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Left Back Cole To Go Under The Knife

England and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole is set to undergo surgery on his broken ankle later on Friday.

The former Arsenal left-back is facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup this summer, after being ruled out of action for the next three months.

Cole sustained the injury to his left ankle during Wednesday night’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.

The 29-year-old was hurt in a fair challenge with Landon Donovan, with the USA skipper expected to line up against England in their World Cup opener on 12th June.

Cole’s injury has led to inevitable speculation as to who will replace him in Fabio Capello’s plans for the showpiece tournament in South Africa.

Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge is the recognised deputy, but he has been inadvertently thrust into the media spotlight in recent weeks.

A series of newspaper allegations over axed captain John Terry’s reported relationship with Bridge’s ex-girlfriend led to speculation that the full-back could be ready to leave the international scene.

That suggestion was rejected by Eastlands manager Roberto Mancini, who firmly believes Bridge will answer his country’s call if he is selected for the forthcoming friendly with Egypt on 3rd March.

Other candidates to fill the void for the national side include Everton’s Leighton Baines,City defender Joleon Lescott and Aston Villa trio Gareth Barry, James Milner and Stephen Warnock.

Del Bosque on collision course over Torres

Spain coach Vincente del Bosque and Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez look to be on collision course over Fernando Torres’ fitness.

The Spain frontman is a key player for both club and country and both managers want the best out of the 25-year-old. Torres returned to training last week following a lay-off with a knee problem and is line to return for the clash with Wigan on March 8th, but del Bosque is worried the striker is not fully fit. He wants the striker to play less for the Merseysiders in an attempt to keep him in top condition for this summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

Del Bosque told the News of the World: “The fewer games Fernando plays for his club, the better it will be for us.

“We want him not to play too many games, to recover completely for the World Cup and have had some rest in between. We’d like him fresh for the tournament.

“That can only be good news for Spain. We hope Liverpool’s loss will be our gain.

“Fernando Torres represents a crucial part of our squad.”

Those comments will enrage Benitez, who has seen his side struggle this season without their talisman. Torres has featured just 21 times for the Reds in a campaign which has seen them face stiff competition to secure a Champions League place. In fact Torres’ recent groin problem was picked up while on international duty - a fact that Benitez is more than likely to point out to del Bosque.

Even though Spain’s World Cup odds make them among the favourites for the tournament they have a history of underachieving in the competition, so they desperately need Torres fit if they are to succeed.

Del Bosque looks destined to confront Benitez about his intentions over the player and this won’t be the last we hear of the situation.

Meanwhile, the weight for the Grand National 2010 have been published and this should give pundits plenty of food for thought.

Japan World Cup Plans In Turmoil

Japan’s World Cup preparations drew heavy fire on Monday for the team’s lack of striking force as the national side finished third in the four-nation East Asian football championship.

Infuriated fans have called for the scalp of coach Takeshi Okada, and the national football authority is planning a meeting with him to explore ways to shore up the Blue Samurai four months before the global tournament.

“I am sincerely sorry for not winning at home,” a stern-faced Okada told reporters after ending the championship with a 3-1 defeat to South Korea on Sunday. “Whatever I say will only be excuses. I humbly accept the criticism.”

The three-time Asian champions were held to a goalless draw by lower-ranked China in the championship opener, which caused frustrated home spectators to boo after Okada’s ground-side interview.

Japan beat Hong Kong 3-0 on Thursday, but missed many opportunities after firing 22 shots on goal. The game, on a national holiday, attracted 16,368 spectators, the lowest ever for the top Japanese squad.

Japan’s arch-rivals South Korea defeated Hong Kong 5-0.

On Sunday, the Japanese side crashed to a shock defeat to South Korea, leaving a frustrated home crowd to boo for a third game in a row, and leaving China to regain the championship.

After the South Korea game, furious home fans displayed a banner at the National Stadium that read: “Fire Okada!”

Local media provided a forum for heated fans to vent their anger at Okada.

The sports daily Sports Nippon said that its Internet survey found almost 90 percent of participants were calling for a new coach.

Nearly all of the participants now expect Japan to fail to reach the knock-out round in the World Cup, the newspaper said.

Japan and South Korea qualified for the World Cup in South Africa in June, while China failed to reach the final Asian qualifying round.

Hong Kong’s Korean coach Kim Pan-Gon said in post-match comments that South Korea tend to try to hit a shot on goal soon after they get the ball, while Japan tries to build a play before shooting.

Okada insisted that he will stay on in his post unless the FA sacks him.

“So long as I’m in a position to coach the players, I’m not going to abandon these players,” Okada said.

Japan Football Association president Motoaki Inukai said Sunday he had no plan to replace Okada, but said his players lacked the “fighting spirit”.

“Overall, I think it’s better not to change at this moment. It’s too risky to replace (the coach) only four months before” the World Cup, said Inukai.

Meanwhile, Okada refused to back off his ambitious target of reaching the last four in the World Cup.

“I am not changing our goal at the World Cup,” he said. “I don’t think it has put pressure on our players. My players keep striving for that goal. We are going to keep challenging as long as we have the chance.”

Paraguay 2010 World Cup Away Kit

Paraguay are one of the dark horses that go into the 2010 World Cup with a real chance of shocking and surprising a few teams. Paraguay defeated Brazil at home amongst other top teams to show they were no pushovers and to secure their spot at the World Cup finals.

Paraguay have released their new away shirt for the World Cup with the shirt likely to be very popular.  Paraguay have been drawn in Group F alongside Italy, New Zealand and Sovakia so although it will be tough for them to qualify for the next round it is not impossible we will see the Paraguay away shirt in the next round if they start well.

