THE CLOCK IS TICKING

The Countdown to the

World Cup is truly on ...

79 days to the last play-off match... 18 November

95 days to the World Cup Draw... 4 December

283 days to start of South Africa 2010... 11 June 2010

PRESSURE ON MARADONA AS ARGENTINA GEAR UP FOR BRAZIL

A World Cup without Argentina is hard to imagine. Things wouldn’t be right somehow, would they? Well, no country has any divine right to take part in the Finals. The honour must be earned, and Diego Maradona’s men have some serious work to do to ensure their place in South Africa next summer. And it begins with the big one: Brazil, at home, on September 5.

Lying fourth in the group with four games to go, Argentina are two points clear of Ecuador in fifth place, but the two countries will switch position in the group if Argentina lose to Brazil and Ecuador pick up three points in Columbia. Four days after the Brazil game, Argentina have a very tricky looking trip to Asunción to play Paraguay, third in the group and a team notoriously hard to beat at home, where they hadn’t lost in the current campaign until Chile’s 2-0 victory in June.

Argentina opened their qualification campaign with three comfortable wins and no goals conceded. But they’ve only managed a further three wins in the eleven subsequent fixtures, a poor run of form that included four straight draws, and the infamous 6-1 crushing in Bolivia, which may well prove to be decisive if goal difference becomes an issue.

Whilst nobody will be pushing the panic button just yet, the clash with Brazil is absolutely massive. One of the reasons Brazil and Argentina always qualify is that the ‘one big group’ policy in South America means lot of matches (eighteen) to get it right. Four automatic places plus a play-off spot for the team finishing fifth means that failure to get to the World Cup for Argentina would be absolutely inexcusable.

Maradona took over as the national coach in December 2008. A 2-0 friendly win against France in Marseille in February certainly impressed, but in the qualifying matches for South Africa he has overseen two wins and two defeats.

To be absolutely sure of securing automatic qualification, Argentina need to win all their remaining matches. If they drop points and Ecuador finish off with four wins, then the ignominy of a play-off may be the best Argentina can hope for.

Charlie’s prediction: Brazil to pile the pressure on their neighbours with a 2-1 in Rosario.


Argentina’s remaining games:

Brazil (H) Sept 5
Paraguary (A) Sept 9
Peru (H) Oct 10
Uruguay (A) Oct 13



Get the result right here:

worldcup-latest.blogspot.com.

Focus on: HOLLAND

Already qualified for South Africa 2010 and currently ranked 3rd in the FIFA’s world rankings. Technically always superb and the inventors of “total football” in the 1970s, Holland have underachieved in the international arena. Their failure has often been attributed to internal divisions and tension within the squad.

World Cup Pedigree:

Two consecutive World Cup Final defeats – both times against the host nation (West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978) are the closest Holland have come to winning the biggest prize in football.
The next time they qualified for the finals was not until 1990. As European Champions they were highly fancied, but were gunned down by eventual winners Germany in the second round. At USA 94 they lost a classic quarter-final against Brazil after having come back from 2-0 down. In 1998 the two countries clashed again, this time in the semi-final, and Holland came closer still, only missing out on a place in the final by virtue of a penalty shoot-out. They failed to qualify again in 2002 and lost to Portugal in the second round of Germany 2006 in a match that is remembered for its ill-tempered nature, producing no fewer than sixteen yellow cards and four reds.

Greatest moment:

Winning Euro 88 with Ruud Gullit’s header and a sensational volley from Marco van Basten seeing off Russia in the final.

Biggest heartbreak:

Rob Resenbrink hitting the post in the last minute of normal time of the World Cup Final in 1978 with the score 1-1 – a couple of centimetres to the right and the Dutch would have been World Champions.

ENGLAND'S GOAL TO BRING FOOTBALL HOME

Why I believe England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup will be successful, by Charlie de Wirtz.


“Football’s Coming Home” was a song that was written by The Lightening Seeds and used as England’s anthem for The European Championships (Euro 1996) – the last time a major international football tournament was held in England.

The reference to “coming home” made perfect sense at that time, as football originated in England and thirty years had elapsed since the World Cup last took place here, in 1966. However, there is a strong current of opinion among the powers-that-be in football that the use of the “coming home” slogan was a contributing factor to England’s failed bid to host the last World Cup.

Now England has hosting the World Cup in its sights again, and has submitted their application to FIFA for the 2018 or the 2022 tournament. They lost out to Germany in the race to host the 2006 showpiece, and the current bid team are determined to learn the lessons from last time round to ensure that England don’t miss out again on the ‘Big One’.

“One of the things we learned from the last World Cup bid was we were perceived to be arrogant around the world in how we presented ourselves,” says Andy Anson, chief executive of the bid team. “The tone of this campaign has to be different. We will certainly not be saying that football is coming home. It was an arrogant slogan."

