World Cup groups announced

...by me!

(This is completely fictional)

Here's what I drew

Group 1:

S. Africa
Japan
Chile
Slovakia

Group 2:

Italy
S.Korea
Paraguay
Portugal

Group 3:

Spain
Mexico
Ghana
Slovenia

Group 4:

Germany
New Zealand
Cameroon
Greece

Group 5:

Argentina
N.Korea
Nigeria
France

Group 6:

Brazil
Australia
Ivory Coast
Switzerland

Group 7:

Netherlands
Honduras
Uruuay
Denmark

Group 8:

England
US
Algeria
Serbia

Reasonably varied, Group A is a joke - and is likely to be in reality, that's what happens when you seed the bottom ranked team (86th) in the cup, it would be amusing if New Zealand and North Korea get in too - open season for a minor European side

Personally I think it would be best if France and Portugal avoided that group though, it would be nice to see a team like Slovakia progress for once, it wouldn't be unfair either

Strangely I didn't pick a 'group of death' - although whatever happens one will be labelled as such anyway - I suppose group 2 would be the worst with South Korea against Italy and Portugal, otherwise Germany got off really lightly, as did the Netherlands

Spain and England had some curve balls with Ghana and Slovenia, the US and Serbia respectively, but should be expected to win, while Argentina and France were given the chance to hand a place to Nigeria (you know one of them would)

Australia didn't fare well, being drawn with Brazil just like 2006 (although they got through), but the presence of the Ivorians would be unwelcome

I don't know why I did that, just wanted to look at some permutations I guess

Some new faces

So the World Cup teams are all but settled

Who will be the seeds? Well assuming the hosts will be seeded once again (South Africa are 1st in group A already) then there are only 7 real seeds:

Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England

The only real risk is England (as usual) - the threat is from France, and quite frankly after their antics against Ireland I would be sick to my stomach if they got a top spot as well, so they probably will - it depends if our latest defeat to Brazil and their questionable win over Ireland matter enough - I'm sure someone can work it out, but we'll find out on Friday

Teams that also entered 2006:

Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, England, Australia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Paraguay, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, US, Serbia (-Montenegro), France  (19)

New teams:

South Africa (2002), N. Korea (1966), Denmark (2002), Chile (1998), Slovakia (first time), Honduras (1982), New Zealand (1982), Slovenia (2002), Nigeria (2002), Cameroon (2002), Algeria (1986), Greece (1994), Uruguay (2002) (13)

Only one team making their début in 2010 then, compared to eight in Germany - meaning that roughly 80 teams have now made it to a world cup finals, out of over 200 members in FIFA (although a few don't exist any more - hence 'rough') - this is in fact the first time that so few newbies have entered since believe it or not, England was the only débutante back in 1950 (and even then Slovakia is considered a joint successor of Czechoslovakia by FIFA - so there's essentially no new teams)

Teams that failed to qualify for a consecutive appearance:

Angola, Ecuador, Tunisia, Togo, Croatia, Czech Rep, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago

4th December here we come...

France are the best team where?

I had to go over to the Telegraph to find the story about Fergie having to speak to the BBC (and even then I had to do a google search - brilliant site layout there), I don't like doing it and yet again I remember why as I click on the sole article that piqued my interest

It was a harmless (but pointless) debate about Brazil exposing England

Mike Norrish happily admits that a friendly against Brazil featuring two players out of our probable first-team hardly means anything, but then somehow it justifies analysis of England's hopes, talk about hype for the sake of hype

But this really narked me:

But France, the best team of the last 10 years, beat [England] 1-0

What.the.f***

That'd be France, who are currently ranked ninth and had to enter the play-offs from a group that featured Serbia as their only real threat

The same France that came last in their group at Euro 2008 and scored a sum total of one goal

France have at one point been the top ranked side in the world - between May 2001 and May 2002, right after their victory in Euro 2000

But then what happened after May 2002? That's right, a goalless exit from the World Cup

Meanwhile Brazil, currently ranked at number one, have spent about seven of the last ten years at that position, including a five year consecutive stint after 'Les Bleus'

I am of course ignoring the more successful Euro 2004 and 2006 World Cup, in which they reached the quarter finals and final respectively

Ignoring the petulant facts that they lost to Greece in 2004, and only got past Portugal with a dodgy penalty in the semis in 2006, and indeed only won in 2000 thanks to the short-lived golden goal I will grant that they were pretty decent results

Euro 2000: Champions
2002: round 1: bottom (automatic qualification btw)
Euro 2004: QF
2006: final
2008: round 1: bottom
2010: play-off qualification

three decent performances out of five

Here's England:

Euro 2000: round 1: 3rd spot
2002: QF
Euro 2004: QF
2006: QF
2008: oops...
2010: Top spot in qualification

3 out of five...

