The French public overwhelmingly (81%) believe that the French team does not deserve to go to the World Cup. An even bigger percentage (88%) believe that Thierry Henry was wrong to use his hand to assist in William Gallas extrat time goal.

Just a moral victory but at least there is some honour left.

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Amidst all the swirl of Hiddink's possible moves, the Chelsea rumours seem to carry most credibility. They could soon have Guus Hiddink back as technical director. It would look a bit crowded at the top with Carlo Ancelotti as manager, Frank Arnesen as director of football, and Ron Gourlay elevated to CEO in place of Peter Kenyon.

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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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Below is a list of teams with some quality players which will unfortunately miss the World Cup next summer:

Ireland- The Irish team may not be the most talented to miss out on qualification but certainly was unjustly eliminated by France. The Ireland squad is not as deep as other but has talented players such as Aiden McGeady who plays as a winger and/or forward for Celtic.

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Dear Carlos,

Many many many congratulations from Denmark with the qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2010. It was fantastic for you and your team and especially for the "World Cup". The FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa would not be the same without a world class team as Portugal.

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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...

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...

Something to read while you watch the madness at the Maracana... Israel halts construction of Palestinian stadium (BBC.co.uk) This FIFA conspiracy goes deeper than we though (Studs Up) Five football injustices (Shortlist) What happens when you fart in a referee's face? (Sports Rubbish) A lot of Top 10s for 2010 (Pies) Goal-line referees for World Cup 2010? Click to continue reading...

The groups for the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 were drawn today, which should go at least some way to cheering up teams like Egypt and Tunisia who very narrowly missed the World Cup 2010 boat.

The tournament takes place in Angola from January 10th to January 31st, 2010. We've got blogs and bloggers for 12 of the 16 teams involved in the tournament.

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Thierry Henry now says that a replay would be the fair thing, but FIFA won't have any of it. Roy Keane thinks FAI should drop the cause and move on, and France's coach Raymond Domenech seems just happy to have qualified.
The KC Star got in on the act today, as Matt Schofield chimes in on the story, laying out the details for those who haven't yet heard of them and offering a modern-day morality lesson. Click to continue reading...

Following Wednesday's now infamous Hand of Henry incident that saw France qualify for World Cup 2010 at the expense of Ireland, Irish newspaper Sunday World has sent journalist babe Geraldine Comiskey to Barcelona with a specially commissioned poster seeking Thierry Henry's apology for his actions. Here's a look at Geraldine outside the FC Barcelona (who Henry [. Click to continue reading...

Latest development in the already long running Thierry Henry handball incident (or "la main de dieu" as it's being called by some) is that Henry himself thinks a replay is a good idea:

"The fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control," said the Barcelona striker.

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Wembley Stadium panorama, pre-game, England-Slovenia, September 9th 2009.

Photo credit: _ToMick_ on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion Photo Pool.

Related posts:

1. Photo Daily | September 14 | Russian Fans at Wembley Photo credit: The Revolution on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion photo pool.

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With 32 names in the bag (irrespective of how they got there) thoughts can now turn to the subject of the draw for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.
The first thing to be decided is which countries to seed. This is calculated just before the draw and is based on past performances in recent World Cups and the FIFA World Ranking. Click to continue reading...

A few years back, when my daughter was maybe three, she did one of those things which, before you have kids, you swear your little darling will never do. I can't even remember what it was. Bit her brother, maybe? Hit him? Whatever it was, it was something which caused pain to her brother, and something she knew she shouldn't have done.

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Here is a look at the new France shirt for the 2010 World Cup. Les Bleus ( the likes of Anelka, Henry, Gourcuff and co.) will wear this jersey at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. France finished runners up at the 2006 World Cup, and qualified for the 2010 event in somewhat [...] Related posts:

1. Republic of Ireland vs France highlights goals- World Cup 2010 playoff This is the post for the first leg.

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Adrian Clarke and Iain Spragg are in fine form on Episode 29 of the world famous Soccerlens Podcast.Â

There's a host of juicy topics to get stuck into this week and the duo's heated debate centres on Thierry Henry's lack of sportsmanship, the miracle powers of horse placenta and the prospects for manager-less Scotland.

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It´s official FIFA has rejected the call to replay the France vs Ireland World Cup 2010 qualifying match which was won by France afterThierry Henry handballed twice in the last moments to allowteam-mate Gallas to score the qualifying goal.As expected the "blacklash" has been Worldwide with responses fromall around the global. 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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In the wake of Ireland's heartbreaking aggregate defeat to France, where Thierry Henry's handballed assist for William Gallas to score an equaliser in extra time denied a team who had performed magnificently to haul themselves level, we pay tribute to five of the greatest footballing heartbreakers in recent memory.

