• 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

Power trio return for Australia’s double shot

The Socceroos are taking advantage of the FIFA double break and have named a strong line-up for this month’s two home matches against the Netherlands and Oman.

Returning to the squad are Harry Kewell alongside new Everton clubmates Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill; all three omitted from the last squad that lost 3-1 to South Korea last month.

Also returning is Blackburn Rovers midfielder Brett Emerton, who underwent a knee reconstruction in January. The last time Emerton played, he netted two goals against Qatar in a World Cup Qualifier at in Brisbane last year.

The only new face is former Republic of Ireland U21 player Shane Lowry, who has chosen to progess his international career with the Socceroos.

Jason Culina and Craig Moore are the only representatives from the home country’s A League competition.

Australian Squad for Netherlands friendly and Oman Asian Cup Qualifier 

Mark BRESCIANO (U.S. Citta di Palermo, Italy) Caps: 51 Goals: 11

Tim CAHILL (Everton FC, England) Caps: 34 Goals: 17

Nick CARLE (Crystal Palace FC, England) Caps: 10 Goals: 0

David CARNEY (FC Twente, Netherlands) Caps: 20 Goals: 3

Scott CHIPPERFIELD (FC Basel, Switzerland) Caps: 61 Goals: 12

Ante COVIC (IF Elfsborg, Sweden) Caps: 2 Goals: 0

Jason CULINA (Gold Coast United, Australia) Caps: 42 Goals: 1

Brett EMERTON (Blackburn Rovers, England) Caps: 69 Goals: 16

Vincenzo GRELLA (Blackburn Rovers, England) Caps: 41 Goals: 0

Brett HOLMAN (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands) Caps: 27 Goals: 1

Mile JEDINAK (Antalyaspor Kulubu, Turkey) Caps: 6 Goals: 0

Josh KENNEDY (Nagoya Grampus, Japan) Caps: 15 Goals: 6

Harry KEWELL (Galatasaray SK, Turkey) Caps: 42 Goals: 13

Patrick KISNORBO (Leeds United FC, England) Caps: 16 Goals: 1

Shane LOWRY (Aston Villa (on-loan to Plymouth Argyle FC), England) Caps: 0

Scott McDONALD (Celtic FC, Scotland) Caps: 15 Goals: 0

Mark MILLIGAN (Shanghai Shenhua, China) Caps: 8 Goals: 0

Craig MOORE (Brisbane Roar FC, Australia) Caps: 43 Goals: 3

Lucas NEILL (Everton FC, England) Caps: 50 Goals: 0

Mark SCHWARZER (Fulham FC, England) Caps: 70 Goals: 0

Carl VALERI (U.S. Grosseto FC, Italy) Caps: 17 Goals: 0

Dario VIDOSIC (FC Nurnberg, Germany) Caps: 1 Goals: 0

Rhys WILLIAMS (Middlesbrough FC, England) Caps: 2 Goals: 0

Luke WILKSHIRE FK (Dinamo Moscow, Russia) Caps: 35 Goals: 0

Qualifying confusion after controversial rule change by FIFA.

There was some confusion today after FIFA President confirmed that the play-off draw for the European qualifying groups will involve teams being seeded.

Blatter was allegedly quoted after a meeting in Rio de Janeiro as saying “We have decided on seeding the teams into two groups of four, taking the FIFA rankings into account, with the top four in one pot and the others in another pot”

The move has brought widespread condemnation and accusations of favouritism towards the bigger nations.

Perhaps Mr Blatter and co were worried that World Cup regulars like Germany, France and Portugal might not qualify and therefore reduce the amount of likely revenue when the tournament commences next June.

If the move is true, it seems startling that an organisation like FIFA that goes under such banners as “Fair Play” and “The Beautiful Game” would use such incredibly one sided tactics.

Bearing in mind that the current format for qualifying from Europe already favours the bigger countries, it does appear that some are now getting a second bite of the cherry.

It had been previously assumed that all of the second place teams that had qualified for the play-offs would be put into an open draw with the resulting ties being played over two legs, home and away.

If we use the example of Portugal, who were originally given the advantage of being the top seed in Group One alongside Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Albania and Malta.

On paper, most people would say that Portugal and either Denmark or Sweden would finish first and second in that group.

Portugal however, have had a tricky campaign and currently lie in third place, which means they need to get results from their final two games to be assured of at least a second place finish and thus, qualifying for the play-off spot.