With the sole exception of Euro 2000, which was nine and a half years ago, do you see anything that puts France as distinctly better than England, and regarded as the best side in the world for the past ten years?

Not really, on rank they do shade us over the years, and they got to one final and did actually qualify for 2008 - but on balance their poor performances in 2002 and 2008 (and indeed, 2009) match up quite well against our string of quarter finals, and no pundit worth their salt would regard France as a particularly good side right now - they have some good (understatement) players with Anelka and Henry, but it's well known the team is in a right state under Domenech and they struggle for players defensively

But let's compare ten years of Brazil

After finishing second to France in 98 what happened?

2001 Copa America: QF
2002 WC: Champions
2004 Copa America: Champions
2006 WC: QF (to France, ironically)
2007: Copa America: Champions
2010: qualification (as winners)

Ahem...no first round, goalless exits for them - five out of five

I admit that the Copa America is somewhat less competitive than the European championship, but what else can I go on? It's what the ranks use, and their world cup record is clearly better - as they actually won one in the past decade

Perhaps Norrish is foolishly thinking that France 98 was in the past decade? Well it wasn't, that team is gone (it was mostly gone by 2006) throughout almost the whole decade of the 'noughties' the sole significant achievement has been the appearance in the 2006 final

Let's look at Germany

2000: round 1 (bottom, below England...)
2002: final
2004: round 1...
2006: SF
2008: SF
2010: Qualified

three out of five

So, two poor showings - but across the past five years you can't say France have done better - any idea that they've been the best side across ten years is solely down to their victory all the way back in 2000, it's basically an average weighed down by a tournament that we've staged twice since

I am no fan of Italy, so:

2000: final
2002: round 2
2004: round 1 (on goal difference)
2006: Champions
2008: QF
2010: qualification

three out of five

I would dare say that Italy, on pure results alone, have done slightly better than France in the last ten years - two finals, one win (equal), only one first round exit, and a quarter-final, and a straightforward qualification this year - if you asked me about five years ago then yes, I'd say France have been a force for the past decade - it would include Euro 96, 98 and 2000 (this being known as their 'golden era'), but that is now ancient history

Spain, while having a decidedly dodgy patch in the middle also strung together a better run of results than France, with two quarter-finals, a first round and then second round exit, and of course, are now reigning European champions (three out of five)

Portugal, while never winning a trophy, have only really failed once in all these tournaments - 2002 was the only year where they haven't been in the top 8 (and they only failed to get to the semis once) and even in 2000 they were in the semis - if you want consistency over the past ten years then Portugal are just behind Brazil (four out of five)

So, do you see anything distinguishing them as any better than the top teams?

Here's my ranks:

Brazil - five consecutive decent showings, one World cup (+ countless others), more recent than France
Italy - three decent showings, one World cup, more recent than France
Spain - three decent showings, one European championship, more recent than France
Portugal - four decent showings, no trophies, but two semis and a final
France - three decent showings, one European championship, at the oldest tournament eligible
Germany - three decent showings, two semis and a final
England - three decent showings, all quarter finals
Netherlands - three decent showings, all regional however

So please, Mike Norrish - tell me what you base the assertion that the eighth favourite team to win the cup (@20/1) have been the best team of the last ten years on? I am intrigued

(the article is definitely 2009, not 2005...right?)

Argentina: We;re hopeful, but it ain't news

I saw this headline in respect of Argentina's plight

Argentina World Cup spot in doubt

Now, I may be getting very excited that they won't qualify, however it is merely a hope - any realistic survey of their position will show they are on course for at worst a play-off spot against a middling team from north America

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	16	9	6	1	32	9	+23	33
Paraguay	16	9	3	4	22	13	+9	30
Chile	16	8	3	5	27	20	+7	27
Ecuador	16	6	5	5	21	23	−2	23
Argentina	16	6	4	6	20	19	+1	22
Uruguay	16	5	6	5	26	18	+8	21
Venezuela	16	6	3	7	22	27	−5	21
Colombia	16	5	5	6	10	14	−4	20
Bolivia	16	3	3	10	20	34	−14	12
Peru	16	2	4	10	9	32	−23	10

