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Brazil 0 - 0 Argentina - World Cup 2010 Qualifier

Last night in Belo Horizonte, in front of a crowd of 55,000 which included Ronaldinho, Jose Mourinho and representatives from FC Barcelona, Brazil took on world number ones Argentina in the latest South American World Cup Qualifier. 

After respective poor performances the two teams were looking to bounce back especially against their fierce rivals. Brazil started the stronger of the two sides but although they looked very sharp in the midfield they lacked authority when moving forward and didn’t trouble Roberto Abbondanzieri’s goal.

As the game continued, neither team looked interested in taking control with the majority of the game being fought out in midfield. On the 20-minute mark Brazil should have been awarded a clear penalty when Gabriel Heinze studded Juan in the area, but referee Oscar Julian Ruiz waved play-on.

Brazil began to dictate the proceedings as halftime approached, Robinho missing despite guiding the ball past the Argentine Goalkeeper.

In the second half the pacey Brazilian style tempo slowed dramatically and Argentina began to get into the game, Brazil being limited to one fine free kick by Baptista, which was saved by Abbondanzieri. In second-half injury time Messi almost snatched Argentina the victory when he charged into the box with awesome speed and had a powerful effort saved by Julio Cesar, before firing the rebound over the crossbar.

As the game was brought to a close the Argentine’s were clearly satisfied with an away point but now the status of Dunga as coach of Brazil is looking increasingly uncertain.

by Robert Fitzpatrick

Paraguay shock Brazil in 2010 World Cup Qualifier

Last night in yet another South American World Cup Qualifier surprise, Brazil were downed by leaders Paraguay 2-0 at a packed Defensores Del Chaco stadium in Asuncion. Brazil defended extremely poorly as Paraguay and Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz took advantage of poor marking at a corner to tap in from close range. Brazil’s star forwards, Robinho and Luis Fabiano were marked out of the game by a tough Paraguayan defence that didn’t look like wilting. Paraguay however began the second period in the worst possible way, being reduced to 10 men after Dario Veron scythed through Robinho from behind.

Instead of spurring the away side on to find an equaliser, it was the home side who took advantage through a quick counter attack culminating in America (MEX) forward Cabanas poking home after good work from Roque Santa Cruz once again. This latest upset leaves Brazil needing 3 points against arch-rivals and world number ones Argentina in order to stay in touch. That match is live at 1:30am GMT on Sky Sports this Wednesday.

Italy 1 - 1 Romania

Although the 1-1 result against Romania is a little weaker than what Italy had hoped for agianst Romania, they will be thankful to still be in contention for an elimination-round birth after a clutch penalty save by keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

A much changed Italy side came out against Romania, as Donadoni searched for answers following a heavy defeat to the Netherlands on Monday. Italy entered the game with a 4-5-1 formation, with Del Piero, De Rossi, Chiellini, Grosso and Perrotta all getting starting roles for the first time in the tournament. The “new-look” Italy side proved to be an improvement, as the team played much more potently in attack and showed a general increase in team chemistry, although goals eluded the Azzurri in the first half — with the exception of a 45+1 minute header by Luca Toni, which was incorrectly called back due to offside.

Romania was not to be taken lightly either however, and had a handful of chances in the first half as well, led by Romanian hero and ACF Fiorentina forward Adrian Mutu. Italy’s defense was up to the task, largely led by goalkeeper Buffon, who made several big saves.

The deadlock was broken in the second half, as a poor header back to Buffon was hit too softly by rightback Gianluca Zambrotta, with Mutu pouncing on the loose ball to put it over Buffon and into the net. The lead wasn’t meant to last however, as only a minute later, Chiellini flicked on a ball from the corner kick to Christian Panucci, who netted to bring the game level again.

From here, the game again reached a stalemate, with the majority of attacking chances belonging to Italy; prompting several classy responses from Romanian keeper Bogdan Lobont.

However, it was the 80th minute that nearly brought horror for the Azzurri faithful and jubilation for Romania supporters, as Panucci brought down Romania’s favorite number ten inside the box resulting in a penalty kick that could have potentially knocked out Italy of elimination-round contention. Italian fans’ prayers were answered though, as Buffon got a hand to Mutu’s kick, which then ricocheted off Buffon’s foot and away from goal.

