15 June 2010 - North Korea's Glorious Defeat

On 15 June 2010, North Korea marked their return to the World Cup with an impressive showing against Brazil, albeit in a losing effort.

In 1966, their only previous tournament, they delivered a shocking 1-0 first-round upset of Italy before falling to Portugal in the quarterfinals. That set a high standard for their return forty-four years later, secured on the back of a defense that conceded only five goals in fourteen qualification matches.

They continued that performance in their opening match against Brazil, at least for the first half. Playing with a back line of five defenders, they prevented the Brazilians from getting a good look at the goal. Only Maicon got a shot on target in the first half and that one was handled comfortably by keeper Ri Myong-Guk. It was a surprising performance, as most observers expected Brazil to run riot over the North Koreans.

Brazil finally cracked the defense in the second half, however, with Maicon scoring in the 55th minute, then Elano doubling the lead seventeen minutes later. North Korea's Ji Yun-Nam (pictured) got a goal in the 89th minute for a final scoreline of 2-1. It was North Korea's closest margin of the tournament, followed by a 7-0 hammering by Portugal and a 3-0 loss to Côte d'Ivoire.

16 October 2009 - Three Is The Lucky Number For Ghana

On 16 October 2009, Ghana won the U-20 World Cup, beating Brazil on penalties, 0-0 (4-3). And they did it despite playing most of the match with only ten men.

It was the third appearance in the U-20 Final for the Black Satellites, who finished as runners-up to Brazil in 1993 and to Argentina in 2001. Brazil, meanwhile, had reached six previous finals and won four of them.

In 2009, Ghana were led by striker Dominic Adiyiah, who had scored a tournament-best eight goals en route to the final, including an extra-time match-winner against South Africa in the Round of 16 and braces against Ghana's 3-2 victories over South Korea and Hungary in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Brazil had an extra-time victory of their own, needing a pair of late goals from winger Maicon to slip past Germany in the quarterfinals.

In the final, played before a crowd of 67,814 at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt, was an ugly affair for the first half, with two Brazilians seeing cautions and Ghana defender Daniel Addo receiving a 37th-minute red card for a challenge on Brazil's Alex Teixeira. Brazil could not take advantage of the situation, though, and neither team managed to put the ball in the net during the first 120 minutes.

Brazil went first in the penalty shootout and were up 3-2 after four kicks each. But Maicon, who had come on as a 75th-minute substitute, sent his shot high and wide, allowing Adiyiah to pull Ghana level. Ghana keeper Daniel Adjei then guessed correctly on Brazil's next kick to deny Teixiera. The last shot was taken by Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, who coolly slotted the ball into the lower right corner for the win.

20 April 2010 - The Third Time's The Charm For Inter

On 20 April 2010, Inter Milan scored against Barcelona for the first time in three matches that season, winning 3-1 in the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final match-up en route to winning the trophy.

The two teams met twice in the group stage, with the first match ending as a scoreless draw in Milan and the second as a 2-0 Barcelona victory at Camp Nou. Barcelona won the group, then advanced to the semi-finals over Stuttgart and Arsenal. Inter's path, meanwhile, went over manager José Mourinho's former club Chelsea and CSKA Moscow.

Playing before a crowd of 83,000 at the San Siro, Barcelona jumped to a first-half lead with a 19th-minute goal from Pedro, but Real Madrid cast-off Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 30th minute. Then, while playing a tenacious defensive game that stymied Barça playmaker Lionel Messi, Inter pushed ahead in the 48th minute--taking the ball from Messi and sending it up the pitch to Diego Milito, who then fed it to right back Maicon (pictured) to slot home.

Milito provided the day's final goal, knocking home Sneijder's misplaced header in the 61st minute. Barcelona poured forward, but Inter keeper Julio Cesar repeatedly denied their attempts on goal to secure the 3-1 victory.

Barça won the second leg 1-0, but Inter advanced by the aggregate score of 3-2 and went on to win their first European Cup/Champions League title since 1965.