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The year is 2010AD, Girls Aloud have split, Jedward are ruling the world with over 237 million albums sold, forcing many a music fan to throw themselves of various bridges throughout the world, Sir Dexy Longshot has left UKFF and now writes for Gardeners Weekly & Spurs are Premier League champions.

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Amidst all the drama with the Ireland vs France match and earlier the Egypt vs Algeria showdown, the USA played a friendly with Denmark. Bob Bradley started Jeff Cunningham and I am happy to say, it turned out well because he scored his first international goal and nearly set up Altidore with another.

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All 32 teams for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa are now known.
The complete line up is:
Europe
Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland
Africa
Algeria, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa (hosts)
Asia
Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
South America
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
North & Central America, Caribbean
Honduras, Mexico, USA
Oceania
New Zealand
Tags
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The Football Association of Ireland or FAI has officially submitted a request to replay the 2nd leg of the UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying Playoffs against France on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. The match ended in controversy as France scored in extra time on a goal from William Gallas. Thierry Henry clearly had a handball before passing to Gallas for the goal but it wasn't called by the referee.

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Heartbreaking. That's all I can say about this match. Gut-wrenching, soul-wrenching, the very best kind of completely awful.

The pivot point of the match – and for the rest of time nothing else will be discussed – was Henry's unjustly-allowed goal. (Technically it was Gallas', but Henry had more than a hand in it.

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This past week(s) we've have a couple united boys playing for their countries, attempting to qualify for South Africa. While its not directly "United Related", there's no way I cannot bring up the most blatant handball since Maradonna's "Hand of God".

So a quick roundup of the scores and the United personnel playing before I get to more on to what is going to be the single most discussed play in recent times:

France 1 1 Ireland (2-1 Aggregate)
France : Patrice Evra
Ireland : John O'Shea, Darren Gibson

Portugal 1 B&H (2-0 Aggregate)
Portugal : Nani

Okay, so the handball (seen/touch/heard) 'round the world.

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The Hand of Henry

Think of all those brand names that players pick up as endorsements. And make bags of money in the process. And the team strips emblazoned with corporate logos. But maybe it's time for a new logo to be branded across the chests of our favorite soccer stars, those ones who like to dive, or use their hand to earn a goal.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC-pF3OHY1c

Following the controversial decision to allow France's goal to stand as Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball prior to assisting William Gallas, it is only normal to have increased complaints and ever growing displeasure at the level of refereeing.

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204 nations entered the running for a place at World Cup 2010. From Burundi to Guam to Tahiti, everybody wants to be involved in the planet's most popular spectacle. Click to continue reading...

The 2010 World Cup Qualification process has finished and all of the 32 teams have been determined. There aren't too many surprises as many of the favorites such as Brazil, Spain, Italy, and England will all be there. Some nations such as France and Argentina struggled to advance but in the end will be there in South Africa.

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The Irish FA is calling for a replay. Will it happen? Who knows, but there is no doubt that it was a hand ball. Thierry Henry even admits it:

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France qualified for the World Cup in South Africa in the summer thanks to a William Gallas header against Ireland in Paris. With French supporters everywhere celebrating, replays showed in the build-up to the goal, Thierry Henry hand-balling the ball onto his foot to cross. Of course, that is against the rules and it is very unfortunate that he should have done that however, would we be complaining if Kevin Doyle had done it for Richard Dunne to score?

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France controversially qualified for FIFA World Cup 2010 last night at the Stade de France via a 1-1 tie with a spirited Republic of Ireland side. The result gave France an aggregate victory of 2-1 in the home and away playoff series. Robbie Keane had tied the series with a goal in the 33rd minutes. Neither [. Click to continue reading...

Watch the Thierry Henry handball video from the France versus Ireland game here. In the analysis by Irish TV station RTE, the pundits dissect the controversial moment in the game and analyze whether it should have been offside or not and whether the video of the Thierry Henry handball shows if he cheated on purpose or not.

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The furor over last night's game will not settle down anytime soon. Not tomorrow, not next week, not even before the traveling circus takes to South Africa next summer. Not unless something is done to eradicate the impact of The Hand of Henry on the outcome of the game.

The Irish FA, of course you'd hear from them, have come up with a simple solution: replay the game.

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