ZURICH -- Most had written off Belgium and the Netherlands' chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup. If they don't snare the prize, at least they can go out with heads held high. It was a different story for another joint bid, Spain and Portugal.

Even before Thursday, the Belgian and Dutch delegation earned plaudits this week for being the happiest of the bunch. While others tried to put out fires or schmooze to almost nauseating levels, they got the balance right between trying and trying too hard. A few fans, dressed in Dutch colors of orange, made the trek to snowy Zurich, bringing joy and song to local bars. Ruud Gullit, one of the best players of his generation, joined in the fun.

Gullit was ever present in Thursday's presentation, which kicked off the day. Time flew by, as the nations did a fine job of weaving passion, culture and practicality.

Johan Cruyff, the Barcelona legend, discussed how bringing the Cup to the Low Countries would get even more kids playing, helping cut levels of obesity. The film incorporated bikes -- a mainstay in the Netherlands and Belgium -- many times and rightly mentioned that almost all surrounding countries had hosted a World Cup -- but not them. Well-traveled, and well-respected, coach Guus Hiddink was another boost.

The bid had been dented by a perceived lack of government support, but the prime ministers of both nations showed up. Everything clicked. There were no awkward pauses or strange moments. A story was crafted.

They might have, if nothing else, secured enough votes among the executive committee to get into the second round. From that point, who knows?

Spain and Portugal, meanwhile, had no huge hitters, for a start. Cristiano Ronaldo, who was supposed to surface, didn't. The presentation? Call it a lecture, and a boring one at that. Heads talked plenty about technical matters such as the solid rail network, security, stadia and possible ticket sales. We knew all that already. Repetition was the order of the day. It almost looked like different speakers didn't coordinate.

They touched on geography, playing up the short distance to Africa, which is true. But close to Asia, too, as they suggested? Far from it. Perhaps off putting for some of the voters, the presentation wasn't given in English.

In fact, the presentation exceeded the 30-minute time limit and ended with a long, unstructured and transparent rant from Iberian bid chief Angel Maria Villar Llona. He kissed up to FIFA to the max, attempting, once again, to minimize allegations of collusion with Qatar.

"Everybody who is sitting here is clean, and is working for the good of football throughout the world," he said. "Also, those who are not here are clean. The bid process is clean."

Unless those comforting words -- to FIFA -- exceed an otherwise underwhelming presentation, it's down to England and Russia.