FIFA: No plans for winter World Cup

Soccer Extreme : FIFA have announced there is no certainty the 2022 World Cup will be staged in winter.

The high temperatures in Qatar during summer months has led to talk of the tournament being moved to a cooler time of year. That has in turn caused concern for domestic leagues which would see their seasons interrupted by the unusual positioning of the tournament in the football calendar.

However, FIFA have clarified their position, stressing Qatar would have to make the first move if the 2022 tournament is to take place in winter and a statement from the governing body said: "At this stage there are no concrete plans to change the international match calendar."

It added: "Any potential move of the 2022 FIFA World Cup from a summer to a winter period would have to be initiated by the football association of Qatar and would have to be presented to the FIFA executive committee."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said at the start of this month that he anticipated the 2022 World Cup would be held in January instead of June.

Blatter said: "I expect it will be held in the winter. We have time to look at this question, it is still 11 years away but we must decide the most adequate period for a successful World Cup which means January or the end of the year.

"When you play football you must protect the main people, the players."

Summer temperatures in Qatar can soar to more than 50 degrees Celsius while those in the winter months are far more comfortable.

The proposal attracted criticism from, among others, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who said: "It looks like an idea that has come out of nowhere because nobody was told that when the bid was voted for.

"That is a bit of a surprise and certainly it would mean that the whole world of football has to be reorganised. It would demand a complete reorganisation of the whole world's fixtures and I cannot see that happening." (football)

The Keys To TP Mazembe’s Success At The Club World Cup

Soccer Extreme : History was made in Abu Dhabi today by African champions Tout Puissant Mazembe who managed to overcome the odds and down Brazil’s Internacional, thus becoming the first team from our continent to qualify for the Club World Cup final.

While the majority of the non-African viewers probably don’t know anything about The Crows, their most recent success won’t be coming as a surprise to those who have seen them evolve over the years and who had noticed that African clubs such as Al-Ahly and Etoile du Sahel weren’t far off from doing exactly the same thing in previous editions of the tournament. With that said, here’s a look at the keys to TP Mazemebe’s success.

First and foremost, Mazembe could never be what they are without their chairman, Moise Katumbi Chapwe. The young boy who used to make his living selling fish has come a long way since then and is now both a successful businessman and the governor of the mineral rich Katanga Province in DR Congo. His seemingly endless financial resources have allowed Mazembe to rekindle their past glory (they were African champs in 1967 and 1968). (goal)

Seven FIFA bosses pledged to back bid then failed to vote for us

Soccer Extreme : Seven bosses of FIFA pledged to back England's World Cup bid then failed to vote for us, it was revealed yesterday.

Nine members told Prince William and David Beckham they would support us – but in the end only two delivered.

FIFA vice president Jack Warner allegedly told William: “You can count on my vote”, just before corruption-riddled Russia was gifted the 2018 World Cup and oil-rich Qatar got 2022.

US delegate Chuck Blazer, Chung Mong Joon of Korea, Senes Irzik of Turkey, Rafael Salguero of Guatemala, Ivory Coast’s Jacques Anouma and Marios Lefkaritis of Cyprus all indicated their support.

Only Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou kept his word. England’s other vote was our own Geoff Thompson’s.

After FIFA President Sepp Blatter glad-handed Russian PM Vladimir Putin, England bosses yesterday accused FIFA of treachery.

England's big-hitters campaigned

Bid chief Andy Anson claimed there was no point in England bidding again unless the vote system changed. He said: “I won’t beat around the bush. We were lied to.

“We were confident of going through the first round. England, Australia and the USA had the best bids by far. But we got six votes between us.”

Mr Blatter allegedly said delegates should vote for Russia as he warned of the “evil” British media who have twice exposed FIFA corruption.

Mr Anson said: “When you have the best technical bid, fantastic inspection visits, the best economic report, and the best presentation, it’s hard to stomach that all that seemed to count for absolutely nothing.

“Having only 22 guys voting gives them too much influence. Running two bids was a huge mistake.

“Everyone who had a vote and a bid clearly wanted to trade that vote for something that helped them get over the line in that campaign.”

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt questioned FIFA’s methods and called our rejection “a slap in the face”. Premiership bosses expressed astonishment at the decision.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said it was like promising to vote for a “sexy bird” on the X Factor then backing out. (mirrorfootball)

Sepp Blatter calls England bid team 'bad losers'

Soccer Extreme : Fifa chief Sepp Blatter has criticised England's reaction after defeat by Russia in the 2018 World Cup vote.

Blatter also rejected allegations of corruption at football's governing body after England gained only two out of 22 votes from Fifa's executive committee.

"I was surprised by all the English complaining after the defeat. England, of all people, the motherland of fair play ideas," Blatter said.

"Now some of them are showing themselves to be bad losers."

Blatter told Swiss magazine Weltwoche: "You can't come afterwards and say so and so promised to vote for England. The results are known. The outcome came out clearly."

Some of England's 2018 bid team were mystified that several Fifa executive committee members said they would vote for their bid only to renege on their promises last Thursday in Zurich.

It led to Roger Burden, acting chairman of the Football Association, withdrawing his application for the permanent position last week, saying he could no longer trust Fifa members.

Burden said that Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince William and other members of the team were promised votes which were not delivered.

Cameron made a jibe at Fifa on Wednesday when he was asked in Parliament what he thought about football's governing body after his experience of the bid.

"I certainly learned one thing which is when it comes to breaking promises - politicians have got nothing on football management," he said, laughing.

Blatter, 74, said the reaction of the losing bidders showed some did not understand his drive to expand football's frontiers.