With the final result being 1-1, both teams can be considered lucky and unfortunate simultaneously. Romania goes into the game against a Netherlands side with a chance to advance into the second round and shock the world with their survival in the “group of death”, though Mutu and his mates surely would have liked to capitalize on that late penalty kick. Italy too can thank their fortunes for their survival, but will have to couple a win over world cup runners-up France with a Romanian draw or defeat to Holland in order to sneak into the next round.

-Justin Barrie

Botswana 1 - 1 Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast have had another major setback in there 2010 World and Nations Cup qualifying, after a 1-1 draw with Botswana on Saturday.

Dipsy Selolwane put the Zebras of Botswana in front after 25 minutes in Gaberone, Botswana.

Ivory Coast were once again playing without Didier Drogba and had to wait until the 64th minute before Kanga Akale’s equaliser.

It is there second draw of their campaign so far, and leaves The Elephants with only five points from three game and behind Botswana lead on goal difference.

Ivory Coast, the heavy favourites for the group, were expecting a comftorble victory, but once again failed to deliver against a well prepared Botswana side. With qualification practically assured, the Elephants will have to re-evalute there favourite status for the next Nations Cup in Angola

segun Olujide

Women’s AFC: Korea DPR 2-1 China

Korea DPR beat out China 2-1 in the final of the 2008 AFC Women’s Championship, regaining the title the lost to Asian rivals China two years ago.  Japan also edged out Australia to place third.

China initially took the lead through a strike by Bi Yan in the 11th minute, but Korea DPR captain Ri Kum-Suk eventually equalised in the 57th, Ri’s seventh goal to top the tournament scoring chart. Dominating for the rest of the match, Korea finally sealed the victory eleven minutes later through Kim Yong-Ae, who scored from a rebound.

“We got the victory because we showed plenty of spirit and technical ability,” said a calm Korea DPR coach Kim Kwang-Min. ” This campaign was very good preparation for the Olympic Games, as we will be in high-level company in August.”

China coach Shang Ruihua, however, was not disappointed. “I believe we are going in the right direction, and we will improve before the Olympic Games,” Shang concluded.

Other stars of the AFC tournament included Japan’s Homare Sawa, a creative midfielder who played a pivotal role for her country, and was crowned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Coach Norio Sasaki, however, wanted to focus importance on the entire Japanese squad. “We now look towards the Olympics, and I believe this tournament has been good for us,” he said. “While our older players proved the consistent performers, I am very happy at how the younger players have grown.”

Marta v Prinz continues

Brilliant goalscorer for Brasil, FIFA 2007 World Player of the Year, and forward for Swedish club Umea Marta will face the German Birgit Prinz, 2007 Women’s World Cup champion and head of the current European champions Frankfurt for a third time this season in Beijing.

Marta and Brazil lost to Prinz and the Germans in the FIFA Women’s world Cup 2007 held in China eight months ago and recently has just come up short of the European Cup prize, yet again against Prinz and the Frankfort squad. The European final, which showed the high level of women’s football in the club level, surely fed the fire of this already fascinating rivalry between Marta and Prinz.

The first leg in Sweden ended up in a 1-1 draw, with Umea fighting hard, inspired especially by Marta. A free kick by Marta in the last minute of the match from 35 yards out agonizingly hit the crossbar, and so the second leg in Germany ended 3-2, with Prinz’s Frankfort winning 4-3 on aggregate.

The third installment of the Prinz versus Marta head-to-head will continue, of course, in Group F of the Beijing Olympic Women’s Football Tournament, where on opening day, August 6, Brasil is set to play Germany in Shenyang. Marta, perhaps especially now, should be looking for revenge against her German rivals.

Amauri gains Italian citizenship

Newly signed Juventus striker Amauri has officially attained his Italian citizenship.

Despite several strong seasons in the Serie A, and a wealth of talent in finding the back of the net, at 27 years old Amauri has still not been capped by his native Brazil. As such, he is still allowed to declare himself for any country of which he is eligible for, and thus has opted to try to make the Italian national team by gaining his Italian citizenship.

