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1 Ricardo Canales 22 Donis Escober 18 Noel Valladares
Defender
4 Johnny Palacios 16 Mauricio Sabillon 2 Osman Chavez 14 Oscar Garcia 5 Victor Bernardez 21 Emilio Izaguirre 3 Maynor Figueroa
Midfielder
13 Roger Espinoza 19 Dani Turcios 6 Hendry Thomas 7 Ramon Nunez 23 Sergio Mendoza 8 Wilson Palacios 17 Edgar Alvarez 10 Julio Cesar de Leon 20 Amado Guevara
Striker
12 Georgie Welcome 15 Walter Martinez 11 David Suazo 9 Carlos Pavon
FROM colourful Johannesburg to scenic Cape Town, we bring you the sights,
sounds and stadiums of the cities in South Africa where the World Cup matches will be played.
First on the list is Soccer City/Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest and richest city.
Johannesburg was a one-time home to Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
Soccer City/Johannesburg: The new Soccer City stadium is the biggest in Africa with nearly 94,700 seats,
and will host both the opening and final matches.
Soccer City/Johannesburg: Built between downtown Johannesburg and Soweto,
some of the seats were part of a 1980s stadium demolished to create the new building.
Johannesburg: A friendly match held before the World Cup 2010 in Soccer City stadium, Johannesburg.
Johannesburg: Fans blow on vuvuzelas outside the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
The instrument is a popular cheering tool during soccer matches.
Ellis Park/Johannesburg: Members of the 'Los Caporales' Mariachi play traditional Mexican songs during the 'Little Taste of Mexico' presentation,
a gastronomic promotion, at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.
Ellis Park/Johannesburg: People pretending to be protestors throw bottles at police during a crowd management simulation exercise by units of the South African Police Service on April 15 at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.
Cape Town: A FIFA World Cup Fan park, with Table Mountain in the background,
where thousands of tourists are set to visit the Western Cape during the 2010 World Cup at Cape Town.
Cape Town: The city lies on a peninsula reaching into the Atlantic Ocean at the Cape of Good Hope. The city was founded in 1652 as a way station for European ships traveling to Asia, and is now the jewel of South African tourism and the source of most of the country’s wine.
Cape Town: The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, in Cape Town Harbour, with Table Mountain, in the background, in Cape Town.
Cape Town: The undulating, sculptural new Green Point Stadium holds 70,000 and sits between one of South Africa’s most famous landmarks, Table Mountain, and one of its most infamous, Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison.
Cape Town: An aerial view of the new 70,000 seat capacity Green Point Stadium (bottom left)
for the upcoming World Cup 2010 soccer tournament in Cape Town.
Durban/eThekwini: Surfers waiting for waves near the Moses Mabhida Stadium (background) in Durban. The beachfront Moses Mabhida Stadium, named for a former secretary general of the South African Communist Party, was inspired by the national flag.
Durban/eThekwini: People walk around a former cargo ship that is now 'Hold Cargo' restaurant and has a large aquarium inside, in Bells Beach, Durban.
Durban/eThekwini: A gardener mows the grass at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
This new 70,000-seat stadium features a 106-metre-high central arch whose two legs merge in a tribute to the unity of a once-divided country.
Durban/eThekwini: A general view of a pavement leading to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
A car carries visitors to the top of the 106 metre-tall arch, where they can bungee jump over the pitch.
Pretoria/Tswane: The capital Pretoria, part of the Tshwane metro area, is home to government ministries and diplomatic missions.
The life of the city is increasingly intertwined with nearby Johannesburg.
Pretoria/Tswane: Workers gesture as they stand in front a giant soccer ball at Pretoria City.
Pretoria/Tswane: FIFA's assigned referees pose during an open media day on June 6, 2010 in Pretoria ahead of the 2010 football World Cup.
Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay: Port Elizabeth, named for the British wife of the man who founded the southern city, is home to South Africa’s auto industry. Popularly called just PE, its metro area is known as Nelson Mandela Bay, to honour South Africa’s first black president.
Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay: A view of the inside artificial lake of the "boardwalk" shopping center and casino is in Port Elizabeth.
ort Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay: Arnold Slabbert, head of the Urban Raptor project, releases his peregrine falcon inside the WC2010 Nelson Mandela Bay soccer stadium on May 14, 2010 in Port Elizabeth. Raptors, such as wild falcons and hawk are used to chase away pigeons and other animals protecting the stadium enviroment.
Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay: An outside view shows the 2010 FIFA World Cup Nelson Mandela Bay stadium's exterior. Nicknamed “the sunflower,” the new 48,000-seat Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has a luminescent roof shaped like the petals of a flower, built to withstand fierce coastal winds blowing in off the Indian Ocean.
Bloemfontein/Mangaung: The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein refers to the former Afrikaner Orange Free State, an independent republic in the 19th century founded by descendants of early European settlers. Bloemfontein is capital of the modern Free State province. The Free State Stadium has been outfitted with a new second tier that expanded its capacity to 45,000.
Bloemfontein/Mangaung: A vendor sells plastic vuvuzelas outside a soccer stadium in Bloemfontein. At any South African football match, the scent of grilled meats and simmering stews wafts through the gates as vendors serve up chicken feet, sheep head and sausages to arriving fans.
Nelspruit/Mbombela: A woman carries a bag on her head as she walks past the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
The city is using the earlier name Nelspruit until after the World Cup to avoid confusion with its current name, Mbombela.
Nelspruit/Mbombela: A full view of the Stadium in Nelspruit at night.
Nelspruit/Mbombela: A picture of the stands of the Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit.
Notice the black and white design of the seats, a tribute to zebras in the wildlife reserves in Nelspruit.
Polokwane/Pietersburg: Cars drive under a giant advertising billboard picturing a man blowing a vuvuzela in Polokwane. Polokwane is a Sotho word meaning “place of safety", which in 2003 replaced the previous name of Pietersburg. It’s the last major town on the highway to Zimbabwe.
Polokwane/Pietersburg: A general view of the FIFA World Cup Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane.
The Peter Mokaba Stadium bears the name of an anti-apartheid activist.
Polokwane/Pietersburg: The Peter Mokaba FIFA WC2010 stadium on May 31, 2010
during a friendly match between South Africa and Guatemala in Polokwane, South Africa.
Inspired by Africa’s iconic baobab, the new 46,000-seat stadium features distinctive corner supports reminiscent of the massive tree.
Rustenburg: This picture shows the Palace hotel of Lost City in Sun City, Rustenburg. The shaking walkway - leading to a man-made sandy beach - is classic Sun City: South Africa's flashiest resort which is readying for World Cup fans wanting to combine slots, football and a touch of suspended reality.
Rustenburg: The Royal Bafokeng Stadium sits on land within the Bafokeng nation,
a traditional kingdom that manages several of South Africa’s platinum mines.
Mandela's family confirmed that the 91-year-old icon of the anti-apartheid struggle would attend the opening match, if only for a while, but no details have emerged about how or when he will arrive. -- PHOTO: AFP
<!-- story content : start --> JOHANNESBURG - SOUTH Africa's legendary trumpeter Hugh Masekela will jazz up the World Cup opening ceremony with American R-and-B star R Kelly, but all eyes will be on the stands for a glimpse of Nelson Mandela. Mandela's family confirmed that the 91-year-old icon of the anti-apartheid struggle would attend the opening match, if only for a while, but no details have emerged about how or when he will arrive.
Organiser Derek Carstens promises a 'big surprise' during the first seven minutes of the ceremony, but said the secret would not involve South Africa's first black president, who is increasingly frail but still beloved. On the ground, more than 1,500 performers will showcase music and dance from the 'six-pack' of African countries participating in the continent's first World Cup, Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana said.
