Players to watch out for FIFA World Cup 2010

South Africa football talisman Steven Pienaar has come a long way since cowering on the floor of his childhood home to ensure he was not hit by a stray bullet.

He was voted Everton Player of the Year last week, testimony to accurate passing and a high work rate that triggered media speculation of a move to champions Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur.

And after a short end-of-season break to recharge batteries drained by a punishing English season, Pienaar will join his international team-mates and Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira at their Johannesburg base.(AFP PHOTO)

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Players to watch out for FIFA World Cup 2010

Thierry Henry has ridden a seemingly smooth path through a wave of criticism to be the sole survivor of France's victorious 1998 team to travel to South Africa for this year's World Cup.

Henry, a widely-respected poster-boy in the world of football who has appeared alongside Tiger Woods and Roger Federer in adverts, was guilty of an outrageous handball that ultimately secured France's spot at the June 11-July 11 finals.(AFP PHOTO)

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Players to watch out for FIFA World Cup 2010

Liverpool forward Fernando Torres has seen injuries blight his season and Spain will hope their star forward can make a full recovery following knee surgery and get match sharpness back in time to spearhead his country's attack at the World Cup.

Torres scored the winning goal in Spain's Euro 2008 final win over Germany to help his country lift a first major honour since 1964 and confirm his status as one of the most deadly strikers on the planet.

However, his build-up to the South Africa showpiece has been ruined by injuries and he has not played since injuring his knee in the Europa League match against Benfica on April 8.(AP PHOTO)

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Players to watch out for FIFA World Cup 2010

Regarded as the conductor of the orchestra for club and country, midfielder Xavi Hernandez is often an unsung hero for Barcelona and Spain.

His importance cannot be underestimated with his simple, yet highly effective, passing crucial to make Spain tick and he will have to be at his best if the European champions are to go all the way at the 2010 World Cup finals.(AFP PHOTO)

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Players to watch out for FIFA World Cup 2010

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is the archetype of the modern attacking player.

Blessed with blistering pace, immense physical strength and bewildering technical dexterity with both feet, the 25-year-old is also courageous in the air and possesses a thunderous shot.

Ability and hard work have turned him into one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet and his stock shows no sign of falling after a largely successful first year at Real Madrid.(AFP PHOTO)

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Pic of the Day - 14th June

This picture released by Greenpeace on May 19, 2010 shows an aerial view vesels passing through leaking oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead off the Louisiana coast. BP said that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 per cent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier. The company said in a statement that its 'riser insertion tube tool' is estimated to be collecting and carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil to flow up to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise on the surface 5,000 feet above. (Photo: AFP/Greenpeace)

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