Former Russia manager Guus Hiddink will be heading to the World Cup after all as he will lead Ivory Coast in South Africa. This will be Hiddink’s fourth World Cup finals tournament after leading his country of birth Holland in 1998, South Korea in 2002 and Australia in 2006. Russia failed to qualify for what would have been their third World Cup finals (as Russia) after their defeat to Slovenia in the playoff round last November. Hiddink had recently been linked in a move to Liverpool, however the 1988 European Cup winner will now manage Turkey as they build for Euro 2012.

This will be the second World Cup finals Ivory Coast have participated in. They played their first match in 2006, losing 2-1 to Argentina. It was the Netherlands up next but the score remained the same – the Dutch ran out 2-1 winners. The third and final game the Ivory Coast recorded their first and only win against Serbia Montenegro – leaving their first finals with heads held high. Didier Drogba will be hoping to add to his impressive 43 goals in 66 games in the summer, especially considering his team’s disappointing showing at the African Cup of Nations.

Hiddink has reportedly signed a two-month contract with Ivory Coast, starting on May 15 2010 which will run to July 15 2010. Hiddink has a history in getting the best out of so called ‘weaker’ teams at the finals, with South Korea reaching the semi finals in 2002. Australia only lost out in 2006 to a controversial late penalty to Italy in the quarter finals. Ivory Coast were one of the so called ‘dark horses’, however this was prior to their limp performance in the African Cup of nations in Angola. The fans of Les Elephants will be hopeful that the Ducthman can work his magic in a tough group consisting of five times World Cup winners Brazil, Portugal and second time qualifiers North Korea.

I have to be honest – there is little of international football with England that I find entertaining. That could be attributed to my being part of a generation of supporters that could probably now be best defined as passive supporters of the national team after a series of high profile campaigns by the media to consistently single out Manchester United players and identify them as the villain of the piece for their various exits from the competitions.

Still, of course, an interest remains. It may be because as a wide eyed child Italia’ 90 represented something of a cultural leap, or being allowed to stay up late on school nights to watch USA 94 with the massive nets, or the fondness with which I remember Euro 96.

The widespread media vilification of David Beckham after 1998, the non-stop mocking of the Neville brothers, the blame placed on Phil Neville against Romania, and the unbelievable under-rating and poor use of Paul Scholes to accomodate Stevie Me are just a few of the incidents that served to alienate me from a more passionate support. I wouldn’t say I’ve ever gone as far as wanting England to lose but I certainly allow myself to indulge in schadenfreude in situations such as (for example) the last World Cup.

From the press ridiculously printing pictures of Rooney’s foot so it could be rubbed, and the ridiculous expectancy levels on him to not only return from a broken bone far ahead of schedule but also to perform to a sensationally high standard, to the over the top reaction when he failed to score against Sweden or Ecuador and their widespread blame on him or Ronaldo for the exit, and non-United fans saying Rooney was over-rated yet seeing their club represented by national underachievers. That it was Carragher and Gerrard who missed penalties softened the blow, somewhat.

As we build up to another World Cup the burden of expectation once again lays at the feet (or perhaps given his recent form, his head) of Wayne Rooney who can now rightfully claim to be one of the best three players in the world. Knowing how passionate he is you can’t help but want him to succeed; but that’s the thing, my desire for England to succeed is more vicarious on behalf of the United players in the squad.

My “relationship” with the national team will never be what it is with United and in a roundabout way it enhances my enjoyment of international football and the tournaments. In the absence of that combination and team play that comes through weeks and months of training together is the camaraderie of compatriots and that pure individual ability that shines through. In the FA Cup or domestic league I find myself wanting Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal to lose so of course we naturally have a greater chance of winning a trophy. However at international level I don’t have that same desire; just as in the Champions League, I loved seeing United drawn against Milan because it’s a glamour tie, I love the prospect of two of the top nations playing. I want England to play Brazil; Argentina, all the big nations. It’s what the tournament is all about, but it also means I can enjoy the game as a football purist rather than with that inherent nervousness that I habour naturally as a United supporter.

All of which leads me to the point of the blog; as what could be described as more of an interested spectator than a real fanatic, the whole Terry/Bridge fiasco is one that has, for obvious reasons, took the national media by storm.

