NI Squad Announced For September Qualifier
August 27, 2008
Manager Nigel Worthington has today announced his 22 man squad for the start of his side’s World Cup qualifying campaign against Slovakia away on September 6th followed by Czech Republic on September 10th.
He has opted for mostly the same group of players he called up for the recent friendly against Scotland, however he has continued in his search for new talent, calling up Partick Thistle and Northern Ireland Under 21 goalkeeper Jonathan Tuffey, as cover for 1st choice Maik Taylor and Linfield’s Alan Mannus. The squad is also strengthened due to the return from injury of defenders George McCartney and Aaron Hughes, veteran midfielder Keith Gillespie and strikers Kyle Lafferty and Peter Thompson.
It would also seem Worthington found the Scotland friendly a useful exercise to test younger members of the team, as Manchester City’s left back Ryan McGivern and Crewe Alexandra’s midfielder Michael O’Connor have done enough to earn a recall for the serious business of the vital first two qualifiers. McGivern, although unfortunately sent off in his senior debut for two yellow card offences, showed good composure and distribution, and has made a good impression on the manager in the 60 minutes he had on the field. Michael O’Connor, having earned his first cap against Georgia at Windsor Park in March, put in another solid display at Hampden Park against the Scots, showing enough quality to keep a place in the squad.
This is squad is again light in midfield however, low in numbers as Worthington has again overlooked midfielder Stuart Elliot and the pace of Ivan Sproule, and Birmingham City captain Damien Johnson has again suffered a bad stroke of luck in his series of injuries with a recurrence of a back problem, requiring surgery, keeping him out of action for no less than two months. Worthington however managed with only 16 players against Scotland with five pull outs due to injury, and the side still put on a solid display. The only area for worry in the squad perhaps would be the midfield, where Johnson’s experience in particular will be missed. Only two substitutes have been named in midfield, and there may well be more injuries before the first game. This will not worry the manager though as there is enough talent in the squad to manage, and despite lack of experience Michael O’Connor and Dean Shiels will step up and fill in if and when they are needed.
Despite absentees in midfield, elsewhere there are few shocks as most of the squad that almost took Northern Ireland to Euro 2008 remains. A strong defence and striking outfit has been named with plenty of cover for potential injuries, including McGivern as mentioned earlier, and also forward Martin Paterson who showed pace and attacking instinct in is first start for Northern Ireland in the recent friendly against Scotland.
Northern Ireland mainly need to improve their form away from home, a well known fact among the players and the manager also, so this first qualifier is crucial in the eventual outcome of this campaign. Losing to Iceland in the first game of the last campaign was a disastrous start, and the two away losses to Iceland once again and Latvia in September 2007 all but ended our qualifying hopes. This is a battling Northern Ireland team, who have hopefully learnt from last years failure, and who will come back stronger than before this time out. The home form will take care of itself with the ”green and white army” behind them, and if the away results improve after a confidence boosting performance in Scotland, then there is no reason why we can’t reach our first major tournament since the World Cup in 1986.
Squad in full
Goalkeepers: Maik Taylor (Birmingham), Alan Mannus (Linfield), Jonathan Tuffey (Partick Thistle).
Defenders: Chris Baird, Aaron Hughes (both Fulham), Stephen Craigan (Motherwell), Michael Duff (Burnley), Ryan McGivern (Manchester City), George McCartney (West Ham), Jonathan Evans (Manchester United), Gareth McCauley (Ipswich Town).
Midfielders: Steven Davis (Rangers), Michael O’Connor (Crewe Alexandra), Sammy Cingan (Norwich City), Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion), Dean Shiels (Hibernian), Keith Gillespie (Sheffield United).
Strikers: David Healy (Sunderland), Warren Feeney (Cardiff- on loan to Dundee United), Kyle Lafferty (Rangers), Peter Thompson (Stockport County), Martin Paterson (Burnley).
