England 1:0 Spain Wembley Stadium, London Wembley was full, sold on the dream of the king's touch , as the world's No.1 soccer nation Spain dropped by for an evening. A strange pre-match atmosphere, as the usual patriotic fantasy rang increasingly hollow: No-one expected England to win and most were hoping for a defeat short of embarrassing. A 90,000 defending army expected its fortress to be breached, and that it would only be a matter of when, not if the Spanish Armada would get revenge for 1588. They had their full team out: Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa were facing Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott and Danny Welbeck - ouch! In the first five minutes the red sea washed over Wembley as expected, Spain marinating possession and donning the mantle of the home side as they took their game confid ently to their raw hosts. England were second best, pinned back in their own half, unable to string multiple passes together or create moments of danger. This was no ordinary home game. Spain enjoyed the (three) lions' share of of the ball and out-shot England 21 to 3 overall, but never showed real 'animo' until they chased an equalizer in the final quarter, inst ead stroking the ball around as gently as crown green bowls. It was a lesson for the land of macho power-play from a visiting maestro. Simple yet brilliant: Play it to feet and flick it quickly when danger nears but never lose possession. Yet Fabio Capello's team still merited their win for holding firm having stolen the lead against the run of play. Scott Parker's astute anchoring and his last-ditch lunges saved the day more than once, while the lone strike was a goal made in England. James Milner muscled away on the left and won a free-kick. He looped his set piece into the melée and Darren Bent soared highest to nod the ball against the post. Enter the wily old head of Frank Lampard, increasingly tipped to lose his place as he drew level with Bryan Robson on 90 caps, as the only one following up as an open goal gaped. England wanted it more and were hungry for the scalp of FIFA's No.1-ranked nation. Their defence held firm and withstood the Spanish onslaught; job done. Yet Spain were clearly a class apart and England fans left buoyant but slightly subdued, knowing a narrow win had probably flattered the hosts. Even the loudest loudmouths at Wembley began hollering at England to pass and keep the ball down after a few minutes of watching la furia roja hold sway with effortless élan. The fruits of tiki-taka are still ripe, a playing system streets ahead of any other in 20 11. England and other nations play in a linear fashion, hitting front men with crosses or runners in channels or working the ball upfield with diagonal passes or dribbles. Spain eschew the 'droit au but' approach and prefer to keep possession, spinning a spider's web of flicks and passing triangles which send ball-watchers' heads spinning as the play changes direction with every pass. Only late in the game with the introduction of Fernando Torres to supplement Ces c Fabregas did Spain attack in a more 'vertical' way. Tiki-taka is maddeningly predictable yet unplayable at the same time, a winning formula that has bagged the European Championship and World Cup in an unprecedented golden age for a hitherto jinxed giant. Spain are not all-conquering however and have already been beaten five times since 2008 as it happens, twice competitively - the USA beat them 2-0 at 2009's Confederations Cup and Switzerland edged them 1-0 at last year's World Cup. Make that six losses for the champions now. Friendly defeats have come in Italy (2-1) this summer, and in Portugal (4-0) and Argentina (4-1) last year. It is as if in away friendlies the Spaniards take their feet off the gas and use them for practice and make sure they do not lose when it really matters, while the home teams are eager to beat the World Champions. The US beat Spain in 2009 through conceding the wings and forming t wo solid banks of four to frustrate their close-passing through the middle, leaving American speedsters Landon Donovan and Charlie Davies to chase balls over midfield and stop the Spanish full-backs overlapping. Like England at Wembley, Switzerland grabbed a goal and kept a tight ship to frustrate the more talented Spaniards and hold out for a close win. Spain are beatable. Being reigning European and World champions can become a millstone - everyone wants to say they beat you so they raise their game accordingly. As Spain manager Vicente del Bosque confirms, "Anything except winning will be seen as a disaster and that doesn't help us at all." For England, there was little to get excited about, but some green shoots showing promise: Danny Welbeck and Jack Rodwell impressed, Phil Jones fought manfully out of position, while man of the match Scott Parker proved why he should have gone to South Africa. England remain an underachiever on the competitive