After what seemed to be a year-long wait, which actually lasted a whole two days, football is finally back. We never thought we would be pleased to see the return of the international version of the game but, when nothing else is available, beggars can’t be choosers.
No doubt we will even sit up through all hours of the night watching meaningless pre-season tour games when they begin in three or so weeks as well.
Still, there’s some meaningful stuff has to happen between now and then such as the little matter of who is going to be crowned World Champions. Now that we are sure it won’t be Germany, picking the winner is not as straightforward as it once was.
There are three teams who would be considered favourites and those are Brazil, France and Belgium but, as we know, they will be busy knocking each other out which gives the second tier teams such as Croatia and Uruguay a fighting chance.
Bottom of the current pile of eight would be Russia sitting just below England and Sweden.
Have a look at these potential game-changers and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
The way the draw has thrown up the quarter finals, however, has caused the usual melt-down in England where the locals are restless. Usually starting their celebrations a couple of months before the tournament even begins, this time they have tempered their expectations and enthusiasm believing that a good performance from their team would be reaching the quarter-finals.
They have now done that, albeit through a penalty shoot-out against a team not considered to be amongst the favourites and playing without their star man, and this actually represents relative success even if they lose to Sweden.
England players celebrating their win against Colombia
The problem is that they have shot themselves in the foot by coming this far. The nation who, at one point, would have been ecstatic just to reach this stage, will now be very disappointed not to progress and there are even some eternal optimists from another planet who think they can now go on and win the World Cup!
The quarter final line-up is as follows:
France v 
Uruguay
Belgium v 
Brazil
England v 
Sweden
Russia v 
Croatia
This means that if England can beat Sweden they will play either Russia or Croatia. The Russian team are being carried through the tournament at present by virtue of being the host nation and having massive support at every game. So they would not be an easy prospect. They have also eliminated a better team than England when beating Spain and the same could be said if they beat Croatia.
If Croatia come through the tie then they should, on paper, beat England as they too have a better team.
So it is actually quite difficult to see the English going much further and, rather than be disappointed if they have to return home early, the nation should be thankful for the experience and happy in the knowledge that their team is slowly climbing the rankings and may fare even better next time out.
Alternatively, nations like Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy and Argentina could improve and get back to where they once were which would place England back into their rightful position in world football.
Only time will tell.
And finally…..
The curtains on this summer’s transfer window have been twitching recently, but only slightly.
As we predicted, ‘Union’ Jack Wilshere’s move to West Ham United moved a step closer with a medical agreed and an announcement is now, as they say, imminent.
Is he about to become a Jack-Hammer?
In more West Ham news, the club are exploring the possibility of re-signing Dmitri Payet from Marseilles. It seems that he now likes the way the club is heading and, having jumped ship and swam to France, he now wants to climb back on board and help with the baling out.
According to The Guardian the player, who is now 31, would cost more than the £25 million West Ham received for him two years ago so that and the fact that some fans will never forgive him for leaving the way he did, makes a move unlikely.
We thank you for your indulgence.
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