Domenech denies point’s ultimatum
August 27, 2008
Domenech has denied claims that his bosses have demanded at least 5 points from Frances first three qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup.
“If I had thought like that in 2004, I would have left after two matches,”
“Qualifying is the main thing.”
“I don’t want five points, I want nine points from three matches. The idea is to have the maximum.”
Domenech has been under intense pressure after the dismal performance of the French team at this year’s Euro tournament. Domenech survived a vote of confidence by the narrowest of margins but the French Football Federation have made it clear that they will not accept and more slip-ups.
When Domenech was asked about if he had been given a point’s ultimatum he said: “Not at all. This is the first I’ve heard about it. Nobody has said to me: ‘You can start again but you will have a knife under your throat.’
Talking about Viera he said : “He wants to be part of the team and to go with us to South Africa,”
“I want him with us, but I want the real Patrick Vieira, the one I know, not a weak and injured player.”
“I told him: ‘Forget about dates and don’t fix objectives, it is your body that will tell you if you are in a good shape or not.’”
Domenech has also not ruled out bringing Makelele back into the squad even though the player yet again retired from International football after Euro 2008.
“The French shirt is important and he knows it. He knows what I’m looking for and he is still open. He says: ‘At my age I don’t have the power’, but he is still happy when I call him.”
Hargreaves nears return
August 26, 2008
Owen Hargreaves hopes to be fit to help England I the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup that take place against Andorra and Croatia in September.
The Manchester United midfielder has been out injured with tendinitis but is hoping to make an appearance against Zenit St Petersburg in the Uefa Super Cup.
“Maybe I will be fit for England, but Manchester United come first,” he said.
“Monaco is a possibility,” talking about the match against Zenit.
The last appearance that Hargreaves made for England was against the USA back in May.
“I have felt it the tendinitis for the past 16 months, but hopefully I will be back playing in a week or two.”
“Physically I demand a lot of myself. I wish it wasn’t the case but I just have to cope with it.
“Obviously I am trying to get better - I do a bit more every day.
“Last season I was fit towards the end. That is the reason the boss brought me here.
“Obviously there is a big season ahead for Manchester United and England and I want to be fit and available.”
The 2010 World Cup Qualifying campaign starts for England on the 6th of September facing the Andorrans and there is a tough game against Croatia only 4 days later. Hargreaves is very much in the mind of the England boss especially after the poor performances recently.
“I think there is Hargreaves,” said Capello, looking ahead to the challenge posed by Croatia. “I’ve said before, we suffered on the counter-attack when other teams play a 9-1 formation. If you score a goal it changes completely.
“I noted a lot of things against Czech Republic, the good things and the bad things. It is important for me because the four games we played before, the level of teams were not like this.”
No U-Turn for Scholes
August 25, 2008
Paul Scholes has once again iterated he will not be returning to the International set up to help lead England to the 2010 World cup.
The Manchester United midfielder retired from International football 4 years ago after a disappointing 2-2 draw at Wembley against the Czechs and has continually refused to return to the England team even under previous boss McClaren.
“When Steve McClaren was appointed he rang me and asked me to return. He also came down to training and asked if I fancied it,” Scholes told the Manchester Evening News.
“That meant a lot to me, but I don’t think I was ever that close that I would have said yes.”
When asked if he would turn down an approach from Capello, Scholes said, “Yes. It wasn’t about thinking it was too much or I wasn’t capable - it was just that when I was playing I was not enjoying it one little bit.”
Scholes has continued to play a vital role in Man Utd’s midfield and has won 2 consecutive league titles since hanging up his England shirt and insists he still has plenty of hunger at club level.
“I am 34 in November and hope to still be playing when I am 35.
“Anything after that will be a bonus. As long as I still feel I am contributing to United, I will carry on.”
New Northern Ireland home shirt
August 25, 2008
The new Northern Ireland home kit has been revealed in full following a teaser released several weeks ago. Captain Aaron Hughes models the new kit, complete with traditional green shirt with white trim, white shorts with green trim and mainly green socks with white turn downs.
