• Home
• 2010 World Cup
• Fixtures
• Tables
• Links
• Contact Us
• Write for Us

• 2010 News
• 2010 World Cup Fixtures
• Betting
• Car Hire
• Hostels
• Hotels
• Kits
• Live on TV
• Ringtones
• Stadiums
• Tickets
• Travel

Subscribe

Boyd happy with Scotland decision

Rangers striker Kris Boyd scored his 100th goal at the weekend but is still adamant that he made the right decision in quitting Scotland and does not regret the move.

“Whatever happened in January happened and it’s not worth a thought,” he said.

“I’ve got my head down and worked hard from then until the end of the season. I’m happy here and I want to continue to play at Rangers.”

“I made my decision at the time, I’ve come back to club level and I’m happy,” he explained.

“I’m enjoying my football again and I’ll continue doing that.”

He added: “I’m not wanting to speak about it. The most important thing for me is to concentrate on Rangers at this precise moment in time, and whatever happens in time with Scotland happens.”

Boyd quit after failing to come off the bench in a goalless draw against Norway. Boyd also struggles to hold down a regular place in the big games for Rangers, most notably in their UEFA cup run last season but he has started to feature more this term.

“I have worked a bit harder and the goals have still been there,” explained Boyd.

“So, as long as I can continue that, hopefully I can stay in the team until the end of the season and hopefully we can win the championship and Scottish Cup.”

Boyd also credited Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist in helping him become a more mature player.

“When I decided what I did with Scotland I had to prove to myself I was good enough at club level again.

“And I’ve done that, I’ve got myself back in the team; starting most weeks and hopefully that will continue until the end of the season.”

Let Me Entertain You

As all the other countries in the world prepare for the next nerve-wracking and tense installment of World Cup qualifying in June, Australia can do so with the knowledge that its qualification is all but secure. It only needs one point from its remaining three games and in the event of failing to do this, Bahrain must win both of its games for Australia to miss out. The two then would be level on points which means Bahrain would also have to overcome the goal difference in which Australia currently has an advantage of nine. Soccer betting has all but conceded the fact that the Socceroos have made it.
So for all intents and purposes, the Socceroos are going to make it to successive World Cups for the first time. The qualifying campaign which began back in February 2008 is about to come to a productive end.

Australia finishes the soccer league with back to back home games against Bahrain and Japan. It would be nice if they could give the Australian public something to get excited about. With all the pressure off, there is no excuse not for playing attractive, free-flowing soccer. Pim Verbeek should blood some youngsters and let go of the reins and make the most of this rare opportunity.
The Socceroos had a dead-rubber at the end of the previous qualifying stage which was against China in Sydney and they played dreadfully. Hopefully Verbeek has learnt from that and won’t waste the occasion like he did then. The Australian soccer-public are becoming more and more discerning and while you may try to spin as much as you like, there is only so much they are going to take.

The game against Japan should also be interesting to see what approach Japan takes. By that stage it should also be a dead-rubber for them which should mean that the pressure is also off them. It would be nice to see these two rivals put on a great advertisement for the game by putting on a show. Something like 4-3 to Australia.

David Wiseman is a sports journalist, who also writes about cricket and tennis for Betfair Australia. He is still excited that Australia are ‘almost there’ in their World Cup qualifying bid, and can now concentrate on preparing himself for the Ashes cricket this spring.

Scotland B squad call up Old Firm Duo

The Scotland B squad are set to play a friendly with Northern Ireland on the 6th of May and Celtics Mark Wilson and Rangers Steven Naismith have been called up to the squad.

George Burley had agreed not to select Old Firm players because of the upcoming Glasgow derby at Ibrox.

But Celtic full-back Wilson has not featured for his club since March.

Matches involving Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts and Hibernian during the same midweek as the B clash at Broadwood Stadium also meant Burley could not select players from those clubs.

The full Scotland B squad:

Goalkeepers: David Marshall (Norwich City), Iain Turner (Everton on loan to Nottingham Forest)

Defenders: Darren Barr (Falkirk), Scott Cuthbert (Celtic on loan to St Mirren), Brian Easton (Hamilton), Steven Hammell (Motherwell), Mark Reynolds (Motherwell), Mark Wilson (Celtic)

Midfielders: Scott Arfield (Falkirk), Barry Bannan (Aston Villa (on loan to Derby County), Craig Bryson (Kilmarnock), Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion), Stephen Hughes (Motherwell), Ross Wallace )(Preston North End)

Forwards: David Clarkson (Motherwell), Paul Gallacher (Blackburn Rovers on loan to Plymouth Argyle), Steven Naismith (Rangers)

Injury Worries for Croatia

Niko Kranjcar has acquired a painful injury to his left ankle. During Portsmouth’s 1-0 win over Bolton April 18th, Niko was stretchered off the pitch after landing awkwardly on his ankle. After the match, it looked as though the injury was “not as bad as feared”, as Niko was able to put pressure on it in the dressing room and walk around a bit. Recent scans have revealed that it is much worse than previously thought and he will be out of action for the coming months. A medical report from the club’s head physio, Gary Sadler, on the official website read;

“A scan on the Monday after the Bolton game revealed soft tissue damage. On Friday, we took Niko to see our foot and ankle specialist, James Calder, who operated on his ankle earlier in the season.
 
“There were certain areas of the MRI scan which did not match up with the clinical findings we had made throughout the week. So Niko went for a CT scan to investigate the possibility of bone-related damage. The scan revealed that Niko had pulled a little bit of bone away in the back of his ankle.”