Wayne Bridge’s position was made “untenable”, not that it was guaranteed in any event, and his decision to not play the the national team is one that did grab my curiosity. Not because of the popular opinion that he probably isn’t good enough to command a squad place anyway (see Carragher, J) but because it raises a moral question. I think it’s a misconception that Terry is the brilliant centre half he is labelled as; he has never been particularly impressive at international level and for both club and country has always been the weaker of the central pairing.

But while the Bridge “semi-retirement” can be glossed over to some extent due to the fact that in Leighton Baines we have a better alternative after Ashley Cole, the Terry issue isn’t so straightforward. Because, although his form is far from sparkling, he is a settled member of that back four and particularly with doubts over Ferdinand’s fitness he is better than the alternatives – the next best being Dawson. I discount Woodgate and King on the basis of their fitness but were both available consistently I would instantly regard Terry as fourth best. English central defenders are at a premium; it is unlikely that Wes Brown will be considered there instead of as a right back – Ryan Shawcross has had a magnificent spell at Stoke but is set for a media backlash led by Arsene Wenger; Gary Cahill, injured currently, is good but only rated at £15m given that City spend over £20m on Lescott, a defender who has already displayed that he is easily troubled on the national stage. Fabio can’t just go out and buy Carvalho, he has a much more narrow pool of selection.

The decision by Capello to remove Terry as captain was seen as a moral choice; something to rightly say he was not the man to lead this team. The more I think about it, the more I think that it was the easy thing to do, because this was the only action he took.

The hard, and the right thing, to do, (in my humble opinion) would be to have dropped Terry completely. Because as it stands, the problem still exists. That he is no longer captain will be seen by the players who are on “team Bridge” as a first step; there will still clearly be a division in the ranks that won’t be appeased by what amounts to a token gesture. That division may prove crucial. For the players it wasn’t just being led by him, it’s his mere presence that will cause a problem.

It will be interesting to see if Capello is actively monitoring the situation or if he thinks the problem has now been dealt with. Will he have the courage to drop Terry if he identifies a split in the camp this week?

Above all of this, Terry is probably the person sweating most on the fitness of Ashley Cole. There will be no disciplinary issue regarding his public scandal given the different circumstances but nonetheless Cole’s presence would not only lessen the odds of Bridge’s selection, it would also give Terry a kindred spirit, an ally. No Cole and the former skipper is suddenly very isolated. Terry’s case has not been helped by his apparent complete refusal of responsibility. He has not publicly apologised; he did not step down as captain. This is his right, of course, but such a lack of responsibility means no compassion, certainly from the public and probably among his team mates as well. It not only blows his ability to lead out of the water but also undermines his team player responsibility. As these are two of the primary abilities Terry previously brought to the team and are now redundant, replaced with ill feeling and division, there is little left, no strong argument to support Terry’s selection. Bridge’s “retirement” has been met by some pundits and supporters with derision given his standing in the squad but there is no reason that Terry’s position should be secured only on the basis that injury doubts plague the other top defenders. Had it been, for example, Michael Carrick who slept with Terry’s wife, would you expect Carrick to be considered for selection again? Make your own minds up on that, but I know what I think.

It was all well and good making the decision to remove the armband from John Terry but that was clearly done as a moral stance by the manager – that in itself makes such a decision a weak one, because to make the correct moral statement on this particular indiscretion would be to remove Terry from that squad altogether. In doing so it’s just as likely that what you lose in Terry’s natural defensive ability (no discernable difference if you picked, for example, Wes Brown) you gain in unity.

The only solution for Capello if he wants unity within the ranks is to expel Terry from selection. His indiscretion did not solely raise the poser “is he fit to lead”, it screamed that he is not a team player. After all the talk of team Bridge and team Terry, it’s team England that the legendary Italian boss needs to focus on.

Naming Terry in the squad is tantamount to trying to squeeze the “I” into “team”.

The article is written by Yolkie who writes for the Stretty Rant. You can follow Yolkie on Twitter.