The new kit is set to be launched officially on September 5th, in time for the national team to wear it in the opening World Cup qualifiers on September 6th and September 10th away to Slovakia and home to the Czech Republic. This will remain the current kit until 2010, lasting the full qualifying campaign.
The shirt is available to pre-order from the IFA or JJB website for delivery on 4th September, however it will be on general sale from Friday 5th September at www.uksoccershop.com
Messi claims Olympic gold
August 25, 2008
Messi magic and an Angel Di Maria finish brought Argentina a 1-nil win, and a well-deserved Olympic gold, over Nigeria on Saturday, August 23.
Messi brilliantly worked himself away from the tough Nigerian defense and fed the ball to Di Maria to coolly slot it in the Nigerians’ net in the 58th minute.
Although most conditions during the Beijing Olympics had been uncharacteristically cool and all football matches played during the night-time, the final men’s match was played at in 35-degree weather during the afternoon. FIFA instituted breaks in the middle of each half for the sake of the athletes’ health.
The weather, however, did not affect goalscorer Angel Di Maria’s outlook on the match.
“It was a dream game. All I could think of was thank God the ball went over the line and now thanks to that I have a gold medal,” Di Maria said.
And Di Maria and his teammates truly deserve that gold medal. Argentina remained unbeaten in Beijing, and played brilliant attacking football in order to keep that record.
With this win, Argentina continues to prove its dominance in youth team tournaments. The nation is now holder of two consecutive Olympic titles (2004 and 2008), as well as two consecutive U-20 World Cup titles (2005 and 2007).
Healy completes Sunderland switch
August 24, 2008
David Healy has finally sealed a transfer to Roy Keane’s Sunderland from Fulham in recent days. The 29 year old striker, Northern Ireland’s record goal-scorer with 34 international goals was unsettled for 12 months with premiership side Fulham, playing in very few games in the 2007/8 season and starting even fewer. After helping the side narrowly avoid relegation to the Championship along with 3 northern ireland counterparts Aaron Hughes, Chris Baird and Steven Davis (on loan to rangers at the time), manager Roy Hodgson bought several new strikers including Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson, giving Healy very little scope for coveted first team appearances.
Although Healy has worked miracles at international level often, he has frequently struggled to impress in the day to day environment of club football. After starting out at Manchester United, he has also represented Preston North End, Leeds United, Fulham, and now has the opportunity to prove himself at club level in the top league in England. It is now thought Healy may be able to gain valuable first team experience under once Manchester United team mate Roy Keane, however a lack of games has affected his fitness and he rarely lasts the entire 90 minutes. Healy has the quality of a top level striker of course, and he has proven that on the international stage, however as he is 29 this may be his final opportunity to put down a marker as a club player.
Manager Keane has spoken highly of Healy and this gives fans of the striker hope of starting places instead of the usual frustration of seeing their hero on the bench , or sometimes not even in the squad! Healy is not the type of player who can run rings around players and make a sudden impact on any game, however he is a lethal finisher who needs a run of games to establish himself as the superb talent he is. Hopefully with patience from the fans and Keane, Healy can finally prove his doubters wrong and impress in arguably the best league in Europe.
Aside from Healy, Northern Ireland midfielder Steven Davis has finalised a dream £3 million move to his childhood heroes Rangers, linking up with fellow international striker Kyle Lafferty. After being on loan since January, Davis became a crowd favourite at Ibrox with his energetic, attacking and entertaining performances, including impressive displays in the UEFA Cup, Scottish Cup, CIS Insurance Cup and the SPL.
It was known that Davis would relish a permanent move to be agreed with Rangers, however he still seemed to feature in Roy Hodgson’s plans in the centre of midfield at Fulham. A deal was expected to go through since the opening day of the Premiership however, when 23 year old Davis was left out of the starting eleven. With much needed money arriving at Ibrox through the sale of 2007/8 player of the season Carlos Cuellar, Rangers had no second thoughts in buying Davis.
