The knockout stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the World Cup, following the group stage. It began on 26 June with the round of 16 matches, and ended on 11 July with the final match of the tournament held at Soccer City, Johannesburg, in which Spain beat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to claim their first World Cup. The top two teams from each group (16 in total) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination–style tournament. A match for third place was included and played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.
In the knockout stage (including the final), if a match was level at the end of 90 minutes, two periods of extra time (15 minutes each) would be played. If the score was still level after extra time, the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
All times listed are South African Standard Time (UTC+2)
Qualified teams The top two placed teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage.
Group Winners Runners-up A B C D E F G H
Bracket
Round of 16
Uruguay vs South Korea Uruguay vs South Korea was the first match in the Round of 16. The match was held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth before a low crowd of 30,597. Uruguay won the match 2–1 with two goals from Luis Suárez, the second of which broke a 1–1 deadlock in the 80th minute. Suárez's first was scored when Diego Forlán made a low cross from the left that was not dealt with by the South Korean defence, leaving Suárez to score at the back post. Uruguay subsequently adopted a defensive posture, and South Korea had more chances to score. Eventually, Lee Chung-yong equalised in the 68th minute, scoring a headed goal following a free kick. Despite South Korea then having chances to win the match, Suárez scored Uruguay's winner in the 80th minute with a curling strike from the edge of the 18-yard box that went in off the inside of the post; this goal was regarded as one of the tournament's best. Korea missed more good chances in the final minutes of the game, giving Uruguay victory and passage to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970, where they would face Ghana. After the match, Uruguayan coach Óscar Tabárez attributed his team's successful run to the number of players with experience at top-level overseas clubs. South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo claimed his side "controlled" the match and that Uruguay's goals were "lucky".
GK 1 Fernando MusleraRB 16Maxi PereiraCB 2 Diego Lugano (c)CB 3 Diego Godín LB 4 Jorge FucileDM 15Diego PérezRM 17Egidio Arévalo RíosLM 11Álvaro Pereira RF 7 Edinson CavaniCF 10Diego ForlánLF 9 Luis Suárez Substitutions:DF 6 Mauricio Victorino MF 14Nicolás Lodeiro MF 20Álvaro Fernández Manager:Óscar Tabárez GK 18Jung Sung-ryongRB 22Cha Du-ri CB 4 Cho Yong-hyung CB 14Lee Jung-sooLB 12Lee Young-pyoCM 16Ki Sung-yong CM 8 Kim Jung-woo RW 13Kim Jae-sung AM 7 Park Ji-sung (c)LW 17Lee Chung-yongCF 10Park Chu-youngSubstitutions:FW 20Lee Dong-gook FW 19Yeom Ki-hun Manager:Huh Jung-moo Man of the Match: Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
Assistant referees: Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany) Mike Pickel (Germany) Fourth official: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) Fifth official: Juan Zumba (El Salvador)
United States vs Ghana The match between the United States and Ghana was played on 26 June 2010 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. The match was watched by 19 million Americans, making it the most watched association football match in American television history at the time. Heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it is the most recent World Cup knockout match that did not feature neither a South American nor European side. The match was won by Ghana in extra time after Asamoah Gyan broke a 1–1 deadlock. Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the opening goal of the match for Ghana in the fifth minute. The goal followed an error by Ricardo Clark, who lost the ball to the Ghanaians in midfield. Boateng took the ball to the edge of the penalty area, beating United States goalkeeper Tim Howard with a low left-footed shot. Landon Donovan equalised with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, which was awarded after Jonathan Mensah fouled Clint Dempsey. The United States had chances to win the game thereafter but were unable to get past Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson. The match thus went to extra time. In the third minute, Gyan latched onto a high long ball, chesting it down and holding off two defenders before scoring the winner. After the match, Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac hailed his side's achievement in becoming one of the "best eight teams in the world", but regretted the number of players that would miss the quarter-final match against Uruguay because of injury or suspension. The president of the United States Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, lamented the team's failure to make the quarter-finals and thereby further raise the profile of the sport in the United States.
GK 1 Tim HowardRB 6 Steve Cherundolo CB 15Jay DeMeritCB 3 Carlos Bocanegra (c) LB 12Jonathan BornsteinCM 4 Michael BradleyCM 13Ricardo Clark RW 8 Clint DempseyLW 10Landon DonovanCF 17Jozy Altidore CF 20Robbie Findley Substitutions:MF 19Maurice Edu MF 22Benny Feilhaber FW 9 Herculez Gomez Manager:Bob Bradley GK 22Richard KingsonCB 4 John PaintsilCB 5 John Mensah (c)CB 8 Jonathan Mensah RWB 7 Samuel Inkoom LWB 2 Hans Sarpei RM 21Kwadwo AsamoahCM 6 Anthony AnnanCM 23Kevin-Prince Boateng LM 13André Ayew CF 3 Asamoah GyanSubstitutions:DF 19Lee Addy MF 10Stephen Appiah MF 11Sulley Muntari Manager: Milovan Rajevac Man of the Match: André Ayew (Ghana)
Assistant referees: Gábor Erős (Hungary) Tibor Vámos (Hungary) Fourth official: Michael Hester (New Zealand) Fifth official: Tevita Makasini (Tonga)
Germany vs England
Germany and England played each other on 27 June 2010 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. Germany took the lead in the 20th minute after English defenders Matthew Upson and John Terry were at fault in allowing Miroslav Klose to latch on to a long goal kick from Manuel Neuer and score. Lukas Podolski doubled Germany's lead 12 minutes later, although England pulled one goal back through Upson in the 37th minute, heading in a cross from Steven Gerrard. A controversial moment occurred in the 39th minute: a shot by Frank Lampard was not awarded as a goal despite the ball bouncing off the crossbar and clearly crossing the line by at least a foot. Had the goal been awarded, England would have equalised at 2–2. Thomas Müller subsequently scored two goals in the second half, extending Germany's lead to 4–1. His first came at the end of a swift German counter-attack in the 67th minute, the goal being assisted by Bastian Schweinsteiger. His second came from an error by Gareth Barry and was set up by Mesut Özil. Germany won the match, 4–1. Germany progressed to meet Argentina in the quarter-final.
