France 2-1 Ireland (AET): A Crying Shame.

The Irish players distraught at the final whistle.

Who else is bitterly disappointed by this morning’s World Cup qualifiers? I know I certainly am, there were no real upsets, indeed the only team who suffered a shock defeat were Russia, a team who I was looking forward to watching at the World Cup because they play a nice brand of hard-working football, and hell, it’s always a pleasure to watch Andrey Arshavin play football. It has to be said though, the biggest disappointment of all occurred, unsurprisingly, in Paris.

Few gave the Irish a chance when they conceded an away goal in the first leg, but I thought they’d go there and cause the French problems and so they did, probably doing more than enough to win the game. Yet despite being outplayed, despite being over-confident, despite having a ludicrously poor manager and despite scoring a goal that featured two offside players and two separate hand-balls, the French will be at the World Cup.

World Cup Playoff Predictions

I had initially planned to make some predictions before the first legs of these playoff matches at the weekend, but what with my busy schedule I didn’t have chance to. Intriguingly though, each and every tie is delicately poised and could easily go either way when all is said and done later on tonight. Playoffs are always hard to call, they’re essentially like Cup Finals and form goes out the window but I had NZ down to beat Bahrain by one goal (though I’ll admit, I’d picked 2-1) so let’s see what I can do…

European Qualifying Playoffs
Bosnia-Hercegovina vs. Portugal (agg. 0-1)
Portugal were certainly the favourites going into this playoff tie despite a stuttering qualification campaign that saw them limp into second place, they have enough quality in their side to be a real force if they make it to the World Cup. Bosnia are looking to make it to their first World Cup and as is so often the case with nations recently affected by civil war, the national side carries the hopes of the nation with them. They’re also quite technically gifted though and if the home fans can provide a threatening atmosphere they’ll trouble a fragile Portuguese outfit. I think Portugal will probably get a crucial away goal though and make it to South Africa.
Prediction: 1-1 (agg. 1-2).

Beckham’s on his way to Milan… and the World Cup.

Beckham flourished during his last stint in Milan, will he do so again?

So AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has assured the world that the loan deal to take David Beckham back to the red half of the San Siro in January is “100% done” and “The only thing missing is the signatures” which simultaneously confirms that he’s lying (let’s face it, unless it’s signed and sealed, it isn’t 100% done) and that David Beckham will almost certainly be part of England’s World Cup squad in South Africa next year.

He’s proven popular as a squad member during Fabio Capello’s time in charge of the three lions but because of the Italian’s reluctance to take a player plying his trade in the sub-European standard MLS to a World Cup there was still a chance that Beckham could miss out. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that a move to Milan was the only way that Beckham could give himself a really good chance of being included – a much talked about Premier League return could actually have harmed his chances.

WDKF Wednesday: Who’s on your proverbial plane?

Today we briefly divulge ourselves of the dramas of domestic and European club football and return to the international arena as I complete selections as to who I would be taking to South Africa if I were in Fabio Capello’s shoes at this point in time. Last week I selected the goalkeepers and defenders who I think would best serve England come next summer, and today I complete the squad.

Major questions that plague Capello with the selection of his midfielders and forwards are who to deploy on the right wing, whether or not old heads like David Beckham and Michael Owen should be included in the squad and how best to partner Wayne Rooney, especially with his favoured option spending plenty of time warming the bench. I’ve picked a squad of thirty-two that I think can win the World Cup for England so to find out whether or not you agree with me…

…click through and have a read of my WDKF Wednesday article!

WDKF Thursday: Who’s on your proverbial plane?

Having lost track of the days of the week due to my days being filled with a continual headachey and groggy illness recently, I missed my WDKF Wednesday article this week and so recompense for it with a Thursday post at We Don’t Know Football instead.

It’s the first of a two-parter (the second will be next Wednesday) which, in light of the conclusion of the European World Cup qualifying phases, looks at the decisions that face Fabio Capello in his selection of his World Cup squad between now and next June. Goalkeepers and defenders today, midfielders and strikers next week.