"I really sense in some reactions a bit of the arrogance of the Western world of Christian background. Some simply can't bear it if others get a chance for a change," he said.

"What can be wrong if we start football in regions where this sport demonstrates a potential which goes far beyond sport?"

England's bid chief Andy Anson has suggested Blatter influenced committee members before the vote by reminding them of British media stories which alleged corruption against them and led to two being banned.

But Blatter rejected the corruption allegations and said he was being targeted by anti-Fifa journalists.

"There is no systematic corruption in Fifa. That is nonsense," he said. "We are financially clean and clear."

Blatter stated that Fifa could not act as if nothing had happened, adding he wanted to set up a taskforce to look into compliance issues, without giving details.

"We need to improve our image. We also need to clarify some things within Fifa," he said. (BBC)

Spain Crowned World Champion

Iniesta scores the vital goal which earned Spain their first World Championship

Spain won their first World Championship of their history with a 1-0 win against Holland at the Soccer City Stadium in Johanesburg. FC Barcelona'sAndres Iniesta was the hero of the night, scoring the vital goal with just four minutes left for the end of extra time. Spain become only the second reigning European Champions who managed to win the World Cup. The match did live up to his billing of a tight contest, but failed to match his billing as a Clash between two brilliant "Total Football" side. The match was a huge headache for referee Howard Webb, who flashed 10 yellow cards, including two for Heitinga. He overall did a good job, but there were times when he left the game to become more physical. De Jong's kick on Xabi Alonso's chest was a huge moment and the player should have been send off. But Webb flashed a yellow card instead.

The match followed after one of the most brilliant closing ceremony in the history of the tournament. Holland from the begining were determined to close down the space available from Spain's midfield. The game started becoming pretty physical from the word go. Spain dominated the early exchanges creating some early half chances. But the Dutch defense stood firm. Most of the Spain's threat came from corners and Ramos had the best chance putting a free header above the bar. Robben was the best player for the Dutch in the match, but has to take the blame failing to finish the match with two one on one chance. The first one was the biggest miss after being played through by Sneijder with a ball which caught Pique off gaurd, Robben waited till Iker commited but the final shot had no height and Iker made the save with his trailing legs or maybe its better to say that the ball his Iker's leg. Fabregas and Iniesta both returned the favour failing to score in similiar one on one situation. But then in the 116th minute Iniesta finished off a move which he started with a clever back heel. Fabregas made the assist and started weeping like a baby the moment the ball went in. On the other end of the pitch, Iker's situation was no better.

Andres Iniesta has been Spain's most consistent player throughout the World Cup. He once again was their best player on the pitch. He is finally getting out of the shadow of Xavi in the midfield. Great news for Barca. But Guardiola has to encourage him to take more shots on target. Many times during the match he skipped past opponents and moved into promising position, only to search for a playr to pass. He should definitely take those shots and hopefully this goal (probably will be the greatest in his career) will encourage him to do that. He was getting kicked all over the place, but you can feel that the more he is getting kicked the more he was getting into the game. Following the Chelsea Goal, he was christened as "San Andres" by Barca fans and most probably from now on by whole of Spain. This is also a proud moment fro Barca fans as seven of their players started the match. Diego Forlan has been awarded the golden ball and Iker Casillas was awarded the Golden Glove.

Puyol's Header Guides Spain To World Cup Final

Barca Captain Steers Spain To Final

Spain setup a mouth watering World Cup final clash against Netharlands after seeing off a much fancied, but young German side confidently. The Spanish National team dominated the match, depriving their opponents off any meaningful possession. For all their possession it took a second half goal from the most unlikeliest of source, Carles Puyol from a Xavi corner to see off the Germans. This young German side has been on the rampage packing England and Argentina home, scoring eight goals in those two matches. But this Spanish side's midfield is the best in the world, may be one of the best of all time and the Germans had no answer to their tiki-taka style of playing. Barcelona fans would have been extremely happy to see seven of their players starting in the line-up. Pedro came in for Torres and joined his other club mates - Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Villa, Puyol, Pique, who all retained their places. It is a very proud moment for La Masia with five players in the starting line-up.

David Villa for once had an average match, eventhough he was much better than in the Swiss match, there was something missing in him last night. Otherwise on any other day, he would have finished off the early chance from a delightful Pedro through ball, eventhough the chance was pretty tough. Pedro, who had a good game was guilty of being selfish and not helping Spain finish off the game, when he failed to pass to Torres in a 2 on 1 situation. Lucky for him that he didn't have to regret his decision. Iniesta was once again at his consistent best and Xavi had a very good game after a serious of avergae performance. If it wasn't for the stubborn German defense, he would have send in half a dozen through balls to Villa. The man of the match for last night's victory has to be the Barca captain Carles Puyol. He not only scored the goal but was absolutely brilliant in defending in and around the box. The last ten minutes saw Puyol diving all over the box, clearing any dangerous crosses to safety.

Now Puyol and company will have a much more difficult task on hand dealing with the Dutch side. It is difficult to break down this Spanish side through collective brilliance, as found out by the Germans. But individual brilliance should be able to do that. I mean a magical moment from Robbesn or Sneijder could be a hell of a headache for this Spanish side. But then it is easily said than done, especially against a team which hold on to the ball like a child to his favourite toy.

