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Well, I did it. Sitting at my desk in downtown San Francisco, I just won the World Cup with the United States. I know, it sounds unlikely considering I live in California and all, but given the celebratory sequence I was just treated to in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, I really can't imagine winning the real thing feels much better.

It should be of no surprise that I played as the underdog United States squad. No one really expects them to do well, even despite their amazingly favorable group that consists of England, Slovenia and Algeria. With two teams from every group emerging into the main World Cup draw, many expect the United States to make it to the big show for the first time in quite awhile, and that's exactly what I set out to do today.

The first thing that will strike you when you hop into a real World Cup game in 2010 FIFA World Cup is that the presentation is fitting of the scale of the event. There are streamers and fireworks shooting through the air, fans are blowing whistles and dawning face paint and hats, and Andy Gray and Clive Tyldelsly provide great quips to push the introductions along. It also doesn't hurt that they now have every nation's actual national anthem in the game. It's a small detail, but it's cool to see, especially when you make it to the finals and see some emotion streaming across the players' faces.

Click above to watch two goals straight from the final.The group stage of the World Cup went relatively smoothly for the Americans, despite my chosen difficulty of professional. The opening match against England proved to be one of the easier competitions of the opening round robin. The US took it 2-0, but wound up coming out of groups behind England thanks to two ties against Slovenia (2-2) and Algeria (0-0). The artificial intelligence on professional proved to be a real challenge. They move with laser-like accuracy on the field and sometimes seem as though they're possessed and destined to score a goal. Talk about unstoppable. Thankfully my record of 1-2-0 was good enough to advance.

The Round of 16 match against Germany proved to be a real test. The game was knotted at zero-zero for all but the last three minutes. I wasn't without my chances, though. Several headers and outside shots clanged off the posts, which would then bring a shot of disappointed German fans or a pissed off Bob Bradley (the American coach). It was in the 87th minute that Jozy Altidore broke away from his defender and nailed one into the upper-90. Argentina followed in the next round and played exactly as I expected. USA went up 2-0 on a pair of goals from Brian Ching. Messi was able to put one in for Argentina before the end, but it wasn't enough to stop the USA from advancing on to play Italy in one of the most exciting semifinals I've ever seen. Real or virtual.

The core gameplay that I had experienced through the quarterfinals was vintage FIFA 10 for the most part. The subtle refinements are evident when you feel the players moving around the field, but most of what you'll play is the same. Luckily that's nowhere close to a bad thing. Players feel like they have genuine size and momentum, just as they have before. While they sell themselves wonderfully as real physical beings, it's their mental veracity that still needed work in my preview build. There were always one or two instances per game when a player wouldn't try for a ball that was painfully close to them. Sometimes it resulted in a missed scoring chance. Hopefully they've been tightening that aspect since I received this build last week.

Italy is always a contender for the best soccer team in the world, and according to 2010 FIFA World Cup, this year is no different. We met in the semis and proceeded to duel our way to a 2-1 American advantage with 89 minutes left. As luck would have it, the skilled Italians were able to slice their way through my defense, ending their run with an effortlessly lobbed thru ball that floated its way over the heads of my sprinting defenders and landed at the feet of Gilardino. The play turned into a one-touch goal before I knew what hit me. Regulation ended tied at 2-2. Extra time proved to bring as much scoring as the regular game, but in much less time. With the score at 4-3, I figured my victory was assured. Imagine my surprise when Gilardino once again placed one just out of my goalie's reach in the 120th minute. Next up was a penalty shootout, which brought a new gameplay element to the mix.

Click above to watch the awesome celebration.The shootout mechanic is much easier than the old penalty kick, but it manages to simplify itself without becoming to arcadey. There's a concentration meter with a roving arrow that must be centered for strong accuracy, then it's up to you to feather the left analog stick in order to aim your shot. Push it too far in any direction and your shot is sure to go astray. You can also tap the shot button again to stutter step or press and hold the left bumper while shooting to lob it over the keeper. As the keeper, diving is on the right stick and standard movement is on the left. I was able to slap away their last shot and finish things off with Clint Dempsey to claim the semifinal. The announcers did a good job of conveying the weight of the victory and the celebration on the field was fitting.

The storybook final was set: USA and England in a rematch of the first game of the World Cup. The United States came out clearly invigorated by their previous victory and absolutely trounced the Brits 4-1. Maybe I had simply gotten the hang of how to beat the English team, but it was a great feeling to kick the crap out of them in the final of the world's biggest soccer tournament (and you can see every goal of the final right here. The celebration that followed was one of the greatest I've seen in a sports videogame. The folks who make Madden could really learn from a display like this. It blew the joyous events after the semifinals right out of the water. The announcers deliver wonderful USA-specific commentary that really made me feel like I had accomplished something and seeing Michael Bradley (the coach's son) be the first to hug Bob Bradley, whether it was intentional of the developers or not, was great. If the USA does win the World Cup, I'm sure it'll make this look like small potatoes, but for virtual renditions it doesn't get much better than this.

We'll have more coverage on 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, including an exclusive video that details the Story of Qualifying mode this Friday, all leading up to the review on April 27th.{#}