The deadline for nations to bid on the 2018 & 2022 World Cup has passed and according to FIFA, 11 bids were submitted. In alphabetical order, they are Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Spain and Portugal, and the United States. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said, "It is remarkable that so many high-quality contenders have expressed an initial interest in hosting our flagship competition."

The next step, FIFA will send out a Bid Registration form on February 16th to the member associations that formally submitted a bid for the 2018 & 2022 World Cups. The timeline for bidding is laid out in this FIFA document. Now the bidding nations have to get everything in order to impress FIFA.

Early buzz has England & the United States as the favorites to get the World Cups. Sepp Blatter's recent declaration that single nation bids will get consideration over joint bids puts a big dent in Spain/Portugal & Belgium/Netherlands hopes at landing a World Cup. The decision on who gets the 2018 & 2022 World Cups will be made in 2010 but to further shape your opinion on the most intriguing candidates check out Part I & II of our analysis.