(play off line has disappeared - it's on 5th placed Argies)

Two games left with a one point cushion - not brilliant, certainly, but let's be realistic - Argentina's next game is at home against Peru - the team who have lost every single away game, even to Bolivia (3-0...) - they are our Andorra - ranked 91st in the world, just below Montenegro and Moldova

OK, Andorra are 195th - they are our Belarus then

Either way this is not a game to be seriously concerned over - a maximum three points will leave them going into their last game with their destiny in their own hands

Meanwhile, their biggest threats, Ecuador and Uruguay are rather fortunately playing each other in Quito - meaning that Ecuador have a pretty good chance of winning (at 15,000 feet) - this will most likely mean that the Argies will be out of Uruguay's reach anyway when they play them in the last round

Meanwhile Venezuela will be playing Paraguay and then going to Brazil - I don't see the necessary five points there, and Colombia will face Chile and Paraguay - again, a big ask

So basically not to qualify for the play-off Maradona needs to not beat Peru, failing that - Ecuador and Uruguay need to draw, then he needs to lose to Uruguay, while Ecuador also win in Chile

It sounds like the reverse of the insanity we normally need - one thing's for sure, CONMEBOL is a little too forgiving...

Don't get ahead of yourselves

Here come the 'World Beater' comments

That was in the Times - lauding how great England have been

True, they have been great - few teams have handled a perfect qualification - just look at big names France and Portugal, and Argentina - and England have scored an average of 4 goals a game, an achievement in anyone's books

They have been consistent, organised, committed, all perfectly true, I'm not going to downplay their achievements - they look like a team worthy of the finals, but that doesn't make them 'world-beaters'

The fact that Capello has created a team capable of demolishing smaller international sides and play decent football at the same time is great, we used to look so ropey and do things by a whisker - the hopelessness under McLaren surely remains at the back of all our minds, but it does not mean you are the best team in the world

Croatia are a good side, as are Ukraine - but they don't compare to Spain or Brazil, or even the Netherlands or Germany, they are just other well-managed teams with a smaller pool of talent than even us

The fact that we haven't gone into fairly dull games against Belarus, Andorra and Kazakhstan as nervous wrecks is one of Capello's greatest achievements - these are games we should win, and it's wonderful that we brushed them aside so easily - but this is just the start, this is what we should expect from a team of our stature - two years ago we were like Portugal are now, and it's not a position any decent team should be in - we have laid the foundations, we have shown we're comparable to the Dutch, Germans and Spanish in terms of qualification

But there is nothing to show that we're any better than them - against those three teams I mentioned we have beaten one, drawn one and lost one, all in the past year

True, they were friendlies, and we all know about England and friendlies - but there is no evidence to suggest that we can walk into any game as absolute favourites - we can go in as contenders, nothing more

What Capello has created is a capable team full of confidence and commitment - he has got the qualification job done at a trot, but now he must focus on the cup - which no doubt he will, and he will be under no illusions that we are world-beaters - he will take every game seriously

Cups are a different beast - games in the summer when there's no domestic footie, potentially half-a-dozen internationals within a few weeks, better opponents and all the matches are played abroad, and of course, the pressure is far higher - this all needs to be addressed

Capello took a dejected team and made them fight as the underdogs in a group mostly made up of nobodies, that's all over now (he also made good use of being able to negotiate the fixtures, with Croatia placed very strategically, and notice we have yet to go to Kiev)

The expectation (mainly from the fools who call us world-beaters) will now be back and so will the pressure, Capello will need to prepare for a new challenge - handling the group stage, and then tackling the knock-out rounds where we will hopefully play some of the top ten sides in the world, there is a lot of room for that fear to come back - fortunately I think Capello is the man to deal with our footballers' insecurities, and that is probably far more important than the individual talents of our team, which were probably slightly higher in 2006

He will no doubt remember that little scare against Ukraine - where a late Terry goal spared our blushes, we are not infallible - but you can take away from that example that even on an off day our players went for the win right to the end - that's a good mentality to have

Fortunately Capello knows a lot better than the hacks, and I have faith in him, even if I don't expect us to tear apart Spain, Brazil and the Netherlands

All went acording to plan

Yay, almost all my predictions came true - England won, Serbia won, Ireland drew, even Denmark won - I love international football!

