heartbreaking because the World Cup only takes place every 4 years. Although Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has predicted that Beckham will play in 2014, his age may not work to his advantage – by then he will be almost 40.

This week, England boss Fabio Capello has announced the squad numbers for the tournament being held in South Africa. Tabloids had already made their predictions, and networking sites such as Twitter leaked the news as soon as it broke. Some of the old favourites have made the team, which is no surprise; we will see legends such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, playing under their team captain Rio Ferdinand. We also see the return of tall boy Peter Crouch, with Joe Cole and and David James also in the first 11.

Some of Capello’s choices were fully expected; Wayne Rooney will be wearing number 10, with Aaron Lennon, the spurs winger, in number 7. These squad numbers give an indication to who will be playing the first matches; they are not necessarily Capello’s favourites, but players such as Gareth Barry may be brought in after fully recovering from injury.

The England World Cup squad landed safely in South Africa this morning in preparation for the first match; they were greeted by well wishing locals, TV crews and photographers, each waiting in the hot sun to get a glimpse of the sporting heroes. They arrived in Johannesburg, then took a 2 hour long coach journey to their hotel. Training will begin tomorrow for the pending games. South African escorts were very excited to see the boys on their home turf!

There had recently been some speculation that Fabio Capello would move to Inter Milan, but he has now signed a new contract stating that he will lead the England squad through Euro 2012, the next biggest event in football after the World Cup.