Click on through to have a read…

Ronaldo & Messi: Are you coming?

Will they be in South Africa next year? Are we bothered?

With Portugal and Argentina both faltering in their attempts to qualify for next year’s World Cup, there has been much discussion about whether or not it would be somehow improper or unworthy to have a World Cup in which the world’s best two players do not take part. This of course assumes that Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the world’s best players which is an argument for another day, but either way, they’re in almost everyone’s top five, and their absence would raise some eyebrows.

However, I take exception to concerns that the World Cup would not really be the World Cup without the likes of Messi and Ronaldo there. While both are great, great players who would undoubtedly bring much to the tournament in terms of excitement and glamour, I don’t see that the World Cup is concerned with individuals. It is a tournament which sets out to determine the best football team in the world after all and so if Messi and Ronaldo aren’t there, I won’t be losing any sleep.

Ukraine 1-0 England: Questions and Answers.

Rio certainly wasn't a picture of confidence on Saturday.

However much I had hoped to see England reach South Africa with a 100% record in qualifying, I must admit I’m not too disappointed about the defeat in Ukraine. Indeed, the performance of England’s 10 lions against the 11 Ukrainians fighting tooth and nail for a place at the World Cup was, in the second half especially, quite encouraging. For much of the game they still looked the better side, and against Ukraine, who themselves reached the quarter finals of the last World Cup, that’s no bad thing.

What is worrying though, is the way in which the defeat came about. While much of the pre-match talk concerned England’s ‘problem positions’ (goalkeeper, right-back, right-midfield) it was two of our supposed strong points that let us down, namely Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole. What’s worse, is that it’s not the first time that each of these players has made a costly mistake in a high profile match. So what does that say for England’s summer prospects?

Put your best foot forward, Fabio.

Will Fabio stick with his big guns now that the heat is off?

Fabio Capello finds himself in an unusual position for an England manager: having engineered a flawless qualifying campaign so far, he now has two competitive matches which will have no bearing on our chances of qualification at all. We’re in South Africa as group winners, and nothing can change that. Being in this position so prematurely is a rare feeling for us England fans, because England being England, we usually like to do things the hard way.

It’s a lovely position to be in then, but it does leave Capello with something of a dilemma. With matches against Ukraine and Belarus coming up this week, Capello has the perfect opportunity to complete a 100% qualifying record and send us into the World Cup in imperious form. Or he has a perfect opportunity to experiment a bit with some of his players with a view to establishing precisely what he believes his best side to be.

Sin-Binning in South Africa? No thanks.

Should divers like Didier be sin-binned?

After UEFA’s spectacular cock-up regarding the whole Eduardo diving affair recently, it looks like FIFA’s vice-prez Jack Warner wants in on the action. Warner suggested today that referees need to toughen up on players who dive or overact on the pitch and that in next year’s World Cup in South Africa, those judged to be attempting to con the referee could be sin-binned for five minutes.

Now don’t get me wrong, as I said when UEFA foolishly revoked Eduardo’s ban, I am well and truly in favour of the sport’s governing body taking a hard line on diving which is, as far as I’m concerned, the biggest blight on modern football. However, it seems blatantly obvious to me that sin-binning simply is not the way to go, and introducing it straight into the World Cup would be a huge mistake. FIFA need to act yes, but they need to think it through first.

WDKF Wednesday: Football Fever – Bahrain vs. NZ

This week’s WDKF Wednesday column sees me looking forward to New Zealand’s World Cup Qualifying tie with Bahrain in Manama, due to kick-off at 4.30 am NZT on Sunday morning. The World Cup is such a massive sporting event that qualification would have an enormous impact on either of these countries. Living in NZ as I do, I desperately hope that NZ can overcome their more fancied opponents and really put football on the map here.

To find out why qualification would be such a big achievement and have such effects on New Zealand, as well as to see whether or not I think they can qualify, click through and read my WDKF Wednesday article…