They would then enter into the draw as one of the top seeded teams and mean they would get one of the lesser ranked nations, giving them yet again, a sizeable advantage.

Whereas Portugal may have underperformed, Ireland, in contrast, seem to have done quite the opposite and left themselves with an almost guaranteed second place finish by grounding out results that possibly weren’t expected.

All the hard work could come to nothing however as they will more than likely face France, Germany, Greece or the aforementioned Portugal in the play-off spot which on paper at least, puts the Irish at a serious disadvantage.

There is no official statement on the FIFA.com website to confirm this alteration to the process so it will be interesting to see if this is official news or just internet rumours.

If these rumours are confirmed, it could turn out to be one nip/tuck too far as FIFA attempts to carry out some plastic surgery in a bid to hide the cracks of an ageing organisation’s efforts to display The Beautiful Game, in all its’ glory……by any means necessary.

Rooney backed to make his mark on the World stage

England striker Wayne Rooney can become one of the best players in world football according to his club manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. 

Manchester United boss Ferguson thinks that Rooney will soon be on a level playing field with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. 

The Scot said: “Wayne could easily get to that level.

“He is blessed with some ingredients only great footballers have.” 

Rooney’s best ever finish in Fifa’s prestigious World Player of the Year poll is tenth, which he achieved in 2004, shortly after breaking into the England first team. However, with current World Player of the Year, Ronaldo, having left United in the Summer, Rooney now has a chance to take the the limelight for himself. 

Team-mate Jonny Evans thinks that the switch in position as a result of Ronaldo’s departure has been of great benefit to the 23-year-old.  

“His form has been great this season. He is playing through the middle now and is probably in his most favourite position” said Evans. 

Rooney has also been in fine form for his country and is currently the leading goalscorer in European qualification, with nine goals in eight matches. This sort of form has long since been appreciated by England fans and they voted Rooney the team’s player of the year in 2008. 

The striker first received international recognition in 2003, when he made his debut in a friendly match against Australia. The following year he joined Manchester United from Everton for a hefty fee of £27million. Ferguson says that he believed Rooney would become a “top player” from an early age. 

“He has a great determination and hunger to win every match and every training session. That will never change” said the United manager. 

“He plays as if he means it. It is a wonderful thing to have.”

Dudek gets Poland recall

Real Madrid goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek has been recalled by out-of-the-running Poland for their two remaining 2010 World Cup qualifiers, after Dutchman Leo Beenhakker was sacked as coach, the Polish FA announced Friday.

Dudek, 36, remains iconic for his Champions League-winning penalty shoot-out performance with Liverpool in 2005 but has been out of favour with the national team over the past three years.

Glasgow Celtic’s Artur Boruc was Beenhakker’s goalkeeper of choice, but found himself under fire because of some nightmare performances during the Poles’ botched drive to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa

Beenhakker, 67, was sacked on September 10, a day after Poland crashed 3-0 away to Slovenia.

The Slovenia game, which came after a sloppy 1-1 draw at home to Northern Ireland, left Poland second-from-bottom of Group Three and mathematically unable to catch up in their two remaining games against leaders Slovakia and the Czech Republic next month.

Beenhakker — formerly at the helm of the Dutch national team, Real Madrid, Ajax and Feyenoord — became the first foreigner in charge of Poland when he was appointed in July 2006 to shake up the side after their first-round exit from the World Cup in Germany.

Former Poland international Stefan Majewski, 53, is currently acting as caretaker boss. He is a throwback to the glory days of Polish football, having been on the team that finished third at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Poland’s failed World Cup drive is a worry because after their Czech and Slovak games, they will not have another competitive match until 2012 — as they qualify automatically as co-hosts along with Ukraine of that year’s European championships.

Croatia Announce Squad for Final 2010 Qualifier

Before Croatia travel to Astana for the last of the World Cup qualifiers, they will host Qatar in a friendly match. Slaven Bilić announced the line up and gave a short interview. He said to the media, “We expect a very difficult game against Kazakhstan because they will be extremely motivated to win, and we will be under pressure to win. All the players are aware of the difficult situation we are in, and we are all approaching this game with extreme seriousness.” Bilić went with the same lineup from the previous match, with the addition of Vedran Ćorluka returning from suspension.
 
