Lionel Messi: England are favourites to win

Lionel Messi suugested this week that England are one of the three favourites in South Africa. When the best player in the world speaks, people listen. Messi's elevation above the ranks of mere mortals in football boots during the past 12 months has earned him the right to be respected for his opinions as well as his body swerve.

Messi said: 'I think that, right now, the strongest sides going into the World Cup are Spain, England and Brazil. England had a strong, easy qualifying and are very tough.'

Whether that means people back in England will raise national expectations further is open to question. After all, great players do not always make great coaches, judges or commentators!

Japan 1 v England 2

So another apparently unconvincing performance by England, but I can't really comment on the game as I have yet to watch it (it's sat on the DVR waiting for me). But not that the result of these games matter because they are, after all, glorified experiments, but England have been winning ugly and that is good for confidence running into a big tournament.

The question now is who will make the plane? Capello says he already knows the 23 he will take, but do you? Here's my guess of the 7 that will get the dreaded phone call on Tuesday morning telling them to go enjoy the summer and go on holiday with the WAGs.

Bent, Huddlestone, Warnock, Carrick (if Barry is fit), Milner, Dawson, Heskey (I would send him home, but Rooney does play well with him, so he may stay for that reason...)

Joe Cole insists England having a successful World Cup is more important than his own battle to be part of the final squad. Cole is sweating on his place for South Africa but came off the bench as a second half substitute to set up the equaliser in today's 2-1 win over Japan in Austria. I would take Cole because he has World Cup experience, and he does have individual skills and trickery that England haven't really seen since Paul Gascoigne 10 or 15 years ago.

When asked about his selection, or non-selection Cole said: "Do I have any nerves? You've got to be pragmatic about it. I came here 10 days ago to try to enjoy my time back here, train well, and it's in the manager's hands about the squad. There are a lot of players who will be hoping, a lot of players have got a good case. But, whatever happens, we are all right behind England and hopefully this will be our time."

"Have I done enough? I don't want to go into that," he said. "I came here 10 days ago. I had a good finish to the season, I wasn't starting but I was having an impact coming off the bench. I came here and did my thing and I've enjoyed it because it has been such a long time. Croatia was my last game and I ended up with 10 stitches in my head. It is just nice to be back around the lads and it feels great."

Cole added: "I don't know what I will do on Tuesday. I've never been in this position. I don't know. It is a funny atmosphere. There is nothing you can do. We've done everything we can do, we've trained hard, everyone has had an excellent week's training and that's all you can do. I'll wake up, have my breakfast and there we go..."

Decision time nears for Capello

So there is one game left, and about 48 hours or so before Fabio Capello will make seven telephone calls to end the hopes of seven young men. According to the England manager he already knows 20 of the men he will be taking to South Africa.

"I more or less know," Capello said. "Not 23 but maybe 20. It will be disappointing when I have to tell some of the players that they must go home because all the players here have trained really well. I am really happy with their focus and the job they have done. But I have to choose."

The rest face Japan in Austria on Sunday knowing they have one last chance to shine and press their case for inclusion. The most likely candidates for the axe include Michael Dawson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Scott Parker. Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent both start against Japan knowing a failure will probably end their hopes too.

Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock are disputing the right to be Ashley Cole's understudy at left-back, while Joe Cole and Adam Johnson would appear to be scrapping over the remaining berth for left midfield, probably off the bench.

Interestingly Capello has said that he won't be consulting his captain or other experienced players when making his final selection. "No. I won't talk to the senior players," he said. "If I lose I want to know it has been because of my decisions." I like that - bravery - buck stops here...

As for Gareth Barry, we still wait and see..."Barry has improved a lot. The last news was good," said Capello. "But we have to wait and see what the doctor says. After that, we will know if he will be fit in a short time and ready to train with us, or whether he won't be ready.

"He has to be able to train normally the day after the first game. He is doing a lot of physiotherapy to get the movement going and is following what the doctor says. But I don't know if he is running yet."

USA 2 v 1 Turkey...next up England

The US team played their final friendly game prior to the World Cup today and enjoyed a come from behind 2-1 victory over Turkey. Their next game...England on June 12th in South Africa...