15 June 2010 - North Korea's Glorious Defeat

On 15 June 2010, North Korea marked their return to the World Cup with an impressive showing against Brazil, albeit in a losing effort.

In 1966, their only previous tournament, they delivered a shocking 1-0 first-round upset of Italy before falling to Portugal in the quarterfinals. That set a high standard for their return forty-four years later, secured on the back of a defense that conceded only five goals in fourteen qualification matches.

They continued that performance in their opening match against Brazil, at least for the first half. Playing with a back line of five defenders, they prevented the Brazilians from getting a good look at the goal. Only Maicon got a shot on target in the first half and that one was handled comfortably by keeper Ri Myong-Guk. It was a surprising performance, as most observers expected Brazil to run riot over the North Koreans.

Brazil finally cracked the defense in the second half, however, with Maicon scoring in the 55th minute, then Elano doubling the lead seventeen minutes later. North Korea's Ji Yun-Nam (pictured) got a goal in the 89th minute for a final scoreline of 2-1. It was North Korea's closest margin of the tournament, followed by a 7-0 hammering by Portugal and a 3-0 loss to Côte d'Ivoire.

16 October 2009 - Three Is The Lucky Number For Ghana

On 16 October 2009, Ghana won the U-20 World Cup, beating Brazil on penalties, 0-0 (4-3). And they did it despite playing most of the match with only ten men.

It was the third appearance in the U-20 Final for the Black Satellites, who finished as runners-up to Brazil in 1993 and to Argentina in 2001. Brazil, meanwhile, had reached six previous finals and won four of them.

In 2009, Ghana were led by striker Dominic Adiyiah, who had scored a tournament-best eight goals en route to the final, including an extra-time match-winner against South Africa in the Round of 16 and braces against Ghana's 3-2 victories over South Korea and Hungary in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Brazil had an extra-time victory of their own, needing a pair of late goals from winger Maicon to slip past Germany in the quarterfinals.

In the final, played before a crowd of 67,814 at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt, was an ugly affair for the first half, with two Brazilians seeing cautions and Ghana defender Daniel Addo receiving a 37th-minute red card for a challenge on Brazil's Alex Teixeira. Brazil could not take advantage of the situation, though, and neither team managed to put the ball in the net during the first 120 minutes.

Brazil went first in the penalty shootout and were up 3-2 after four kicks each. But Maicon, who had come on as a 75th-minute substitute, sent his shot high and wide, allowing Adiyiah to pull Ghana level. Ghana keeper Daniel Adjei then guessed correctly on Brazil's next kick to deny Teixiera. The last shot was taken by Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, who coolly slotted the ball into the lower right corner for the win.

20 April 2010 - The Third Time's The Charm For Inter

On 20 April 2010, Inter Milan scored against Barcelona for the first time in three matches that season, winning 3-1 in the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final match-up en route to winning the trophy.

The two teams met twice in the group stage, with the first match ending as a scoreless draw in Milan and the second as a 2-0 Barcelona victory at Camp Nou. Barcelona won the group, then advanced to the semi-finals over Stuttgart and Arsenal. Inter's path, meanwhile, went over manager José Mourinho's former club Chelsea and CSKA Moscow.

Playing before a crowd of 83,000 at the San Siro, Barcelona jumped to a first-half lead with a 19th-minute goal from Pedro, but Real Madrid cast-off Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 30th minute. Then, while playing a tenacious defensive game that stymied Barça playmaker Lionel Messi, Inter pushed ahead in the 48th minute--taking the ball from Messi and sending it up the pitch to Diego Milito, who then fed it to right back Maicon (pictured) to slot home.

Milito provided the day's final goal, knocking home Sneijder's misplaced header in the 61st minute. Barcelona poured forward, but Inter keeper Julio Cesar repeatedly denied their attempts on goal to secure the 3-1 victory.

Barça won the second leg 1-0, but Inter advanced by the aggregate score of 3-2 and went on to win their first European Cup/Champions League title since 1965.