Uruguay - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals:
1930 - Winners
1950 - Winners
1954 - Fourth place
1962 - First round
1966 - Quarter-finals
1970 - Fourth place
1974 - First round
1986 - Second round
1990 - Second round
2002 - First round

Overall record: Played 40, Won 15, Drawn 10, Lost 15. Best performance: They won the championship in their first two appearances, in 1930 and 1950.Most appearances at finals: Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (1966, 1970, 1974) - 11.Most goals at finals: Oscar Míguez, Juan Alberto Schiaffino (1950, 1954) - 7.World Cup high: The 'Maracanazo' in 1950, a 2-1 victory against Brazil in the championship-deciding game. Juan Alberto Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia scored Uruguay's goals in the second half after Friaça had put the hosts ahead. World Cup low: Their humiliating 6-1 defeat at the hands of Denmark in Mexico 1986. World Cup legend: Juan Alberto Schiaffino is considered the best Uruguayan footballer of all-time. He is most fondly remembered for his great performance in 1950, where he led his squad to their most memorable achievement, but some feel he was even better in the 1954 finals. As a man of Italian ancestry, he joined AC Milan in 1954 and spent the final years of his international career playing for Italy.The story so far: During the early days of organised international football, Uruguay were a true world power. Prior to the creation of the World Cup, they had won Olympic gold in both 1924 and 1928. Since they were the best team of their era, they were awarded the privilege of organising the first World Cup, which they won with relative ease.

Due to political reasons, they were absent from the next two World Cups, but they came back with a bang in 1950 as they achieved one of the biggest shocks in the tournament's history by defeating Brazil at the Estádio do Maracanã to take the trophy, a feat that came to be known as 'Maracanazo'. Despite a couple of decent runs in 1954 and 1970, they have since been unable to relive their early glories.

Qualification: As has been the way of things during recent years, Uruguay had to suffer to reach their 11th World Cup final. Defeat to Argentina in their final CONMEBOL qualifier took them into a play-off with fourth-placed CONCACAF side Costa Rica. They defeated the Ticos 1-0 away and then drew the second leg 1-1 at the legendary Estadio Centenario in Montevideo to grab the last available spot in South Africa. Qualifying record: P8, W7, D7, L6, F30, A21, Pts 28.Most appearances: Luis Suárez (19).

Top goalscorer: Diego Forlán (7). [via]

France - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals:

1930 - First round
1934 - First round
1938 - Quarter-finals
1954 - First round
1958 - Third place
1966 - First round
1978 - First round
1982 - Fourth place
1986 - Third place
1998 - Winners
2002 - First round
2006 - Runners-up

Overall record at finals: Played 51, Won 25, Drawn 10, Lost 16. Best performance: Winners in 1998. Most appearances at finals: Fabien Barthez (1998, 2002, 2006) - 17. Most goals at finals: Just Fontaine (1958) - 13. World Cup high: Ending their wait for World Cup glory on home turf in 1998 as a 3-0 win over Brazil in the final ensured that Zinedine Zidane became a national hero to rival Michel Platini thanks to his two goals. World Cup low: Losing on penalties to West Germany in the semi-finals in 1982. After seeing Patrick Battiston knocked unconscious by a horrendous challenge from Harald Schumacher that went unpunished, France took a 3-1 lead in extra time only to lose on penalties when Schumacher saved twice. World Cup legend: Zinedine Zidane, who scored twice in the 1998 final to beat Brazil and was the star of the tournament. Eight years later in Germany, he recaptured his best form to help France reach the final and scored an audacious penalty against Italy, only for his tournament to end in ignominy when he plunged his head into the chest of Marco Materazzi, earning a red card. The story so far: A third-place finish in Sweden in 1958 aside, France had for a long time been accustomed to early exits on football's biggest stage, but all that was to change in 1982 thanks to a team led by the masterful Michel Platini.Les Bleus reached the semi-finals in Spain but were defeated in cruel circumstances as Harald Schmacher's Germany progressed on penalties following a 3-3 thriller, with France finishing fourth. Four years later in Mexico, they went one better, defeating Brazil in a thrilling quarter-final before losing to West Germany in the semi-finals and eventually finishing third.France subsequently failed to qualify for the next two World Cup finals but upon their return, as hosts in 1998, a new generation of stars led them to their first and so far only triumph. Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Marcel Desailly and Didier Deschamps were among the key performers under Aime Jacquet, but his successor, Roger Lemerre, oversaw a shocking campaign in 2002 as they failed to qualify from their group. In 2006, they surprised many observers by making the final before Zidane ended his career in explosive fashion as Italy eventually won out in a penalty shoot-out. Qualification: The circumstances of France's qualifiction for the finals are now infamous, with Thierry Henry's handball at the Stade de France infuriating Republic of Ireland, who subsequently demanded a replay of the play-off second leg.

Prior to that controversial night, France had limped in behind Serbia in Group Seven, opening their campaign with a shocking 3-1 defeat to Austria. After beating Serbia and then drawing away in Romania, France secured two 1-0 wins over Lithuania and a narrow victory over the Faroe Islands before drawing at home to Romania and then away at Serbia.

Home wins over Faroe Islands and Austria secured second spot but it was an unconvincing campaign to say the least.

Qualifying record: P12, W7, D4, L1, F20, A10, Pts24. Most appearances: Thierry Henry, Bacary Sagna (11).Top goalscorers: Thierry Henry, André-Pierre Gignac (4).

