by Renee Israel
After Lord Triesman resigned as chairman of the UK Football Association's bid to host World Cup 2018, many were wondering whether England's chances of a successful bid had been hampered.
Indeed, bookies saw England's chances drift following the controversy that saw Triesman accuse his Spanish and Russian counterparts of trying to bribe referees at this year's World Cup in South Africa.
However, Fabio Capello is confident that the country remains the "perfect" hosts for World Cup 2018 and believes that the incident would not affect England's chances.
"England is the perfect place to play the World Cup because the facilities, the stadiums and the transport are all really, really good," he said. "I think the chance to win the bid for the World Cup in 2018 will the same as I think the people who decide probably will understand what has happened."
FIFA, which governs global football associations, said that they would investigate Lord Triesman's claims.
"My relationship with Lord Triesman was really good," said Capello of the outgoing head of the FA's bidding committee. "I am sorry for what happened but now we are focused on what happens here."
In the meantime, the Captain of the UK side, Rio Ferdinand, also commented on the incident and said: "The bid's bigger than any one individual. People come and go in the process but we'd still stage a great World Cup."
"I think this country has got all the tools to hold a tournament of that ilk," he added. "We will be great hosts."