Croatia also managed to draw with Ukraine, leaving us seven points clear (unless you want to fear Belarus) - that means that presuming we beat Andorra at home we need two points off three games, and one of them is Belarus at home, oh or we could draw with Croatia - This is how you do a qualification, McClaren!

Also, congrats to Ireland for drawing with Bulgaria, they should be clear to the play-offs now with Montenegro and Cyprus two of their remaining three

Macedonia unfortunately let me down, but that leaves Scotland in a strong position for second (although I worry they will be in last place) - and the Netherlands have now officially cemented their spot in the Cup, the first European team in

In other news, Japan beat Australia to the first spot, but the Ozzies qualified as well, as did S.Korea - well done to them, although I am still not impressed with the AFC qualification - look out for everyone's favourite team, North Korea, quite possibly getting the remaining automatic berth, or playing New Zealand in a play-off...bizarre

We're in the cup! (II)

OK, I got sidetracked and wrote too much for a note about Barry, so here is my actual post about the upcoming qualifiers

It's in the bag!!

So I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but let's face it - Andorra at home IS a win, anything less would be a sacking offence, you can be a little wary of going halfway round the world to Kazakhstan but they are pretty dire - they lost 3-1 to Belarus! England are 1/6 to win that one alone so it should be a done deal

That will put us on 21 points, 7 out of 7 with 3 left

Meanwhile we are already ahead of Croatia by 5 points, and should they draw with Ukraine (again) at home then we'll be 7 ahead with only 9 available - of course should Croatia win then the top two spots will be all but guaranteed, not that it's much different from our current position

Hence why England are 9 to 1 on to win the group - a very pointless bet unless you feel like sticking your life savings on for an 11% return?

Other big games are Belarus v Andorra, the odds of 16/1 for a win are a bit excessive considering it's Belarus, so don't bother - 10/1 for a draw tho?? You never know, also Kazakhstan travel to Ukraine - should be safe for Andriy and co.

So anyway, group six very boring, let's take a look around

One thing I always love to remember is that Portugal are under a lot of pressure and if you're looking for a good bet I recommend Denmark to win Group 1 - Portugal, despite trailing by seven points, are still regarded as second favourites at 3/1 - that's based on public perception and is too short, but equally Hungary are unlikely to threaten the Danes (and are appropriately at 16/1 despite having at least a four point lead) - meaning that Denmark at 10/11 is a very tasty bet - basically you're betting on at worst 9 points out of five games, probably less

Albania v Portugal, surely an away win is a must for the whinger's lot? But 5/11 is a bit harsh, Sweden v Denmark will be tight, that probably won't be three of the aforementioned points - Sweden v Malta isn't getting my attention

I won''t revel in Portugal's plight any longer for fear of tempting fate, into 'group ridiculous' we go - Greece (4/5) should win the group with two bankers coming up, but for the risk-taker Switzerland may be worth a punt at 6/4 - but as I say, Greece should win, tho it's not as valuable as Denmark IMO, and there's no games this round

Moving (very) swiftly on, I already said this but NI are probably boned, it should be a three horse race with Slovakia and Poland leading the Czechs, it's quite open but I think Slovakia are good for their 11/10 price tag - bit unpredictable though - they'll be notching up three points in the only match of the round so get that bet in now if you want it

Next up is group 4 - Germany and Russia guaranteed in this one, however the bookies have predictably gone for Germany as big favourites - you can get Russia at 11/4 and I think it's worth it, there's effectively one point in this and it's Russia v Germany that will decide it - the only matches right now are Azerbaijan v Wales - like I'd ever go near Wales, even if they are against a team who gave Liechtenstein a point (OK, fine - Wales should win, but don't trust that) and Finland at home to said Liechtenstein and Russia - win and a loss should be pretty safe, but the odds suck

Group 5 - Maybe get odds on Spain getting 10 wins out of 10, because this is sewn up, no matches

Group 7 - Ah, Le France - much like I do when Scotland play, back them to win - then you can't lose! In all seriousness, they are given, in my opinion - ridiculously short odds of 1/2 considering their form, so don't go near that - Serbia may not be well respected but they have a two point lead and France are anything but solid, I'll put it to you this way - France went to Austria and lost 3-1, Serbia went there and won 3-1, you can get Serbia at 2/1 and I feel that's a nice bet

In terms of matches, Serbia greet Austria and are off to the Faroes - two they should win (see?), and Lithuania play Romania - rewarding odds for a game you can expect Lithuania to win (39/19) - France aren't in action, so if Serbia win two they'll be trailing eight with two in hand - how do you think they'll handle the pressure when they go to Serbia in September, the second of two 'must-wins' in their next round? ....hehehe...

