FIFA World Cup 2010 semifinals

Here we are at the semifinals of World Cup 2010 organized by FIFA. Here are some brief facts about the four remaining countries.

Germany

Germany is one of the three most successful national teams at international competitions, having won a total of three World Cups and three European Championships. They were runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and won three 3rd places in the World Cup. East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976. Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's World Cups. The current coaching staff of the national team include head coach Joachim Löw, assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick, goalkeeper coach Andreas Köpke, athletic coach Shad Forsythe, athletic coach Oliver Bartlett, scout Urs Siegenthaler, technical director Matthias Sammer, and team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

In Germany, the team is typically referred to as the Nationalmannschaft (national team), DFB-Elf (DFB eleven), DFB-Auswahl (DFB selection) or Nationalelf (national eleven), whereas in foreign media, they are regularly described as the Mannschaft (literally meaning "Team").

Spain

The Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The Spanish side is commonly referred to as La Roja (The Red).

Spain is the reigning European champion team, having won the UEFA European Championship in 2008. Spain also won the European Nations' Cup in 1964 and reached the UEFA Euro 1984 Final. Spain has qualified for the FIFA World Cup 12 times, reaching fourth place in the 1950 tournament; reached the quarter finals 5 times ('34, '86, '94, '02, '10); and reached the semi finals in the 2010 tournament.

In July 2008, Spain rose to the top of the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in its history, becoming the sixth nation, and the first who has never won the World Cup, to top this ranking. Between November 2006 and June 2009, Spain went undefeated for a record tying 35 consecutive matches —a record shared with Brazil— including a record 15-game winning streak until being defeated by the United States National Team 2–0 at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Netherlands

The Dutch national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). It won Euro '88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978, but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany and Argentina. At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and was nicknamed Clockwork Orange for its precision passing. In the Netherlands the team is colloquially referred to as Oranje (orange). The team is frequently referred to as Holland, even though Holland is only one region of the Netherlands. It is currently ranked fourth in the FIFA World Rankings and first in the World Football Elo Ratings after defeating Brazil.

Uruguay

Uruguay is historically one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and is currently number sixteen in the FIFA world rankings. The team has twice won FIFA World Cups, including the first ever World Cup in 1930 as hosts, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second title in 1950, upsetting hosts Brazil 2–1 in the final match. They also won the Gold Medals in football at the Summer Olympics twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. They also won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament among former World Cup champions Uruguay hosted in 1980 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup. In total they have won 18 official titles: 2 FIFA World Cup, 2 Olympic Games and 14 Copa América.

Source: Wikipedia