Dutch Packs Off Defensive Brazil

Brazil defeated by Holland

In one of the biggest upset Brazil has been knocked out by Netharlands with a scoreline that read 2-1. Brazil took the lead in the 10th minute when Robinho took advantage of some bad defending by the Dutch. But an own goal from Filipe Melo (in which the goal keeper ia an equal culprit) and a second from Sneijder, add to that Melo's supension - all these shut the door firmly on the Brazilian national team. To an extent I am glad that this Brazilian team went out of the tournament. It has nothing to do with the fact that Argentina and Spain are my favourites. But it is quite sad to see Brazil play a defensively orriented counter attacking style. Brazil can't do that, they are the pioneers of the beautiful football and they definitely have to stick to that. This defeat shows that you have an equal chance of failure while playing a defensive style as in an attacking style. Atleast playing an atatcking style, when you can will let you hold your heads held high. A triumph of Brazil in South Africa would have seen the game moving into somewhat the "Wresting Side". The irony is that, had Brazil stuck to their attacking style they could have sealed off the match in the first half, when there were utter confusion in Dutch midfield and centre-defense.

Dunga changed this wonderful South American team into something like an European team. There were always critics against his him, but he staid afloat as long as the team was winning. With this debacl, he have only one option left - leave. The second half of the match saw the Dutch side giving Dunga's boys a wonderful class on how to play the traditional European style. The Brazilian side lost their cool in the persistent fouling and play acting by Robben. I am not accusing Robben of diving, the first half saw he getting repeatedy handled out by Brazilian players, especially Pasthos. Pasthos should have send off but the Referee for some strange reason kept on allowing his kicking on Robben. Kudoos to the Dutch coach in spotting the weakness of the Referee and the second half saw Robben going down in the slightest of pretext. In the end of it all, you were left to wonder whether the defensive mindset undid Brazil. They went into the lead and was more contained in attacking on the counter. Once the equaliser came they had no idea of how to respond as they moved into a defensive hole. It looked like a repeat of what Brazil did to England in 2002, only that Brazil was in the receiving end this time.

Destiny Takes Uruguay to Semi-Final

Ok, it's quite unfair to talk about destiny in a football match. But can anything other than that explain waht happened yesterday night. This match had all the drama you can wish for. The first twenty minutes saw Uruguay over-running the only African hope left in the tournament. The next twenty minutes saw Ghan overturning the tide with some rampant attacks and finishing off the half with a Muntari goal. The second half was "The beautiful game " at its best. Attack after attack from both sides but with no end result. Then Forlan equalised the score with a screaming free kick. But the drama was not to be ended there. The match went into the extra time. In the last minute of extra time Saurez had to use his hadn to block a goal bound ball. He was rightly send off and a penalty was awarded but Gyan hit the wood work, to send a crying Saurez into a cdelebration frenzy. The penaly shoot out had it share of drama. With Uruguay leading 3-2, the Ghana player missed the kick, but was relieved to see the subsequent Uruguay penaly missing. But once the next penalty also was saved, there was no turning back for Ghana.

Messi, Key for Argentina against Germany

Messi has to find his goal scoring touch against Germany

Many of the usual poster boys of the World Football, the Cristianos, the Rooneys etc has struggled to make an impression in this World Cup. A simple look at the statictics of Messi in this World cup will force you to his name into the aforementioned list. But statistics always doesn't tell the real story, isn't it? Messi looks like have a sigle assist in the ten goals scored by his fellow Argentinians. That's too poor for a person like Messi, but anyone who watched all his matches know that he has an indirect or direct part in 80% of the goal scored by Argentina. But still everyone is still waiting for Messi to break his goal scoring duck soon. I have earlier pointed out the need of Messi playing as a pivot behind the two main striker in my Argentina, World Cup preview. Such a move is reaping good benefit for Maradona's team in South Africa.

Heinze could be Key in Set-Pieces

But Messi has to find his goal scroing touch against Germany to enhance Argentina's chances. Against Mexico, he was desperate to get a goal. German defense is not the best experienced in the tournament. It is lacking in a bit of experience at this moment and there is no other person who is more suitable to take advantage of it. But Argentina has their own defensive worries against a team consisting of Klose, Podolski, Muller and Ozil. Walter Samuel is said to be fit and should partner Burdisso, not Demechelis in this match. The way Javier Hernandez turned past him in the Mexico clash is a sign of things to come. he has a week positional sense and that could become a head-ache against Germans. There are many who argues that Clemente Rodríguez should also start in place of Heinze, like Ottamandi has done. Eventhough retining Ottamandi is a must but removing Heinze could prove risky. Heinze is a genuine leader in the group and is an expert in set-pieces. If you look at the goals conceded by Germany this tournament, set-pieces is going to be crucial for Argentina.

But having said that I favour including Clemente Rodríguez in the side, not in place of Heinze but in place of Angel Di Maria. Let me guarantee you that it has nothing to do with Maria signing with Madrid. Angel has an off tournament till now with the South Korean match being an exception. BUt against the pace of Ozil and Muller, Heinze - who likes to get forward (and truly should also) may require a bit more defensive cover in the middle. Any space left on the wings could prove to be Argentina's nemesis. Clemente looks to be a very composed player going forward also, so he should link well with Messi, Tevez and Higuain. Even if its not working, Maradona can bring Maria or Pastore in second half. But that will be crucial in not conceding any early goals. Another player who is going to be crucial is Veron. He hasn't been in great form recently, but against the Germans he is a much more option than Maxi Rodriguez. Maxi has been poor in recent matches, eventhough Veron faired only a bit better, he will be a very imposing figure in the midfield. The German midfield has to be over-run both physically and tactically, if Argentina has to win this.