stage but had beaten three World Cup holders at Wembley before Saturday: West Germany were dispatched 3-1 in 1954 and 2-0 in 1974, while Argentina with a teenage Diego Maradona succumbed 3-1 under the twin towers in 1978. Beating the mighty Spain in 2011 in a friendly will not count for much in the long run, though a win is a win is a win. Euro 2012 will be a whole different ball game. ENG: Hart, G.Johnson, Lescott, Jagielka, Cole, Walcott (Downing 46'), Jones (Rodwell 56'), Parker (Walker 85'), Milner (A.Johnson 76'), Lampard (Barry 56'), Bent (Wellbeck) 63'. SPA: Casillas (Reina 46'), Arbeloa, Pique, Ramos (Puyol 74'), Alba, Busquets (Torres 64'), Alonso, Xavi (Fabregas 46'), Iniesta (Cazorla 74'), Silva (Mata 46'), Villa. Goal: Lampard 49'. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

England will be allowed to wear poppies on their shirts against Spain on Saturday after all, albeit as an armband. An extraordinary row had been stirred up after the Football Association announced the England team would sport the Remembrance Day flower for their friendly against the World Champions. Scotland and Wales plan to do the same for their games against Cyprus and Norway. FIFA reacted monolithically by refusing to countenance it, citing their regulations against "political, religious or commercial" symbols on national team shirts. Political leaders and royalty reacted with rage, the London media went into frenzy and two members of the English Defence League, a protest group which draws a number of soccer thugs, scaled the roof of FIFA House in Zurich to protest. Ignoring the fact that several nations' shirts have Christian crosses or Islamic crescents on them, or that Adidas, FIFA's favourite manufacturer, Nike, Umbro and other brands already have their logos emblazoned on shirts, the accusation that the poppy was a political symbol was well wide of the mark. Poppies are ubiquitous in England in the week leading up to the 11th of September commemoration of those who served and/or died in conflicts. Military veterans man the entrances and exits to every major railway station, adults and children alike wear them and no TV presenter would be seen dead without the little red flower in their lapel. Indeed, the pressure to be seen honouring the fallen has led to some complaining of 'poppy fascism'. But it is definitely not "political". All parties unite to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Britain's national war memorial. The poppy, which comes from Canadian John McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' poem and American campaigner Moina Michael, succeeds in uniting the nation in quiet reflection, pacifists and non-pacifists alike. On that basis, FIFA should never have interfered with something so close to a nation's heart which was a one-off because it just so happened England had a friendly at home a day after Armistice Day. The interventions of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and future king Prince William were probably due to their unpleasant experiences at the World Cup vote a year ago, where both left fuming at having been lied to by FIFA Ex.Co. members. At the same time, did England need to wear a poppy? Their alternative plans of having a giant red flower on the pitch and having poppies on England training shirts and tracksuits and a minute's silence before kick-off surely would have made the point that football remembers too. 1,000 servicemen and women are due to attend to as part of the FA's 'Ticke ts for Troops' giveaway. Indeed, there has been a creeping military feel to England home games in the last few years. Now it is customary for uniformed soldiers to carry the flags around the field, to sometimes line up to be honoured and for the P.A. system to encourage the crowd to applaud, as 'Help for Heroes' collectors raise money for the families of those serving in Afghanistan. The connection between the national team and the national army is becoming a little blurred in England, and FIFA were right to assume all national shirts should be left alone, but equally the strength of feeling in Britain on the issue was something they should have been aware of before clumsily putting their foot down. In terms of football politics, England and FIFA look as far apart as ever, with the motherland of the game having given up the dream of ever hosting the World Cup again. Until regime change happens in Zurich, the FA can content themselves with mini-victories like this one. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

