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Downing to miss qualifiers

The injury that Middlesbrough winger picked up against Aston Villa last Saturday is not only going to keep him out of the crucial final game of the season at the weekend but also two crucial England World Cup qualifiers.

“Stewart is going to be out for two or three months at least,” said Boro’s assistant manager Malcolm Crosby.

England face Kazakhstan on 6 June then play Andorra at home four days later.

“I have looked at the challenge again and, while it was a clumsy challenge, I think it was an accident. I don’t think for one minute he meant to do it,” said Crosby.

“Injuries are part of the game and you get used to them happening when you least want them.”

Crosby added: “Stewart has played every game for us this season and has made a big contribution. He hasn’t scored goals but he has worked extremely hard.”

Worthington calls up 10 uncapped players

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington has called up 10 uncapped players into his squad for next months friendly against Italy.

5 of the 19 man squad come of from the Irish league, Alan Mannus is a squad regular but new recruits are  Crusaders pair Colin Coates and Martin Donnelly, Coleraine’s Stephen Carson and Linfield midfielder Robert Garrett.

Craig Cathcart, Chris Casement, Shane Duffy, Shane Ferguson, Corry Evans and James Lawrie are the other new boys.

“It is nice that the more experienced players, David, Grant and Damien, want to be involved,” said Worthington.

“David and Damien have not played a lot of football while Grant wants to go despite being involved in a play-off final with Scunthorpe.

“Corry Evans is a player who has impressed me and he did particularly well in the B game against Scotland so he has earned his place in the panel.

“The other players I have chosen are the future of Northern Ireland football and they have a chance to show us what they can do.

“To the senior players who are missing, I have told them to enjoy their holiday, get themselves refreshed and I look forward to seeing them in August.”

Northern Ireland squad: Tuffey (Partick Thistle), Mannus (Linfield); Cathcart (Manchester Utd), Casement (Ipswich Town), Duffy (Everton), Coates (Crusaders), McGivern (Manchester City), Johnson (Birmingham City), O’Connor (unattached), Ferguson (Newcastle United), McGinn (Celtic), McCann (Scunthorpe Utd), Evans (Manchester Utd), Carson (Coleraine), Garrett (Linfield), Little (Rangers), Healy (Sunderland), Lawrie (Port Vale), Donnelly (Crusaders).

Anson believes hard work needed

Andy Anson is the chief executive for England’s 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids but has called for hard work and humility in their attempt to be awarded the tournament.

“We cannot be arrogant or complacent. This campaign has to be about working hard,”

“One of the things we learned from the last World Cup bid was we were perceived to be arrogant around the world in how we presented ourselves.

“The tone of this campaign has to be different. We will certainly not be saying that football is coming home. It was an arrogant slogan.”

Everyone is fully behind the England bid with Lord Triesman, chairman of the FA saying:

We in England would be truly honoured to host the World Cup and welcome the world.

“We have first-class grounds. We’ve got good transport links, domestically and internationally. We’ve got excellent accommodation. England would be truly honoured to host the tournament.”

He added: “A World Cup in England would be a truly memorable event - not only for our nation but for every nation.

“We’d extend a wonderful welcome to players and fans from across the world.

“Inside and outside our grounds, we’d share with them our love of the game and our sense of fair play.

“And they would enjoy our diverse culture - one that means England would provide a home-from-home welcome for every fan and player.

“We believe that England can stage a fantastic festival of football, one that will engage the whole country and deliver positive change for football in England and across the world.

“Now we must persuade our international friends and colleagues of our case. That’s easy to say, far less easy to do.

“Our starting point is England’s passion for football. It is our national sport, we have a strong football heritage which runs through every town and city.”

Lord Triesman, who is the bid chairman, stressed the impact a World Cup would have on the population and the economy.

“The positive effect of hosting the World Cup will be felt right through England,” he said.

“It will be the pride, the prestige, excitement of hosting, giving the whole population the opportunity to experience world-class football on their doorstep.

“There will be economic benefits across the whole country and there will be the inspiration it will give to grass-roots football, creating a new generation of home-grown talent.

“What could be more inspiring than the dream of England winning the Fifa World Cup on home soil, and fuelling the passion for football that we knows burns in hearts and pitches the length and breadth of this country?”

James out of England qualifiers

England number 1 avid James is set to miss the World Cup qualifiers in June after having to go through a shoulder operation. The Portsmouth player missed their 3-1 win over Sunderland last night and is set to undergo the operation in the next day or two.

“He has been playing with a niggling injury for a long time,” said Portsmouth boss Paul Hart.

