Who will win the 2014 World Cup?

It may be feeling bitterly cold out there, but football fans around the world are already feeling warm inside ahead of next years World Cup in Brazil. The draw for the greatest competition in the world takes place in radiant Rio today about 5pm (GMT) and everyone is waiting to see who and where the...

READ MORE

Best and worst case scenarios for England in today's World Cup draw

The first thing to think about with next summer’s World Cup is the geography of Brazil, this not a country, it’s like a continent. The distances that have to be travelled are not like London to Dublin to Glasgow; it’s going to be more like London to Warsaw to Rome. The second thing to remember is t...

READ MORE

Arsenal: Could Clement Grenier be a great signing for Wenger?

It looks as though Arsenal could be about to announce their first signing of the summer, but not many people on these have heard of young French midfielder Clement Grenier. However, if the move does come off, I believe the whole world may be talking about him next season. The 22-year-old Fr...

READ MORE

Arsenal: Has Giroud been a hit or a miss?

So it appears as if Olivier Giroud’s “This Is Why I’m Not a Defender” tackle has all but ended the Frenchman’s first season in an Arsenal kit. Although probably not the way our £12 million signing from Montpellier expected his debut season to conclude, with only three goals in his last 12 appearan...

READ MORE

Why Arsenal should not sign M'Vila

It seems as if the MVila to Arsenal transfer rumours have not disappeared since the last window. For all intents and purposes it seems a logical signing. Known for his physicality and no-nonsense style, MVila is exactly the type of player needed in that defensive midfield position. However,...

READ MORE

Fantasy Football 2012/13 is here

Do you think you can do a better job than the professor Arsene Wenger? Could you out-muscle Mancini at defending title winners Manchester City? Then this is your chance to prove it! Squarefootballs Fantasy Football is back for another season and we want as many participants as possible. Last season...

READ MORE

Spurs: Is Hugo Lloris really worth £16m?

New Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is busy getting ready for the new season and one area that he is keen to reinforce is the man between the sticks. Lyon and French international Hugo Lloris is the man reportedly on his radar but the French side are playing hard ball and are not willing to let their...

READ MORE

The Strange World Of FIFA: England Ranked Fourth In The World

It will come as something of a surprise to most fans who watched Euro 2012 that England came out of the tournament going up in the FIFA world rankings - not bad for two wins in four matches, one of which came against a Ukraine team who lie at 46th in the table. Ranking tables are always an untrustw...

READ MORE

Euro 2012 - Team Of The Tournament

With just the final to go its time to decide which players made the most impact in Poland and Ukraine. In recent years FIFAand UEFA have picked a squad of the top performers at tournaments but wheres the fun in that? Very few fans come up with the same eleven and thats when it gets interesting, so h...

READ MORE

Outside the Box – Football on TV: Lawro plays the Twit as BBC confidence turns to England despair

It’s easy afterwards, in the hazy mist of reflection that hangs mournfully across the country each time the England team are wrenched from a major tournament, to neatly nestle back into the default self-loathing English mind-set and pretend we were always doomed to fail, fated to forever chase the...

READ MORE

Euro 2012 - France: From rebellion to respite

If England fans believe the past 15 years were eventful, one only has to glance at the recently expelled French team to see that our drama pales in comparison to that of Les Bleus. For while we and our roaring Three Lions have suffered the usual heartbreak, blame game and penalty misses that alwa...

READ MORE

Spurs: Has Laurent Blanc always been the man to replace Redknapp?

Its been over a week since Spurs sacked Harry the best manager weve had since the sixties Redknapp andnews on his successoris eerily quiet. Those expected to be front runners, Moyes Martinez,appear to be rank outsiders, and one that is not wanted by anyone, AVB, appears to be one ofthe first choi...

READ MORE

Outside the Box – Football on TV: England make it hard to watch, while Sky’s legend makes the game look easy

Another week, another panic-inducing evening spent watching the England team then. This whole edge-of-our-seat, fine line between death and glory shtick that England have peddled out for years is now growing quite tiresome. Just for once, couldn’t we be like Germany and be ruthlessly efficient and...

