World Cup Round up: 2018 can’t come soon enough, Beach Soccer World Cup Kicks Off

It is a good indication of a slow international football news day when the top headlines are about a competition that will take place 11 years from now. Now that Brazil has been awarded the 2014 World Cup and now that FIFA has opened up the bidding for 2018, the frenzy has begun. Color me unimpressed. Regardless, England’s FA announced that it will in fact make a run for the world’s biggest sporting event and that it will do so without the aid of its home countries. It might, however, do so with the aid of Russia if you are to believe the reports about the backroom deals being made. A full decade away and already things are fishy.

Meanwhile, the team that England will field in 2018 will be at a disadvantage if its players don’t get more time off than they currently do. Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, thinks that England’s international ambitions are hurt by players playing too much football. He might be right about that, but try telling the fat cats who make money off of club football to reduce their number of games. That will be a tough sell.

Iceland hasn’t lit the world on fire with their play in Euro 2008 qualifying and as a result they have gone out and bought themselves a new manager. Ólafur Jóhannesson is the name that should role off your tongue. He has a tough task ahead of him. Iceland usually produces a few quality players every so often but they lack the overall depth of the bigger countries in Europe.

Break out the sunscreen and Speedos. The Beach Soccer World Cup kicks off this weekend in Brazil. It hardly seems fair that they are playing this on Brazilian soil, I mean sand. The country has won the competition 10 out of 12 years. The smart money is they will add an 11th trophy to their case this year.

Who will win the 2008 African Cup of Nations? The fans seem to think it will be Ivory Coast. The Elephants have the talent, but this is being played in Ghana so my vote goes with the host nation.

If you have ever asked someone out on a date and have been rejected than you know what it is like for some in Canada these days.

Like I said, a slow news day. There’s always tomorrow…

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