JOHANNESBURG: Uruguay striker Diego Forlan was on Sunday surprisingly awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the 2010 World Cup.Atletico Madrid striker Forlan grabbed five goals at the tournament as his country finished in fourth place after losing Saturday`s third-place play-off

JOHANNESBURG: There was bitter disppointment for Dutch captain Gionvanni van Bronckhorst on Sunday as he ended his 14-year Oranje career after the 1-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup final.The injury-time goal by Spain`s Andres Iniesta in the 116th-minute was enough to give Vicente del

JOHANNESBURG: Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque hailed his country`s first World Cup win as a triumph for football`s finest traditions."Today is a reward for beautiful football," the former Real Madrid coach declared in the aftermath of a 1-0 win over a Dutch side that had unsuccessfully

THE HAGUE: The Dutch media reflected online Sunday night on the "trauma" of the Orange Eleven`s 1-0 World Cup defeat to Spain which it said had plunged the country in "deep mourning"."Third trauma for Orange," read the lead story of the popular De Telegraaf daily, recalling the losses

BERLIN: Salty soothsayer Paul, the "psychic" octopus, finished the World Cup with with a flawless record as Spain`s 1-0 win over the Netherlands in Sunday`s final leaves him with eight perfect predictions.The eight-legged oracle has become a World Cup sensation by correctly forecasting

JOHANNESBURG: Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas was voted the best goalkeeper at the World Cup on Sunday after his side won the trophy by beating Holland 1-0 in the final.Casillas, who twice crucially denied Arjen Robben with the score at 0-0, gets FIFA`s Golden Glove award after conceding

JOHANNESBURG: Sunday`s World Cup final will be remembered for a record 13 yellow cards and one red as well as for Andres Iniesta`s winning goal in extra-time for Spain.English referee Howard Webb handed out eight yellows to Holland in an often bruising encounter in Johannesburg, as well

MADRID: A thunderous roar erupted across the Spanish capital and fans danced in the streets chanting "Viva Espana!" as the country`s first ever World Cup trophy sparked a nationwide fiesta.The centre of Madrid was a sea of the red and gold national colours as Spain celebrated its

JOHANNESBURG: Andres Iniesta secured the World Cup for Spain for the first time in their history by scoring the only goal of an enthralling final against the Netherlands four minutes from the end of extra-time on Sunday.Just as it seemed a third World Cup final was destined to be settled

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa`s Soccer City erupted in lights for the World Cup closing ceremony, with singers performing a melody of local music from urban hip-hop to a cappella chorals.The blazing farewell to Africa`s first World Cup began with a flyover of three Gripen fighter jets, as

BIRMINGHAM: Paul Collingwood wants England to get back to playing intense cricket as they look to recover from the shock of losing to Bangladesh with victory over the Tigers in their one-day finale. The all-rounder was in the England team that went down by five runs to Bangladesh in the

  JOHANNESBURG: Fired-up Dutch and Spanish fans rallied for the World Cup final on Sunday after travelling through the night and shelling out thousands of dollars to support their sides. Long lines of fans, mostly orange-clad, entered the showcase Soccer City stadium as gates opened at

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa overcame years of skepticism about its ability to host the World Cup, pulling off the four-week tournament without major incident and showing off the nation`s modern face.Here`s a look at how the tournament has gone:SECURITYCrime was one of the main concerns at

MADRID: Spain was awash with the red and gold national colours and exhuberant fans were gathering in blistering heat in outdoor "fan parks" as the country geared up for its first ever appearance in a World Cup final Sunday."The day of our dreams has arrived," said the sports newspaper

PORT ELIZABETH: Injured Mirsolav Klose was forced to surrender his pursuit of World Cup goal-scoring history on Saturday, but record-holder Ronaldo still praised the German striker`s achievements.The 32-year-old Klose missed the 3-2 win over Uruguay which gave his country third place the

PORT ELIZABETH: Oscar Tabarez would like to continue as Uruguay coach after guiding them to fourth place at the World Cup - their best finish in 40 years.The 63-year-old - in his second spell as coach after taking them to the last 16 at the 1990 finals - is out of contract but admitted

CAPE TOWN: A newly discovered flower has been named after South Africa`s infamous vuvuzela to honour the country`s hosting of the first World Cup in Africa.The plant`s colourful, flared yellow flowers and their "massed, synchronous appearance" had appropriate associations with the raucous

THE HAGUE: Virtually the whole of the 16.5million population of the Netherlands were gearing up for a huge nationwide party amid enormous anticipation of the Oranje winning the World Cup for the first time when they face European champions Spain in Johannesburg later on Sunday.However,

JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela has not yet decided whether he will attend the World Cup final being held in South Africa, his grandson told AFP on Sunday, just hours before the closing ceremony.Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, who speaks on behalf of the family, said the night-time match could

ERASMIA: Both coach Joachim Loew and his squad are to receive Germany`s top honours after winning `the hearts and minds` of fans by finishing third at the World Cup, it was revealed on Sunday.Newly-elected German president Christian Wulff visited the team, just before they left their