“If he goes now we have a chance of him being back for the start next season.”

James, who won his 48th England cap against Ukraine in April, had played every minute of Portsmouth’s Premier League campaign before Monday night’s game.

Capello will have to look elsewhere for a goalkeeper with Ben Foster also likely to be ruled out with a thumb injury. Sam Allardyce believes that Paul Robinson should get another chance after his impressive form for Blackburn.

“Paul was world class again,” said Allardyce.

“He has really come into the forefront over the last 10 games and really worked very, very hard at his all-round goalkeeping.

“Fabio Capello was not at Chelsea but he should have been and he should have been there watching Blackburn last week as Paul is back on top of his form.

And Allardyce claimed Robinson, whose last of 41 caps came against Russia in October 2007, deserves another chance ahead of the summer World Cup qualifiers.

“As an English goalkeeper, he is performing the best in this country at the moment,” he stated.

“Paul is right up there now and is producing the sort of saves on a regular basis which helped us to get clear of relegation.”

Hearts Driver to get England call-up

Hearts Winger Andrew Driver is set to be called up to the England under-21 squad, beating Scotland to his services.

Driver is currently ineligible to play fro Scotland as he was born in Oldham and has only lived in Scotland since he was 11. However the Scottish FA have proposed changes to the rules including the eligibility of players to play for a country they have had 5 years of schooling in.

Their English equivalents have now joined the Northern Irish and Welsh in indicating they are happy with the alteration.

But that proposal has yet to go before world governing body Fifa’s International Board for approval.

And England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce, who has watched Driver on several occasions, appears to have acted to secure the player’s services before any change can be agreed or implemented.

Pearce is likely to announce his final squad at the end of May and SFA chief executive Gordon Smith, who has championed the rule change, recognises that the English have the right to name the Hearts winger in their squad.

“I would be disappointed if Andrew Driver was to choose England, but they are within their rights to include him,” said Smith, who hopes that the new regulations could be in place by the start of next season.

“But he might just want to wait until the rules change if he feels Scottish, which I believe he does.”

Driver came through the youth system at Hearts and scored for Scotland Schoolboys against England.

But he does not qualify under present rules that stretch to blood ties with grandparents and has expressed his frustration at not being able to play for Scotland.

“This is the kind of situation that the new rules would cover, where someone feels an affinity to a country having been brought up there,” added Smith.

Gerrard Refuses to Rest on his Laurels

With England already well on the way to World Cup qualification, their players could be forgiven for taking it easy. Not Steven Gerrard it seems. The Liverpool captain has set his sights on winning the competition and told the FA’s official website: “With England we’ve got potential to do it. We’ve got good players.” 
 

Gerrard is just one of a number of England players to have enjoyed an impressive season and the 29 year old was rewarded for his efforts last week when he was named the Football Writers’ Player of the Year. With Gerrard having to beat off stiff competition from the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard his confidence is unsurprising. 
 

It really is amazing to think that just over a year ago the England national side was in turmoil - their manager Steve McClaren was sacked after just 18 months in charge and the team failed to even qualify for Euro 2008. Yet fast forward to May 2009 and, with regards to World Cup 2010 betting, England are one of the favourites to win the most prestigious tournament in world football.  

A lot of the credit has to go to Fabio Capello. The Italian has one of the best managerial records of the modern era and he already seems to be weaving his magic at national level. He’s made very few changes in terms of personnel but does seem to have instilled a winning attitude amongst his players - so much so that after five qualifying matches they have a 100% record and are five points clear of second placed Ukraine. 

Whether Capello and Gerrard will achieve their ultimate goal remains to be seen but one thing for certain is that everybody involved with this England team has a sense of belief that has been missing in these parts for some time. As Gerrard says:  

“To win the… World Cup, that’s what dreams are made of. There’s a lot of hard work and a lot of hurdles to get over before I can achieve that but that’s certainly the ambition and the dream. And I think it’s possible.” 

FIFA says that SA fine for Confed cup

South Africa are hosting the Confederations Cup, which kicks off in a month’s time, which is seen as the dress rehearsal for the World Cup and FIfa are confident that South Africa will be ready.

“We approach the tournament with confidence,” said Danny Jordaan, the head of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee.

Despite worries about South Africa’s alarming crime rate, with an average of 50 murders a day, and a public transportation system that is still being built, Jordaan said the country was ready to host the Confed Cup.