*We might be marveling at the brilliance of Barcelona every time the blaugrana grace the field, and shake our heads at the bottomless bank account of Real Madrid , but the Spanish league is as absurdly top-heavy and devalued as the Scottish leag ue. The two giants won 5-0 and 6-0 respectively on the opening day of the Spanish season, leaving Villareal president Fernando Roig to exclaim in anguish, "It's a third-world league in which two clubs are sapping the TV money...I give it three to four years. Either it changes or we kill Spanish football." In third place in La Liga last season were Valencia, a full 21 points behind Real and this season the gripes are getting louder. Seville's president has blasted Spanish football as "not the biggest mess in Europe but in the world". Euro 2008 winner Marcos Senna concurred: "The superiority of Real and Barca is brutal." Three clubs other than Barça or Real have won La Liga in the past 15 years: Deportivo La Coruna in 2000 and Valencia in 2002 and 2004. The problem is historic, with Real Madrid built up by the Franco regime into a mega-club and Catalonia focusing its cultural and political frustrations onto its soccer team. Two weeks ago I was in the Castile province of northern Spain and watched the Barcelona v Real Madrid Super Cup second leg, which kicked off at 11pm local time. It was almost like watching Spain in the World Cup with the whole town glued to multiple TV screens in the main square. TV is the problem, as the clubs negotiate individual deals which inevitably favours the two giants. The locals in Ponferrada were largely pro-Real, as is the majority of Spain, but there were plenty of youngsters in Barça shirts too, presumably having grown up on Ronaldinho. Most of Spain is like this is in my experience. The big two have too big a hold on the nation. That said, at a national team level, this period of Barça/Real saturation has coincided with Spain winning Euro U-19, Euro U-21, the European Championship and the World Cup. This season began with Spanish players going on strike over money. How long before the imbalance in La Liga results in a breakaway? * Dunga and David Trezeguet are the latest to take the Arab shilling, having agreed to take jobs with club sides in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates respectively. The 4 7 year-old Brazilian most recently coached his nation at the World Cup finals and will coach Al Rayyan, while the 33 year-old French striker leaves a storied European career including spells at Hercules, Juventus and Monaco. 'Trez' won the World Cup with France and scored the winning (golden) goal in the Euro 2000 final. He will now play for Baniyas SC. No doubt he, like Dunga, are heading to the Middle East for the stratospheric salaries and little else, but in footballing terms it still seems a shame to be moving to real soccer backwaters in search of one last big payday. *Best wishes to Owen Hargreaves as he attempts one last resurrection of his injury-plagued career at Manchester City. The Canada-born midfielder, it is easy to forget, was England's best player at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, despite, or perhaps because he had never played in English club football, gaining his soccer education instead first in North America and then at Bayern Munich. -Sean O'Conor Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

UEFA U21 Championship Final, Aarhus, Denmark Spain 2:0 Switzerland Herrera 41', Thiago 81' Att: 16,110 Spanish football wrote another chapter in its golden age as its Under-21s b agged the European Championship in Denmark this evening with a convincing 2:0 win over Switzerland. Athletic Bilbao's Ander Herrera scored the opening goal four minutes before the interval, meeting a curling cross from Didac Vila on the run to power a header past Yann Sommer, the first goal the Swiss had conceded in the tournament. With nine minutes left on the clock, Barcelona's junior wizard Thiago Alcantara grabbe d the clincher, lobbing Sommer spectacularly from around 35 yards. The favourites played much of the second half in cruise control, comfortably sweeping the ball around while Switzerland huffed and puffed in an effort to get level. Juan Mata took with the tournament's golden boot with five goals. In the day's earlier third-place play-off, Belarus booked their ticket to the 2012 Olympics with a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic. Spain (4-1-4-1) : David De Gea, Alvaro Dominguez, Javi Martinez, Adrian Lopez (Jeffren Suarez 80'), Juan Mata, Martin Montoya, Didac Vila, Ander Herera (Diego Capel 90'), Thiago Alcantara, Alberto Botia, Iker Muniain (Daniel Parejo 85') Switzerland (4-1-4-1) : Yann Sommer, Philippe Koch, Jonathan Rossini, Fabian Lustenberger, Innocent Emeghara (Mario Gavranovic 53'), Fabian Frei (Amir Abrashi 54'), Xherdan Shaqiri, Admir Mehmedi, Granit Xhaka (Pajtim Kasami 67'), Timm Klose, Gaetano Berardi. Ball Possession: Spain 54%, Switzerland 46% Shots on Target: Spain 3, Switzerland 2 Cautions: Spain 2, Switzerland 2 (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