As an England football supporter living in the US, I think we underestimate this team at our peril. On our best day, England should beat the USA, but when have England ever showed up with their 'best day' in the first few games of a World Cup? The US team has a few very good players, and admittedly quite a few very average players, but I think I'd take a draw in the game and rely on beating Slovenia and Algeria to top the group.

Watch some brief highlights here on ESPN

US team gets Presidential send off...

The US World Cup squad met President Obama, President Clinton and Vice President Biden at the White House yesterday for an official send off as they depart for the World Cup.

President Obama had been planning on attending the event in South Africa, but sadly fears by the South African security team that his protection would spreadtheir resources too thin meant it was deemed it unsafe; so VP Biden is going instead! I guess he's expendable!! The Vice Presidents get all the rough deals don't they? Did the Queen give Capello and the English boys a tea party at the Palace??

Ssshhh...

Something struck me as I was walking around my local Safeway here in Arizona earlier this week; try as I might I couldn't see a World Cup promotional item anywhere. I can guarantee that in every supermarket, sports pub, and store in England, you won't be able to move for football promotions, prizes, giveaways and gimmicks. Not so over here...sshhh...don't tell anyone, but the biggest sporting event in the world is only 15 days and 12 hours away!

Admittedly the hype can get a bit much back in England - a bit like the fact that the run-up to Christmas now starts shortly after Easter! But a little retail enthusiasm would be nice! Yes, ESPN are promoting the arse out of the tournament, but I do seem to be missing out on the general excitement and eternal optimism that will be floating around stores and shopping malls back over the pond in the home of football about now.

Where are the beer promotions? Buy 16 cases and get a free plastic football worth 99p. Where are the piles of Coke and Crisps? These wonderful promotions promising me that if I put on 20lbs during the course of the World Cup, I'll qualify for a free (fake, knocked off) England shirt that won't fit me because I seem to have loaded up on carbs the previous 3 weeks!

Where are the Rooney face masks in the papers? I'd settle for a Landon Donovan one? Where are the posters to put on the wall and write in the results? The fun of tracking your team's progress and plotting who they might meet in the Semi-finals, if only Ghana were to beat Serbia, and Japan draw with Cameroon, meaning that Nigeria will finish above Greece and give England a chance of avoiding Argentina until the semis...you know what I'm talking about don't you; well you will if you're English...!

You see at this moment in time, everyone still has a chance! The USA still harbours hopes of winning; England could be World Beaters; even Wales and Scotland would still be excited, had they qualified! That's where the excitement comes from! Anything is possible until the first kick-off, when most of us will come down to earth with a bump!

So for now, I'm off out to explore and try and track down a flag, a pennant, a retail display of any significance that would indicate that the world is about to watch 64 Superbowls over the space of 30 days!

England 3 v Mexico 1

The result was welcome - Mexico are ranked 17th in the World - but the performance was less so, just 18 days before the important one. So what did we learn?

Robert Green did himself no harm in goal, for that matter nor did Joe Hart, although he had less to do in the second half than his rival did in the first. Although I do think David James will be number one, I suspect Green has solidified himself as the #2 keeper.

Defense was hard to measure - it was definitely shaky in the first half, but I think the addition of John Terry and Ashley Cole (rested after the Cup Final) to Rio and Glen Johnson (great goal!) will solidify it. I think Leighton Baines wilted under the pressure, proving he remains very much the understudy to Cole. Carragher will go I think; he has the versatility to cover at full back or centre back, and versatility is vital at the World Cup. Ledley King did himself a favour with the goal, but I don't think we will know his fate until the game on Sunday when I'm sure we'll see how Dawson peforms, for the right to be Terry/Ferdinand's understudy.