Villa Strike Sends Portugal Home

David Villa strike secures Spain QF spot

Newly signed Barca striker, David Villa continued his red-hot goal scoring streak with the solitary winning goal against Portugal. Portugal as done in their previous matches against quality opponents parked the bus, but still failed to keep David Villa quiet. But this match highlighted more problems for Spain's coach Del Bosque. It was one of the better performances by Spanish side, but still the form of Xavi and Torres is still a worrying factor for Spain. Spain will meet Paraguay in the Quarter Finals after the latter had seen off Japan in the first penalty shoot-out of the World Cup.

The Portugal-Spain clash looked like going in the Paraguay-Japan match's way. But a spirited performance following the substitution of Torres for Llorente saw Spain doing enough to beat the Portugese. As I have written in the Spain World Cup Preview, Xavi is the heart of this Spanish side. The failure of the Barca Maestro to impose himself is making it difficult for Spain. Xavi is not having any bad game, but by his standards the performance so far is average. The only consistent performer for Spain is David Villa, who has taken up the goal scoring duty and Iniesta. Iniesta needs to be encouraged to take more shots and run at the defense. He is one player who can increase the speed of Spanish attack, an they hell need that. The defnsive set up is getting caught up too often, especially Puyol and Capedevilla. May be it's time to look for other options than Capedevilla.

But there is a bigger decision for Del Bosque to make at this moment. Its most probably to bench Torres for the forth coming match and play Llorente instead. Llorente looks to be in the same mould of Torres, so free David Villa more. But the coach has to make the call soon, as Torres is seriously struggling on the pitch.

Argentina to Meet Germany in Quarter Final

Tevez Brace Takes Argentina through

Argentina has booked themselves a Quarter final clash with old foes Germany with a 3-1 controversial win over Mexico. This will be a repeat of last World cup's Quarter Final clash in which Argentina surprisingly went out in penalties. Lionel Messi once again failed to score a goal coming very close, only to see Tevez steal that goal. By the end of the match there were a herd of senior players, especially Heinze trying to console him and keep his spirits up. The match had its fair share of controversies with the first goal. Tevez looked clearly offside while he scored the goal but the linesman thought otherwise. Mexico then gifted Argentina's Higuain his fourth goal of the tournament, you have to appreciate his calmness in rounding off the keeper. And then in the second half, Tevez scored his second with a stunning kick from outside the box.

Mexico started well, hitting the crossbar early on. But we all knew it was a matter of time for Argentina to score. After the third goal Argentina went defensive, even Maradona was surprised by that. After that there were a wave of atatck from Mexico with one being finished by Javier Hernandez. The way he turned past Demechelis, shoudl force Maradona to pair Samuel along with Burdisso against Germany. Otamendi looked far more composed than Guitterez in early matches. The only drawback is that Messi didn't score but that could work in Maradona's favour as he looked hell hungry for a goal early on and a bit frustrated by the end also. Tevez returning to sublime for means Argentina has a fully firing front two. The clash between Argentina and Germany could be be one of the best in the World Cup.

England Suffers a Royal German Thrashing

Pre-Tournament favourites England suffered a Royal thrashing at the hands of a yound German side. The 4-1 score in the end does justice to Germany's way of playing and England's struggle in the World Cuyp. It had a bigger share of controversy with a disallowed goal from Frank Lampard. Had that goal stood England would have had some serious momentum and could have seen a different result. But in the end with so many stars misfiring, they deserved to go out of the tournament. The sad fact was to see Rooney once again struggling in the England jersey.It was something like the fears of Rooney in the Nike ad coming true. Germany - Argentina could become yet another classics. But it is very clear that Messi ahs to be at his best and should find the net too for Argentina to get past the Germans.

World Champions Knocked Out, D-Day for Spain

World Champions Italy finished bottom in the Group

As expected defending World Champions Italy was knocked out of the World cup following a 3-2 defeat against Slovakia. Everyone expected this to happen, after Marcelo Lippi hugely controversial decision to exclude Antonio Cassano and Fabrizio Miccoli. Eventhough they got themselves into good positions throughout yesterday's match, they never had the strike power to finish of those chances. Meanwhile the New Zealand - Paraguay match ended in a goalless draw. That means the brave NewZealand side was eliminated from the World cup. In Group F Holland maintained their 100% win record with a 2-1 victory over Cameroon. Japan secured a birth in next round with a 3-1 victory over Denmark. Japan will now face Paraguay while Netharlands will face Slovakia.

Do or Die, time for Spain

For the current European champion Spain today represent a do or die situation. A victory against Chile will help them not only secure the qualification but also the top spot. But anything other than that result could see Spain making yet another early exit. Iniesta is expected to return back to the side, probably taking the place of Jesus Navas. Iniesta has been in good form apart from his injury, but what should worry Spanish fans is the form of Xavi. Going to the last day all four teams have the mathematical chance of qualification. Chile is leading the pack with six points but a heavy defeat against Spain could see them struggling. In Group G, Portugal and Brazil has already booked their place. Ivory Coast needs a close to 10-0 victory over North Korea and Brazil to do a favour to take them through.

England Escapes but German Troubles Ahead

Many say this has been a very dull World Cup, get a grip guys. I mean, look almost all groups are in tantrum until the last day. Group C and D were decided yesterday. USA and England joined Germany and Ghana in the round of 16. Ghana most probably will be the only African team left once the group stage ends. England who produced a much more enterprising performance last night secured a 1-0 victory courtesy of a first half goal from Defoe. The victory had its fair share of nervous moments, but nothing compared to the USA - Algeria match. United States of America left it pretty late to secure qualification. Donavan scored in the 91st minute to slash the Slovenian hopes. When the Slovenia vs England match ended both the teams were supposed to proceed but that changed in the very next minute.