READ MORE

Outside the Box – Football on TV: Euro Vision begins as ITV and the BBC vie for Championship glory

Ok, so it might not feel too much like summer right now. It’s about 10°C outside, caravan parks are under water and the only suntans in sight are painted on the vacuous plebs of Geordie Shore. But I promise you, we are there and that of course means only one thing: the European Championships have ...

READ MORE

Euro 2012 Fantasy Football invitation

Calling all fantasy football fans. Have we got a treat for you. If you think you are a better manager than Englands Roy Hodgson or that you could leave Germanys Joachim Low feeling really down in the dumps then why dont you prove it? Weve set up our own Euro 2012 mini-league with the Sun and youve...

READ MORE

Euro 2012: Can England win Euro 2012?

Despite having won nothing since 1966 England always start major tournaments as one of the favourites. Their passionate fans are full of optimism, having been brainwashed by the Press that their players are world beaters, only for their hopes to be ripped apart as their flaws are exposed by tactical...

READ MORE

Euro 2012: Gomez, RVP or Ronaldo: Who will win the Golden Boot?

Arsenals Robin Van Persie scored 37 goals in all competitions last season. Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez bagged 41 while Cristiano Ronaldo found the bag of the net an astonishing 60 times, but who will lift the coveted Golden Boot at Euro 2012? Germany are one of the favourites to win the competition ...

READ MORE

The top 10 dives in football history

Manchester United’s Ashley Young and Chelsea’s Didier Drogba have caused controversy over the past fortnight by diving to win penalties and going down quicker than your average High Street hooker. Ashley Young started it all off by winning a cheap penalty against QPR’s Shaun Derry, when the tough m...

READ MORE

Beckham, Best, Henry or Cantona: Who were the coolest footballers to ever live?

We would all like to be footballers, right? The money, the women, the cars. Oh, and the playing of football. That’s pretty good. But some are cooler than others. Too cool, even. So cool they make everyone else look like silly, awkward, emasculated chumps. So who were the 10 coolest footballers to e...

READ MORE

Can any player, including Messi, be considered 'the greatest'?

Ah, the Champions League. Bringer of drama, stopper of dreamers, platform for Ray Wilkins to say ‘my word’ 50 hundred thousand times. And there are other things that are nearly always discussed, certainly when seeing the two dominant Spanish sides play. The great debate has moved from trying to ...

READ MORE

Top 10 bizarre injuries to footballers

Swansea City’s vice-captain Alan Tate is set to miss most of the Swans’ debut season in Premier League after breaking his leg in a freak golfing accident. The versatile defender was a passenger in a golf buggy that lost control and Tate will have to watch the majority of the club’s rollercoaster adv...

READ MORE

Who's Going To Be At Euro 2012?

The qualifying groups for Euro 2012 are reaching the business end and its becoming a little clearer which players will be in Poland and Ukraine and which ones will be spending extra time on the beach. Places Booked As usual Germany have headed the way in qualification. Aside from a sticky period a...

READ MORE

Will Joe Cole Find Success In France Like Waddle and Hoddle?

Joe Coles season-long loan to Lille goes against the prevailing transfer trends of the past decade. The Premier League draws in quality talent from across the globe and most British stars have happily remained in this vibrant environment. There was a time though when France was a key destination fo...

READ MORE

Will the new season throw up any shocks across Europe's top leagues?

Here we go again ... Its that time of year again. Your club has had some embarrassing/great results in pre-season friendlies and the anticipation builds up as the new season approaches, but what can we expect from the big leagues around Europe? Some countries, of course, have already kicked off, su...

READ MORE

Squarefootball's Fantasy football invitation

There is less than two weeks to go until the start of the 2011/12 Premier League season and time is running out for you to enter the Squarefootball fantasy football competition. Last season more than 100 teams competed for the Squarefootball title, which was won by P Oxenby and his team FC Poxo. He...