For this vital match, the squad consists of:

Keeper: Vedran Runje, Danijel Subašić, Matej Delač;

Defense: Vedran Ćorluka, Josip Šimunić, Ivica Križanac, Hrvoje Vejić, Robert Kovač, Dejan Lovren;

Midfield: Danijel Pranjić, Hrvoje Čale, Ognjen Vukojević, Nikola Pokrivač, Jerko Leko, Darijo Srna, Niko Kranjčar, Ivan Rakitić, Anas Sharbini;

Forward: Eduardo da Silva, Ivica Olić, Mladen Petrić, Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Klasnić

On October 8th, Qatar will become only the second ever Middleastern team to play Croatia, and just six days later, Croatia will close out their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Jill Guthrie 

Croatia Announce Squad for Final 2010 Qualifier

Before Croatia travel to Astana for the last of the World Cup qualifiers, they will host Qatar in a friendly match. Slaven Bilić announced the line up and gave a short interview. He said to the media, “We expect a very difficult game against Kazakhstan because they will be extremely motivated to win, and we will be under pressure to win. All the players are aware of the difficult situation we are in, and we are all approaching this game with extreme seriousness.” Bilić went with the same lineup from the previous match, with the addition of Vedran Ćorluka returning from suspension.
 
For this vital match, the squad consists of:

Keeper: Vedran Runje, Danijel Subašić, Matej Delač;

Defense: Vedran Ćorluka, Josip Šimunić, Ivica Križanac, Hrvoje Vejić, Robert Kovač, Dejan Lovren;

Midfield: Danijel Pranjić, Hrvoje Čale, Ognjen Vukojević, Nikola Pokrivač, Jerko Leko, Darijo Srna, Niko Kranjčar, Ivan Rakitić, Anas Sharbini;

Forward: Eduardo da Silva, Ivica Olić, Mladen Petrić, Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Klasnić

On October 8th, Qatar will become only the second ever Middleastern team to play Croatia, and just six days later, Croatia will close out their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Jill Guthrie 

Wilmots gets Belgium role

Marc Wilmots, capped 70 times by Belgium, will assist new national coach Dick Advocaat, the Belgian football federation said Monday.

After dabbling in politics, Wilmots, 40, returns to football with Belgium already out of the World Cup and now looking to qualify for Euro 2012.

Dutchman Advocaat took over the beleaguered Belgians last Tuesday admitting he faced a “tremendous challenge” and will need the French language skills of Wilmots to help end a period of turmoil.

Wilmots first tried coaching at Schalke 04 in 2003, after ending his playing career with the German outfit following spells with Standard Liege and Bordeaux, and then moved on to St Truiden in Belgium the following year.

‘Willie’, as the Belgian assistant coach is popularly known, was elected a senator in 2003 but retired in 2005, becoming a television commentator.

Advocaat and Wilmot’s first game in charge will be at home against Turkey on October 10.

Owens Set Sights On South Africa

England received a double helping of good news last week with Owen Hargreaves’ return to full training coming in the same week that Michael Owen blasted back onto the world cup radar with his spectacular Manchester Derby winner. Injuries have prevented either from representing their country for some time but both will feel they have much to offer their country next summer. They are in a race against time to prove their fitness and will be praying for an injury free season, and good run of form, to propel them into Fabio Capello’s thinking and onto the plane to South Africa.

The diminutive duo each have warm memories of world cups. France 98 was where Michael Owen exploded onto the world stage with the goal of the tournament against Argentina; Germany 06 is where Owen Hargreaves came of age and won over the England fans with outstanding performances in an underachieving campaign.
 
The bad news for the pair is that England has not missed them recently. In their absence, Fabio Capello has strode in as England manager, stamped his authority, and marched his team confidently to the 2010 finals with a 100% group record and a new found toughness.
He’s even got Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard playing well together. And with Gareth Barry making the anchor role his own, midfield places are in short supply, making Owen Hargreaves’ task a difficult one. There are no guarantees that he will get over the nagging knee injury that has blighted his Manchester United career to date, and even if he gets back to full fitness the first battle will be for a spot in United’s own congested midfield. England looks a distant dream at the moment.
 