Slovenia have no one else to blame but themselves. They had enough chances to drew the match and send England packing. But it looks like they have left that job to Germany. Germany topped their group with a 1-0 win over Ghana, who also qualified courtesy of a late ridiculous miss by a Serbian player. Had that shot went in Ghana would have made the exit. So much action and thrill, I feel like to kick the guys who still claim this World Cup as a boring. It is the best since 1986, atleast for me. Wqayne Rooney, who was supposed to take England all the way through is going through a very bad patch. His form has been appalling but he has to get his act together, otherwise the Germans will be a handful. Germans still remains one of the most organised teams in the World Cup and to make matters worse - with every game Mezut Ozil seems to improve by miles. Already we have four cracking Group of 16 matches on our hand and the only though in my mind is how to skip office.

Argentina Secures Top Spot

Argentina Continues Winning form under Messi

Diego Maradona's Argentina secured a hard fought 2-0 victory against a ultra-defensive Greece. If you felt that you were watching the Inter-Barca second leg, you could be very much forgiven. It was kind of bizzarre. Greece needed to win this to make sure about progressing but they had 4 centre backs and two full backs on the pitch and forget the defensive minded midfielders. Still Samaras as the lone striker created enough problem for a make shift Argentinian back four. The highlight of the match was once again Messi failing to get into the scoresheet. He came close hitting the woodwork but Palermo was the lucky one who scored from the rebound.

Nicolas OTAMENDI looked good and Maradona should pick him ahead of Guitterez as right back. But the star of the night was Clemente RODRIGUEZ, playing as left back. After watching Samaras causing trouble for Argentinian defense I am pretty convinced that the way to deal with an ultra defensive 5-4-1 or a 4-5-1 formation is not with four defenders.

The best option is to have a three mand central defense pair with no full backs. Why because, there will be only one anchor man and the entire idea will be to use his strenth to release player. A three man closed packed central defense will be able to cut all the long balls. That means we can have a 4 men or a 5 men midfield, which will be essential to creating space. But still the best way to crack such ultra defensive setup is from set-pieces. There were rumours recently that FIFA is considering to scrap the offside rule to encourage more attacking players, if that's done Jose Mourinho will go jobless;-).

The Group A matches have finished and Uruguay and Mexico qualified for the round of 16. Argentina will face Mexico, meanwhile South Korea will be facing Uruguay. French players who has become a symbol of national shame hit a new low by losing 2-1 to South Africa. Today two of the tightly contested groups will be decided. The fates of England, USA, Germany all hang in the balance.

David Villa Brace Keeps Spain Alive

A splendid David Villa brace kept Spanish hopes alive in this World Cup. The performance was far better than in the defeat against Switzerland, but it cannot be denied that Spain was rather wasteful infront of the goal. David Villa who could have easily had his hat-trick, missed a penalty and another open chance. While his striking partner Torres, was rather wasteful wasting around four open chances. Now Spain need a victory against Chile to go through to the next round but that is not going to be easy. Iniesta started from the bench in this match whereas Jesu Navas got a rare start on the right. I have to admiot that I am far from impressed by Navas, as he looks a very one-dimensional player and the crosses were all poor. Hope Iniesta is called back for the Chile match.

Portugal Goes Goal Crazy

Earlier on the day the entire Portugal team went goal crazy scoring seven past a hapless North Korean side. Nort Korea, who surprised everyone with a splendid defensive display against Brazil decided to play an open game after the break. The result was quite terrifying. With suce a huge win Portugal has slammed the door hard at the Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast if tried could have won the game against Portugal and now they pay for their ultra-defensive approach.

Meanwhile the First and Second group - Group A and B will be decided tonight. Anything is still possible. France could still qualify if they can get the right result and hope thath there is a winner in the Uruguay - Mexico match. Meanwhile in Group B, Messi will be hoping to get on scoresheet soon. He has been sensational till now, but with Ronaldo also getting into scoresheet it's time for Messi to blast into the scoresheet.

Messi and Higuain Lights up World Cup

After a dull first phase of World cup, the tournament has come to life with some splendid goal scoring in the second phase of group clashes. As more and more teams are forced to drop their defensive attitude, more goals should follow. There have been four second phase matches so far and those have already produced 11 goals. Argentina were rather wasteful in their first match against Nigeria. But against South Korea they took their chances and brought out the performance of the tournament so far. Lionel Messi would consider himself unlucky for not scoring goals in these two matches, but boy oh boy, he was involved in everything. Argentina won't mind him not scoring goals as far as he creates these many for his team mates. I have earlier written in my Argentina world cup preview, that it is essential for Maradona to play three of his best players upfront and also the necessity to play Messi behind the other two. It looks like he has done all those, but the selection of Guiterrez as right back could come to haunt him.

There is no doubt about the fact that the world cup is doing well with it's greatest poster boy, Maradona back on the sideline. Actually he looks more passionate than anyone in and around the pitch. It is a treat to watch him celebrate every moment, may be a bit childish but still a treat for the eyes.

Last two days have been the days of upset in this edition of World Cup. First it was an absolutely unexpected Spanish defeat against Switzerland and followed by yesterday's defeat of France to Mexico. The latter doesn't surprise me as I have predicted a chance of the same in World Cup Preview. Meanwhile Group G has gone from bad to worse with suddenly North Korea showing that they are not any push overs. Cristiano Ronaldo criticized the defensive attitude of Ivory Coast, quite surprising that he will be playing under Jose Mourinho next season. Germany has been the delight of the tournament playing "Total Football", due to the simple fact that they are more comfortable with the Jabulani than anyone else. Let's hope with the second week the tournament opens up a bit. But one thing is for sure that the knockout stages will be ultra-defensive this time around, there are too many Jose Mourinho's in the competition.

