Top PACE in FIFA 22 • Alphonso Davies, Diaby or … ?

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Meticulous practice, an improved sense of controlling the ball and effective use of the multitude soccer skills during a match differentiates players who can play ‘better’ soccer from average players who can merely “kick a ball.”

Spain, yet again, are tipped as dark horses for the World Cup and 2006 will finally end years of disappointment and this generation of players will fulfil their undoubted potential.

After a 32 year absence from the finals, Australia finally overcame their play-off hoodoo to qualify for Germany. Play off agony to Iran in 1997 and Uruguay in 2001 was vanquished last November as the Australians again faced Uruguay and beat them in a penalty shoot-out.

South Korea shocked the football world four years ago when they beat Italy and Spain to reach the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup.

First-time World Cup qualification for the tiny west African nation was such a great achievement the country’s president declared a national holiday to celebrate.

Croatia enter their third successive finals and will look for a repeat of the heroics of 1998 rather than the embarrassment of 2002.

A look at how the popular e-zine Tipped at the Post! fared with its pre-season predictions for the 4 professional Leagues of English football for 2005/06, as forecast back in August 2005.

Switzerland qualified from the same group as Group F opponents France and also remained unbeaten in 10 qualifying matches, with four wins and six draws.

What else is there to be said about Brazil? They are the only team to have participated in every World Cup finals and are five times winners in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. They have also finished as runners up twice in 1950 and 1998.

Japan are a difficult team to predict. Last year they beat European champions Greece and earned a credible draw with Brazil in last year’s Confederations Cup but their qualifying campaign was less than convincing.

France were required to call on the cavalry to ensure qualification to the finals. Stuck in fourth place in their group, retired veterans Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram returned to the side in an attempt to turn around the fortunes of the failing side.

There has been and will be much debate over the next few weeks as to whether flying the English Flag with pride is insensitive in case other ethnic races feel intimidated….