THE greatest sporting show on earth begins on Wednesday and when it reaches its climax on July 12 in the glorious Stade de France, the hands that raise aloft the World Cup will not be Brazilian, Italian or English.
That quickly wipes out three of the teams favoured by bookmakers to make the most telling impression on the 32-nation spectacular but they've frequently got football wrong before.
High on the list of favourites are host nation France and if they do perchance manage to score with anything approaching regularity, they could win.
But there are niggling doubts about their striking potential and recent friendly matches - although these can be very misleading - do not give added grounds for optimism.
If you're looking for a tip, then mine is Spain. Another healthy outside challenger for top honours can be found in Yugoslavia, while most people have cottoned on to the Nigerians, although the much-travelled Bora Milutinovic may yet have his hands full coaxing his potentially brilliant side to perform with the necessary consistency.
Even if Romario was to link up with Ronaldo, my own feeling is that the team we all love have advanced little from four years ago and they were no great shakes in America even if the World Cup returned to its spiritual home.