Brazilian legend Ronaldo will retire from the game of football in 2011. Ronaldo is the top scorer at the World Cup finals overall with 15 goals, one more than German forward Gerd Müller. He has played in three World Cup final tournaments and starred in two. His athleticism, power and unbelievable skill made him in a joy to watch in his early twenties. His move from PSV to Barcelona was an overwhelming success, scoring 34 goals in 37 games for the Catalan giants. Injuries prevented him from improving his amazing goals per game ratio – however, there is no doubting the legend that is Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima.

Ronaldo’s first ever World Cup appearance was in 1998 against Scotland, although he was part of the 1994 winning squad but didn’t play a single minute of the victory. He scored his first World Cup goal in his next game against Morocco and helped the Brazilian get to a second successive final against France. The final of 1998 is shrouded in mystery, with a lackluster Ronaldo going through the motions amidst rumours that the superstar had suffered a fit following huge pressure laid upon his young shoulders. Four years later he put the 1998 ghost to rest, scoring two goals in the final past Germany to help Brazil win a record fifth World Cup title. He became top scorer in the World Cup finals in 2006 after scoring against Japan – however, his best day were long gone and he resembled a shadow of his former self.

The three times World player of the year still holds high hopes of making the 2010 squad for the finals in South Africa. The Corinthians front man was quoted as saying: “I renewed my contract for another two years and this will be my last. I will play until December 31st 2011 and then I will retire from playing football. I want to give my maximum for Corinthians and to finish my career having won something important with this shirt.” Ronaldo is a legend of the game and his contribution to the success of Brazil, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid will never be forgotten by football fans.

England’s Italian manager Fabio Capbello would love to see an ‘England vs. Italy’ World Cup final this summer. Capello took over from Steve McLaren after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, losing 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley in November 2007. Marcello Lippi has recently claimed that he would like to see the Anglo Italian clash so that he can see his rival’s reaction to the Italian national anthem.

The former AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus manager is more than up for the challenge. “I would sign up straight away for an Italy-England final, like Lippi says,” the England manager said during a lecture in sports management at Parma University. He went onto add: “The main difference between coaching a national squad and a club is that when you coach a national squad you have a nation behind you. And you feel it. You really feel it,”

Although England qualified with ease for the 2010 World Cup finals, Capello has had a bit of a headache over the past few week regarding former captain John Terry. Terry relived of his captaincy due to an affair with the ex partner of team mate Wayne Bridge going public. Capello decided that Terry could not continue as captain and passed the duty onto Rio Ferdinand. Recently, Ashley Cole is in danger of missing the tournament due to a broken foot sustained against Everton. The injury could well see the inclusion of Wayne Bridge in the starting lineup, alongside disgraced former captain John Terry.

FIFA have stated that they are not worried about the lagging demand of World Cup tickets for this summer’s tournament in South Africa. There have been reports that FIFA are willing to ‘give away’ tickets to South African’s in an attempt to fill stadiums. World Cup organisers also slammed critics of the tournament who insist that South Africa’s crime rate will be a major problem.

Danny Jordaan, CEO of the local organising committee was quoted as saying “Since the draw (on December 4), we have seen a flurry in terms of ticket sales … the sales have gone very well, we are extremely delighted,” . FIFA has reported that 1.2 million applications were received for tickets from over 190 countries during the third phase of sales that ended last week, bringing applications to around two million for the total of three million seats. However, there has been great interest amongest South Africans, which was a major concern for FIFA, with almost one million applications, nearly 80 percent of the total, in the latest sales phase ahead of the month-long event starting on June 11.

Jerome Valcke, FIFA General Secretary, said a shortage of flights to South Africa and their high cost is a problem but he was quick to condemn media reports that were questioning the host country’s high levels of crime, and transport and communication problems. He went onto add “It’s sad that every morning when you wake up people are saying you should not go to South Africa … it’s insane and it is completely wrong,” Valcke said, referring to recent reports particularly in England and Germany. Every country had security issues, including the United States and Britain. Where can we organise the World Cup? On the moon? Where there is no-one? Don’t kill the World Cup before the World Cup has taken place.” Obviously the questions marks being raised at holding the World Cup outside of Europe and South America are getting to FIFA a little.