The new 2010-11 Paraguay away football shirt is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL with the official Paraguay football kit shirt printing available for the Paraguay World Cup shirt of all your favourite players including Justo Villar, Denis Caniza, Paulo da Silva, Julio Cesar Caceres, Christian Riveros, Salvador Cabanas, Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Haedo Valdes. You can buy the Paraguay away shirt online at UKSoccershop.com, the leading online supplier of official World Cup shirts.

Uruguay 2010 World Cup Away Kit

Uruguay have participated in the World Cup from the very start, in fact they won the first World Cup in 1930. However their World Cup fortunes of late have not come close to replicating their past glory having failed to qualify for 5 of the last 8 World Cups, they have however managed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

The Uruguay away shirt has seen a good deal of success of the years and they are hoping that they   can put themselves back on the map with a good showing at the event this summer. This however will be easier said than done after being drawn in Group A alongside France, Mexico and South Africa.

The new 2010-11 Uruguay away football shirt is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL with the official Uruguay football kit shirt printing available for the Uruguay soccer jerseys of all your favourite players Diego Lugano, Martin Caceres, Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan and Sebastian Abreu. You can buy the Uruguay  away shirt online at UKSoccershop.com, the leading online supplier of official World Cup shirts.

New Zealand 2010 World Cup Away Kit

New Zealand have qualified for the 2010 World Cup, this is only the second time in their history that they have qualified for the tournament with many people being too young to remember their last appearance in 1982.

New Zealand have released their new World Cup away shirt which is expected to be very popular with the fans, especially since it has been such a long time since they qualified for a major finals.

Bew Zealand have been given a tough group to try and qualify from with Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia being drawn in Group F alongside them.  If we are to see the New Zealand away kit in the next round then they will need to hit the ground running and get off to a good start.

The new 2010-11 New Zealand away football shirt is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL with the official New Zealand football kit shirt printing available for the New Zealand soccer jerseys of all your favourite playersIvan Vicelich, Ryan Nelsen, Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen and Simon Elliot. You can buy the New Zealand  away shirt online at UKSoccershop.com, the leading online supplier of official World Cup shirts.

Honduras 2010 World Cup Away Kit

Honduras will be making their final plans and preparations for the 2010 World Cup and they have released their new World Cup away shirt. This is only the second time that Honduras has appeared at the World Cup so they are sure to attract a lot of attention.

Honduras have been drawn in  group H alongside Chile, Spain and Switzerland so they face stiff competition if they are to qualify but they could nab second spot if they hit the ground running and we could see the Honduras away kit in the next round.

The Honduras away shirts will be very hard for many retailers to get with them having to go direct to the brad which is a local company. We will have some Honduras away kits available but numbers will be limited.

The new 2010-11 Honduras away football shirt is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL with the official Honduras football kit shirt printing available for the Honduras soccer jerseys of all your Noel Valladares, Maynor Figueroa, Amado Guevara, Julio Cesar de Leon, Wilson Palacios, Carlos Pavon and David Suazo. You can buy the Honduras  away shirt online at UKSoccershop.com, the leading online supplier of official World Cup shirts.

South Korea 2010 World Cup Away Shirt

South Korea easily qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals finishing top of their group and being undefeated.  They face a tougher task in the group stage of the tournament after being drawn alongside Argentina , Greece and Nigeria in group .

The South Korea away shirt has been seen regularly at the World Cup recently with the country qualifying for the last 7  tournaments in a row. The South Korea World Cup away shirt is always popular with their fans being loyal supporters and buying usually both the home and away shirts.

The new 2010-11 South Korea away football shirt is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL with the official South Korea football kit shirt printing available for the South Korea soccer jerseys of all your Lee Woon-Jae, Lee Young-Pyo, Cha Du-Ri, Kim Nam-Il. Park Ji-Sung, Seol Ki-Hyeon and Lee Dong-Gook. You can buy the South Korea  away shirt online at UKSoccershop.com, the leading online supplier of official World Cup shirts.

Davide Santon: The Future of Italy and Inter.

Davide Santon is one of the brightest prospects in the whole of Italy. He has already muscled his way into the Inter starting 11 and gained his first few caps for the full Italian national team. He can play either right or left back and he has great potential. The only question that remains is will he earn a place to South Africa?

 

Even though he is at the tender age of 19 he has already bagged plenty of experience to say the least. He faced Ronaldo against Man United last year and also came up against the best teams in the country. After some very promising performances Lippi decided to call him up to his Italy squad, and even took him to the confederations cup last summer. He is very useful as he can play on either side of the defence and even occasionally play in midfield. He has a great, positive attitude and most of all he just loves to play football.

 

The main reason I believe that Santon deserves a place in the team is the fact that Italy have two very aged full backs who in my opinion have passed their sell-by-date. Fabio Grosso at left back seems to have lost his 2006 form and he is now drifting away from that infamous final penalty kick, and looking at the other options at left back there seems to be a distinct lack of talent. Andrea Dossena is nowhere near capable of harbouring the dreams of a nation on his shoulders so why not let Santon play? He has been playing left back for Inter and he is certainly talented enough and bringing a more youthful player into the team might finally get rid of the old team stereotype that surrounds the Italy camp.

 

Therefore I believe Lippi can do no harm in bringing Davide Santon to the World Cup, he is intelligent, young, skilful and committed. He deserves a chance to shine for his country.

 

Fabio Sarlo

Algeria Set To Play Ireland In Friendly

Algeria have been putting together their final preparations for the 2010 World Cup by announcing their friendlies for the run up to the tournament with the Republic of Ireland being the latest country to be confirmed with a match on the 29th of May in Dublin.

There has already been a friendly arranged for the 3rd of March against Serbia with another yet to be organised for the 5th of June which will be the day before they leave for South Africa.

Algeria are in group C alongside England, Slovenia and the USA with their first match against Slovenia on the 13th of June.

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