“Our stadiums are ready, our transport and security plans have been fine-tuned and more than 4,000 volunteers have been trained in preparation for the first major FIFA tournament on African soil,” he said

“We know we still have much to do, but I can assure you we will not disappoint.”

Derick Blanckensee of the FIFA competitions division said all four stadiums to be used for the Confed Cup matches were ready, although some of the pitches were still being prepared.

“Some for the stadiums need a little bit more work as there had been a lot of activities especially rugby matches,” he said, adding that experts were monitoring the pitches.

Organisers also announced that they had hired Grammy-winning artist Lebo M, best known for creating the music to Disney’s “Lion King”, to stage the opening and closing ceremonies.

South Africa’s deputy police chief Andre Pruis said law enforcement was receiving weekly intelligence updates from around the world to help monitor any potential criminal activity.

Interpol will also send a team to help local police during the games, he added.

Who the Socceroos can expect to meet in South Africa

Australia’s World Cup qualification seems like nothing more than a formality. It only requires a single point from its final three matches. Given this, they can begin to look towards the 2010 soccer World Cup and anticipate who or what they can expect when they make it back to soccer’s biggest stage?

For the most part, it’s more of the usual suspects. Paraguay, Brazil, Chile and Argentina sit on top of the soccer league which is South American qualifying.

Over at CONCACAF, United States, Costa Rica and Honduras are in the top half of the ladder. Mexico fired Sven-Goran Eriksson, but while fourth spot doesn’t grant them automatic qualification, they would still find themselves in a play-off with the fifth South American side.

The final stage of African qualifying has just begun so it is too early to tell who will progress and who won’t. Most of the soccer betting is on the teams like Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and the Ivory Coast getting through.

Europe is where the action is – 13 spots are up for grabs over there. In Group 1, Denmark is looking great with Hungary the surprise packets. Portugal and Sweden still have a number of games left in hand and could make a run for it, but they would want to do so quickly.

Group 2 looks to be between Greece and Switzerland.

In Group 3, Northern Ireland and Slovakia are the frontrunners with Poland and the Czech Republic lurking.

Germany has Group 4 sewn up with Russia having second place just as comfortably locked down.

Soccer betting on Spain qualifying is closed. They are undefeated after six games in Group 5. Bosnia and Herzegovina looks to be the favorite ahead of Turkey for second spot.

In non-typical fashion, England is flying high. They have won all five of their Group 6 matches and look to have left Croatia and Ukraine to fight over second place.

Group 7 is tight with Serbia, France and Lithuania all contending. Italy is the team to beat in Group 8 with the Republic of Ireland a near certainty for second place.

The Netherlands are top of Group 9 with Scotland behind in second spot. Norway have been surprisingly weak.

The truth of the matter is that every one of the other 30 teams who qualify for the World Cup are going to provide a stern challenge. No longer can you expect easy games at the World Cup Finals.
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.

Hey opens club v country debate again

Antoine Hey, who currently manages Kenya, has opened up the club v country debate again as he tries to get his players released form their cliub earlier to takepart in training with the national team.

Hey had to drop 4 players from his team for the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Tunisia after the players clubs refused to release their players early to take part in training.

Hey wants it to be unconditional for clubs to release their players for national duty and to take part in the training exercises.

But his directive has already sparked off a controversy with the head of the Kenya Premier League (KPL) Bob Munro announcing his resignation and some of the clubs insisting on holding on to their players until four days before the qualifying matches.

Hey named a training squad of 23 players who moved to the camp at Kasarani two weeks ago.

Kenya play Nigeria in Abuja on June 7 and host Mozambique in Nairobi two weeks later.

Ukraine given ultimatum

There has been continual doubt surrounding Euro 2010 with the ability of the host nations to pull it off always being questioned and UEFA have given Ukraine until the end of November to prove they can host the games.

Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv have until 30 November to prove their suitability. Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk have been confirmed as the Polish venues. Kiev has so far been the only city in Ukraine to be deemed suitable.

“There are huge infrastructure problems to be resolved in Ukraine,” Uefa president Michel Platini explained.

The Olympic Stadium in Kiev, which is still being built, had been touted as the venue for the final, but the infrastructure problems in Ukraine have led Platini to consider other options.

“Kiev is okay according to Uefa’s criteria for all matches leading up to the semi-final,” he said.

“But the final match will be held in Kiev only if specific conditions with regard to the stadium, airport infrastructure, regional transport and accommodation are met by 30 November.

“If it’s not Kiev, it could be Warsaw.”

The tournament to take place in 2012 is the last of the current format with only 16 teams, as of 2016 there will be 24 teams taking part.

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