Michael Owen is further down the path to fitness so what will it take for him to be included in Capello’s world cup squad? Goals, and lots of them. Owen is a goal scorer and doesn’t contribute too much in other areas of the pitch – his reputation lives and dies by the goals he scores. Capello’s ‘two strikes and you’re out’ disciplinary system won’t apply to Owen – fifteen strikes and you’re in would be more the message. If Owen can bag himself fifteen to twenty goals for his club it would probably be enough. If Sir Alex Ferguson gives him the games, he’ll get the chances, and a fully fit Michael Owen, amongst the goals, will be difficult to leave behind.
 
Capello has proved in the past that reputations count for nothing. If you are playing well, you’re in. If not, you’re out. He’s also proved that he’s not scared to admit mistakes; whilst Real Madrid manager he controversially left out David Beckham following the announcement he was to join LA Galaxy. Beckham refused to sulk and knuckled down in training, convincing Capello to make a u-turn and recall him a month later. He went on to become a key component in Real’s championship winning team.

Both Owen’s know they won’t be picked for who they are, they need to be playing and playing well. But they do know that holding their end of the bargain will give them every chance of Capello granting their wishes. And an England squad that contains Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves is a stronger squad than one without.
Michael Owen is England’s fourth highest goal scorer with 40 in 80 appearances. Owen Hargreaves was England player of the year in 2006 and England’s player of the tournament at the 2006 world cup. Their CV’s stand up to scrutiny, their injury records do not. If they can prove that injury problems are behind them there is every possibility of them both joining next summer’s jamboree to South Africa.

Lee Bennett

Trapattoni signs new deal

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni on Friday penned a new two-year contract with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) which will take him through to the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

The 70-year-old will attempt to book a trip to next summer’s World Cup finals as the Republic lie second in their qualifying group, having won four and drawn four of their games in the campaign so far.

“I am delighted to continue my job with the FAI,” said Trapattoni, who contract had been due to expire next year.

“This squad has huge potential. Our results demonstrate what self-belief and structure can achieve and I am really looking forward to continuing the work we have begun.”

FAI chief executive John Delaney said: “We are very happy to agree a contract extension with Giovanni Trapattoni.

“The players and everyone on the FAI Board of management have been tremendously impressed by the professionalism, dedication and commitment of Giovanni Trapattoni and his team.”

Trappatoni gets two more years and confirms Irish squad for vital qualifiers.

The Football Association of Ireland announced yesterday that they have extended the contract of coach Giovanni Trappatoni by a further two years.In a deal worth in the regions of €1.8 million per year to the Italian veteran, it will mean the same coaching setup for the Qualifiers leading up to European Championships in 2012.

Continuation and building on the foundations already made is always a good thing. However, a lot of international sporting associations have learned in the past that it’s not always a good thing to offer their coach a new contract before a major tournament.

Ireland has in fact been unfortunate with this on two occasions in the past. Once with Mick McCarthy before the 2002 World Cup and again with Irish rugby coach Eddie O’Sullivan before their World Cup in 2007.

Both coaches signed lucrative deals just before the kick off of their respective campaigns, in a blaze of publicity, and both soon ended up unemployed upon returning home.

And so the announcement of Trappatoni’s extension was a little more of a muted affair by the assembled media.

Whether it was a kiss of death or an acknowledgement of the progress that has been made under his stewardship we will have to wait and see.

Perhaps more importantly was the pressing matter of announcing the squad for the final two games in the Group 8 Qualifiers.

A 27 man squad was selected which will be whittled down to 23 before the games against Italy on October 10th and Montenegro four days later, both of which take place in Croke Park, Dublin.

The only inclusion from previous squads Stephen Reid after a long injury lay off, and if fit, will provide a big boost to the midfield.

There was a surprise though when it was confirmed that Reid may not even play at all even if fit. This is possibly due his club Blackburn Rovers’ requests to keep him fit for the remainder of the Premiership campaign.

Trappatoni has been consistent in his selections and this one was no different. Apart from the inclusion Reid, there was yet again no place for his namesake Andy Reid even though he has put him some impressive performances for club team Sunderland recently.

The inclusion of midfielder Liam Miller, at Andy Reid’s expense, who was without a team, until a move to Scottish team Hibernian less than a month ago, raised a few eyebrows.
Elsewhere, winger Aiden McGeady is still carrying an ankle injury which seems him out of team at Celtic, but should be fit for the games in two weeks time.

Barring injuries or withdrawals from the squad, these appear to be the players charged with getting Ireland to South Africa for big kick off next June.

Next Page »

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