Ah group 8 - go on the Irish! (no affiliations, they just have a real chance) - Italy will win the group but if I'm going to put such a soft bet on, I'd rather it were reliable and Spanish, Ireland have one game and it's in Bulgaria - they'll need at least a draw, and I'd be inclined to back it, the only other game is Cyprus v Montenegro..right...I personally wouldn't consider Ireland taking the group, should be a play-off spot tho

On to Scotland's group - The Netherlands have won this so no point speculating, as for matches, no doubt they'll beat Iceland and make it official, Iceland also go to Macedonia - they need to win, and they probably won't, Macedonia are solid, expect Macedonia to possibly beat Norway too, should they win both the Scots are actually in trouble, also Netherlands v Norway should be a home win - maybe a double Dutch? Or a double Macedonian for the brave

And so my hot tip is for Denmark just shy of evens, but don't put your house on it

Matches to look out for

England double over Kazakhstan and Andorra
Ukraine win over Kazakhstan
Russia to win in Finland
Serbian double
Dutch double
Macedonian double??

We're in the cup!

I am being very optimistic, but first I must express my shock at Barry's move to Man City - no warning, no flirting, no 'will he, won't he' bollocks for weeks on end....I like it

That is how you do a transfer deal, Mr. Whingey-pants - you do not express your love for a different club each week for two years and never actually leave

I will grant that Barry arsed about with Liverpool last summer, but fair play to the boy today for making a decisive decision, and I think it's pretty clear all the 'arsing' last year was on Liverpool's front

I am somewhat perplexed as to why he's gone to City from arguably the team with the most potential in the league - 'Champions' League football' last year was one thing, but he's moved to a club who didn't even get into Europe this year

Now as I said, I have respect for Barry and clearly he felt City, with masses of money and a bloody good manager are headed somewhere soon, but it does seem a strange one - Villa have arguably a better manager (more accomplished at least) and are pretty big themselves, they aren't exactly a feeder club

Maybe Barry felt he was going nowhere in the UEFA cup (sorry, 'Europa Premiero really good, please watch us' league) every year? Perhaps he thinks the likes of Villa (and Everton) have hit the glass ceiling and the only way out is with the money behind City - a sad but true reflection on modern football, I guess he's a realist

As the BBC point out, he wants to be playing first team football for his England prospects, Rafa is far less likely to play him every week, especially if Alonso sticks around - so going to a manager who knows what he's doing and who is more likely to utilise him fully is probably a good idea

But the fact remains that he's got to be thinking long term, City aren't even in Europe next season and need a lot of work to challenge Arsenal and the rest - it's going to take a while to bed in players and money is no guarantee of instant success, and Barry is nearing 30 - but I can certainly see his reasoning, it's just a punt

Welcome

Right, I am obsessed with football and am going to drown my other blog with football nonsense if I don't separate them, so here it is

This is a copy of my latest entry, I'll probably do some predictions for the weekend too and think of some regular features

...."So England won...just - and yet my confidence has ebbed away - it was not an emphatic victory, but it was against the no.3 team, so the mathematics should give me hope

Still 5 games to go, a 5 point lead - our next games are Kazakhstan away and Andorra at home - Kazakhstan doesn't look too fun but surely Andorra are a guaranteed rout, and the Kazaks have been beaten by both Belarus and Ukraine at home so it should be fine - that will take us to the brink with 21 points and 3 games remaining

and yet I still worry - Croatia and Ukraine are both very good and will keep winning, if they could draw with each other again that would be very useful - I guess my fears are partly based on paranoia, but also a realisation that this group is clearly the best - we all knew Ukraine were the toughest third ranks and should've been in the second pot, so I guess it's not surprising - not dissimilar to Euro 08 qualifying I guess - with us and Russia the two scrapping it out, and us coming off worse (remember watering an artificial pitch?)