I’ve always been fascinated by the world of Italian Football – right across the board from the elegant players that grazed the turf of the San Siro (or the correct title ‘Giuseppe Meazza Stadium’) to the more cynical form of Catenaccio. I was pleased to find a book written by John Foot entitled ‘Calcio: A History of Italian Football’ and I was intrigued to find out more about Vittorio Pozzo (who I always believed to be aligned with the fascist regime enforced by Benito Mussolini) and the corruption that has always been rife within Italian football – from top to bottom. I wasn’t disappointed at all.

The book displays a great insight into the conflicts between different parts of Italy – highlighted no more than the North/South divide – and the different sets of fans. ‘Calcio’ also covers the darker side of the Italian game – with detailed accounts of extreme violence, in and outside the football stadium. There are also accounts of altercations on the pitch – with the most graphic and horrific account involving Lazio in the early 70’s, ironically against English opposition. Characters such as Giorgio Chinaglia (Lazio’s controversial frontman) are analysed – which are quite fascinating.

As a child in the late 80’s I was always besotted with Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan side. At the time I was unaware of the ‘un-Italian’ nature of his system and tactics, however as I matured and got more involved in the tactical side of the game – it was apparent; Sacchi had changed modern day football as we knew it. A side containing a trio of Dutchmen in Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten ruled Europe for two seasons – winning back to back trophies in 1989 and 1990, the latter the year of the finals in Italy for the first time since 1934, where a Vittorio Pozzo inspired Azzurri lifted the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time. It is no cover up that the arrival of Silvio Berlusconi transformed the fortunes of the Rossoneri – after years of financial meltdown and relegation. Love him or loathe him, Berlusconi understood the passion of Italians for football and used Milan as a political catapult to smash his way into power – and it worked. The more successful AC Milan were, the better Berlusconi and his television network looked. For everything that AC Milan owe Berlusconi for resurrecting the 1963 and 1969 European Cup winners, Berlusconi owes his personal success down to the quality of the side his funds (and knowledge – apparently) helped mold.

Milan’s rise to the top of the Serie A pile was briefly interrupted from a small bloke from the south – Diego Armando Maradona. Foot highlights Maradona in a positive light stating that his ‘genius can really only be understood through images – his goals were never ugly or dull’. The Argentinian number ten, for me, was the greatest player of all time. Its easy to compile a list of top players that graced the World Cup. Maradona, Cruyff, Zidane, Beckenbauer, Charlton, Garrincha, Ronaldo, Eusebio and of course Pele – but in terms of overall technical, physical and mental ability, surely you can’t look no further than the trouble Napoli hero? He could win matches on his own through his unique dribbling that would result in an assist or beautiful goal. I once saw a clip of him scoring from the half way line for Boca after doing a few kick ups. It wasn’t that Maradona had to be flash or extravagant to prove how good he was – this skill and grace epitomized everything Maradona stood for. His rebelious nature was an endearing feature of the adopted Neapolitan.

Foot really captures the feeling and love towards Maradona from the Neapolitans – often looked down upon from the more wealthy North. He also clearly demonstrates the impact Diego had on Italian Football – which is clear to see when scrolling down the honours list of the Southern minnows. Two Serie A titles – 1987 & 1990 – along with a UEFA Cup – all in the Maradona era. His genius broke the stronghold of the North and brought Napoli their first major honour. His ability inspired those around him and Foot is quick to state that Napoli were not just about Maradona but were ‘Maradona dependent’. Other players such as current Juventus boss Ciro Ferrara, Fernado De Napoli, Andrea Carnevale and a young Gianfranco Zola – were touch along the way by the genius of Maradona. With any genius like Maradona there is always a darker side – a side that is always on the edge. His drug abuse and fulled orgies combined with weight problems later in life on touch the mad world of Diego. For all his troubles and drawbacks as a man – as a footballer he was simply the best.

