The 2010 FIFA World Cup gets back underway on Friday (July 2) when the final eight teams start squaring off for a chance to continue playing for soccer's most coveted trophy. Today, the MTV World Cup of Rock kicks off its knockout round, which will see the two top qualifiers from each group advance to an eight-team single-elimination tournament, and in the end, only one country will be left standing to prove that it rocks the hardest and the best. Like the actual World Cup, the top seeds from each group will play the second-place finisher from an adjacent group (so the winner of Group A will play the runner-up of Group B, and the winner of Group C will play the second-place team in Group D).
The opening round was fast and furious, with a handful of breakout juggernauts and a couple of stunning upsets. Let's meet our qualifiers.
Group A
The first group was all about Mexico, who put up good numbers in a couple of close matches against the rest of the group. They earned themselves the top seed, going 3-0 in group competition. Joining them in the next round is Uruguay, who surged to big leads against France and Nigeria and put up a very good fight against first-place Mexico.
Group B
This group was all about South Korea, who hopped onto the Rain bandwagon and never looked back. Their dominating victories over the rest of the group earned them a top seed. In second place, the United States of America caught fire in the final hours of the opening round (not unlike the actual U.S. soccer team) and narrowly edged out England for a spot in the tournament.
Group C
The most intriguing of all the groups in the opening round, Group C was dominated (as expected) by Germany, whose Tokio Hotel-fueled surge made quick work of their opponents. They'll take the top seed in the group. The battle for second place went right down to the wire, as Brazil, Spain and Japan all beat each other once each, making them all 1-2 after group play. As was stated in the original rules of the MTV World Cup of Rock, tiebreakers are decided based on the total number of votes cast, which means that Japan will be seeing second round action. Brazil and Spain have nothing to be ashamed of here, as this group was a true thriller.
Group D
The powerful team from Australia ran the table in the opening round, finishing 3-0 and earning the top seed from the group. The battle for second place was also a nail-biter, as it came down to the showdown between Denmark and Italy. In the end, Italy made a late surge and scored the victory by a mere five votes, securing their spot in the second round.
So there you have it. The MTV World Cup of Rock round of eight includes Mexico, Uruguay, South Korea, the United States of America, Germany, Japan, Australia and Italy. The voting for the first two match-ups will open today, with two more coming tomorrow. In the next round, Germany plays Italy, Australia challenges Japan, Mexico will square off against the United States and South Korea will go toe-to-toe with Uruguay. So get your vuvuzelas ready and prepare your voting fingers, because the World Cup of Rock continues!