My Top 5 Lateral Defenders for WC 2014

1. Philipp Lahm

                                                                                               2. Stephan Lichtsteiner

                                                                                                               3.  Jordi Alba 

                                                                                                              4 .Dani Alves













                                                               5.Pablo Armero

World Cup 2014 will use Goal-line Technology

FIFA, football global governing body, confirmed this week that goal-line technology will be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
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That will mark the first time the planet's biggest single-sport event uses the high-tech method of determining whether or not the ball crosses the plane of the goal.

Goal-line technology was used at the Club World Cup in December and will be used again at this summer's Confederations Cup — a World Cup preview of sorts held in the big event's host nation one year before the World Cup.

High profile football matches have been beset by a number of did-he-or-didn't-he scoring controversies over the years. Judging controversial goals in football is especially difficult, because scoring requires the entire ball to completely cross the goal line. That can make it quite tough for referees to judge an iffy shot unless they have an optimal angle and line of sight.

My Top 5 Central Defenders for WC 2014

 1. Andrea Barzagli

                                                      2. Thiago Silva

                                                      3. Gerald Piqué

  4.Giorgio Chiellini 

  5.Mats Hummels

Biological passports for World Cup 2014

Every player at the tournament will be required to have a biological passport, the sport’s world governing body announced today.

FIFA intend to introduce the system of biological profiling at this year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil, as part of the worldwide crackdown on doping in sport and it should be fully operational by the next World Cup.

A delegation from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) met FIFA officials at their Zurich headquarters on Thursday, and WADA president John Fahey said his agency was “very satisfied with the commitment of FIFA on the biological profiles”.

FIFA medical officer Michel D’Hooghe said: “FIFA was the first international organisation for team sport to start with longitudinal profiles.”

He explained that FIFA is developing plans to introduce profiling, including a steroid profile through urine and a blood profile, for the Confederations Cup, where in- and out-of-competition tests would be conducted on all participating players, as well as unannounced blood testing at training camps and games.

“And it’s our commitment to have all players participating at the 2014 FIFA World Cup having biological profiles,” he added

Biological profiling is considered one of the most effective methods of detecting the use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood boosters like EPO.

EPO was first tested for by FIFA at the 2002 World Cup where all players had to underego urine and blood testing and whenever the results were abnormal, an EPO test was performed. All results were negative. FIFA is also developing the hormonal profiling project, a new initiative in collaboration with the WADA-accredited laboratory in Switzerland.

“There is always more which can be done in the fight against doping, but we know FIFA has always been serious in this domain,” Fahey said.

US in danger after loss to Honduras

The United States slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Honduras in their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying clash at Estadio Olimpico on Wednesday.

Clint Dempsey put the Americans on the board in the 36th minute before Honduras responded with goals from Juan Garcia and Jerry Bengtson on either side of half-time to begin the final round of qualifying in perfect fashion.

It was the first time the USA had lost the opening game of 'the Hexagonal' round of qualifying in the Americas, and only the fourth time they had been defeated by Honduras in 19 games dating back to 1965.

Playing in one of the most hostile atmospheres in CONCACAF to open the final stage of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Americans could not have gotten off to a more promising start.

Jermaine Jones delivered a beautiful chip over the top of the Honduras defensive line and found Dempsey who finished with a classy volley. It was Dempsey's 31st career goal with the national team, moving him up to third on the all-time scoring list.

It took just four minutes for Honduras to respond in remarkable fashion, with Garcia stunning goalkeeper Tim Howard with a bicycle kick from about 10 yards out. Following a misplaced corner kick, Honduras sent the ball back across the net twice before the defender elevated for the strike to see his side level at the interval.

The teams began the second half trading opportunities, with Michael Bradley and Garcia watching their respective shots go just wide. Bengston had a golden chance to put Honduras ahead in the 55th minute after overpowering defender Geoff Cameron but his shot flew over the crossbar.

With the US defenders on their heels, Honduras appeared to have taken the lead when Carlos Costly beat the defence before finishing past Howard. However, the goal would be waved off by the referee as Costly was ruled offside.

The more the second half went on, the more the Americans looked like they were content with picking up a point on the road. That mindset, however, would get them into trouble.

In the 79th minute, Honduras broke the defensive wall for the match-winning goal. Some terrible defending by the USA's centre-backs Cameron and Omar Gonzalez left Bengtson with a simple tap home for the winner.