Mexico 1 Honduras 0
July 2 – The question on the lips of pundits and fans at Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, was “would tonight be business as usual or unusual business?” as Mexico and Honduras met for the right to face the United States in the Concacaf Gold Cup Final on Sunday in Houston.
Spain 5 Portugal 0
July 3 – With an imperious display, world champions Spain waltzed past neighbours Portugal at the Wankdorff Stadion in Bern, winning 5-0 to back up their status as tournament favourites.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
October 28 – World football’s governing body is locked in painstaking discussions about whether to split the dates for deciding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts - or postpone the December 2 vote altogether.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
October 28 – European football’s governing body has launched legal proceedings against a Cypriot official amid stunning new claims of corruption, this time that Ukraine and Poland paid off senior officials to host the 2012 European Championship finals.
For Australia, Ben Buckley spoke about a “No Worries World Cup”.
Alexei Sorokin said Russia would be ready to show “the new country” it had become.
But, for my money, much the most interesting presentation of the three World Cup bidders that spoke at this week’s International Football Arena was that given by Yuuichiro Nakajima of Japan, the only one of the trio, by my judgment, with little chance of winning.
October 27 - Bolton chairman Phil Gartside (pictured) has been given the job of leading the team to find a replacement for Lord Triesman as the next chairman of the Football Association.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
October 27 – The verbal spat between England and Russia over their fight for the 2018 World Cup took on yet another twist tonight when England were blasted as being “absolutely primitive” for making a formal complaint to FIFA about their chief rival’s behaviour.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
October 27 – Australia appear to have won the crucial vote of Frank Beckenbauer ahead of their four rivals in the race to stage the 2022 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
October 27 – As the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup becomes increasingly embroiled in corruption allegations and tit-for-tat spats, Australia are endeavouring to play it by the book, hoping the strategy ends up working in their favour.
.jpg)
Tuesday was the day that the gloves came off in the battle to stage the 2018 World Cup.
By making a formal complaint to FIFA, England 2018 signalled to its arch-rival Russia that from now on, in the five-and-a-half weeks that remain before the all-important December 2 vote, it will be playing hardball.
Quite when increasingly hard-pressed FIFA officials, ensconced in their ultra-modern slate-grey citadel in the hills above Zurich, will find the time to adjudicate the matter,
By Duncan Mackay in Acapulco
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
October 26 – The cash for votes scandal that has rocked FIFA has showed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they must not be complacent about corruption.
By David Owen in Zurich
October 26 – England 2018 has made a formal complaint to FIFA about its arch-rival, the Russian bid.
.jpg)
The Wayne Rooney drama illustrates two things. One, that much of what has happened to Rooney is a replay of his past, the other that the modern world of football is a curious kind of business where players, managers, administrators and even owners have all developed their own distinctive agendas. Their demands for money are always clothed in a spurious sense of higher morality.
The only ones who have not written a new script for themselves are the fans.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – European football’s governing body has called for firm evidence in response to allegations of corruption in the bidding race for Euro 2012.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – UEFA President Michel Platini (pictured) has said introducing goal-line technology will lead to “PlayStation football”.
By David Owen in Zurich
October 25 – Michel Zen-Ruffinen (pictured right), the former FIFA general secretary who has emerged as the latest source of explosive allegations in the World Cup bidding race, met the Sunday Times’ undercover reporters “quite a lot of times” over two-and-a-half months, he has told insideworldfootball.
By David Owen in Zurich
October 25 – Agents’ fees could be capped at three per cent under new rules being drawn up by FIFA, world football’s governing body.