Exclusive: International Sports Expert Dr Andreja Wieser - England Have A Good Chance Of Success With 2018 World Cup Bid

Leading international sports expert Dr Andreja Wieser believes England’s World Cup 2018 campaign has provided a compelling case to the visiting FIFA inspection team who have been in England for the past few days.

England Bid Team
England's bid to stage the 2018 World Cup was praised by FIFA's inspectors at the conclusion of their four-day visit on Thursday, who voiced concerns only about the number of hotel rooms available.

However Dr Wieser, who is Head of Sports for international corporate hospitality providers PROSKE|group, believes England has a great chance of winning the December vote based on its strong football pedigree and believes that concerns over accommodation will easily be allayed.

Dr Wieser said, “From a hospitality point of view, England has everything - a wide range of high quality accommodation; good transport links; great restaurants, bars and clubs; and a great number of parks that can become great venues for hospitality venues and public viewing. England has a multicultural population who have demonstrated their backing for the bid and the enthusiasm that is integral in the nation’s sporting culture.

“The quality of the stadia is second to none which will be attractive to FIFA and its partners and provide a sound foundation for a wide range of initiatives which will be an essential aspect of the tournament.

“The government has underlined its commitment to the bid and the determination of the bid team to continue to improve suggests that they have learnt lessons from the past. Along with the fact that England is the only major footballing nation not to host the World Cup since it last staged the competition in 1966, England’s bid looks particularly compelling.”

England’s rivals to host the 2018 tournament include Russia, the United States, and joint bids from Spain and Portugal, and Holland and Belgium.

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Hosted by Stephen Crawford & Adam Scime
2/15/12
And with that, we're going to call it a night, folks.

We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!

Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.

From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!

2/15/12
All this focus on the Arsenal and Milan game should not take away from another cracker earlier tonight between Zenit and Benfica. The Russians came from a goal down to lead 2-1 in the closing minutes before Oscar Cardozo levelled things for Benfica, but it wasn't over there as Roman Shirokov won the game for Zenit in the 88th minute.

Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
2/15/12
Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny bemoaned his side's luck tonight but refused to give up. Here's some of his quotes:

"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.

"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.

"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."

Full story HERE


2/15/12
Another Milan player who was willing to share his thoughts after the match was Mark van Bommel, who has urged caution ahead of the second leg in London.

“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.

(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)

“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.

“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.


Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.

“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.

“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”


2/15/12
Next up is the Milan maestro Clarence Seedorf. He only managed 12 minutes on the pitch, but watching from the sidelines he was delighted at how his team mates had dominated the game.

"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."

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