UEFA U21 Championship 2011: England 1:1 Spain Herrera 14', Welbeck 87' Herning, Denmark, Att: 8,046 Manchester United's Daniel Welbeck rescued English blushes with a barely-deserved equaliser three minutes from time against Spain in Herning. A poacher's goal in the 18th minute by Real Zaragoza's Ander Herrera was all that separated the teams on paper before Welbeck unexpectedly slotted home, but the scoreline belied the gulf between English and Spanish football recently illuminated by the UEFA Champions League Final. Less than a month ago, the respective top club teams of these two countries had crossed swords, with Barcelona showing Man Utd a clean pair of heels, sparking the most serious debate yet about the English playing style. Within the opening minutes it was clear that old habits die hard. England chased and tackled hard on the back foot, while Jordan Henderson launched missiles forward towards the muscular duo of the two Daniels - Sturridge and Welbeck. Spain, anchored by 2010 World Cup veteran Javi Martinez, were untroubled by the English air-raid, pressed en masse and tried to weave their way upfield via their nimble No.19 Thiago Alcantara. More clash of the styles than clash of the titans. In the 14th minute their influential duo combined to nab the lead from a speedy set-piece. Thiago's whipped corner was nodded on by Martinez and Real Zaragoza midfielder Ander Herrera raced in to head home at the far post. Buoyed by their breakthrough, the Spanish then kept their possession up, leaving England to rely on right-sided thrusts from Tottenham's Kyle Walker for inspiration. England almost got even five minutes from the interval Sturridge almost connected with a thumped-in cross from Danny Rose but while the Chelsea forward looked more dangerous as the half came to a close, his teammates for the most part relied on hopeful launches from afar. Alberto Botia stretched to beat Sturridge to a Chris Smalling cross in the dying seconds, and goalie David de Gea palmed it away for a corner. With their stentorian coach Luis Milla yelling them on from the touchline, Spain entered the dressing-rooms at half-time confident of victory, while England expected a dressing-down from Pearce and talk of a Plan B. After a spell of English huffing and puffing following the restart, it was Spain almost doubled their lead in the 58th when Herrera the goalscorer found space on the edge of the box and got a shot off, deflected by Phil Jones but clawed away by the agile Frank Fielding between the sticks. Pearce had seen enough and made two changes in the 67th, pulling off Rose and skipper Michael Mancienne and replacing them with Arsenal's Henri Lansbury and the Premier League experience of Everton's Jack Rodwell, a veteran of 2009. Meanwhile, Spain were still in control of the battle, laying comfortably at anchor in the knowledge the English cannons were off-kilter. Right-back Martin Montoya fired into the side-netting twenty minutes from time to finish off a lovely move, but otherwise Spain were content to contain. Ten minutes to go and the biggest cheer of the night as Barcelona's Bojan Krkic took the field, while Pearce played his last card by throwing on Scott Sinclair in place of Tom Cleverley. Finally the gods smiled on England as the Spanish defence were caught napping by Walker's incursion three minutes from time. The Spurs man found Welbeck with space in the box and a neat turn allowed him time to pick his spot past De Gea and slot home. England's players cheered their travelling support at the final whistle relieved at their good fortune, while Spain's centre-back pairing of Botia and Alvaro Dominguez argued over who was to blame for the equaliser. Honours shared, the two go into their second games against the Czech Republic and Ukraine seeking more. ENGLAND (4-2-3-1) - Frank Fielding, Michael Mancienne, Ryan Bertrand, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson, Daniel Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Kyle Walker, Thomas Cleverley, Danny Rose Coach: Stuart Pearce SPAIN (4-1-2-2-1) - David de Gea, Alvaro Dominguez, Javi Martinez, Jeffren, Adrian, Juan Mata, Martin Montoya, Didac Vila Rosello, Ander Herrera, Thiago Alcantara, Alberto Botia Coach: Luis Milla Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

There's nothing like Christmas to bring up old and unresolved family issues. With the rest of Europe, England apart, on hibernal hiatus, 32,000 turned out at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium tonight to watch Catalonia hammer Honduras , a representative in last summer's World Cup Finals, 4-0 , with a brace from Barça's Bojan Krkic. The Catalan eleven also bo asted blaugrana stalwart Carles Puyol and teammate Sergio Busquets, who both lifted the World Cup in Spanish colours in South Africa this year. Barça heavy though the team was, the Catalonia squad actually contained more players from the city's other team, Español. The Catalan national team remains of course unr ecognised by FIFA or UEFA, as are a handful of European 'countries' like Corsica, Gibraltar, Jersey, Kosovo, Monaco and the Vatican City. FIFA now demand full United Nations recognition before they rubber-stamp