'We're very happy that we have the best from South Africa and the best from the African continent,' she said. R Kelly will perform with the Soweto Spiritual Singers. Nigerian Afro-funk star Femi Kuti will also perform, while South Africa will pay tribute to the late opera tenor Siphiwo Ntshebe.
The 34-year-old rising star had been asked by Mandela to sing at the opening ceremony, but he died suddenly last month of bacterial meningitis. Details about the ceremony, which is being masterminded by South African producer Lebo M, famous for his work on 'The Lion King' on Broadway, had been closely guarded in the months before the event. -- AFP
South African defender and Captain Aaron Mokoena (left) and Denmark defender Poulsen Christian (right) jump for the ball during a friendly match between South Africa and Denmark at Superstadium in Atridgville, Pretoria. -- AFP
Mexico's Rafael Marquez (left) challenges with Italy's Alberto Gilardino, during a friendly match at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels,
ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa. -- AP
Uruguay's Diego Forlan (right) scores a goal against Israel's goalie Aovate Izudu during their friendly soccer match in Montevideo. -- REUTERS
France Franck Ribery (left) vies with China Bai Lei during their pre-Worldcup friendly soccer match at Michel Volnay stadium in Saint Pierre,
in the French overseas territory of La Reunion Island. -- AP
Greece's Georgios Samaras (right) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Carlos Bonet during a friendly football game in Winterthur,
ahead of their participation to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. -- AFP
Argentina's Sergio Aguero (right) and Juan Sebastian Veron cheer teammate Lionel Messi (left) during a practice session in Pretoria, South Africa. -- AP
Obafemi Martins of Nigeria (left) chases Mario Yepes of Colombia (right) during a friendly international football match at Stadium:MK in Milton Keynes. -- AFP
Japan's Makoto Hasebe battles South Korea's Park Ji Sung (right) during their Kirin Cup international friendly soccer match in Saitama, Japan. -- REUTERS
England's Wayne Rooney shoots on goal during a friendly football match between Platinum Stars and England at The Moruleng Stadium near Rustenburg ahead of the start of the 2010 World Cup football tournament. -- AFP
Algeria's Yazid Mansouri (left) vies for the ball with Ireland's Greg Cunningham during a international friendly match
at the RDS Arena in Dublin, Ireland. -- AFP
US midfielder Landon Donovan (left) vies with Turkey's Caglar Birinci during an international friendly World Cup warmup match in Philadelphia. -- AFP
Ryan Nelsen of New Zealand (left) vies with Slovenia's Zlatko Dedic during their friendly football match in Maribor,
some 150 kilometers from capital Ljubljana, ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2010 held in South Africa. -- AFP
Germany's Lukas Podolski celebrates a goal against Ivory Coast during the soccer friendly match in Gelsenkirchen in this file photo. -- REUTERS
Serbian national soccer team player Nemanja Vidic controls the ball during a team training session at AW Muller stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. -- AP
Australia's Tim Cahill stops the ball during a friendly game against Denmark at the Ruimsig Stadium in Johannesburg. -- AP
Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah (right) shoots pass Latvia's goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko but is disallowed
during their friendly soccer match at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England . -- AP
Jabulani is the official ball of the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa. -- AP
Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner jokes as he arrives at the Super Stadium in Pretoria for the first training session of his team in South Africa. -- AFP
Yokohama Marinos' Shunsuke Nakamura (left) and Kyoto Sanga's Jun Ando vie for the ball during a J-League soccer match in Yokohama,
near Tokyo, Japan. -- AP
Dirk Kuyt of The Netherlands (left) and Vilmos Vanczak of Hungary fight for the ball, during their friendly soccer match,
at ArenA stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. -- AP
Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o (foreground) fights for the ball with Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho (back) during a friendly soccer match in Covilha,
central Portugal, in preparation for the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa. -- AP
