Can Europes recent World Cup stranglehold be broken?
For the first time in World Cup history, a European side triumphed outside of its continent. And in the last two tournaments, seven of the eight semifinalists have come from Europe. Granted, part of this is down to sheer weight of numbers; UEFA has more than twice as many representatives as the next biggest confederation. Europe didn’t have it all its own way either, as all five of South America’s representatives reached the knockout stages. But with a respectful nod to Uruguay, there’s also no doubting that the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany played the best soccer in the tournament. So will a non-European team prevail in 2014? Such hopes rest primarily on South American sides, which will have the home-continent advantage. That said, Africa proved this time around that playing at home is not a guarantee of success. 6. Will FIFA finally adopt goal-line technology? Much like that renowned seer, the Magic Eight Ball, might say, “Signs point to yes,” Valcke told Sky Sports News that there
