Football: Pressure tells in World Cup pitches

Hollywood star Morgan Freeman missed a page of his speech. Bill Clinton rambled on over time.
Proof, if ever any were needed, the pressure of delivering final World Cup presentations to Fifa can get to the most polished performers.
The big name Americans were not alone, Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley looked nervous at times and supermodel Elle Macpherson a bit edgy.
Even Frank Lowy messed up some of his words when he went off script before recovering to deliver a passionate performance.
However the big surprise was Clinton, the man who normally oozes charisma out of every pore on his body, producing a laboured performance.
While the value of the half-hour presentations in swaying Fifa big wigs is debatable, dragging the American pitch seven minutes over time was not wise on his part.
Australia pulled its performance up a few minutes short, as Lowy said it is best not to ``annoy them'' with nine bid presentations heard over two days.
Clinton was viewed as one of the US' trump cards with his legendary appeal but he spent chunks of his speech talking about his charitable foundation rather than pitching his nation's bid.
With Chicago exiting early in last year's 2016 Olympic bid following his late dash, US President Barack Obama decided to stay at home this time around.
He had not been missed until Clinton's lifeless display.
In terms of other presentations, Australia's pitch was pretty good.
It may have been a bit cliched but the cheeky cartoon kangaroo is going to linger longer in the mind than the countless graphs and figures from its rivals.