After months of anticipation, controversies and hiccups, the 19th FIFA World Cup is finally underway. Excitement has reached feverpitch in South Africa, but if you weren’t able to book a flight to the host country, why not take a short trip to one of the nations fighting for glory over the next month…

Italy
No matter which way you look at it, Italy is guaranteed to be a fantastic place to watch the World Cup. The defending champions from a hard fought competition in 2006, the Italians will be backing their team all the way until they secure another win. If they do then there’s bound to be street parties bigger, better and more rowdy than those in 2006.

Germany
If the annual German Love Parade and Oktoberfest are anything to go by then throughout the month copious amounts of beer will be flowing with every goal scored, and if the last World Cup proved anything, it was that the German team is a force to be reckoned with, opening with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica. Besides which, Germany is a beautiful country with a huge variety of beers, so why not enjoy the action with a few sample drops.

Dubai
Strangely enough Dubai has made the cut for the top 10 places to watch the World Cup despite not being in it. As an incredibly popular tourist destination they’ve had to prepare themselves. Throughout the Emirate screens, tents and full-on beach-bar lounges have been setup to help cater for the football lovers for both tourists and residents.

Australia
It doesn’t matter what sport they’re playing the Aussies sure know how to get behind their teams. After being denied a top spot in the previous World Cup the Socceroos will be back with a vengeance. The best part about being down under is the cultural diversity, the atmosphere of pubs and bars throughout the country will be filled with people from all over the world yelling their support for their teams through all hours of the night and morning.

Spain
Whispered from many mouths as being the favourite in this years’ tournament the country itself is sure to be a great place to watch, Liverpool player, Torres shots hit the back of the net. It doesn’t matter where you find yourself within Spain, you’ll be sure to find a great football atmosphere. Best part is you can pick up a tan, see the sites and sip your sangria while you’re there.

USA
Soccer never quite caught on in the USA like it has throughout the rest of the world but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a trip to visit Los Angeles, San Francisco or any other major city to watch the games. The Americans have always made a big fuss about sports and with World Cup festivities already planned the USA is sure to be a great place to get behind your team while your missus is out shopping.

Argentina
Argentina has an obsession with football and they’re no strangers to success. Any football fan would know, that having Maradona as their coach, there is no telling what they’re capable of. There is no escaping the football fever in Argentina, especially in the capital where every game is broadcasted in every bar but luckily there’s always a reprieve at the end of the day to eat top quality food and the chance to dance the tango.

Brazil
The Brazilian team play with a flair and passion that awards them the spot as favourite every world cup, this year they hope to win and host the 2014 World Cup as defending champions. They’re one of the most entertaining teams to watch and without a doubt their fans are just as fun. This year Rio is one of the FIFA Fan Fest hosts and the streets are bound to fill with football fanatics dying to revel in their teams’ success. If you’re after fun, dancing and singing, Brazil is definitely the place to be.

England
If you can’t get away this month for any reason, don’t feel bad, the World Cup will still be huge in your own back yard. The pubs will be full of football fans watching walls lined with TV’s showing the latest match, the beer will flow and the atmosphere will be simply brilliant when England play. Even if you’re not an English football fan the World Cup Carnival 2010 in Shepherd’s Bush has amazing all night long deals showing games on huge HD screens with Samba DJ’s, BBQ’s and more.

South Africa
Of course the best place in the whole world to watch this year’s football World Cup is South Africa. An astonishing amount of effort has been put into preparing the nation for what is supposed to be one of the biggest sporting events ever. As the first African nation to ever host the World Cup there is a lot planned throughout the month, and if the opening ceremony was anything to go by the atmosphere for the rest of the tournament will be incredible. In between watching all your chosen games you can take the chance to go on safari and visit the top tourist spots during the safest and tourist focused time on offer.

© Kelly Leaper / Cheapflights Ltd

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.