So, Niko is hoping to return in time for pre-season training in early July, but it may take a bit longer before the midfielder is fully-fit. Which means that he will not be available to Slaven Bilic for their next World Cup qualifying match when Croatia play Ukraine in June. So far, Niko has been an important part in his country’s qualifying campaign and will be missed for their Ukraine visit.

Jill Guthrie    

South Africa to get electricity boost

South Africa suffered major power cuts last year which threatened their ability to host the 2010 World Cup but neighbouring countries have agreed to share more electricity with South Africa to make sure the games go off without a hitch, well at least without a blackout.

South Africa is a member of the Southern African Power Pool where neighbouring countries already share electricity but they have agreed to put more South Africa’s way.

South Africa’s state-owned power company Eskom welcomed the pledges made at a meeting in the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

“This initiative confirms that the 2010 FIFA World Cup is truly and indeed an African event,” said Eskom Project 2010 unit managing director Johnny Dladla.

Some Sapp members, such as Zimbabwe and Mozambique, normally import power from South Africa, while others also suffer power shortages.

The other Sapp members are: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.

Sapp has a long-standing plan to build a huge dam in DR Congo, which would provide electricity to the whole region.

Wembley to re-lay pitch

After both Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson branded the Wembley pitch a disgrace after last weekend’s FA Cup games, Wembley bosses have decided to relay the surface ion time for the final.

The pitch is to be ready in time for the FA Trophy final on the 9th of May and then the Football league play-off finals and the FA Cup on May the 30th.

The pitch was originally set to be replaced in the summer but after the recent criticism the time frame has been moved forward. The surface has been relayed 5 times since it’s opening in 2007.

Arsenal manager Wenger called the pitch “a disaster” and “laughable” after his side’s defeat by Chelsea on Saturday.

He said: “It is really embarrassing when you see how much this stadium has cost and you still can’t get a proper football pitch. Somebody must give an explanation.

“I am not sure the pop concerts (held at Wembley) are an answer (for the pitch’s condition). This pitch was never good since the start.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said his worries over the pitch were the reason why he fielded a weakened Manchester United team, who were beaten by Everton in a penalty shoot-out on Sunday.

“When I saw the pitch what I didn’t want was to go into extra-time with my strongest squad,” said the Scot after his side were beaten 4-2 on spot-kicks following a 0-0 draw.

“They’ve got all these lights around the perimeter to help the growth and the standard of the soil but it looks dead to me.”

Everton boss David Moyes added: “I thought it looked very spongy and a poor playing surface - not in a way that it was all bobbles and divots but it just looked as if it was very soft, spongy and quite slow at times.”

The pitch has come under continual criticism so it will probably only be a matter of time before it has to be re-layed again.

Spurs may sign Beckham

David Beckham has been on excellent form his signing his loan agreement with AC Milan but he is set to return to the MLS at the end of the season and for him to still be in with a chance of going to the 2010 World Cup finals he will need to be playing regularly.

AC Milan are said to be very keen to resign him next year as they did this one but Tottenham could be about to offer Beckham the chance to return to the Premiership in the run up to the World Cup.

Spurs are the closest team to his English home and his family so it could be an attractive proposition for Beckham, however he has enjoyed life in Milan since his move.

“I have not thought about David Beckham, but it would be disrespectful of me to say I would not be interested in him, were he to become available,” Redknapp said.

“David Beckham is a fantastic player, but he is also a terrific role model and a terrific professional. If the opportunity was there to sign him, any club would have to think about it. He would still be a terrific player.”

Ballack shocked by Lampard award snub

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is amazed that his midfield partner, Frank Lampard, has been snubbed for the player of the year award, the winner of which is set to be announced at the weekend.

“Frank has played consistently at a high level all season.

“I don’t know why he was not nominated but at Chelsea we know how good he is and that is all that matters.”

Chelsea have regained their form of late after a shaky period towards the end of Scolaris short time in charge but drew with Everton last night to make their league challenge all but over.

There are 5 Man Utd players, including the favourite Vidic, and Steven Gerrard on the short list for player of the year but Ballack finds it hard to understand why Lampard is not included amongst this list.

“It is easy to play with Frank because he is such a good player,” Ballack explained. “He knows what myself and Michael have to do and whether we should be in an offensive or defensive position.

“I play a little bit behind him but I don’t have to tell him what to do. He always does the right thing, depending on where myself and Essien are.

“Frank is one of the best players in the world for sure and I don’t think there are many players in the Premier League like him.”

Hiddink says he will leave Chelsea

Russia manager Guss Hiddink, currently also coach of Chelsea, has again restated his intention to leave Chelsea at the end of the season and lead Russia to the 2010 World Cup finals.

Hiddink has revitalised Chelsea since his appointment which has led to continued calls that he will continue at the London club, but Hiddink has always stated that it was only a temporary role and he plans to take over Russia on a full time basis again after the FA Cup final on May 30th.

Chelsea have been linked with a number of top managers since the departure of Scolari with Carlo Ancellotti of AC Milan being the most likely name mentioned.

FIFA to profit from TV rights

FIFA TV director Niclas Ericson announced that FIFA will make a staggering $2.7 billion from the broadcasting rights to show the 2010 World Cup.

“We have entered an agreement with the African Union of Broadcasters to place the TV rights in 41 sub-Saharan countries before the end of 2009,” Ericson said.

“The dream would be for an African team to reach the final, which would boost TV viewership,” said Ericson.

The tournament is expected to attract around 26 million viewers worldwide making it one of the most watched sporting events in the world.

Next Page »

Copyright © 2007 World Cup 2010 South Africa · Revolution Sports theme by Brian Gardner · Login