Amauri had been seeking citizenship for some time, but due to processing delays, he was unavailable for a call up in Roberto Donadoni’s Euro 2008 squad.

“Donadoni said wonderful things about me, whereas I never heard from [Brazilian manager] Dunga. Brazil remains a dream, while Italy is a fantastic reality and I would have loved to play in Euro 2008. I think if my passport had come through a month ago, the coach would’ve called me.”

During Amauri’s time with Palermo (2006-2008) he scored 23 goals in 52 appearances. If he is indeed called up for duty in the Azzurri line up, he would be one of the very few non-native Italians to play for the national team. Of the Euro 2008 squad, only Mauro Camoranesi was not born in Italy; Camoranesi comes from Italian heritage through his grandparents, but was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Holland 3 - 0 Italy

The opening game for Roberto Donadoni and his Italy team will not be one to be remembered. By full-time, the final whistle blew to end the game 3-0 in favor of a much classier, harder working, stronger Netherlands team.

The first goal of the match came extremely controversially, as Ruud van Nistlerooy found the back of the net despite clearly being offside. Just prior to this, Christian Panucci had collided with teammate and keeper Gianluigi Buffon, resulting in an injured Panucci down and out off the pitch behind the net. A completely unmarked Ruud slotted the ball into the back of the net, to little concern of much of the Italian defense as he seemed far offside. The goal inevitably stood, as the official appeared to have felt Panucci essentially represented the last man in the play and was simulating an injury in order to unfairly stop the play. Expect to hear more on this controversial issue soon.

Holland’s second goal was not nearly as controversial but perhaps almost as spectacular. Five minutes after the first goal, in the 31st minute, Wesley Sneijder slipped a rebound in between Buffon and the short-side post.

Italy made several changes following the half-time break, eventually bringing on Grosso for Materazzi (with Panucci moving from sideback to centreback), Del Piero for Di Natale, and Cassano for Camoranesi. The inclusion of Del Piero and Grosso seemed to spark some life into the Azzurri, who enjoyed some more attacking play until the coffin was closed with the Netherlands third goal in the 79th minute by Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Italy’s best chance of the game came through two separate Andrea Pirlo free kicks; one which was sent wide as Pirlo tried to sneak a hard-hit ball into the open side of a slightly cheating Edwin van der Saar, and the other a firm curling shot over the wall that was parried well by the Dutch keeper.

The victory was the first Oranje victory over the Azzurri since 1978, when Italy was defeated allowing Holland to go onto the final that year. Donadoni has commented in a cool manner, mentioning that his team will have to make some adjustments and come out strong in their next two games.

In this writer’s personal opinion: Italy needs to play a 4-4-2 instead of a 4-3-3. This writer feels that Del Piero should be starting over Di Natale, and would also prefer to see Ambrosini replaced with de Rossi. The Dutch were undisputed the better team today, and although the offside goal allowed was disheartening, it is hardly an excuse for Italy’s poor play. Early in the game, Ruud van Nistelrooy was clipped by Buffon on what would have been a sure goal — to his credit, he stayed on his feet and tried to get the goal despite what would have been an easy penalty to call if he had gone down. This kind of honorable play should be highlighted and noted in an age where football has been mired by an overzealous amount of diving and simulation. Lastly, Italy looked very poor on defense, and one has to wonder if this is largely due to the fact there is no Fabio Cannavaro this tournament.

Continue to check back for more match highlights, Azzurri news, and personal takes as Euro 2008 continues.

Del Piero named Italy captain

With 2006 FIFA Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro out with injury, the Azzurri have chosen Alessandro Del Piero as his replacement as team captain.

Del Piero is the most capped player on the Italian squad after Cannavaro with 86 appearances for his country. His spot on this year’s Euro squad was earned with a commanding ‘Capocannoniere’ performance with Juventus in the 07-08 Serie A season, where he found the net 21 times. He played a key role during Italy’s World Cup 2006 win, typically playing as an attacking midfielder or second striker just behind the front line of attack.