World Cup Preview

Group A Preview
When France was paired along with Uruguay, South Africa and Mexico, everyone believed that Lady Luck was shining on France. In FIFA ranking France is ranked at number nine, Mexico at 17, Uruguay at 16 and South Africa at 83. From the numbers it should be a cake walk for France and the second spot should be a fight between Uruguay and Mexico. But this could be very much far from the truth. France recent form has been appaling at its best. Meanwhile Mexico inspired by the young talents of Giovani dos Santos, Javier Hernandez and Vela has been creating huge trouble for experienced defences. Their performance in the defeat against England and the victory against Italy showed the glimpse of what Mexico is capable of. Meanwhile South Africa is in the middle of an unbeaten run and a look back at last year's confederation cup shows that, with the crowd backing they could be the most tricky opponent. FIFA world cup has always seen host nations doing well, even winning the cup. South Africa may not be winning the World Cup but with crowd behind them they could take some big teams along with them. Uruguay now looks like the minows in the team but has the firepower to upstage even the group favourite, France. Add all these factors to France's terrible form, Group A could emerge as the potential "Group of Death".

Group B
Argentina meanwhile should be pleased that none of their opponents have shown any kind of dangerous form to the build up of the game. Baring complacency, they should easily see off South Korea, Nigeria and Greece. This is not going to be easy, but we can expect them to prevail from the group without much proble. As I have written earlier Argentina World Cup Preview, Maradona has to get the lin-up correct. The real competition could be for the second place as every team has a decent chance, but one has to fancy South Korea for their recent experiences.

Group C
Group C looks less complicated with England being the strongest team and USA the second. The chances of Algeria or Slovenia creating an upset looks rather bleak at this moment. For a number of English players, this could be their last World Cup and would like to make this one special. Meanwhile USA players will be hoping to produce another sensational performance like last year's Confederation Cup.

Group D
Group D looks like a mess at this moment. Germany and Ghana were favoured by many to go through. But injuries to Ballack and Essien makes this group very very interesting. With these stars absent we can expect a very close contest. Germany will be banking on their experience to get through this group. Past history shows German teams always do well in World Cup and we can expect them to get out of this group. Of all the Group of deaths, this one looks the toughest one.

Group E
Favourites Netherlands should be pleased at their Group and Pre-tournament form. The Dutch national side has a great chance to win this World Cup and should ease past through this group. The second place could be a clean fight between Japan and Cameroon. Japan's recent records are not that good and we can fancy Cameroon proceeding from this group.

Group F
Defending Champion Italy and Paraguay looks favourite to proceed through this group. Minows Denmark and Slovakia may present interesting challenge, but it is very difficult to see them upstaging Italy or Paraguay.

Group G
We now come to the most talked about Group of the Tournament. Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea are all clubbed together in the official Group of Death. In the presence of Portugal, Ivory Coast and Brazil, North Korea may be just there to make up the numbers. Brazil looks favourite to emerge as the Group Winners but there is no Guarantee. The fixture puts Ivory Coast in a very advantageous position. Ivoy Coast plays Portugal first and Brazil after that. If they can get one draw out of these two matches, they could do well to qualify as the last match would be with North Korea. Meanwhile Portugal's form coming into the tournament doesn't inspire many. So it will be upto Ronaldo to inspire his team and qualify from this group. My afvourites are Brazil and Portugal to go through.

Group H
Spain should not have any problem in topping the group, but the second round is going to be tricky. Chile looks the next favourite to go through as both Honduras and Switzerland may not present much of a challenge.

World Cup Preview - Argentina

Argentina arrives in South Africa in midst of another selection controversy. Pundits across the world is struggling to make sense of Diego Maradona's decision to omit Champions League winners Cambiasso and Zannetti. To an extent mayhem was expected in the selection process, as Maradona had to pick from a possible 100 players(he used that much for qualifying process). That in itself shoudld be a record. The final 23 players who is making to Argentina are Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andújar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon); Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Vélez Sarsfield), Clemente Rodríguez (Estudiantes), Ariel Garcé (Colon); Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Sebastián Veron (Estudiantes), Maximiliano Rodríguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jonas Gutiérrez (Newcastle), Javier Pastore (Palermo); Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid), Diego Milito (Internazionale), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona). Zannetti's and Cambiasso's exclusion doesn't come as surprise for those who followed Argentinian qualification campaign. After a series of not so good performances, both the players fell out of favour with El Diego.

Going by betting market, Argentina is currently fourth favourite to lift the cup, behind Spain, Brazil and England respectively. Surprisingly a more compact Dutch nationa team is placed behind Argentina. A look at the squad, we will clearly know what has prompted that favourites tag - it's that attacking line-up. A squad list consisting of Lionel Messi, Milito, Agüero, Tevez, Higuaín and Palermo should give sleepless nights to opponents. But I doubt many may lose sleep as only two of them is expected to start the match for Argentina. There precisely lies the biggest problem for Argentina. Most of the abundance of talent lies upfront and will be unused for majority of tournament. Like I have written earlier - Solving Argentinian Puzzle, Maradona has to adapt a formation which utilises atleast three of them in every match. The quality in midfield and especially defense is pretty sub-standard. The midfield most probably will have a combination of Angel Di Maria, Mascherano, Veron and Maxi Rodriguez, not a bad combination but many of them are pretty much out of form. How Maradona will organise his defense also need to be seen. Walter Samuel after an excellent display at Inter could be the heart but the likes of Martín Demichelis, Henize all are quite risky against fast paced opponents.

