Fifa has admitted that its World Cup finals ticket sales strategy was flawed but said that stadiums will be at least 95 per cent full for all matches after a late surge in purchases by South Africans. beacuase of the press speculation over ticket sales, fans can even place a world cup bet on the percentage of seats full in each game. Fifa are confident it each match will be full though.

The final sales phase began last week with some 500,000 seats still available but 200,000 of those have already been bought after Fifa made it easier for locals without internet access or bank accounts to buy tickets by introducing over-the-counter sales in supermarkets and shopping malls.

“I think we should have opened ticketing centres in the country before,” Jérôme Valcke, the Fifa general secretary, said yesterday. “We have to think about our ticketing policies and maybe review the policy which limits people to buying four tickets for one game. We will learn for [Brazil in] 2014.”

He ruled out discounting or giving away tickets for free and estimated that 360,000 fans would come from overseas. “We’re very confident of having a high number of people attending all 64 matches,” he said.

Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, suggested the host nation will need to improve to make it beyond the group stage and criticised African teams for constantly changing their coaches. Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa have recently appointed new men. “The talent of African players is at least as great as that of players from other countries, including Brazil,” he said. “They have got more in terms of individual talent. What is missing is tactics. But how can they have this if they change the coach a few months before the biggest competition in the world?”

France have stuck with Raymond Domenech, which has not pleased Michel Platini, the Uefa president. “There’s a Raymond problem,” Platini said. “Of personality, not as a coach.”

He also dismissed his native country’s chances this summer. “France are not among the world’s best three teams,” Platini said, tipping Brazil, Spain and England.