Didn't Sir Alex just finishing lecturing the FA on their media overexposure of Wayne Rooney? Apparently, shedding a little bit of limelight his way isn't much of an issue at all. The Scot didn't mince words when picking his favorite to win the 2010 World Cup.

"I can't see past Brazil, actually," Ferguson was quoted in the Daily Mail.

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Rafa Benitez has called on Lyon to restore France's battered reputation - and help Liverpool complete another Euro miracle.
The Reds need Lyon to go from 'cheats' to emblems of fair play against Fiorentina on Tuesday - even though the French club has already qualified for the Champions League group stage. Click to continue reading...

Portugal have moved up to #5 in the FIFA World Rankings released yesterday and with this ranking and previous point system, they should be one of the top seeds when the top seed rankings are released and draw completed next month in South Africa.The top countrys will go into pot one and more importantly not seeded together in the first round. Click to continue reading...

On this week's podcast the World Cup continues to take centre stage. We also review the football stories of the past week and make our predictions on the big games. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read more.

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PREDICTION

This week's featured match is Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen

Damon: 2-3 | Damian: 1-0 | Guest: 1-1 Check the rest of this weekend's predictions here

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This week's QUIZ QUESTION:

When was the last time that Manchester City won the League?

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Guus Hiddink could be making an announcement as early as next month about his future. He has a contract with as Russia's head coach until the end of June 2010 and now with the failure to qualify for the World Cup it is thought he will quit and become Technical Director at Chelsea. Hiddink had [...] Click to continue reading...

The World Cup dominates this week's show as we take a look back at the dramatic play-offs and we also have two England fans looking forward to the finals in South Africa next summer. You can also:

Read our football news review in the good, the bad and the ugly Check out a new football expression in English for Football Follow the weekly predictions battle between Damon and Damian in the Predictions competition For learners of English check out our Football Language Resources page with: Football glossary (a huge collection of football vocabulary, football cliches and football phrases) Worksheets and transcripts from previous podcasts
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Many are surprised by the play Thierry Henry got away with in the World Cup playoff between France and Ireland. If you are not aware of the incident, Henry clearly was guilty of an intentional handball in the box at a critical moment in the second half. France was down a goal at the time of the non-call and the play resulted in a goal for Gallas and an assist from Henry.

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Football's latest controversy not only lies solely in the hands of Thierry Henry (excuse the pun), but could well be crucial in the development of technology within the game. As Rob asked in his recent post on the incident, what's it going to take for the authorities to realise technology is required? Click to continue reading...

Laurent Blanc is flavour of the month at the moment after winning the league with Bordeaux and currently standing top of his Champions League group, which contains Juventus and Bayern Munich.

Back in May, RoM looked at the reasons why Blanc should replace Sir Alex Ferguson, but Eric Cantona wants him to be the next manager of France.

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Every man and his dog has been asked what they think of Thierry Henry disgraceful cheating this week which denied Ireland a place in the World Cup.

Eric Cantona is the latest to give his opinion on Henry and seems to imply if he had been playing, and if was Irish, he would have kicked the shit out of the smarmy twat.

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I've decided that today's Cut of the Day will actually be a medley. Today, you will hear nothing but songs from South Park episodes. And why? Because I'm easily amused like that. The first one is dedicated to the L.A. Galaxy and Real Salt Lake...Let's flip the channel to ESPN for both a preview of Sunday's final and a stroll down MLS Cup memory lane. Click to continue reading...

The MLS Cup Final is tomorrow at 8:30 on ESPN (nice coverage for Soccer here in the US) and we still don't know if Becks is hurt or not. With Landon Donovan also being named the MVP of the league and RSL chomping at the bit to get this thing on I will still ask the same question. Do you trust L.

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Spain regain top slot in this month's Fifa world rankings. Brazil are second followed by the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal. England are in 9th place. Argentina are 8th.
France are in 7th after Thierry Henry handed them victory in their World Cup play off encounter with Ireland in Paris. Cameroon are the highest African team in 11th. Click to continue reading...

Thierry Henry like many afore him says "it's up to the referee!"
But what about decency from himself and the French team. Not once but twice did the ball "hit@ more like he quided the ball with his hand...and what gaul, what cheek to celebrate and blame the referee!
Imagine a French side that wins the World Cup, Henry as captain would receive the trophy. Click to continue reading...

For the World Cup in England the home nation was full of expectations. Having never won a World Cup before, everyone thought that England should excell at home, and had indeed assembled a very strong team, where the West Ham captain Bobby Moore, led what became the best defense of the World Cup. In midfield the star was Bobby Charlton from Manchester United, an extraordinary offensive midfielder Click to continue reading...

Last night the Wizards hosted a presentation on their World Cup bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup for members of the "new media" aka blogs. Due to other commitments, I was unable to attend the event, but Thad over at The Back Post did attend and has TONS of great information about the bid over on his blog. Click to continue reading...

Everyone is having their s(pr)ay about the already notorious Thierry Henry incident. That his act was abominably unethical is undisputed; the more significant fallout from his brazen piece of gamesmanship is likely to be yet more discussion about the issue of video assistance for referees.
To clear the ground first: the calls for a replay of the match are essentially unfounded. Click to continue reading...