The ghost goal incident in this match was a major factor in the FIFA and IFAB decision to test and later implement new rules allowing goal-line technology to be used in football.
GK 1 Manuel NeuerRB 16Philipp Lahm (c)CB 3 Arne Friedrich CB 17Per MertesackerLB 20Jérôme BoatengCM 7 Bastian SchweinsteigerCM 6 Sami KhediraRW 13Thomas Müller AM 8 Mesut Özil LW 10Lukas PodolskiCF 11Miroslav Klose Substitutions:MF 15Piotr Trochowski FW 23Mario Gómez FW 9 Stefan Kießling Manager:Joachim Löw GK 1 David JamesRB 2 Glen Johnson CB 15Matthew UpsonCB 6 John TerryLB 3 Ashley ColeCM 8 Frank LampardCM 14Gareth BarryRW 16James Milner LW 4 Steven Gerrard (c)CF 19Jermain Defoe CF 10Wayne Rooney Substitutions:MF 11Joe Cole FW 21Emile Heskey MF 17Shaun Wright-Phillips Manager: Fabio Capello Man of the Match: Thomas Müller (Germany)
Assistant referees: Pablo Fandino (Uruguay) Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay) Fourth official: Martín Vázquez (Uruguay) Fifth official: Miguel Nievas (Uruguay)
Argentina vs Mexico
Argentina and Mexico met on 27 June; Argentina won the match 3–1 for a place in the quarter-finals against Germany. The match was overshadowed by a refereeing error that allowed Argentina's opening goal. Carlos Tevez headed the ball into the net from a Lionel Messi pass in the 25th minute, but replays showed there were no players between Tevez and the goal, rendering his goal clearly offside. Replays of the goal were shown in the stadium but the decision to award the goal was not overturned. Tevez said he knew that the goal was offside, but chose not to say anything.FIFA's Foul Play, Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 15 July 2010 Argentina's second goal came from a defensive error from Ricardo Osorio as a poor pass out of defence was snatched by Gonzalo Higuaín to round the keeper and score. After half-time, Tevez scored his second goal of the match to give Argentina a three-goal lead, with a long range shot that found the top corner of the Mexican goal. Javier Hernández scored for Mexico in the 71st minute but it turned out to be no more than a consolation goal, as Argentina held on to win 3–1. Mexico's coach Javier Aguirre resigned after the match, accepting responsibility for not meeting the team's target of the quarter-finals. Tevez conceded that he was aware his first goal was offside at the time, although Aguirre deflected the blame for his side's loss away from the refereeing.
GK 22Sergio RomeroRB 15Nicolás OtamendiCB 2 Martín DemichelisCB 4 Nicolás BurdissoLB 6 Gabriel HeinzeDM 14Javier Mascherano (c)RM 20Maxi Rodríguez LM 7 Ángel Di María AM 10Lionel MessiCF 11Carlos Tevez CF 9 Gonzalo HiguaínSubstitutions:MF 8 Juan Sebastián Verón MF 17Jonás Gutiérrez MF 23Javier Pastore Manager:Diego Maradona GK 1 Óscar PérezRB 5 Ricardo OsorioCB 2 Francisco Javier RodríguezCB 4 Rafael Márquez (c) LB 3 Carlos SalcidoRM 16Efraín JuárezCM 6 Gerardo TorradoLM 18Andrés Guardado AM 17Giovani dos SantosAM 21Adolfo Bautista CF 14Javier HernándezSubstitutions:MF 7 Pablo Barrera FW 9 Guillermo Franco Manager:Javier Aguirre Man of the Match: Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Paolo Calcagno (Italy) Stefano Ayroldi (Italy) Fourth official: Jerome Damon (South Africa) Fifth official: Célestin Ntagungira (Rwanda)
Netherlands vs Slovakia The Netherlands defeated Slovakia 2–1 on 28 June 2010 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. The Netherlands' first goal was an excellent individual effort from Arjen Robben in the 18th minute, taking on the Slovak defence with the ball before scoring from 25 yards. The Dutch had chances to extend their lead in the second half, with the most prominent coming when Robben cut inside on his left foot just like he did when he scored the first goal, but this time, Slovak goalkeeper Ján Mucha saved the shot going to his far post. The Slovaks also had two big opportunities to equalise but forced a save from Maarten Stekelenburg each time. The Dutch sealed their win in the 84th minute when Wesley Sneijder scored off an assist from Dirk Kuyt into an unguarded net after Kuyt got the ball past Mucha. Róbert Vittek slotted a penalty kick late in stoppage time, but it was no more than a consolation goal for Slovakia. The penalty had been awarded for a trip on him by Stekelenburg. The Netherlands' win threatened to be overshadowed by Robin van Persie responding angrily to being substituted by coach Bert van Marwijk. Van Marwijk called a team meeting over the incident and later insisted that there was no residual unrest in the squad.