anything, but in their quest for acceptance, the 'forgotten nations' point to the footballing status of not entirely sovereign states such as Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein and San Marino, as well as the four nations which make up the United Kingdo m, which has only one seat at the UN. The Spanish close season or mid-winter break are the only times the Catalan nat ional team can realistically assemble, but on the evidence of recent outings, their side, now coa ched by Barcelona idol Johan Cruyff , would be a force in European football were it playing regularly: Last year they downed Diego Maradona's Argentina 4-2 at the Camp Nou, beat Colombia 2-1 the year before that and in 2003 thrashed Ecuador 4-0, five years after a memorable 5-0 walloping of Nigeria. And ab sent from their ranks tonight were Catalan aces Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and Xavi, World Soccer's Player of the Year for 2010. Indeed, Spain won the World Cup playing the Barcelona style and with far more Catalans (five) than any other regional nationality, although the skipper who hoisted the golden prize aloft in Soweto was Madrid-born and 100% Real man Iker Casillas. That magical night in the Rainbow Nation shone a brighter than ever spotlight upon Spain's fractured footballing loyalties, which were last probed in depth following their Euro 2008 victory. Claim and counter-claim surrounded the extent to which the triumph of 'La Roj a' ( 'The Red' ) was cheered in its less than ardently patriotic regions, and the appare ntly obvious semantics of the chant 'Yo soy espa Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} ñ ol, espa Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} ñ ol, espa Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} ñ ol' ('I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish' ) which echoed around the country this summer, were equally dissected at length. Maybe it was the dawn of a new and modern Spain ready at last to jettison a pain ful past or perhaps it was just a passing fiesta where everyone fervently embraced each other in br otherly love as on New Year's Eve, toasting La Roja with ample Rioja , before waking up hungover the next morning with unforgiven feuds and remembered riv alries. AS Diario, one of Spain's daily football papers, summed up the co nundrum quite succinctly in its headline 'Visca Espa ñ a' - 'visca' being the Catalan version of 'viva'. And Cruyff, despite his assimilated Senyera DNA - he named his son Jordi after all, does not foresee or even desire that Catalunya should become FIFA-recognised or an independent nation any time soon. He spea ks (ropey) Castillian Spanish rather than Catalan, yet remains proud to take charge of what are essentially glorified friendlies once a season in his adopted homeland. With Spain defeating Holland in the World Cup final only a few months ago, harvesting the fruit of the seeds he had planted as a player with Barcelona in the 1970s, perhaps this is not the best time to be questioning Cruyff's c ultural leanings with any certainty anyway. The Basque country also has a national team in action over Christmas, hosting Venezuela tomorrow night in Bilbao. Heavily dependent on the historically Basque club sides of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, their squad also boasts Spanish World Cup-winner Xabi Alonso of Real Madrid. Euskadi are no slouches either, having claimed the scalps of a ho st of FIFA nations acros s the last twenty years including Uruguay, Ghana, Russia, Serbia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Bolivia and Morocco. Famous former players from the Basque country include the great goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, still Spain's record cap-winner, and the flying French World Cup-winning left back Bixente Lizarazu. And the tapestry does not end there: Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, Navarre and the Region of Valencia have all played friendlies against FIFA-recognised nations during the past decade. A united Spain might have won the World Cup in June, but the red of its national shirt, in truth belies a coat of many cultures. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