Although Alex is one of the few players remaining from Italy’s last game against the Dutch, he is not expected by many to start against the Netherlands when Italy opens their Euro 2008 campaign against the ‘Oranje’ on June 9th.

Euro 2008 - Young Players to Watch

 As all the excitement and joy of the occasion will keep us glued to our seats through the duration of the competition, it will also be of interest as to how the players of various hype perform on the international stage. We have so often found that those we suspected would convert their supposed club level dominance into success for their country- in fact didn’t. On the international stage, there are always those players who do quite the opposite, and surpass all expectations- putting on brilliant performances, and helping the team to honours. These performances so often provide the launchpad for their career, and springboarding themselves into greater glory. If there was ever an occasion in which these players had a chance to showcase their talents then this is it. I have compiled a short list of players which i urge you to look out for, if they even need that amount of viewing for their talents to be seen.
 
David Odonkor- Germany and Real Betis:
Often touted as the worlds fastest footballer, David Odonkor always provides that bit of directness to any team’s game. He is certainly not frightened to run at the defenders, the only frightened party involved would be the defender. Possessing a blistering burst of pace able to break down even the most solid of defences, Germany have in their arsenal a weapon of serious mass destruction. With a somewhat disappointing season by his standards for Real Betis, he will be looking to make a strong impression on interested clubs around the world.
 
Bafetimbi Gomis- France and Saint Etienne:
If you happened to watch the France preperatory friendly against Ecuador, you would have witnessed two exquisite finishes from the man known as ‘the next Drogba’. This 45 minute period in which he was on the field gave us an insight into why so many clubs around the world seem to be linked to him. The French league’s 3rd top goalscorer is extremely powerful in the air, whilst excelling on the ground also with his close control and the ability to turn defenders with ease. Although very much down in the pecking order behind the likes of Henry, Benzema, and Anelka for this position, he should get his chance, and provide the french manager with a useful resource.
 
Ivan Rakitic- Croatia and Shalke 04:
This incredibly talented youngster for Croatia looks set to take the world by storm. Plying his trade in Germany for Shalke 04, he has won over many admirers for his fantastic skill and ball control. He occupies the midfield in a very attack-minded way, always willing to try and weave his way around defenders, whilst also having the ability to thread a perfect through ball for the attacker to finish with ease. He usually has a lot to do with any goals scored, and is a tremendous asset for any club. Croatia will be glad to be able to call upon such a talented youngster like Rakitic, giving him the opportunity to work his magic on the international front.

Lukas Fabianski- Poland and Arsenal
Blessed with a superb ability to react and move towards certain goalbound balls, Fabianski has every chance of overtaking Artur Boruc for that number one spot. Keeping a clean sheet in a recent friendly, the Poland manager will almost certainly be considering giving this youngster his chance to shine. If Poland are to achieve much success in these Euro’s, it will largely be down to the plight of the goalkeeper to ensure more goals are being scored than conceded, Lukas Fabianski certainly has the ability to do so.
 
Tranquillo Barnetta- Switzerland and Leverkusen
Another promising youngster, Tranquillo is certainly blessed with tremendous dribbling ability. Operating mainly down on the left side of midfield, he provides much creativity and ingenuity to unlock defences. The cohosts will certainly look to Tranquillo when placed against a seemingly impenetrable backline. Whenever Switzerland score a goal, it will be a safe bet that Barnetta would be the architect. Euro 2008 provides this youngster with a huge opportunity to appeal to bigger european clubs, and will certainly steer his career into the upward spiral of success.
 
Johan Elmander- Sweden and Toulouse
A rising star in Sweden, Elmander has enjoyed rapid success for his country. Scoring for fun in the qualifiers, he possesses a brilliant mind in knowing when and where to make runs. Elmander finishes with ease, and can always be relied upon to get his team into the driver’s seat. It is the general feeling in Sweden that the Elmander-Ibrahimovic partnership is a deadly force to be reckoned with. The fortunes of Sweden will definitely be influenced by this explosive attacker. With Toulouse’s ambitions disappearing down the toilet, it is up to Elmander to showcase his ability and move on to bigger and better things.

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