Cannon Fodder: Calm before the storm

ENGLAND:

Raheem Sterling made his Manchester City debut in Melbourne last night. His first touch was a miscontrol followed by a slip and fall, but he scored later, so there goes the easy narrative.

Remember when preseason used to be "show up, run around a bit, get your wind back, start the season"? Yeah, that's not how it works any more.

West Ham are kicking the tires on Kevin Mirallas.

EVERYWHERE ELSE:

Michel Platini - the guy who voted for Qatar when Sepp Blatter did not - is undecided about running for the FIFA presidency.

Today's winner in the "Most Facepalmingly Obvious Headline Question" category goes to the BBC!

The Gold Cup is down to the semifinals, with the US taking on Jamaica, after Jamaica beat Haiti 1-0 and the US destroyed Cuba 6-0. The other semi sees Mexico taking on Panama, the Mexican team having benefited from a rather questionable extra time penalty to advance. Both games are on Wednesday.

It's preseason tour time again in the US - Manchester United played Club America in Seattle last week, the Galaxy take on Barcelona in the Rose Bowl tonight, and Newcastle come to Portland to play the Timbers. Or, more accurately, to play the USL Timbers 2 side with a smattering of first teamers thrown in.

What is it like to be an MLS referee? This is what it's like.

For the first time, there are female players in the hugely popular EA FIFA video game series. They've even finally put women on the cover.