So, France made it to the World Cup at the expense of the Republic of Ireland. Expected? Maybe. Still, the way Les Blues made it through is far more than questionable.

For those of you who were hibernating during the past week and somehow don't know how France qualified, Thierry Henry handled the ball 13 minutes into extra time and passed it to William Gallas, who headed the controversial goal allowing France to reach next year's finals with a 2-1 win on aggregate.

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1986 World Cup in Mexico...Argentina vs England...Diego Armando Maradona...If you still don't know what I'm talking about, here's a quick summary:It was a quarter final game and Argentina defeated England 2-1. Argentina's second goal was scored by Maradona, who is 5 ft 5 in, against England's goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who is 6 ft 1 in, on a "header"! Click to continue reading...

We continue to edge closer to United related news, but this was too difficult to pass up. When the King speaks we have to listen:

"I think that Raymond Domenech is the worst coach in French football since Louis XVI. If it was up to me, I'd put (Bordeaux coach) Laurent Blanc in charge of the France team," the former Manchester United hero continued.

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Though the worst fears over his health and career have passed, it is highly unlikely (to put it mildly) that Charlie Davies will be match fit in time for the 2010 World Cup. So who to replace him?
Head over to ASN's USMNT page to vote in the poll.

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Right then, whilst I'm here I might as well sort this shit out.

First things first, I WANT the game to be replayed. Having said that it would be an absolute travesty if FIFA ordered a rematch of the game, as it would set an extremely dangerous precedent in football whereby the result on the pitch isn't final.

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Last night I attended a presentation of Kansas City's World Cup Bid. I had already seen and heard a large portion of the info when I tagged along for the bid tour a few weeks ago, but last night a few new media (bloggers) and I got to see it all packaged.In case you did not know already, the United States is bidding to get the World Cup for either 2018 or 2022. Click to continue reading...

Oh man, I twisted the holy hell out of my ankle last night. Came down from a jump halfway on someone else's foot in the last minute of the game. Suddenly, my four flights of stairs up aren't so charming...#1 - Landon Donovan is your MLS MVP. He also won Goal of the Year. Somehow, he was beaten out for Save of the Year by Pat Onstad. Click to continue reading...

The Daily Mail runs the rule over the teams that will be South Africa next summer for the world cup. Click to continue reading...

The United States dropped three places to 14th in the latest FIFA Rankings. FIFA once again extended the rankings period, this time to include the playoffs for the final six World Cup slots. The United States played twice during the rankings period, losing to Slovakia and Denmark. Mexico moved up three places to 16th. Click to continue reading...

There's very little that surprises us here at Inside Left Towers these days. When we first heard SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith blithely announce only days after he sacked his national team manager that those pariahs of the Scottish game, Alan McGregor, Barry Ferguson and Kris Boyd would be eligible for selection by any [. Click to continue reading...

Winger offends his own boot suppliers as he clutches at straws Damien Duff has claimed that the Republic of Ireland's controversial World Cup qualification play-off defeat to France was the result of a conspiracy between FIFA and Adidas. The Fulham man, who picks up £100,000 a year for wearing Adidas boots (for now at least), reckons [. Click to continue reading...

Thank God, it's over! This was truly the interlull from hell. Not only was our best current player injured for almost two months, but our best former player has been branded "a cheat" and "a liar." I have refrained from covering and incessantly commenting on this whole affair because I am just absolutely sick to death of the British media.

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Image via Wikipedia A board meeting this afternoon called by Ireland's FAI has been called to discuss request for replace of the Playoff with France. However it has been announced recently that FIFA have rejected their earlier request. In a response to a request made by the FAI yesterday, the world governing body have ruled that [. Click to continue reading...

The Sin: Lust is one sin that I have had difficulty linking to one's soccer ability. After all, some of the greatest players in recent world history (including both Ronaldos and Mr. Rooney) and from the past (George Best, Eusebio) were lusty lads.

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Two things to talk about this morning that affect my entire sports weekend. First, let me say that I am very glad that my wife (who is going on a mission trip to a far-off land for about a week) is not flying through France or Ireland to get there because right now someone is probably screaming their head off in the streets of Ireland.

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Controversy surrounded France's qualification for the World Cup against Ireland. So much that French president Nicolas Sarkozy apologized while the Irish have demanded that the match should be replayed (this was rejected by FIFA).The problem is France's equalizer in extra time (that brought France ahead 2-1 on aggregate, and gave them the spot in South Africa) where Thierry Henry is clearly seen Click to continue reading...

It's always awesome returning to league action after a week of World Cup Qualifying shenanigans, so I'm amped and ready to go for the weekends matches... unlike Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who our amigos over at Heads or Tails warn may miss this weekend's match, the crucial mid-week Champions League belter against . Click to continue reading...

It is Friday, which means it is time to prepare for non-stop action from Spain with La Liga back in the fray. After an intense week of World Cup qualifying playoffs, the focus turns back to the domestic responsibilities.

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DIRECTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

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