This story is part of our series looking back on the 2010 World Cup and its biggest moments and themes with a decade's worth of perspective. For more, read about the lasting legacy of the competition in South Africa; the long-tail impact of Frank Lampard's ghost goal vs. Germany; how France's debacle planted the seeds for its 2018 success; whether Luis Suarez's controversial handball was really all that evil, and how Argentina set the template for a decade of disappointment.
The players, competitions and cities changed—London, Milan, Madrid—but the obstacle so frequently was the same.