England look to be all set for the World Cup already, with their win on Saturday leaving them just 4 points off qualification for next years South Africa Finals. Wayne Rooney was amongst the scorers in a 4-0 win over Kazakhstan, although not all players were receiving plaudits for the performance - Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson were both fairly laissez-faire in the defending and positioning, which earned them a telling off from manager Fabio Capello.
Portugal left it very late to secure their much-needed win over Albania - Cristiano Ronaldo captained the side, and it looked like it was heading for a draw (which would have killed Carlos Queiroz's qualification hopes) until Bruno Alves popped up in the 93rd minute to smash home. Lucky boys.
Ji Sung Park's South Korea became one of the first teams in the hat for the Finals next year with another convincing win.
On the transfer front, the big guns all appear to be for sale. Save for Lionel Messi, Rooney and Steven Gerrard, all the top players - Ibrahimovich, Eto'o, Ronaldo, Kaka, Tevez etc - are up for grabs. There is talk of Ibra and Eto'o swapping clubs, though that was before Manchester City have finalised what promises to be a massive contract offer for the Cameroonian.
Tevez's agent Kia Jaroobchian has previously mentioned a June 10th deadline for his client, who will have finished football for the summer by that point, and will be looking to have his club tied up so he can properly relax without worrying about passing the medical!
The managerial merry-go-round is still underway, with Martinez expected to be confirmed at Wigan later today, Mowbray moving to Celtic, Darren Ferguson heading to West Brom, etc, etc. Look out for Gordon Strachan, who has been tipped to take on the Portsmouth role.
