Both World Cup hosting races go down to wire

ZURICH — The races for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup went to the wire Thursday, with no candidate having a lock on the vote of the FIFA executive committee.

Capping three days of intense lobbying, British Prime Minister David Cameron was at the center of a smooth final presentation for England. It stood in sharp contrast with the overly-long show of Spain-Portugal to sway the 22 FIFA voters for the 2018 tournament.

Russia was already hurt by the no-show of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and it seemed unlikely the quirky, fun presentation of Belgium-Netherlands could do much to change their status as outsider.

The five bidders for 2022, Qatar, the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea, had their presentations on Wednesday.