 
England feel nation's 'buzz' of expectation behind them
ENGLAND fly out to France today with their coach, Glenn Hoddle, calling his World Cup squad the "best-prepared" in the nation's history. In a traditional rallying cry beloved by coaches, Hoddle insisted that England had nothing to fear in France but fear itself, writes Henry Winter . Kelly salutes president Blatter
SEPP Blatter's victory here yesterday over the more favoured Lennart Johansson as president of FIFA - by a surprising margin of 111 votes to 80 - is a fillip to England's chances of staging the 2006 World Cup and could mean that Keith Wiseman, chairman of the Football Association, could now occupy a prominent position in the inner circles of the Blatter-run FIFA, writes Mihir Bose . Paris oblivious to the party
THE kinetic energy produced by the comet-strike of a 32-nation World Cup is enough to blast most hosts into bits. But dear old Paris just soaks it up, writes Paul Hayward . Scholes can shun the limelight no longer
HE lives in a detached house, which is being done up. He drives a Cherokee Jeep. He has a girlfriend. He plays golf off a 16 handicap. He has asthma. These are the few established facts of Paul Scholes's life, a remarkable paucity of detail given that Manchester United's attacking midfielder may become a central figure for England over the coming weeks. The only place Scholes sheds his desire for anonymity is on the football field. Scotland ponder Ronaldo question
FOR all but two of the Scotland squad today's introduction to the Stade de France is going to be a severe culture shock. The daily press conferences at the Scottish training base at St Remy de Provence have attracted a hundred or so media representatives, including a smattering of Brazilians. Colombia risk running out of steam
IF you believe Hernan Dario Gomez, the Colombia coach, his players will barely have enough energy to get through training let alone the games in France 98. Passarella widens his vision
ARGENTINE football stumbled away from USA 94 with much to consider. A messy drugs scandal had deprived the team of Diego Maradona and, without him, Argentina were bundled out of the tournament by the counter-attacking specialists from Romania. Round-Up: Pele's fancy for England
PELE believes England can win the World Cup. He feels Glenn Hoddle's side are good enough to succeed in France and that the tournament could be one of the most open in years. Argentina offering real value to put punters in World Cup paradise
AS a betting medium this World Cup is likely to be the biggest sporting event ever for the bookmakers. Take all the major sporting events of the year, roll them into one and the World Cup turnover would eclipse the others. A true paradise for the punters and the bookmakers. Live TV coverage of the World Cup
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Beautiful Brazil become the greatest of all time
The finest World Cup since 1970 - some even say it has been the best ever - was decided in the most unsatisfactory manner when Brazil became the first team to win the final after a penalty shoot-out.
Sweden take third place play-off
As Sweden ended the 1994 World Cup finals with 15 goals it was difficult to argue with Tommy Svensson, who declared: "I am very pleased. I am an attacking coach." |
Previous: 1994 Early Stages
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