On Thursday afternoon we will know the venues for the 2018 & 2022 World Cup Finals and a sorry 21-month multinational spat will blessedly come to an end. What FIFA had wished would be a smooth process has degenerated into an unseemly mess. As wealthy nations squabble for victory, a public tired of perceived corruption in football politics sigh as their suspicions are reinforced . Whoever wins the 2018 race w ill not remove the whiff of a grubby power-grab of claim and counter-claim, backroom deals and illicit bribery that has dogged this latest World Cup bidding war. Don't kill the messenger. The press has every right to shine a light anywhere on FIFA as much as on any form of government: Quis custodet ipsos custodes .. . FIFA is a nation-state with a global influence approaching the Vatican's, given the way world leaders genuflect before President Sepp Blatter when he visits and leave their domestic problems behind to jet into Switzerland for last-minute lobbying. Yet transparency before the law has been slow to catch up and the continuing presence of the likes of Vice-President Jack Warner at high table and the closed vote for the hosting decision do not help clean up the general consensus that FIFA is far too secretive for such an internationally pervasive body. The UK media, sensing a hefty, hard-to-miss quarry, has trained its guns on FIFA Headquarters in Zurich and scored some hits, notably bringing down Reynauld Temarii and Amos Adamu , removed from the 24-man Executive Committee who select the winning bids. Yesterday the BBC broadcast persuasive allegations that three other Exec. Com. members - Issa Hayatou , Ricardo Teixeira and Nicolas Leoz , had trousered kickbacks from FIFA's now-collapsed marketing company ISL. England's bidding team had feared the show would derail their bid at the last minute, but in reality the impact is unlikely to tell, given the whole organisation has been under the spotlight for a while and the murky goings-on with ISL, highlighted by investigative reporter Andrew Jennings and others already, date from 1995. The 2018 race has been particularly unseemly, with Russian bid leader Alexei Sorokin openly sledging against his rivals in breach of FIFA rules, claiming London ha d a problem with crime and juvenile drinking. Qui accuse, s'accuse ... Spain/Portugal have seen CONMEBOL come out in support of them before the vote and were cornered with stories they had struck a deal with 2022-bidders Qatar , allegations bolstered by Asian Football Confederation Mohamed Bin Hammam's confirmation of an "excellent relationship" which was "not breaking any rules." Iberian bid boss Miguel Angel Lopez in turn accused The Football Association and US Soccer of a similar pact and criticised English hotels. England had a great bid on paper with no obvious drawbacks but has had to contend not only with its seemingly perennial lack of influence in FIFA corridors (as Jack Warner reiterated during the bidding process), but it s own media's lust for blood: F.A. Chair man Lord Triesman resigned in ignominy after being secretly taped claiming Spain and Russia were working together to bribe referees at the World Cup and form a mutual voting pact. FIFA evaluated England's and Spain/Portugal's bids to be the lowest-risk a nd England's bid was also judged to be largest potential money-spinner by management consultants McKinsey , in a FIFA -commissioned appraisal. A diplomatic trident of Prime Minister David Cameron , soccer superstar David Beckham and the recently engaged HRH Prince William will be unleashed on the 22 delegates on Thursday morning in the hope of persuading them to forsake their alliances and back the home of football's bid on its merits alone. The least controversial of the four bids and another perfectly valid one, Belgium & th e Netherlands ', is perhaps not coincidentally the least likely to win. Despite Johann Cruyff's electrifying presence, Ruud Gullit's enthusiasm and the greenness of the bid, elimination in the first-round of voting looms. The sour grapes can be tasted already, the recriminations as sure as night follows day. As when Germany 'stole' the 2006 hosting from South Africa at the last minute, expect a burst of 'we wuz robbed' outrage and trans-European finger-pointing. It has been an unpleasant and dirty trek to the final vote in Zurich, and f or those of us who wish football were a beautiful game both on and off the field, Thursday cannot come quickly enough. 2018 bidders - Netherlands/Belgium, England, Russia, Spain/Portugal. 2022 bidders - Australia, USA, Qatar, Japan, South Korea (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

The verdicts on the 'Gang of Five' who destroyed the harmony of the French camp at the World Cup were announced just like any criminal trial's results, complete with mugshots of the offenders. Nicolas Anelka , the instigator of the pathetic rebellion with his foul-mouthed attack on coach Raymond Domenech , got an 18-game ban from the national team, Patrice Evra got five for failing in his captain's duties, Franck 'underage' Ribery got three as the ironically named vice-captain and Jeremy Toulalan must sit out one match me for penning the excruciating players' statement which the hapless Raymond Domenech read out to the press, willingly or not. Anelka predictably laughed off the ban but is unlikely to wear bleu again, while the reaction from the French players' union, which blamed Domenech instead of the boorish players, showed it is not just England's PFA who stand up for overpaid yobs in public. In view of the damage done to the national team, the hopes of millions of Frenchmen and women back home and their