# 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677 "2010-06-10T17:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/521 "2010-06-16T14:30:27Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > ugh > > I hope they let it as it is, it would be very ugly if national teams could go around switching players like they were Real Madrid and Barcelona ☹ As I recall, there was an issue regarding Hakeem Olajuwon wanting to play for the US basketball team; he’d been on a junior Nigerian football team more than a decade earlier, and had to apply for some kind of special dispensation. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/522 "2010-06-16T14:37:42Z")
It would be ugly indeed if football was as lax as cricket in national qualification. I think close to half of England’s team was born in South Africa now. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/523 "2010-06-16T14:42:13Z")
Here’s a pic of my desk in work. > **[ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs](https://imageshack.com)** > > Unlimited space to host images, easy to use image uploader, albums, photo hosting, sharing, dynamic image resizing on web and mobile. World Cup stremaing at my desk. Sometimes it’s cool being a SysAdmin 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/524 "2010-06-16T15:08:28Z")
National team eligibility gets complicated in the case of “national” teams that do not correspond to sovereign nations, such as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. AIUI a British citizen is eligible to play for any of those countries in which they, a parent, or a grandparent was born. Naturally that leaves a lot of people eligible to play for more than one of the four national teams. Dual citizenship arrangements in Ireland complicate matters further. I am not sure exactly what the rules are there but they were noted for fielding players whose connection with Ireland was a little tenuous. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/525 "2010-06-16T15:09:05Z")
Well, so far the reign in Spain is looking rather plain. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/526 "2010-06-16T15:09:48Z")
Oh no. Somebody better go check on **RedFury**. Another goalkeeping howler, but not from a North Korean or an Englishman who had no business being there, but from Iker Casillias? Spain 0, Guyere Wall 1. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/527 "2010-06-16T15:29:59Z")
**RedFury** must be thinking about hanging himself right now. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/528 "2010-06-16T15:31:02Z")
I bet he’s gone cuckoo! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/529 "2010-06-16T15:32:19Z")
Wow, Switzerland almost closed them out right there. This game has had some great action and a lot of unlucky opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/530 "2010-06-16T15:52:39Z")
_sigh_ That’s how it goes with my country’s team in every WK they’ve been in: Great going in, and crashing once they’re in the fray. Oh well! Par for the course. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/531 "2010-06-16T15:53:12Z")
And that’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/532 "2010-06-16T15:56:09Z")
It seemed as if Spain could have played for 300 minutes (the ref almost gave that much in added time) and not scored a goal. As all of us guys know, some nights you do everything right, and you still can’t score. ---
**Author:** ![wintertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c68b51/32.png) [@wintertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wintertime)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/533 "2010-06-16T15:57:01Z")
España: 0 Suiza: 1 Esto sí que es el colmo de los colmos. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/534 "2010-06-16T15:57:19Z")
Que mala suerte ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Enniaunus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b2d939/32.png) [@Enniaunus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enniaunus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/535 "2010-06-16T15:58:59Z")
Makes our (the Yanks) victory over Spain feel a little less special now that the Swiss have done it too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/536 "2010-06-16T16:03:51Z")
Can someone explain why there always seems to be more stoppage time at the end of the 2nd half versus the 1st half? Spain got close to an extra 6 minutes to try and tie the game! Also, I wasn’t watching, but the ESPN texts mentioned that Iniesta left injured? If so, that would be a major blow to Spain in addition to the loss. ---
**Author:** ![MHaye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@MHaye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaye)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/537 "2010-06-16T16:05:37Z")
On nationality, the rule was for many years that a player was eliginble to play for a country if he, either of his parents or any of his grandparents were born in that country. There’s many a player who chose to be picked for Wales or Northern Ireland rather than fight for a place in the England squad. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/538 "2010-06-16T16:10:07Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Can someone explain why there always seems to be more stoppage time at the end of the 2nd half versus the 1st half? Spain got close to an extra 6 minutes to try and tie the game! > > Also, I wasn’t watching, but the ESPN texts mentioned that Iniesta left injured? If so, that would be a major blow to Spain in addition to the loss. I imagine that, during the first half, the referee doesn’t have many chances of doing an accurate accounting of time to add, and will perhaps add less than needed. During the half-time rest, they can check on how much extra time should have actually been added, and that is added to the 2nd half, on top of whatever the referee calculates on the spot. This is me talking out of my posterior, of course. Another explanation, by the way, would be for the referee to try to help the team perceived as being the “superior” team that is having a bad time of it 😉 [QUOTE=wintertime] España: 0 Suiza: 1 Esto sí que es el colmo de los colmos. [/QUOTE] ¿Cuál es el colmo más pequeño? El colmillo 😛 😛 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/539 "2010-06-16T16:11:49Z")
Spain got off of their game in the last 30 minutes. They forced in crosses to the center where they had no chance and took very low percent chances on shots from distance and bad angles. The goal by the Swiss had a couple of lucky bounces but it was the determination of the Swiss that got it in. And they almost got a second later on that shot off of the post. A very exciting game, particularly in the second half, but a very disappointing result for _la Furia Roja_. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/540 "2010-06-16T16:12:38Z")
Re national teams, as long as your parents are from the country in question, they are pretty liberal about letting you choose what national team you want to play for. In the upcoming Ghana v. Germany game, there will be two brothers playing against each other (assuming they’re both on the field at the same time). But as **Frodo** points out, once you pick and play for the adult team, you’re stuck with that team forever. There are quite a few players who could play for more than one team: Miroslav Klose, Podolski, Camoranesi, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677.md?page=28)