The view of Juventus is captured brilliantly – with Foot taking a similar view to that of Manchester United in England. Loved by millions throughout the land – but despised in equal measures. Success usually breeds jealously, however in the case of Juventus and, thankfully, not in the case of Manchester United – many Italians clubs feel aggrieved by the cheating of the Old Lady throughout the years. From match fixing to doping to bribing – Juve have been guilty of it all. Prior to the emergence of Calciopoli, I did always wonder how a team like Juventus could win so many Scudettos – but yet fail so miserably in the European Cup when they reached major finals. Two European Cup wins out of seven attempts is a pretty poor showing for a club that has provided a home to some of the greatest players in the history of the game. Platini and Zidane are the obvious two – however, Liam Brady is still worshiped by the Bianconeri faithful for his decision to take on a penalty on the last game of the season – even though the Irishman knew he’d be leaving to make way for Platini. Its interesting to read about the overwhelming examples of situations where the decision has ‘gone the way of the Old Lady’ – none more famous than the disallowed goal scored by Turone in the 1980/81 Championship.

I must say that I am deeply impressed with the author’s knowledge of Serie A and the way in which the facts are presented. It is a very enjoyable read – for any football enthusiast and I would recommend immensely.

Togo have pulled out of the African Cup of nations following the tragic events of yesterday when the team’s bus was ambushed by machine gun wielding terrorists. Two people have died; the coach driver and in the last few minutes a player has also died. The tournament will still go ahead, although Togo will play no part due to this awful tragedy.

Understandably, many players were still in shock at the events of yesterday, however Nantes striker has spoken of the attack. He said “we are still at hospital. We were attacked like dogs and had to hide for 20 minutes under the seats to avoid the bullets. We were shot, although we had two police coaches on our sides. There are two injured players and also some staff.” He went onto add that the incident happened as the team bus crossed the border from Congo to Angola – which has been the scene of a number of attacks in the past: “We had just crossed the border five minutes before, we were surrounded by police buses, one in front of us another behind. Everything was fine and then there was a powerful burst of gunfire. Everyone threw themselves under the seats and tried to protect themselves but some couldn’t escape the bullets. It lasted a good 15 minutes, the police fired back but really, it was hard to handle and it still is now. I’m shocked. When we got off the bus we were asking ourselves why us and not others? We were asking ourselves what had happened, we were crying and thanking God”

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was understandably inconsolable but was able to speak to the BBC: “It’s a football game, it’s one of the biggest tournaments in Africa and a lot of people would love to be in our position but I don’t think anybody would be prepared to give their life. If I am alive I can still play football tomorrow and in one year maybe even another Cup of Nations but I am not ready to pass away now.”

The groups were drawn yesterday in South Africa for next year’s World Cup Finals, the nineteenth World Cup. FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke and South African actress Charlize Theron drew the teams out and placed hosts South Africa in a group with 1998 World Cup Winners France, 1930 & 1950 World Cup Winners Uruguay and Mexico. The opening match will be between South Africa and Mexico on June 11th 2010.

Group A

France
Mexico
South Africa
Uruguay

This will be hosts South Africa’s third World Cup finals (qualified in 1998 and 2002). In both tournaments the South African’s have failed to get past the group stages – having only ever beaten Slovenia in 2002. France have played the hosts before in the World Cup Finals in their first match in 1998 – with the French winning the match 3-0, with a young Thierry Henry getting on the score sheet. The 1998 winners have not faced Mexico since 1966, which finished in a 1-1 draw. Both Mexico and France’s first game ever in the World Cup was against one another in 1930. Lastly, Uruguay have a rich World Cup pedigree, winning the tournament in 1930 and 1950 – both against the odds. Uruguay have played France twice in the World Cup finals – with the most recent match in 2002, where the game finished 0-0.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) France (2nd) South Africa

Group B

Argentina
Greece
Nigeria
South Korea

Arguably the greatest player to grace the World Cup, the Diego Maradona road show returns to the World Cup  finals for the first time since a 2-1 victory against, ironically, the same opponents they face in their opening fixture, Nigeria. Greece were also in the same group in 1994, losing all three of their matches and failing to even notch a single goal. This will be the Greeks second finals and they will be hoping for a much better showing than they demonstrated in the United States fifteen years ago. South Korea are veterans of the tournament compared to both Nigeria and Greece, having first qualified for the tournament in Switzerland back in 1954. Their first match was a 9-0 defeat against favourites and Puskas inspired Hungary. Since then the Korean’s have improved immensely since then and this will be their sixth consecutive World Cup appearance – having qualified every time since 1986, something that both England and the Netherlands can’t claim to have done.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) Argentina (2nd) Greece