sense of self-pride, let alone the image of the country across the world, the punishments handed out were mild in the extreme. Never before have I heard people telling me they were ashamed to be French. *** The Spanish press, well Marca and AS that is, are agog over Mesut Ozil 's arrival at Real Madrid. What struck me was how meagre the fee was in the end for one of the world's most talented youngsters, who had an impressive first World Cup finals. At £12 million, Real have themselves a bargain, especially considering Manchester City have just shelled out more than twice that for the prosaic James Milner. More proof that the Premier League still plays second fiddle to La Primera when it comes to bagging the top stars, and how England shoots itself in the foot, complaining about the lack of opportunity for its youngsters while hugely over-valuing the ones that do get the chance. And what about Tottenham's exodus in the Champions League? 3-0 down after half an hour to a Swiss team lacking any star names; are English teams over-hyped as well as over-paid? ** FIFA's inspection team are currently being wowed in Russia by Vladimir Putin and others. Russia looked a dark horse at the start of the bidding race for the 2018 World Cup but seems to grow stronger all the time. That said, oligarch billions may not be enough to allay fears among the Executive Committee of the risks of 13 new stadia, long distances between venues and the permanent whiff of corruption that Russia brings. England still appears the safest pair of hands after the worries of South Africa and Brazil, but this race will go down to the wire, with second preference votes crucial for victory. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

Spain have won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa thanks to a 116th-minute winner from midfielder Andres Iniesta. The Barcelona star converted a pass from substitute Cesc Fabregas with just four minutes of extra-time remaining, after the two sides failed to break the deadlock in normal time. The Dutch were confident of victory before the game, however Spain's win continued the remarkable soothsaying run of Paul the Octopus , who before the match predicted that Vicente Del Bosque's team would come up trumps. Football fans were no doubt relieved that the Oberhausen-based oracle was not turned into octopus paella after Germany's narrow semi-final defeat to the Spaniards, as the eight-legged marine oddity once again picked the winner. Spain are now the current European and World champions - and deservedly so - following an outstanding 2010 World Cup campaign. Copyright © Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

"Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought." Vicente Del Bosque and Bert Van Maarwijk will probably not be sleeping too soundly tonight, wondering if they have left any stones unturned in their quest to win the World Cup tomorrow night. Whichever coach triumphs will be etched into the annals of the game forever as the first Spanish or Dutch World Cup-winning manager; the expectations are huge, the nervous anticipation bigger as their heads hit the pillows in South Africa. Questions will be running through their minds - How can the Dutch contain the tiki-taka of Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, how can they shut down David Villa and stop Pedro or Fernando Torres running amok in their last third? Will the Spanish have the steel to avoid the meaningful attentions of Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong? Can their defence cope with the craft of Wesley Sneijder and the high-speed threat of Arjen Robben? If Del Bosque or Van Maarwijk have exhausted their years of football knowledge for answers, perhaps they could turn back over two and a half thousand years to the Chinese wisdom of Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War', a perennial favourite for learning how to beat your enemy and win. Hey, if it worked in the 6th century B.C....

• He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks
• Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack
• Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder , and crush him
• If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him
• If he is in superior strength, evade him
• If his forces are united, separate them
• Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected
• Show them a little prospect of gain to lure them, then attack and overcome them
• The highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans
• He will win who is not interfered with by the sovereign
• Prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, disrupt them, cut their supply lines
• The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided
• He will invariably conquer who knows whether it is right to take the offensive or defensive
• If you know yourself but not the enemy for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat