Latest Wayne Rooney injury news

According to reports Rooney will miss key games for Manchester United but get a rest before the World Cup - result!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/31/wayne-rooney-manchester-united-injury1

Crisps with a World Cup theme – what deranged numpty thought this one up?

It’s the dumbest idea since the England team decided leaving the pitch during the 1950 World Cup match against the USA to take tea on the veranda with a posse of Brazilian stunners wouldn't be a problem. The US went on to score, recording a famous victory. The rest, as the saying goes, is boring. I am of course referring to a new promotional campaign by a crisp manufacturer who shall remain nameless unless I receive a year’s supply of Ready Salted by June.

Capello on Spain and World Cup 2010

England manager Fabio Capello has revealed his admiration of the way Spain play, which other teams he thinks are a danger in South Africa, and which England player has improved more than anyone else this season.

Volunteers line up for 2010 World Cup

On the weekend that former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson picked up another lucrative early exit from a World Cup, news arrives of a different bunch of people who are approaching the tournament with entirely different motives.

‘Poultry’ news day for World Cup 2010 fans

It seems you can’t move these days without someone having their say on the 2010 World Cup. From politicians to pundits, policeman to players, the tournament is on everyone’s lips. In fact I predict you will be able to gauge how close we are to the World Cup starting simply by recording the rising number of press releases linking this or that group to the event. Here’s an example.

The best World Cup semi-final?

As we all look forward to this year’s World Cup there is a natural tendency to glance backwards at the same time to admire the history of the tournament. With the exception of the final itself, the semis are amongst the most eagerly awaited matches. Let’s look at some classic World Cup semi-finals and see if we can choose the best.

Rooney, Torres and Messi – can they deliver?

They are probably the three best players in the world right now; Wayne Rooney is in explosive form, Lionel Messi appears unstoppable with the ball at his feet, and an injury-ravaged season hasn’t prevented Fernando Torres from scoring goals when fit. It will be a privilege to see all three in action during the World Cup. The question is: can they deliver?

Are England and Argentina on a World Cup collision course?

I recently spotted a press report suggesting a group of “Argentinian football hooligans” are plotting to attack England fans during the World Cup. How likely is a meeting between fans of the two teams and when could one take place?

First World Cup TV fixtures announced for the UK

The first batch of games have been grabbed and it's 2 - 1 to ITV as the commercial broadcaster gets England's first two games at the World Cup (USA and Algeria). The BBC will screen England's final Group C game against Slovenia on June 23rd.

For the full list click here

Kinky sex and World Cup 2010

A weird looking sex doll is being touted as the best way to keep England players away from temptation during the World Cup in South Africa. I'm not so sure...

World Cup 2010 – Johannesburg Guide

About Johannesburg

Located in the north east of South Africa, Johannesburg is the home of two World Cup stadiums: Soccer City and Ellis Park. The city will host a total of fifteen matches, including the final on July 11th.

How much do you know about the World Cup 2010 national anthems?

A CD containing versions of national anthems from the 2010 World Cup's 32 competing nations is now available to buy. Here's the list and some opening lines which give you a flavour of what to expect:

Beckham to be “impact shoulder to cry on with special responsibilities for 2018 World Cup lobbying”

I suppose it was inevitable that England couldn’t do without him at World Cup 2010. So it comes as no surprise to hear the news about David Beckham’s injury induced transformation from “impact substitute” to “impact shoulder to cry on with special responsibilities for 2018 World Cup lobbying”.

This is obviously (I hope) an entirely fictitious role I invented this morning over cornflakes and lukewarm tea. I genuinely don’t know what Beckham will do if he makes it to South Africa.

However, I do think there is something a little despairing about the idea that a convalescing player could still have a part to play in South Africa. Nobody appears to have a more convincing explanation other than the “high esteem” in which Beckham is held and the supposed power of his lobbying skills, which is really shorthand for “global PR machine which can be exploited to the FA’s benefit.”

If both are these are true, we should have dispensed with the idea of Beckham playing at the World Cup and simply took him on as a consultant to the 2018 bid. He wasn’t going to play much, if at all, anyway.

The only benefit I can see is how much Beckham’s global PR machine will take attention away from the people who go to South Africa to do a real job – the manager, players and coaching staff. In fact that’s the solution: put Beckham on top of Table Mountain, shine a few high-powered varilites in his general direction to maintain interest, and then let the press know. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?

A bullet-proof World Cup 2010 story

Number 209 in the series of ill-judged World Cup publicity link ups – it’s the bullet-proof garments story. Keen-eyed followers of World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010 will have seen something similar before. Are these people just mercenary feckheads or what?

Beckham out of World Cup

David Beckham won’t now realise his dream of becoming the first Englishman to play in four World Cup finals tournaments. Early indications suggest the achilles tendon injury the AC Milan and LA Galaxy midfielder suffered in a Serie A match against Chievo is serious enough to mean he will not play in South Africa. Let’s look at the possible implications for Beckham and England before assessing the reaction of the press.

Blatter defends goal-line technology decision

Anyone who has ever had to explain a joke knows this is a risky course of action. The more detailed your reasoning, the less people are likely to laugh. FIFA president Sepp Blatter clearly isn’t familiar with the principle and has decided to explain the recent decision to rule out using goal-line technology during football matches. If only he’d kept his big mouth shut.

Best World Cup Player Of The Decade Part 6: the 1990s

The series ends with the nineteen-nineties, the decade when Baggio, Gascoigne, Ronaldo and Zidane all took centre stage.

The latest on the England World Cup bugging story

Since we are all still in the dark about the actual contents of these tapes I called on my underground sources Big Jim and Big Jim’s Scary Half-Brother to track them down.

US soccer ad on “human table football”

It’s that time during a World Cup year when advertisers start unveiling their latest eye-catching videos to tempt viewers into thinking their product is the one to have by their side during that crucial extra time period of an enthralling quarter final. Thanks to the UK’s Daily Mirror we can now all see the latest from the US. While human table football is a great idea, I still can’t see this catching on. Can you?

Has England World Cup hero lost his marbles?

World Cup 1966 hero Geoff Hurst thinks England won't win the main prize in South Africa this year. While he's not alone in holding this perfectly reasonable view, Hurst's pessimism is backed by some bizarre reasoning.

England aren’t the only ones with problems at left back

More than one team is contemplating a World Cup with difficulties in the left back area, according to the first guest blogger on World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010. Let’s find out what’s happening in the US courtesy of Kevin Koczwara from The Soccer Guys.

Crouch makes convincing case for World Cup place

Peter Crouch came off the bench last night to give England victory over Egypt. Two second half goals took the Tottenham striker’s England tally to 20 in 37 games. More importantly, the first gave England a springboard for success in a World Cup warm up which had threatened to go the way of a skillful Egyptian side. So what have the papers got to say this morning?

Is there anything interesting to say about the midweek international friendlies?

With 28 qualified nations in action last night (Tuesday) or tonight, including eight games between qualifiers and 12 others involving at least one team heading for South Africa, this is a good time to assess the usefulness of international friendlies. Is there really anything interesting to say about this week’s matches?

“Why USA Soccer Fans Need To Start Hating England”

Just when it seemed nobody was taking this year’s World Cup seriously, along comes an excellent article on why US “soccer” fans should hate England. It’s from an American writer who has rekindled my admiration for the birthplace of Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Saturday Night Live, John Belushi and Bill Hicks.

Thoughts on England and Egypt squads for midweek friendly