Group C

Algeria
England
Slovenia
USA

Jack Warner once claimed that ‘nobody in Europe likes England’ and with the supposedly ‘weaker’ group – England could well get under the skin of some other nations. Fabio Capello has done wonders since taking charge from Steve Mclaren in the early part of 2008, winning all World Cup Qualifying matches except for the final game against Ukraine, when England’s automatic qualification was already assured. England famously lost to the USA in Brazil back in 1950 – a result that sent shock waves throughout the country that brought football to the world. The American’s won the match 1-0 and England lost their final group game to Spain and were sent on their way. Slovenia qualify for their second World Cup finals, having previously lost all three group games in 2002 whilst Algeria are back in the finals after a twenty four year absence. The Algerian’s qualified by beating Egypt in a two legged playoff. Algeria’s most famous World Cup moment occurred in their first match against West Germany – beating the (then) two times winners 2-1.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) England (2nd) USA

Group D

Australia
Germany
Ghana
Serbia

Three times World Cup winners Germany will fancy their chances against a three teams that have limited World Cup experience. Australia have qualified twice for the finals in 1974 and 2006 whilst both Serbia and Ghana qualified for the first time in 2006. Australia faced both East Germany and West Germany in 1974, losing both and exiting the finals. It took thirty two years for the Australian’s to see another World Cup game – which resulted in a 3-1 victory over Japan. Ghana reached the last sixteen in 2006 before going down 3-0 to a Ronaldo led (the Brazilian became the top goal scorer at the World Cup finals ahead of Gerd Muller). Serbia will want to forget their 2006 campaign losing all three games, conceding ten and in the process getting hammered 6-0 by the Dutch. Expect the experienced Germans to battle through, with the other three fighting it out for second place.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) Germany (2nd) Australia

Group E

Cameroon
Denmark
Japan
Netherlands

The Netherlands experienced a flawless qualifying campaign, winning every single match in the process on the way to South Africa. The Dutch have never won the tournament but have reached the finals twice and along with Brazil and Hungary have captured the imagination of football fans across the globe with their attacking, flamboyant possession football. All four teams have never met in World Cup Finals history but the Dutch are firm favourites to qualify and World Cup Statistics are backing Cameroon to go through alongside them. Cameroon famously captured the hearts of the football public having narrowly losing out to England in the 1990 quarter finals after taking the lead twice. Roger Miller’s hips swivel and dance are everlasting memories of Italia 90.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) Nertherlands (2nd) Cameroon

Group F

Italy
New Zealand
Paraguay
Slovakia

Four times and current World Champions Italy will be confident they can overcome a relatively easy group consisting of massive outsiders New Zealand. The New Zealander’s should thank their Australian neighbours for pulling out of Oceania qualifying group to participate in the Asian qualifying round – thus leaving the passage open. New Zealand’s only previous appearance in the finals was back in 1986 – where they lost all three games but did go one better than Greece and score two goals against Scotland. Italy and Paraguay have met before – over fifty years ago when the tournament was hosed in Brazil. On that day Italy ran out 2-0 winners. The World Cup also welcome Slovakia who will be competing for the first time in their history. Italy come second only to Brazil in terms of tournaments won – back to back trophies in 1934 and 1938, 1982 and the last tournament in Germany. Pub quizzes usually cite the 1938 Italian World Cup team as keeping the trophy for the longest period – after War broke out in 1939 – meaning that the tournament took a twelve year break.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) Italy (2nd) Paraguay