If this Argentinian team is going to win the Cup, it will be soley based on their pure attacking strength. That's why I always believed it would be better to move Messi into the midfield rather than upfront. Many times we have seen Messi struggling to get into the game in an Argentinian jersey. This is precisely due to the fact that the midfield behind him is not letting him. Messi is the trump card of Maradona in this World Cup and the success of his team will depend upon how he use him. The best way is to play Messi as a pivot lying behind the two centre forward and infront of a three man midfield. That way he will get into the game more often and Maradona can use the two of either Tevez, Higuaín, Milito or Agüero upfront. With Veron, Mascherano and Maxi potentially going to fill the midfield, there is a serious drought of creativity there. So Angel di Mari should be a must as he can only provide the pace and freshness from that midfield. I have no idea how Maradona will line-up his defense, but he has to make sure that he don't play Henize in the centre of defense.

No other player in the history of the game would have done so much for his national side's triumph in World Cup like Maradona. He single handedly took Argentina to World Cup triumph in 86 and to the World Cup final in 90. We ahve seen the "Goal of Century" time and again, but how about this wonder assist againt Brazil in 1990.

But Maradona has to stop expecting his players to display the same magic. Maradona as a player lies in a different league compared to these players. We expect Messi to match his genius, but El Pulga may take some more years to match his idol at his best. Last World Cup, Argentina had the best team in the tournament but went out due to their conservative strategy against Germany. But this time around the team is not that perfect, but they still have the likes of Messi, Aguerro, Higuain, Milito etc who can single handedly change the course of a match. And a number of those Gentlemen have to play out of their skin if they have to take home the cup. The last time Argentina lifted the cup was with the help of the genius of Maradona. May be that was the missing piece all these years, and now they have the genius as the Manager. But only his managerial skills remains the biggest stumbling block as of now.

World Cup Preview - Spain

With eight FC Barcelona players in the national squad, Spain has to be the name on every Barca fans lips. I have to admit that they are just my second choice behind my all time favourites Argentina. Spain will be the most fancied team in this World Cup. Spain always had a wonderful team but somehow managed to fail consistently at the biggest stage. They were never counted as a favourite in any tournament prior to the Euro 2008. The Euro 2008 success has put Spain to where it belongs. That triumph has instilled a sense of self belief in the Spanish National side and most importantly in their fans. Spain comes to the World Cup with an extra ordinary unbeaten run behind them. The only blemish was the defeat to United States of America in the confederation cup. That may be come as a blessing in disguise as no Confederation Cup winners have ever lifted the World Cup. (History has this uncanny habit of repeating itself.)

Many national sides are struggling to put a decent looking starting eleven. In contrast Spain is facing a problem of plenty. I don't think there is any team at the World Cup who has excellent cover for each position like the Spaniards. The abundance of talent is displayed by the sheer fact that the best midfielder in England, Cesc Fabregas will only start from the bench for majority of the games. The final 23 man squad for the World Cup is - Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), José Manuel Reina (Liverpool), Víctor Valdés (Barcelona), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi Hernández (Barcelona), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fábregas (Arsenal), Javi Martínez (Athletic), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), David Silva (Valencia), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Barcelona), Pedro Rodríguez (Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Athletic). The expected starting line-up most probably woul be Iker, Capdevila, Puyol, Pique, Ramos, Xavi, Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Silva, Torres and Villa. Now with the signing of Villa half of the starting line-up will feature Barca players.

Spain has been placed in Group H along with Honduras, Chile and Switzerland. Spain is expected to cruise through that Group with ease, but that precisely could be Spain's biggest problem. Spain is destined to face either Brazil, Ivory Coast or Portugal in the round of 32, depending on who emerges from the Group of Death. Which precisely means that from the mediocre challenge posed by Chile, Honduras and Switzerland , it could be a sharp elevation. That means Spain may have to peak early and sustain that throughout the rest of the tournaments. Another problem will be the over dependence of Xavi. Xavi without any doubt is the real heart of the Spanish side. Arsenal fans may argue that Fabregas is quite capable of out-performing Xavi. But I beg to differ. Rewind back a year, back to the USA vs Spain semi final in the Confederation cup. The USA coach kept a man around Xavi all the time cutting his creativity which incidentally Fabregas wasn't able to provide. May be the absence of Iniesta was the biggest problem for Spain that night - Xavi and Iniesta. In that sense Iniesta would be as crucial as Xavi. Another problem for Spain would be something this Barca side has faced many times this season - good teams parking the bus in their box. With Torres and Villa upfront they may already have the firepower to overcome those tactics but this could be a tactic Spain will encounter more than once in this World Cup. The likes of England, Italy or even Brazil may use this tactic against the Spaniards if they are destined to face each other.

On paper Spain has the most complete team to win this World Cup. But the fun of World Cup is that most of the time the best team never managed to win the tournament. Hungary in 54, the dutch in 74 and 98 and the Argentinians in last World cup all stand as the best examples. To win the World Cup you require a bit of luck and lots of grit. There are some major players for Spain who are coming back from injury. The likes of Torres and Fabregas has not yet recovered fully from their injury. But the Spain squad has so much abundance of talent that they could with stand those. But there are some crucial players who cannot get injured if Spain has to keep their hopes alive. The first one is Xavi Hernandez, the second one is David Villa. We all know that Torres has been struggling with injury in the last year and that makes the role of David Villa very much important. Another could be Iniesta, Spain may not miss him against the smaller teams but against the bigger team he is a tremendous weapon. As Torres said recently, this has to be the best chance for Spain to lift the World Cup but we have to wait and see whether they are able to fulfill the same.

