Group stage of FIFA World Cup 2010 has been ended today. There were 48 matches detained over the last 14 days with minimum 2 and maximum 4 matches being taken place per day. Out of 32 teams participating, 16 have progressed to the knock out stage, while other 16 sides have been eliminated from the match.There were 101 goals in 48 matches averaging 2.10 goals per match. But its Unfortunately, this is the lowest scoring rate in group stage since the number of participating teams was increased to 32 in 1998 World Cup. There were 5 matches that finished up without producing any goal. Portugal’s 7-0 win against North Korea was the highest margin victory.Round of 16, the first stage of the knock-out round, starts from 26 June. There will be 8 matches in the space of 4 days- meaning 2 matches per day. The losing teams would be knocked out of the tournament match, while the winning teams would reach the quarter final. So, round of 16 would see 8 more teams to be eliminated from the tournament.
If a match ends up in a draw after 90 minutes of playing, there will be 30 minutes of extra time split into two 15-minute periods. If the tie is still not broken, then penalty shootout would come into effect to break the tie between the two sides. In penalty shootout, each team is allowed to take 5 penalties and the team with highest number of goals from those 5 penalties is declared winner of the match. However, if the match is still tied, then ‘sudden death’ is used to decide the winner.Time and schedule of round of 16 matches of World Cup Football 2010:
Uruguay vs South Korea – 26 June – 14:00 GMT - Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
USA vs Ghana – 26 June – 18:30 GMT - Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
England vs Germany – 27 June – 14:00 GMT - Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Argentina vs Mexico – 27 June – 18:30 GMT - Soccer City, Johannesburg
Netherlands vs Slovakia – 28 June – 14:00 GMT - Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Brazil vs Chile – 28 June – 18:30 GMT - Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Paraguay vs Japan – 29 June – 14:00 GMT - Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Spain vs Portugal – 29 June – 18:30 GMT - Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town