The Joy of Sticking

Spain against Paraguay.

But the main drama of the last eight came in Johannesburg, where Ghana were only a penalty kick away from becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals. Luis Suarez – then at Ajax – had got Uruguay to that stage with two goals in the secondround defeat of South Korea. His quarter-final efforts are best remembered for his goalkeeping skills, however, as the striker handled Dominic Adiyiah’s goalbound header, resulting in a red card and a penalty. Asamoah Gyan had the chance to put Ghana 2–1 ahead in time addedon of extra-time – only to hit the crossbar. Gyan was successful with his spot-kick in the shootout but two of his team-mates were less precise, which sent the South Americans into the last four.

Missing the suspended Suarez, Diego Forlan – one of two Uruguay strikers going for the hairband look in South Africa 2010, along with Edinson Cavani – kept up his good form with an equaliser against the Netherlands. The Dutch then surged 3–1 ahead after the break through Sneijder and Arjen Robben, before a consolation injury-time goal for Uruguay.

There were fewer goals in the other semi-final, but Spain v Germany was no less absorbing as Carles Puyol headed in the only goal of the game to put the Spanish into the final for the first time.

Both finalists lived on their nerves throughout the deciding game in Soccer City, Johannesburg, with neither anywhere near their best. With the match seemingly destined for penalties, Cesc Fabrégas set up Andrés Iniesta for the only goal of the game with four minutes of extra-time left.

2010 WORLD CUP

Winners:

SPAIN

Runners-up:

NETHERLANDS

Third:

GERMANY

Fourth:

URUGUAY

Golden Boot:

DIEGO FORLAN, THOMAS MULLER, WESLEY SNEIJDER, DAVID VILLA (5)

EURO 2017 ALBUM FACTS

PAGES: 40 ALBUM PRICE: £1.50 NUMBER OF STICKERS: 334 PACKET COST: 60P FOR FIVE STICKERS

EURO 2017

The Netherlands came out on top in Euro 2017 on their home turf, as Panini releases its firstever Women’s Euro album.

The cover for Panini’s debut Women’s Euro album said it all: ‘The continued rise of women’s football’. With the number of teams in the finals increasing from 12 in Euro 2013 to 16 for this Netherlands-hosted tournament, lots of nations were able to make their first appearance in sticker form.

As well as Euro 2017 tournament branding, the album was kick-started by eight action shots from the qualifying stage, featuring star players such as Norway’s Ada Stolsmo Hegerberg, Germany’s Anja Mittag and England’s Karen Carney. Each qualifier was then illustrated by a shiny badge, a team group and 18 player stickers.

With Scotland joining England in the finals as first-timers, UK collectors could get going with a starter pack consisting of an album and 26 stickers for £2.99.

There was another first for the women’s game as a Digital Trading Card Collection called ‘UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 Adrenalyn XL Digital Trading Cards’ further brought players into the spotlight.

Germany had carried off the six previous Euro tournaments and had also won the 2016 Olympic title. But they faced growing competition as Sweden had pushed them close in the Olympic final and England had beaten them in the 2015 World Cup thirdplace play-off. France were also looking strong, ranked third in the