I think Carrick may have played himself off the plane with another disappointing performance, whereas Theo Walcott looked sharp on the right and can book his seat on the safari right now. Gerrard was a different player in the second half; perhaps losing the headband helped, but more likely the switch back into central midfield was the difference. Huddlestone is not international class in my book, so I think he'll miss the boat this time. For me Joe Cole has more to offer off the bench, and with Lampard and (hopefully) Gareth Barry to come back in, the right of midfield remains the only real question mark. Walcott looked sharp, Lennon was OK, if not inspiring, and we didnt see Wright-Phillips - maybe we will on Sunday in the final warm up against Japan.

Up front Rooney doesnt look quite right; 1 goal in his last 7 games, as opposed to 10 goals in the previous 7 games, is concerning. Hopefully he'll continue to get fitter in the next 2 weeks. Crouch does what Peter Crouch does - right place, right time. Set up the first goal, bundled in the second and continues his remarkable goal scoring record for the most ungainly footballer you will ever see in an England shirt! And Jermaine Defoe - disappointing...again. But where else does Capello turn? Bent has a hamstring issue, so that leaves Heskey? That for me is the worry - if Rooney doesn't fire, who else can we turn to? That was the problem Utd faced in the closing weeks of the season.

England will face sterner tests than Mexico (possibly not in the group stages) but they certainly need to plug some gaps and fill some holes if they are to overcome likely second round opponents Germany, Serbia or Ghana.

My starting 11 (as of now)

James

Johnson

Ferdinand

Terry

A Cole

Barry

Walcott

Lampard

J Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

On the bench:

Greene

Carragher

Baines

Dawson

Upson

Johnson

Lennon

Defoe

Crouch

Wright-Phillips

On the plane home:

Carrick

King

Bent

Milner

Huddlestone

Warnock

Something to be scared of...

With just under 18 days to go now, Diego Maradona, coach of the Argentina team, has made a frightening statement that if true could have a great impact on the destination of this summer's World Cup trophy. What did he say that should send a shiver down the spine of 31 other national team managers? Simply... "Messi is better than me!"

Lionel Messi is often criticised as an under-performer when playing for his country; but according to his national team manager, he is a better player than Maradona was when he pretty much single-handedly won the World Cup for Argentina in 1986.

Should Messi be able to reach the heights of Maradona's performances in Mexico in 1986, then Argentina with all their other talent could be a very hard team to beat when it all kicks off in 17 days and about 20 hours! Unfortunately if Argentina were to win, I'd never hear the end of it from my wife and her family in Patagonia!

Read the full article here on ESPN Soccernet

In the meantime I'm looking forward to England kicking off their warm-up match against Mexico in a couple of hours; if you're in the US you can watch it live on Fox Soccer Channel at 3pm Eastern/Noon here in Arizona. Here's hoping for a solid performance, and more importantly no injuries!

19 days...but where next....

The video below is an interesting US perspective from TV host/comedian Drew Carey on the World Cup vs the Superbowl, and why the World Cup should come back to the USA in 2018 or 2022. Personally I think we have a good chance of England hosting it in 2018 and the US in 2022. That would be a right result personally, especially if Phoenix has an MLS team and a super-dooper indoor soccer stadium by then!!

FIFA likes to rotate the World Cup around continents. From 1958 (Sweden), FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe; this pattern continued until 2002 when the Finals were hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan. This was the first World Cup to be held in Asia, and the only tournament with multiple hosts. Next month South Africa will become the first African nation to host the World Cup. And in 2014, the competition will return to South America (Brazil) for the first time since 1978 (Argentina). This will be the first time that consecutive World Cups will be held outside Europe.

In October 2007, FIFA ended the continental rotation policy. Instead the last two tournament host confederations are ineligible, which means African nations are ineligible for 2018 and South America are ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Personally I think that gives Europe (basically England) a more than fair chance of winning in 2018, and consequently the US a great chance in 2022 (as Europe & South America will be ineligible), unless they take it back to Asia, or even Australisia!

In recent years, and by recent I mean the ones I can remember, South America had it in 1978 (Argentina), Europe in '82 (Spain), the Americas again in 1986 (Mexico), Europe again in 1990 (Italy), North America had it in '94 (USA), Europe again in '98 (France), Asia in 2002 (Japan/S Korea), Europe again in 2006 (Germany) and now Africa in 2010 (South Africa).