This is expected to be the most hotly contested hosting race ever. Australia, USA, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Indonesia have all thrown their hats into the ring, along with joint bids from Holland/Belgium and Spain/Portugal. Korea and Qatar are also both in the running, but only for the 2022 tournament.

In spite of the tough opposition, there are strong reasons to believe that England has an outstanding chance of success for their preference of 2018, which will be the 21st FIFA World Cup. By the time it comes around, ten of the previous twenty tournaments will have been held in Europe. Consecutive World Cups have never been held outside Europe; however, this will change following next year’s tournament in South Africa and the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil. A European host therefore seems the most sensible and likely choice for 2018.

In addition to this, European club football is unrivalled in terms of its global popularity and the attention it demands. The leading English, Spanish and Italian clubs – aided by huge investment and the accessibility to satellite TV channels – have become global ‘brand’ names and command an ever-expanding international fan base. It seems inconceivable that FIFA would allow three tournaments to elapse omitting Europe as a host destination.

The other bidders will be aware of this, which is why non-European hopefuls like Australia and the USA will be focusing their efforts more on 2022.

There remains strong opposition to England’s bid from within Europe, however, so the question remains: Why England? What are England’s strong points?

Firstly, England is home to the Premier League (the “EPL”) which is watched the world over, far more than any other national league. No other league has attracted the colossal amount of foreign investment that the English Premier League has, especially in recent times. Many of the best players in the world play here, and the majority of those that don’t dream of doing so at some stage in their career.

Secondly, from an organizational point of view, England would represent a safe bet for FIFA. London is home to no less than thirteen professional football clubs – more than any other city in the world. The world famous Wembley stadium has recently been totally rebuilt and would provide the perfect setting for the Final and perhaps the Opening Ceremony. Intercity travel is efficient and long distances for travelling fans would not be a factor. A sound and modernized infrastructure should also be a natural upshot of London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.

Thirdly, it’s not just the Capital that ticks the right boxes. Both the North and the Midlands have experience of hosting international sporting events in recent years, such as the World Indoor Athletics Championship and the Commonwealth Games. They also boast some superb stadiums, such as Old Trafford (Manchester United), the City of Manchester Stadium (Manchester City), St James’ Park (Newcastle United), the Stadium of Light (Sunderland) and the historic Villa Park (Aston Villa).

Indeed, the corner stone of England’s argument for its suitability to host the World Cup is that it boasts a rich football heritage wherever you go. As Andy Anson says: "Our starting point is always about the passion of the fans in England and the fact that in every community in England they are obsessed with football and the passion of football. And, if you add onto that the diversity of those communities, any team playing in the World Cup would probably pack a stadium full of its own fans who are based in England.” (Source: Crean, 2009)

One would think that such cultural diversity could only count in England’s favour when it comes to FIFA votes at the end of next year. With a good infrastructure already in place, a successful English bid would enable them to focus on furthering the global development of the game, something that is very much within the interests of FIFA. If they become convinced that a World Cup hosted by England in 2018 would represent the most powerful means of continuing to marketing football globally – from the grass roots upwards – then it would be hard to see England missing out this time.

References

BBC News (18 May 2009) “2018 Bid Chief calls for humility” {online}
Available from http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football (accessed 24 July 2009)
Crean, J. Google News “England declare 2018 World Cup bid slogan-free” {online} Available from http://www.google.com/hostednews (accessed 23 July 2009)

Published in The East (East Asian Monthly Business Newspaper) in August 2009 (Issue 22) www.theeast.org

WORLD CUP DRAW IN 108 DAYS

The World Cup draw will take place in Cape Town on December 4th - in 108 days time.

The search for the best team in the world – to be decided between 11th June and 11th July next summer – will be down to 32 remaining hopefuls who will be drawn into eight groups of four.

Seeds? FIFA have yet to reveal the exact criteria by which the eight heads of the groups will be decided. They have suggested, however, that less importance will be given to their questionable FIFA ranking system.

Recent tournaments records will certainly be factored in, which means working out the eight seeds should not prove too difficult.

Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy are all certain to be seeded, along with the host nation South Africa. That leaves three others berths, which will surely be taken from Argentina, France, England, Holland, Mexico and the USA.

The draw will make a big difference to everyone’s opinion of who will win the World Cup. From the draw, it’s possible to plot the potential route all the way to the Final in Johannesburg..

Traditionally, there is a ‘group of death’, which may ensure one of the Big Guns takes an early plane home…

The draw will bring into perspective the expectations of the lesser footballing nations, indicating whether they should dream of qualifying beyond the group stage or set a target of simply gaining a win.

It will fuel the dreams of players and fans alike. From the day of the draw, 188 days will remain to the start of the 2010 World Cup.

The countdown will truly be on…