In an intense overtime match, Spain prevailed over the Netherlands to win their first World Cup 1-0. Fans have been celebrating all through the night in Spain and South Africa. BBC correspondent, Piers Edwards was at the final match in Soccer City. He describes the overall effects of the World Cup on South Africa.

It was a sad weekend for U.S. soccer fans, as they watched the Americans fall to Ghana in the World Cup for the second consecutive time.  Ghana scored the game-winning point in the third minute of extra time, beating the U.S. 2-1. The Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, reflects on Team USA's perfomance and tells us if the 2010 World Cup can be seen as a successful one for the Americans, and looks at whether it raised the profile of U.S. soccer. However, the tournament isn't over, and Ibrahim says that the great matches are still to come.

Americans are not exactly known as the world's biggest soccer fans, but as the rest of the globe is consumed with World Cup mania, we at The Takeaway have been wondering, who are the world's biggest soccer fans? The Afghan people may not come to mind, but Rahmatullah Qureshi, a civil servant in the Ministry of Education in Kabul, just might be Afghanistan's biggest soccer fan.

Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin tells us why a bad call during the U.S.-Slovenia World Cup game is good for American soccer. He also looks at Italy's World Cup game against New Zealand. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but it was a very emotional victory for New Zealand. "Italy is an old team," says Ibrahim, "they're playing uninspired soccer."

It was a winning weekend for Europe at the U.S. Open, where Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell became the first European in forty years to win the tournament. He shot 3-over-par 74 on Pebble Beach's treacherous course.

North Korea enters today's match against Brazil shrouded in mystery — nobody knows much about their coach, most of their players, or the way they play. The same could be said for their 1966 counterparts, who shocked the world by defeating Italy 1-0, and became the first Asian nation to go past the first round in the World Cup. Can the country pull another upset?

The U.S. managed a shocking 1-1 tie against England when English goalie Robert Green let an easy shot from Clint Dempsey bounce off his hands and into the goal. George Vecsey, sports columnist for The New York Times, tells us how this miss will affect Green's fate. He also reports on U.S. goalie, Tim Howard, who suffered a rib injury during Saturday's match, and looks ahead to today's games.