READ MORE

What five things would you do before the season starts?

Isn’t it normally New Years Eve when you get a top 100 favourite moments of the year or top 500 best movie credits or some other poor excuse for a programme? Well I thought I would also use it as a poor excuse for an article, but rather than boring you all with a list consisting of 100 or more items...

READ MORE

Football in 3D - A new risk to average attendances?

The world has evolved and developed a lot since the 1950s with the invention, evolution and development of everything from bladeless fans to electric cars and high definition broadcasts and beyond, but what have the boffins responsible for 3D been doing for 60 years since its inception? 3D today i...

READ MORE

Would you like to write for Squarefootball?

Do you live, breathe and sleep football? Do you have a passion for writing and want your views to be read by a potential audience of millions? Then we at Squarefootball Towers would love to hear from you. Whether you follow Aberdeen or Accrington Stanley, West Ham United or Wolfsburg, we can offer ...

READ MORE

Was the World Cup seeding France's punishment?

The Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke was, today, at pains to reject any notion that France was being punished for the Henrygate incident but in choosing an arbitrary point of time for deciding the World Cup seedings that is the only real inference that can be drawn. From the moment that Fifa de...

READ MORE

Does Ireland have any chance of competing in World CUp 2010?

After the contentious France vs Ireland play-off game, the news that a replay was not possible, despite Thierry Henry's comments seemed to rule out Ireland's involvement. That the French players were hardly concerned about the aftermath, whereas the Irish players were barely fit to play says a lot ...

READ MORE

How did the unlucky Ireland team get on after World Cup elimination?

There was much talk of dropping Irish players who were not mentally fit to play after the Paris rollercoaster; but in the end most of the hard-bitten Ireland players turned out. Not everyone was sympathetic to their plight, with Roy Keane especially scathing. But with a replay now not likely - how...

READ MORE

How did the evil France team fare after Henrygate?

I thought I'd look at the subsequent performances of starting eleven of the France team that eliminated Ireland after 'that' goal by Gallas, after 'that' assist by Henry. There will be no replay of Ireland vs France, as Fifa has no rule to cover 'cheating' - although plenty to cover the 'unauthoriz...

READ MORE

Would a replay of Ireland v France be fair?

It's hard to watch the replay (after replay) of Thierry Henry's deliberate handball ahead of his cross for the decisive extra time goal for France without wondering about fairness. The circumstances of the fixture were somewhat unfair to start with. Fifa and Uefa somehow contrived to decide that P...

READ MORE

Republic of Ireland Can Put FIFA Noses Out Of Joint

We all want to see the best players at World Cup Finals but unfortunately you cant have everything in life- George Best, Ryan Giggs and GeorgeWeah are just three superstars who never made it to the big jamboree. FIFA like to have as much of their cake as possible though, so outrageously they decide...

READ MORE

Ireland hope for Greeks bearing gifts

Fifa has updated its National Team Rankings this morning (Uefa should update at some time today, but is currently showing slightly different rankings) and Ireland has moved up the rankings to 20th - but not enough to avoid the big guns in the World Cup play-offs. Looking at the seeded teams, Greece...

READ MORE

Donadoni Looking for A Repreive

by Paul Grech Win or bust. That is what is facing Italy tonight, putting aside that it could be win AND bust if results elsewhere don’t go their way. That too is the reality for Roberto Donadoni: contract or not, if Italy go out then so too would the national coach. For many, that would be the pre...

READ MORE

Euro 2008 Diary; Flagging French Foiled; Dutch Devour Donadoni's Dummies

Squarefootball Euro 2008 Diary - Monday June 9 2008 The much vaunted Group of Death gets under way, and there are plenty of horrors on show for Italy and France. First up it’s the French, who toil through 90 goalless minutes of tedium with Romania in Zurich. The underdogs lack ambition throughout,...