But realistically we should be fine - it just feels like there's no room for error, we may well end up with a 6 or more point cushion in the end

Then of course remember that we are probably the third most secure team in qualifying - only the Netherlands and Spain have it better, with the Netherlands only needing a point to secure 1st place, and Spain with a 6 point lead and 6 played

Speaking of the Dutch, we may as well look at Scotland in all its patheticness - as predicted, they got that win over Iceland, which is good - but because this is a small group and it's tight it's very precarious - Scotland have to welcome Macedonia and the Netherlands, and go to Norway - frankly that's only one likely win, and maybe a draw - even if the Dutch aren't really concerned (fortunately that will be their last, and almost certainly pointless, game)

Iceland arguably have it harder - Norway and the Netherlands are coming, and they have to go to Macedonia - I think they'll be lucky to get 3 points, so in actual fact Scotland are looking good for second

The problem lies in the fact that they are currently the lowest ranked of the second place teams - meaning they will be the ones to miss the play-offs - this is a group with very few results, the Netherlands has dominated a bunch of no-hopers, so there's very few points - now I do believe having a smaller group makes it harder - even though the bottom teams won't be counted in the other groups, it has made every game more important

Either way, the Scots, if they make it, will be at the bottom end of that second place table and so need to play all three remaining games like they are cup finals

(One possible chink of light may be the French, who unfortunately did win that double header against Lithuania and now look a bit safer - but only have three games left that will count for the play-offs, that is of course assuming Serbia keep beating everybody else)

Northern Ireland meanwhile produced two home wins, the best of the home nations - so you can't really fault that - but it's a damn tight group and Slovakia managed to beat the Czechs away - not good for NI, who have played an extra two games and face a serious threat from Poland, Slovakia and the Czechs - it's going to be very tight - you've got to say Slovakia are good for the 10 points off 5 they need to be assured of winning, but should NI get those last three wins they should be safe - big ask though (Slovakia at home, Poland and Czech Rep away) - I've got to admit I foresee yet another heartbreak as NI are screwed over by being in one of the toughest groups again

Wales are effectively out - they beat even my tepid prediction and lost to Finland at home, game over there

As for Ireland - well, they didn't make it easy for themselves by drawing with Bulgaria at home, after which I started working out likely scenarios - two wins off Montenegro and Cyprus are in order I think, and that's if Bulgaria win their 'easy' three and lose to Italy - and that will mean Ireland need to avoid defeat in Bulgaria in their next match, and their performance in Italy provided a potentially helpful, and unlikely, point - so it's hopeful

And that's it for the home nations - as for those other games I mentioned - well Spain won both against Turkey to pretty much guarantee qualification (Bosnia with a 4 point lead? seriously), Germany only won 4-0 and still need to watch out for Russia

That Slovak away win could be deadly for NI, Group 2 remains boring and Portugal actually drew with Sweden! 6 points off five games for the gelled tumbler's lot! They now have to go to Denmark and Hungary to have any chance of recouping that 7 point deficit and getting second, let alone first (I'm not getting my hopes up..honest)

France avoided embarrassment and got two 1-0 wins over Lithuania to battle it out with Serbia for the top spot (and they do actually look good for it, Serbia)

Australia meanwhile, beat Uzbekistan to almost be the first team in the World Cup but unfortunately still need one more match (they are however guaranteed a play-off) - will it be the Ozzies or the Dutch? My money is on the Ozzies, due to the time difference - Also the Japanese are also pretty much there - is it just me or has Asia got it a little too easy? Methinks they could do with dropping a berth, it has also taken away any sense of achievement for the Ozzies - they've been trying to big it up as a success like 2006 but it's just too easy to qualify now

I say this in all seriousness - but surely they should be giving even more representation to UEFA? Either increase the amount of teams in the finals, or give an extra one or two spots - take one off the Asians and one off the North Americans, for example - I know it's all about giving a chance to the useless teams from each confederation but do you think Wales ever get so much as a chance? These guys like Costa Rica and Iran are easily comparable to no-hopers in Europe - maybe I am being selfish but in Europe good teams will go out, in North America the US and Mexico are guaranteed, in Asia it's Australia, Japan and Korea, even South America gets useless teams like Ecuador in - European qualification is incredibly difficult compared to the rest.

Europe loses teams like Turkey, Ukraine, Czech Rep, Northern Ireland and possibly even Portugal - Europe struggled in 2008 with 16 berths (notably England) and the only real dead weights were the hosts...and France. Which is why the European championships are being increased - you risk the problem of the Euros becoming more representative than the actual World Cup - I know it seems unfair on the rest of the world - but think about it, we are only in this situation because of fairly arbitrary geographical distinctions - surely we could make it fairer by letting the whole world compete rather than squeeze the best area of football for the sake of everyone else, why not let Asia and Africa compete with Europe, and North with South America?

My two cents "