The world’s largest and most exciting sporting event begins tomorrow night (June 11th) in South Africa. Here on the East Coast of the United States, the action kicks off at 10:00 AM ET. On the West Coast, even earlier. Perhaps only the most dedicated of soccer fans would get up at 6:45 AM to watch Mexico play South Africa in the World Cup opener.

I’m hoping that isn’t the case, and everyone tunes in to the action. Whether you’re a minor fan, casual fan, super fan, or indifferent viewer of soccer, any sports fan needs to be watching the World Cup. The excitement, the skill level, the determination, the beautiful game, the tremendous competition; it’s all on display at the World Cup. Every team in the tournament has been training, preparing, and waiting for this day for 4 years. I promise you, the event will not disappoint.

I’ve given you a full, 32-team ranking of the competitors (link: http://numonefan.com/locker_room/view/348), and a detailed analysis of Team USA’s squad. From here, all there’s left to do is sit back and watch the action unfold over the next month. Oh, and also give some final predictions.

Quick backgrounder: The World Cup begins with 32 teams separated into 8 groups of 4, playing a few round robin matches. 2 teams will advance from each group, leaving 16 teams. From there, a 16-team single-elimination tournament will unfold.

Here are my official, final 2010 FIFA World Cup predictions:

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GROUP STAGE - Teams in CAPS will advance to next round:

Group A
South Africa
MEXICO
Uruguay
FRANCE - Wins the group

Group B
ARGENTINA - Wins the group
NIGERIA
South Korea
Greece

Group C
ENGLAND
UNITED STATES - Wins the group
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
GERMANY
Australia
SERBIA - Wins the group
Ghana

Group E
NETHERLANDS - Wins the group
Denmark
Japan
CAMEROON

Group F
ITALY - Wins the group
Paraguay
New Zealand
SLOVAKIA

Group G
BRAZIL - Wins the group
North Korea
IVORY COAST
Portugal

Group H
SPAIN - Wins the group
SWITZERLAND
Honduras
Chile

Not too many shockers in the group stage. I do like the USA to pull the upset and beat England, or at least tie and then still wind up winning the group. Either way, both teams are advancing.

It was tough to pick the 2nd team advancing in Group A and Group G. I think Mexico, South Africa, and Uruguay all have the ability to advance in A, but I went with Mexico. In G, I’m taking Ivory Coast over Portugal. Now that Didier Drogba is expecting to play for the Ivory Coast in the game, and Nani is ruled out for Portugal, anything can happen. Ivory Coast have the talent to get the win and wind up advancing, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo going home early.

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ROUND OF 16 - Matchups are based on winners of groups playing 2nd place advancers

FRANCE defeats Nigeria
ARGENTINA defeats Mexico
USA defeats Germany
SERBIA defeats England

NETHERLANDS defeats Slovakia
CAMEROON defeats Italy
BRAZIL defeats Switzerland
SPAIN defeats Ivory Coast

I have several upsets in this round. First off, my homer pick of the USA continues on here. After they win their group over England, Team USA goes on to defeat Germany in the next round. I think it’s absolutely possible, especially with the German captain Michael Ballack sidelined with injury.

I like Serbia as my ultimate sleeper team, and they handle a lethargic England team. The English defense is unable to hold off the dynamic Serbian attack.

The defending champion 2006 winners (Italy) go down in this round to explosive Cameroon. Eto’o, the best player on the field, shines in victory.

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QUARTERFINALS - Round of 8:

USA defeats France
ARGENTINA defeats Serbia

NETHERLANDS defeats Brazil
SPAIN defeats Cameroon

The American Cinderella run continues, but Serbia’s does not. I just don’t like the Serbian matchup against Argentina, while the U.S. can definitely hang with France on a good day. This proves to be one of those good days, and Team USA advances to the final 4.

Spain continues its dominance, but Brazil is knocked out by the Netherlands in a powerhouse battle. I think both of these nations are top 5 teams, but the matchup dictates a competition between them in the quarterfinals. A more cohesive Netherlands side takes down favored Brazil.

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SEMIFINALS - Round of 4:

NETHERLANDS defeats USA
SPAIN defeats Argentina

Argentina defeats USA in 3rd place game

Team USA’s special run finally comes to an end, matched up against a physically and skillfully superior Netherlands team. The Americans get an incredibly tough draw with Argentina in the 3rd place game, and finish in 4th place overall. Still, if this somehow happened, it would be an unbelievably shocking success story by the USA.

Spain against Argentina might be the best game of the whole tournament. Two supremely talented sides battle it out, but the deeper and more sturdy Spain team advances, setting up a Spain-Netherlands final.

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WORLD CUP FINAL:

SPAIN defeats Netherlands, 3-1

A terrific Would Cup Final, the Spanish side will not be denied the title. Netherlands put up a valiant effort and battle in a 1-1 game for much of the time. But the relentless Spain team nets a late goal before clinching it with a stoppage time goal while the Netherlands push with an all-out attack.

There’s no reason to think this matchup would not result in a great game. And, in fact, any finals matchup should be incredible. I can’t wait for this game.

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So there are my predictions! We all know that the World Cup is one of the most unpredictable, shocking events in sports, so there’s a very strong chance that I will be way off on many of these thoughts.

Time to get ready to watch.