Mexico - World Cup 2010 Team Profile

Appearances at finals:
1930 - First round
1950 - First round
1954 - First round
1958 - First round
1962 - First round
1966 - First round
1970 - Quarter-finals
1978 - First round
1986 - Quarter-finals
1990 - Qualified but suspended by FIFA
1994 - Second round
1998 - Second round
2002 - Second round
2006 - Second round

Overall record at finals: Played 45 games, Won 11, Drawn 12, Lost 22. Best performance: The quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986. Most appearances at finals: Antonio Carbajal (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966) - 10. Most goals at finals: Luis Hernandez (1998) - 4. World Cup high: Reaching the quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986, both as the host nation.World Cup low: Defeat against West Germany in the quarter-finals of 1986 created a stigma for the Mexican national team. They were also eliminated by penalty kicks in 1994 by Bulgaria. World Cup legend: Goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal was known as 'Five Cups', because he became the first player to participate in five World Cups: Brazil 1950, Switzerland 1954, Sweden 1958, Chile 1962 and England 1966. Only Germany's Lothar Matthäus has matched his achievement.

The story so far: As the dominant footballing force in the North American/CONCACAF region, it is rare for a World Cup to be without the Mexicans. However, they have a record of underachievement at the finals - only in 1970 and 1986, on both occasions as hosts, have they gone beyond the second round.

After making their World Cup debut in 1950, they became serial qualifiers onwards but generally struggled. In 1986, Mexico advanced to the second round, where they defeated Bulgaria at the Estadio Azteca. A memorable scissor-kick goal from Manuel Negrete was the hosts' highlight before West Germany won 4-1 on penalty kicks in the quarter-finals. They were excluded from the 1990 tournament after fielding ineligible players in qualifiers for the 1988 Olympics but returned in 1994 and 1998, exiting both in the second round. Local rivals USA got the better of them at the same stage in 2002 and Germany 2006 was the same old story, though Argentina needed extra-time to see them off in Leipzig.

Qualification: Mexico survived a near-nightmare, and needed three coaches in the process of qualifying. While he was getting his team together for World Cup qualifying, Hugo Sánchez was fired after failing to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Sven-Göran Erikson coached the team for only 13 games, including six defeats, and left the team in serious trouble. Former Atletico Madrid boss Javier Aguirre then came to the rescue for the second time in his career. Qualifying record: P18, W11, D2, L 5, F36, A18.

Most appearances: Andrés Guardado, Ricardo Osorio (16).Top goalscorers: Andres Guardado, Carlos Vela, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Fernando Arce, Jared Borgetti, Pavel Pardo (3).

South Africa - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals:

1998 - First round
2002 - First round

Overall record at finals: Played 6, Won 1, Draw 3, Lost 2.

Best performance: First round in 1998 and 2002.

Most appearances at finals: Lucas Radebe (1998, 2002), Quinton Fortune (1998, 2002), Benni McCarthy (1998, 2002) - 6.

Most goals at finals: Benni McCarthy (1998, 2002), Shaun Bartlett (1998) - 2.

World Cup high: Their first ever finals victory at their second tournament appearance in 2002, beating Slovenia 1-0 with a Siyabonga Nomvethe goal the difference between the sides.

World Cup low: Bafana Bafana's embarrassing failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finishing third in their qualification group behind Ghana and Congo DR, after having been named hosts of the 2010 tournament.

World Cup legend: Benni McCarthy is the country's record goal-scorer and second most capped player, with 31 goals in 76 appearances. He scored at the 1998 and 2002 tournaments against Denmark and Spain respectively.

The story so far: The history of the South African football team, like the country itself, has been greatly affected by the system of apartheid. The enforced racial segregation of the country was hugely contentious and numerous attempts were made to suspend the national side from FIFA because the country's constitution prohibited the fielding of racially mixed teams. But South Africa, along with Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, were one of the founding members of the Confederation of African Football and continued to escape expulsion because of a widespread reluctance for FIFA to become embroiled in political matters.

They were suspended from FIFA competition in 1966 but, after the violence of the Soweto uprising in 1976, a horrified FIFA finally expelled South Africa and the national team would not play again for 16 years. In 1991, as apartheid drew to a close, a new multi-racial South African Football Association was born and the new team played its first game against Cameroon in 1992, winning 1-0. Four years later, hosting and competing in their first African Nations Cup as a multi-racial side, Bafana Bafana lifted the trophy and were joined in celebration by an overjoyed Nelson Mandela.

They went on to play in the 1998 World Cup in France and, after being soundly beaten 3-0 by the hosts in their first ever finals match, South Africa went on to earn admirable draws against Denmark and Saudi Arabia, but finished in third place in the group, two points behind the Danes.

At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, an improved South Africa side were agonisingly close to making the second round, missing out to Paraguay on goals scored. A 2-2 draw with the South Americans in the first game was followed up by a first finals victory, a 1-0 win over Slovenia. In their final game against Spain, Bafana Bafana twice came from behind but were denied by a Raul goal as Jose Antonio Camacho's side narrowly triumphed 3-2. A disappointing failure to qualify for the 2006 finals followed but in 2004 it had been announced that, in 2010, South Africa would become the first African country to host the World Cup.

Qualification: As hosts, South Africa qualified for the tournament automatically but did play a number of friendlies while qualification was taking place. They were involved in the first stage of African qualifying with a place at the 2010 African Nations Cup at stake but finished 11 points adrift of Nigeria in the group, missing out on a place at the tournament.

It has been a tumultuous time for Bafana Bafana and, although they performed creditably at the Confederations Cup - losing in the semi-finals to Brazil and the third place play-off to European Championship winners Spain by just a single goal - they continued to crash to defeat after defeat in friendlies, which eventually saw the sacking of boss Joel Santana and the re-appointment of former boss Carlos Parreira.

Qualifying record (second round): P6, W2, D1, L3, F5, A5, Pts7.

Confederations Cup record: P5, W1, D1, L3, F4, A6.

Most appearances: Kagisho Dikgacoi (11).

Top goalscorer: Kagisho Dikgacoi, Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker (2).