Group G

Brazil
Ivory Coast
North Korea
Portugal

Brazil remain the only nation to have qualified for every World Cup Finals since 1930. Their five final victories make the Brazilian’s the unprecedented kings of the World Cup, but the kings have been drawn in this tournaments so called ‘Group of Death’. Along with North Korea, the Brazilian’s are joined by Portugal and Ivory Coast – who are arguably the strongest African nation in the tournament, whilst Portugal – who did scrape through via the playoffs – have performed well in previous International tournaments over the past decade. There is no doubting the quality of the Portuguese team, however Carlos Queiroz has failed to get the best out of Ronaldo and co so far. Brazil and Portugal have met before in the 1966 World Cup when a Eusebio led Portugal won 3-1, after the Brazilian’s had lost Pele to injury. In the same tournament came, quite possibly, the biggest World Cup upset when North Korea beat the Italians 1-0. Italy were met with a barrage of abuse when they returned home after the embarrassing defeat. North Korea lost 5-3 in the next round to, ironically, Portugal. The Korean’s had led amazing 3-0, before Eusebio scored four goals and the Portuguese ran out 5-3 winners. Brazil will be firm favourites to win the group, but it will be interesting to see what formation Dunga sets up, with the former Brazilian captain favouring a more conservative, rigid European approach rather than an open attacking game.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) Brazil (2nd) Portugal

Group H

Chile
Honduras
Spain
Switzerland

European Champions and World Cup favourites Spain were drawn out last and will be confident of qualification – with or without key striker Fernando Torres. Torres has suffered a number of injuries since the start of the 2009/10 campaign in England and it has been suggested he could struggle to be fit for the finals come June. However, there is plenty of time for the Spaniard to regain fitness to partner Valencia forward David Villa. Spain have never won the World Cup and after their impressive display at Euro 2008, the Spanish public will be hoping this is about to change. They have faced all three team before – beating 2-0 Chile (back in 1950), beating Switzerland 2-1 and 3-0 in 1966 and 1994 respectively and drawing 1-1 with Honduras in 1982, when the tournament was hosted in Spain. Honduras will be competing for the first time in twenty eight years, having beaten El Salvador on the final day of qualifying.

WCS prediction to qualify: (1st) Spain (2nd) Chile

Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi shone in Barcelona’s 1-0 victory over arch rivals Real Madrid, which was settled eleven minutes after half time with a Zlatan Ibraminovic goal. The Swede might not be going to South Africa next summer, but the talented forward volleyed home a left footed shot after good work down the right by Daniel Alves.

The greatest derby in the world saw a superb strike, two dismissals and an epic performance from Barcelona’s number 10 – Lionel Messi. His close control, acceleration and innovation were all on display. The potential Ballon D’or winner outshone both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka and should have got on the score sheet himself. Brazilian flying fullback Daniel Alves put in a superb low through ball from the right hand side for Messi to latch onto. Spanish number one Iker Casillas made a superb stop from Messi to deny Barcelona a second.

Barcelona leap frog Real Madrid to top the La liga table with thirty points, whilst the nine times European Champions Madrid are on twenty eight points. Elsewhere in La Liga – Sevilla salvaged a 2-2 draw against Malaga after being two goals down. Valencia close the gap on Sevilla to just a single point after a 3-1 victory over Osasuna – with potential Manchester United and Chelsea target David Villa getting on the score sheet.

1998 World Cup winners France have qualified for their fourth successive World Cup finals after a controversial 2-1 victory (on aggregate) over the Republic of Ireland, who last qualified for the tournament in 2002. Thierry Henry appeared to stop the ball with his left hand before brushing it back into his path to cross for William Gallas to score.

The Irish should feel extremely hard done by after a brave battling performance in front of the Parisian crowd. Robbie Keane gave Ireland the lead in the first half after some good work down the left hand side involving Damien Duff. Duff had a chance to double the lead in the second half but his right footed shot was easily saved by Hugo Lloris. Robbie Keane also had another chance but ran the ball out of play when surely a trademark chip over the keeper was needed.

The main talking point will be about Henry’s handball to setup William Gallas. Henry gained legend status at Arsenal before leaving for Barcelona in the summer of 2007. He will go down as one of the greatest forwards of his generation, however there is sure to be uproar in the forthcoming weeks. The handball played an enormous part in the outcome of the game and put the French through to South Africa next year.

Ireland’s Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni was clearly distraught at the incident and spoke after the game: “I am not only disappointed, I am also sad. It is a bitter evening. It’s a bitter situation. I would prefer to have gone out on penalties. I am sad because the referee had time to ask the linesman. I am sure he should have, and he could have confirmed it was handball. I am upset. We speak many times about fair play. I go to schools and speak about fair play. I speak with the young kids about sport. Its important in life. Everybody saw the game. You know what happened.”