2010
The 2010 World Cup was held in South Africa and it was the first cup hosted on African soil.
In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated the Netherlands 1-0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta’s goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title. It was the third time that Netherlands lost after reaching the finals. The final also saw a record number of yellow cards distributed and extremely violent play from the 10-man Dutch side.
Spain became the eighth nation to win the tournament and the first European nation to win a World Cup hosted outside its home continent amid controversies surrounding goal-line technology, and the annoying introduction of vuvuzelas. Though considered one of the tournament favourites, the Spaniards won the cup despite scoring only eight goals in seven games and losing their opening match to Switzerland.
Host nation South Africa, 2006 champions Italy and 2006 runners-up France were all eliminated in the first round of the tournament. It was the first time that the hosts had been eliminated in the first round. New Zealand, with their three draws, were the only undefeated team in the tournament, but they were also eliminated in the first round.