National Coaches goes Crazy with World Cup Squad Announcement

A host of footballing nations has announced their initial World Cup squad for this year's footballing extravaganza in South Africa. The latest to announce was the Argentinian coach Diego Maradona. As expected Maradona has surprised many by omiting a host of this season's best performing players. You may be excused, if you believe that Maradona has gone crazy after over-looking the Inter Milan duo of Zanetti and Cambiasso for the initial 30 man squad. He now has to trim it to the 23 man final squad list. When you see the names of Fabricio Coloccini and Heinze, a player seriously in the end of his career, you will be forced to question the logic of omitting two of the most sensationally performing defensive midfielders in world football. Another high profile name who is missing is FC Barcelona's Gabriel Milito. But it should be upto the lack of playing time, but seeing how Martin Demichelis have performed in recent Bayern Munich's matches in Europe, I would have seriously preferred Milito. Another name which is missing is Real Madrid midfielder, Fernando Gago. He was never expected to make into the first eleven, but was widely expected to make the trip to South Africa. Maradona looks like have preferred players who play in Argentina rather than the usual trend of picking Europe based players. This could backfire spectacularly as the quality experience could be handy in the World Cups. For the record Lionel Messi has been named in the 30 men squad and let's hope Maradona won't cut his name out.
Crucial Updates : Jonathan Dos Santos makes into 26 men Mexican Initial Squad along with his brother Giovanni.


If you thought Maradona was a lone case, you are horribly wrong. Actually French Coach, Raymond Domenech shocked everyone precisely 12 hours before Maradona announced his squad. The French national coach sursprisingly could not find a place for Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Patrick Vierra in the 30 men squad list. Meanwhile Djibril Cissé, has made a spectacular comeback after having a great season in Greece. Benzema has been struggling for playing time at Real Madrid, but it's a huge surprise to see his name missing in the list. Meanwhile Nasri will be wondering what went wrong with his case. Meanwhile Spain's national coach, Vincente del Bosque has announced a overall good looking 30 man squad. The ones to miss out are Bojan Krkic and Sergio Canales. Barcelona's Pedro and Valdes have made it into the list. The failure of Bojan Krkic to make it into the squad should be upto Guardiola's initial lack of confidence in him which saw him getting very less playing time. Del Bosque has surprised many by including five goal keepers in the squad of 30. Now it is sure that two of them will miss out and I have a feeling that Valdes will not be one of them. Pedro would most probably see his name not making into the final list. For Spain, it is the problem of planety. They have a huge amount of wonderful talent to pick out from. Just look at the Forward line-up - Santiago Cazorla (Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Daniel Guiza (Fenerbache), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia). Out of this Villa, Torres, Llorente, Mata will make the list for sure. The rest most probably will miss out maybe except Guiza. Vicente del Bosque will be looking to cut most number of names from the Forward line-up when he prepares the final 23 man squad. The midfield and Defensive squad does not give him much options to omit.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Groups are out

Last night the drawing of groups for FIFA World Cup 2010 was completed in Cape Town. Next year's World cup will feature two group of deaths - Group D and Group G. Out of both Group G looks terrible with Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea. Argentina and Spain looks to have drawn into very easy group, but Spain has trouble in their hands with a possible meeting with either Ivory Coast or Portugal in the knockout stage, maybe even Brazil. Ivory Costa feature in the group of death in the 2006 edition and will consider themselves extremely unlucky featuring once again in the Death Group. France which was featured in pot 4 got into a very goood group. The Groups are



Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France

Group B
Argentina
Nigeria
South Korea
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana

Group E
Netherland
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia

Group G

Brazil
South Korea
Ivory Coast
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

I am just going through each group and the possible qualifier. Group A most probably will see France and Mexico qualifying. After being in pot 4, it is like a lottery for France to feature in such a weak group. Argentina is expected to top group B but I am not yet clear whom among the other three will make cut. I believe Nigeria owing to the support has abetter chance to perform than others.
This makes it important for France to top their group as they could face Argentina if they don't. In Group C I can see two clear qualifier - England and USA. But group D is tough - Germany looks like may top the group but Serbia and Ghan are very well organised sides. My pics will be Ghana and Germany. Yes I expect Ghana to top the group. Netherlands has a very easy group and is expected to top the group. Denmark and Japan may be good teams but I expect the crowd support to see Cameroon through. Meanwhile Italy and Paraguay looks like the possible qualifiers from Group F. Now comes Group G. Everybody expects Brazil and Portugal to make the cut. But I don't think so. I expect Brazil and Ivory Coast to qualify from this team. The Elephants are in great form and they have a team with enough experience with the likes of Toure brothers, Kalou, Drogba, Eboue, Emmanuel Koné, Arouna Koné etc. Their form in the qualification campaign has been excellent whereas Portugal were far from perfect in their campaign. Portugal always struggle in World Cups and will definitely struggle against a very physical Ivory Coast. And most importantly being an African team the crowd can be expected to be behind Ivory Coast. The most important match of this group will be the opening match between Ivory Coast and Portuga. Portugal has to win this to proceed to the next stage. Meanwhile Ivory Coast can try to draw their first two matches and still qualify well with a good win against North Korea. But everyone in this group will be hoping to top the group as nobody would like to face Spain in the next round. Group G will have Spain and Chile as qualifier.