Why FIFA should use a reduced calendar leading up to the World Cup

The Brazil 2014 World Cup was one of the best and most entertaining in recent times. It had close to the highest amount of goals for the tournament, it had great teams that made it a very open competition and it produced matches that will be remembered as classics. However, it didn't have two things that come hand in hand with most World Cups, an outright outstanding player and a completely dominant team. When you think of great World Cup players you think about Rossi in 82', Maradona in 86', Romario in 94' or Ronaldo in 98', all FIFA Golden Ball winners. When you think of dominant team performances you think about Italy 34', Brazil 70', Germany 74', Argentina 78' or Spain 10'. In 2014, it was Germany who won the trophy and Lionel Messi who won the Golden Ball, two facts that the stats and figures don't support. Most fans were satisfied with Brazil 2014 but I think it could have been even better. I believe that player fatigue hampered both team and individual performances at this year's World Cup and that FIFA should consider a change to its calendar for the season before the tournament.

World Cup 2014 Team Kits

Here are all 32 team kits for the 2014 World Cup...

World Cup 2014 Team Lists

Keep up to date with all the World Cup squads here...

World Cup 2014: Group C Detailed Analysis

As I write this there are only 78 days until World Cup 2014 kicks off and we continue to preview all the groups. Group C offers a great variety of regions and footballing styles, it contains Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan. There is plenty of quality in this group but also great uncertainty. It seems that all four teams in Group C have high hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

The FIFA Rankings: Why they don't work and how to fix them

If you go around asking people who the best footballing nations in the world are, you will usually get the same answers, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Uruguay, France, etc. The FIFA Rankings though tell a completely different story. As we saw with the seeds for next year's World Cup, the top eight sides in the world include the likes of Belgium, Colombia and Switzerland. Whether people agree with that is up for discussion, the question is how did this happen? The answer lies in how the FIFA Rankings are structured. I'm going to analyse how they work, why they don't reflect the true nature of football and look at what alternatives there are to rank national sides.

World Cup 2014 Final Draw Review

Firstly, discussion turns to the arduous qualifying campaign, then attention turns to the grueling play-offs. Once we know who the 32 teams are, the World Cup ball is released with great interest. Last but not least, the final piece of the puzzle for a World Cup and arguably the biggest talking point is the World Cup draw. On Friday FIFA held the final draw in Brazil amidst celebrities, football dignitaries and former players. The teams were put into their respective pots, as designated by the football governing body, and one by one they were drawn into the eight groups. These are the groups for next year's FIFA World Cup.