The decision for 2018 and 2022 will be made by FIFA on 9 December of this year!

Anyway, listen to what Drew Carey thinks with unfortunately just a little arrogance creeping in!

Write the future - Nike!

This Nike gem was brought to my attention recently, thank you Jane! Three minutes and worth every second! Highlights include a fat Wayne Rooney living in a caravan, and Homer Simpson with Christiano Ronaldo, oh and Kobe Bryant even gets in on the act! Brilliant!

Again, note that Nike isn't an official World Cup sponsor, but because of their player and kit deals, there is nothing to stop them running ads around the World Cup as long as they don't use the FIFA brand or World Cup trademark. Ambush advertising!

Enjoy, and pay attention, you may need to watch it twice to catch everything!

3 weeks and counting...

Only three weeks to go to the start of the World Cup Finals; and the latest FIFA rankings may tell us who the favorites are...

Brazil (1st) have retaken the top spot from Spain (2nd), with Portugal (3rd). The reigning World Champions Italy are in 5th, while England (8th) have been overtaken by Argentina (7th). The USA have risen to 14th. Other notables include England and the USA's other group opponents Algeria (31st) and Slovenia (23rd), while hosts South Africa are 90th...not much chance of a 'home win' there I feel!

So according to form, England should exit at the quarter finals (no surprise there!) and the USA should make it out of the group stages to the second round... Both are distinct possibilities...

You can see the full list here

Argentina...Argentina...Argentina!

Argentina coach Maradona held his first training session with his World Cup squad on Thursday, and said he had high hopes for the June 11 - July 11 tournament in South Africa. Note that this picture isn't from the training session!

"Our World Cup starts today because we start work with 17 players. We have high hopes," said Maradona, who led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in 1986.

Maradona was without five players for his first trip onto the paddock with his South Africa-bound squad. Sergio Aguero played in Wednesday's Spanish Cup final for his club Atletico Madrid, while Inter Milan duo Walter Samuel and Diego Milito, and Bayern Munich's Martin Demichelis are all in Madrid ahead of Saturday's UEFA Champions League final. Clemente Rodriguez and Juan Sebastian Veron were to play for Estudiantes later today.

Two-time champions Argentina were drawn alongside Nigeria, UEFA EURO 2004 champions Greece and 2002 semi-finalists South Korea in Group B and begin their campaign against the African side on 12 June.

Of course I'm married to an Argentine gal, so I kind of/sort of have to "cheer" them on these days, unless they are playing England OBVIOUSLY, but it's tough to forgive and forget this from (can you believe) 24 years ago! You'll notice the commentator for the second goal is Martin Tyler who will be commentating on ESPN this summer.

And this is how the Argentine commentator described the secong goal! Football is religion in Argentina, so the commentators do tend to get a bit carried away! It's just not the way and Englishman would do it! To my lovely wife and Argentine in-laws, I hope your team does well this summer, just not as well as mine!

A Scot backing England? Well done SAF

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has backed the USA to do well at next month's World Cup™ finals in South Africa - just not as well as England.

The United States open their Group C campaign against Fabio Capello's England in Rustenburg on 12 June before playing Slovenia and Algeria, and while Ferguson believes the Americans could go a long way in the tournament, he added that he is not expecting them to start their run to the latter stages until after their first game.

"In the group they're in with England and Algeria, it's not beyond them to qualify," Ferguson said during a press conference in New York to publicise Manchester United's summer tour to North America. "England will be very, very motivated under Capello. Capello is a really outstanding coach.

"Of course, he has some issues what his team is going to be to start with, but they will be difficult to beat. If [the US] can survive after that in terms of the next two matches, they have a very good chance at qualifying. In fact, I think they will qualify," he said.

Ferguson, whose side will face a Major League Soccer All-Star team in Houston, Texas, on 28 July as part of a four-game tour through Canada and the US, pointed to Fulham's Clint Dempsey and MLS 2009 player of the year Landon Donovan as the players to watch in Bob Bradley's squad.

