So football will not be coming home, at least not yet anyway. On Thursday Fifa President Sepp Blatter slowly opened the envelope and announced to the world that it would be Russia, and not England, who will be hosting the 2018 World Cup.

Now the dissection of the bid starts. Why did England fail to win the bid?
A leaked document to Reuters revealed that England were the only country to score a perfect 100 per cent from the visiting Fifa delegation out of all four bidders, yet they still not only failed to win the right to host the prestigious tournament but gained only two of the 22 votes available when crunch time came.
This means that, in Fifa’s eyes, England are capable of hosting the World Cup at any time. So does that rule out the possibility that the other bids were superior?
Blatter called the presentation by Prince William, Prime Minister David Cameron and David Beckham “remarkable” in the morning before the voting, with the general consensus being that it was either the best or, at least, one of the best.
Without a doubt the most high-profile part of England’s entire bid was the media allegations of corruption in Fifa from the country’s press. In October, the Sunday Times claimed that two Fifa officials were willing to sell their votes for the 2018 and 2022 bidding process, an allegation that led to both officials being banned for the vote, but also angered Blatter at the media intrusion.
Then, just three days before the vote, the BBC aired a Panorama documentary which unveiled a series of scandals and corruptions within Fifa. Did this lead to the eventual downfall of the England bid?
Along with the media-created furore, the England bid team did not help themselves when it came to actions behind-the-scenes. Following yet more allegations in the English media, Lord Triesman stepped down as chairman of the FA and bid team. Could shake-ups such at these have unsettled the team?
A large part of Blatter and Fifa’s hopes for any World Cup is the legacy that the tournament leaves in the country. It could be argued that as England are so passionate about football already, the hosting of the tournament would have no real impact of increased attendances or more stadia, among other things. Did this affect the vote?
Eventual winner Russia have never hosted a World Cup, yet Spain and England have, arguably the Russian’s biggest opponents. With Fifa's desire for a legacy, could hosting the World Cup in a new country and England’s previous hosting of a tournament have counted against Beckham and co. in the end?
Another possibility is for England’s failings is the fan trouble at Wednesday’s League Cup quarter-final between Birmingham City and Aston Villa. Less than 24 hours before the votes were cast, City fans celebrated their 2-1 victory over their arch rivals by running across the pitch and confronting their fans. Seats were ripped up and flares were thrown in a throwback to the dark days of football. Was this the final straw for England’s hopes?