An exciting season beckons with two young Northern Ireland stars at the centre of one of the “big two” clubs in Scotland. The main man Healy is enjoying a fresh start at the highest level, plus plenty of talent will be on display for fans to keep an eye on in the Premiership and SPL, including Warren Feeney on loan at Dundee, George McCartney in defence at West Ham, not to mention the duo of Northern Ireland skipper Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird remaining at Fulham.
Rakitic hits 2 for Croatia against Slovenia
August 24, 2008
The Croatian National team has played their first game together since their defeat at the Euro 2008. They met with their neighboring country Slovenia, in Maribor, to get in some practice before the big qualifying day. They were without the presence of some key players and shortly after the start of the game, Niko Kranjcar picked up an injury and had to leave the field; but our Croatian team pulled through.
The match started out looking like it had already been decided when Slovenia scored in only the 4th minute; but in the 37th minute, Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic netted the ball making it 1-1. In the second half, Darijo Srna scored and put Croatia up by one goal. Slovenia was quick to act and soon after evened the score once again. Then, needing one goal to determine who would win, Rakitic answered the call and Croatia left victorious. For Rakitic’s two goals he received the Man-of-the-Match award along with Slovenia’s Schalkea. Dario Simic also received an award for playing his 100th game with the Croatia National team. Now with a confident victory pocketed, they should be ready for their World Cup qualifier on the 6th of September, where they will meet Kazakhstan. They will play on home soil in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia; so let’s see what luck that will bring.
Croatia was not the only country to meet in a friendly on Wednesday, the 20th. Our European champions, Spain, played their first national game without Luis Aragones, and the new coach, Vicente Del Bosque, led them to a 3-0 victory over Denmark. Some more impressive friendlies from Europe are: Russia tied 1-1 with the Netherlands, Italy tied 2-2 with Austria, Germany beat Belgium 2-0, and Portugal took a 5-0 lead over the Faroe Islands. From the United Kingdom: England tied 2-2 with the Czech Republic, the game between Scotland and Northern Ireland ended scoreless, and Wales lost 1-2 to Georgia. Now that everyone is practiced and ready to go, let’s get the World Cup qualifiers under way!
Jill Guthrie
Brasil win Olympic Bronze
August 23, 2008
Brasil win the bronze medal with a 3-nil victory over surprise finalists Belgium.
Diego opened scoring in the 27th minute after darting past last man Tom de Mul and connecting with a cross from Rafinha to tuck the ball inside the far post.
Lanky striker Jo added another two goals at the quarter-til and quarter-past hour marks.
The 5-time World Cup winners have yet to claim Olympic gold. The Brasilians lost out on a chance for gold to rivals Argentina by the same scoreline in a semi-final match that had them down to 9 men. This is Brasil’s second third-place Olympic finish.
New Manchester United 3rd football shirt
August 22, 2008
Manchester United have announced that their new 3rd shirt for the 08-09 season is to be released on the 16th of September.
The design for the new Man Utd 3rd shirt has not yet been released with the design being revealed on the 28th of August.
Although the design of the shirt has not been officially released it is believed to be a royal blue colour and have writing around the club badge saying ‘May 29th 1968’ and ‘40th Anniversary’ which will commemorate the 1968 European cup win over Benfica.
Whether the new 08-09 Man Utd 3rd shirt will be as popular as the old black one we will have to wait and see but adopting colours of their greatest rivals Chelsea at the moment will surely start a bit of banter.
The shirt is available for pre-order at http://www.uksoccershop.com/index.html
Latest Headlines
- NI Squad Announced For September Qualifier
- Domenech denies point’s ultimatum
- Hargreaves nears return
- No U-Turn for Scholes
- New Northern Ireland home shirt
- Messi claims Olympic gold
- Healy completes Sunderland switch
- Rakitic hits 2 for Croatia against Slovenia
- Brasil win Olympic Bronze
- New Manchester United 3rd football shirt