"You know, they've proved themselves in previous World Cups. Donovan, Dempsey, have some experience of being there before," he said. "I don't think they're going to be overwhelmed with the atmosphere of the World Cup, the importance of the World Cup, the intensity. I think that will be easy for them. I think they'll be used to that. Those players have that, Donovan, Dempsey. Dempsey has had a great season in England this year. They are very athletic, they apply themselves very well, and are difficult to play against."

Backing Henry in the MLS

Ferguson also tipped former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry to be a great success in MLS should the France striker's expected transfer from Barcelona to the New York Red Bulls be completed.

"He was an outstanding footballer with Arsenal," the Manchester United manager said. "He was the best player. He had incredible speed and his goal scoring was exceptional. When he moved to Barcelona, that continued, although I think that Barcelona's team, as it's proved now in the last year or two, he found it difficult on that team.

"What you're getting with Thierry Henry is enormous experience and presence. I would not say he's deteriorated by any means. He's still a very competent player. He doesn't have the brilliant pace he had five years ago, but he's still quick and he's experienced. I think that when players get older, they know how to use speed better, their timing is better. I think he'll be a success here, I have no doubt in my mind about that," he also said.

Reproduced Courtesy of FIFA

The World Cup on ESPN

Some great news if you're watching the World Cup over here Stateside; we'll have some decent match commentary as Martin Tyler and Andy Gray have signed up with ESPN to provide the in-game call and analysis...much better than those goons on FSC...

OK, so they're not John Motson, but Tyler and Gray are possibly the best football commentary team since Motty hung up his sheepskin coat after Euro 2008. Check out some classic John Motson quotes below these two videos...


And if you're not in the States, I thought you might be interested to see how ESPN are promoting their coverage...

In case you were wondering, John Motson was a legendary English commentator who worked for the BBC and delivered these memorable quotes, among others...

• And Seaman, just like a falling oak, manages to change direction.
  
  
• Brazil - they're so good it's like they are running round the pitch playing with themselves.


• I think this could be our best victory over Germany since the war.


• It looks like a one man show here, although there are two men involved.


• It's Arsenal 0 - Everton 1, and the longer it stays like that the more you've got to fancy Everton.


• Nearly all the Brazilian supporters are wearing yellow shirts - it's a fabulous kaleidoscope of colour.


• Not the first half you might have expected, even though the score might suggest that it was.


• That shot might not have been as good as it might have been.


• The goals made such a difference to the way this game went.


• The match has become quite unpredictable, but it still looks as though Arsenal will win the cup.


• The World Cup is a truly International event.


• There is still nothing on the proverbial scoreboard.

24 days...

Grab you bag...it's on...24 days to go and the England team have arrived in Austria to start altitude training....

England Team arrive for training camp

Oh Ballacks!

So it's not just an English curse then? Germany captain Michael Ballack is out of the World Cup following an ankle injury sustained in Saturday's FA Cup Final victory over Portsmouth.

For any number of World Cup Finals in the past, there's always been a key England player or two injured in the run-up to the tournament - Beckham, Owen, Rooney, Robson... So while it brings me no joy (OK - maybe a little!) to see the Germany captain out of the competition, it certainly makes a change for another country to be getting the headlines on injuries.

The fact that Ballack was injured by a player born in Germany, who played for the German under 21 team, but who has now chosen to represent Ghana the country of his father's birth, will add to the German conspiracy theorists. Why? Because Ghana and Germany are in the same group and will face each other in what could be a decisive third game on June 23.  Had Rooney been injured by a Slovenian or an Algerian, I'm sure English fans would be saying the same!

Ballack out - Read the views of a German tabloid paper

Becks - What a top bloke!

Enjoy this 6 minute BBC interview with David Beckham as he reflects on missing the World Cup, what he thinks he can still offer the England team, and when he'll return to the Galaxy...

It's a real shame that he will miss the competition through injury; personally I think he still has a lot to offer on the right hand side of England's midfield. Certainly none of his successors have done an outstanding job and would take his place automatically in my team. If he had been fit, and he surely would have been picked for the squad if so, then he would have been the first Englishman to play in 4 World Cup Finals. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8645556.stm

Ahhh the memories of 2006

27 days 21 hours to go...or put differently, this time in 4 weeks the World Cup will be underway with the first match just about wrapping up!