READ MORE

Euro 2008 Preview; France v Romania

Lock all doors and windows, raise the alarm and carry out a head-count as Euro 2008’s Group Of Death gets under way in Zurich this afternoon (June 9). Two-time European champions France enter the spotlight alongside the less fancied Romania in Group C. Raymond Domenech’s side have been one of the ...

READ MORE

What We Really Think About Euro 2008

We've written our previews, told you all about the teams and tried to put as much information out there as possible. But what are the real views of the Squarefootball team? Read on to find out. Paul Grech WinnersThe injury to Fabio Cannavaro will hurt them but I still think that Italy will win it....

READ MORE

Euro 2008 Profiles; France

France enter Euro 2008 with one of the strongest looking squads of all of the 16 competing nations. Raimond Domenech’s side no longer have the genius of Zinedine Zidane to call upon, but there is a school of thought that Zidane’s absence will only help get the best out of an extremely talented grou...

READ MORE

Euro 2008; Group C Overview

Lazy hacks everywhere (including this one) are calling Group C the Group Of Death. And well they might. With World Champions Italy, beaten World Cup finalists France and regular will-they-won’t-they contenders Holland pitched in together there’ll be little room for easing into the tournament gently....

READ MORE

3385: World Cup 2006; Genius Zizou

by : Stephen Orford Paolo Di Canio, not one known to waste time on needless compliments, has described Rossi as ‘a man who can get the best out of a player’. Rossi shrugs this off – “it is pleasing to hear such words” is all that he will say – but the improvements shown by players like Goran Pande...

READ MORE

3380: World Cup Final 2006 - France

by : Hugh Larkin France so nearly pulled off a second World Cup victory. Contrary to accepted opinion, the French were the stronger in extra –time until Zidane’s moment of madness. Fabien Barthez 6/10 He never really inspires confidence but didn’t have many saves to make in this game. Never a snif...

READ MORE

3365: Revitalized France Ready to Re

by : Daniel Law If France secure a place in the World Cup final by defeating Portugal tonight then manager Raymond Domenech will deserve huge credit for the transformation of a team which looked past its sell by date when Les Bleus achieved an unconvincing goalless draw with Switzerland in their op...

READ MORE

3346: Brazil-France; The World Cup H

by : Hugh Larkin Make no mistake about it, matches between Brazil and France are never anything but extraordinary. Saturday’s quarter-final will be the 4th occasion when the two sides have met in a World Cup- every one has been a knockout game and each has been spectacular. 1958 France cut a swath...

READ MORE

3297: World Cup; Who will join the s

by : Sam Cullen Marcos Senna 7 Senna did much of the spade work for the Spanish, winning the ball and moving it on to the next man in mechanical, fluid fashion. Very much the work-horse, unsung hero of the Spanish midfield, Senna had a very effective performance in helping the Spanish dominate ...

READ MORE

3278: World Cup 2006 Prediction: Gro

by : Antony Melvin Group G - A tough group to call with France, South Korea and Switzerland to contest the group; Togo riven by disputes following Adebayor's petulance could suffer some cruching defeats. And after another rash decision to predict the outcome of an event that were are clearly under...

READ MORE

3210: World Cup History: France

by : Chris Sherrard French football finally reached the promised land, 16 years after Michel Platini’s side came up short. And, perhaps the most impressive facet of Les Blues’ victory in 1998 is that they managed to beat Brazil in the final with Frank Leboeuf in the team! The French have produced...

READ MORE

3214: World Cup Group G Preview: Fra

by : Chris Sherrard Qualifying If you were trying to think of a word to sum up France’s qualification for this World Cup, it certainly wouldn’t be ‘convincing’. For a team blessed with some world class performers, they stuttered through Group D of the European zone, struggling to draws against...

READ MORE

1654: France: The top players France

by : Chris Sherrard The French are a funny lot, ain’t they? In recent times they have produced some of the finest footballing talents in world football and reached the summit of the game in 1998 when they scooped the World Cup in their own backyard. But yet they always seem to find some kind of pro...

READ MORE