After yesterday's education/reminder of what the World Cup is all about, here's a compilation of the best bits from the last World Cup Finals, held in Germany in 2006.  This should whet your appetite for the competition...and imagine your team lifting the trophy at the end! 

How many of these moments had you forgotten about? Joe Cole's stunning volley for England, and what about Zidane's headbutt in the final, what a way to end such a storied career!? To put that moment in perspective for American readers, imagine Michael Jordan headbutting an opponent during Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the last ever game of his career, and being sent off (ejected) and costing the Bulls the Championship!  What a wierd game that was!  Let's hope this years Final isn't decided by penalties, and that England spank Argentina 3-0; ok, let's make it 4-0 to calm the nerves!

Be sure to click on 480p, rather than 360p, at the bottom of the video for better quality and have your volume turned up; the Black Eyed Peas add to the 'carnival'! 

Soccer...for dummies...

Now don't take this the wrong way America, but I appreciate that football (as the rest of the world describes soccer) is not your most popular sport...hey, I don't understand how the NCAA basketball tournament works so we're even, so I thought this might be a useful link for you to play catch up on what the whole world is starting to talk about...

And as far as my title goes, check out the link below, this guide really is brought to you by the 'Dummies' people...

For the rest of the world, you will/should know all this, so just indulge me as I bring our American cousins up to speed. After all, the USA does play England in our opening game on June 12th, so we'll need to be all clued up if we're going to suitably rude to each other come match day...

ESPN 2 is a must have channel by the way if you want to watch the World Cup stateside...preferably in HD!

The Basics of the World Cup (for Dummies!)

Wayne Bridge was nearly on the phone...

For a while there, it seemed that John Terry's World Cup may have been over before it began...and that meant Wayne Bridge would have been on the phone to Fabio Capello in  a heartbeat I'm sure...

But it appears that Terry has not broken a metatarsal in his foot and should be fit to play; sorry Wayne, looks like you'll be staying at home with the ex-girlfriend after all!!

Terry's World Cup fears eased

Out with the old...

No Beckham or Owen for England, no Ronaldinho for Brazil, no Ruud van Nistelrooy for Holland, no Luca Toni or Francesco Totti for Italy, no Patrick Viera for France...the old superstars are moving on and it's time for the likes of Messi and Rooney to make their mark on the world stage.

If you're English you won't be able to forget Ronaldinho's shot/cross (you decide) that knocked England out of the 2002 World Cup at the Quarter final stage...I won't be sorry if he doesn't make the plane...just in case we come up against Brazil again...

30 days and counting...

I've been away but I'm back...hopefully with something interesting to say or share everyday from now until the World Cup! You'll notice the World Cup Countdown clock and so with 30 days and 15 hours or so till kick off, it's time to get excited about the upcoming 'festival of football'!  

Today's news...The provisional squads are starting to be announced; the final squads of 23 players will be trimmed down just a couple of weeks before the tournament begins, but for now most players are learning what they'll be up to this summer.

The England squad has been announced; the midfield is strong as usual, but concerns for me are in goal, and up front. If Terry, Ferdinand, Cole and Johnson remain fit, then I think that's a strong defence, but with 'Calamity' James the best of the bunch between the posts, ummm...a little worried. On his day, a great shot stopper, but he does have those 'moments' doesn't he!

Up front we do have a match winner in Rooney, but his recent run of injuries is a little concerning. Crouch does appear to be a super-sub, but Bent, Defoe and Heskey have still to prove themselves as international goalscorers. Heaven forbid anything happens to Rooney, otherwise we'll be relying on Gerrard and Lampard weighing in for goals from midfield. What are your thoughts...?

Provisional England squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham)

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Spurs), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Spurs), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Man City), Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Spurs), Adam Johnson (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Spurs), James Milner (Aston Villa), Scott Parker (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City)

Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Spurs), Jermain Defoe (Spurs), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

C'mon ENGLAND!