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Not good enough;lackluster display against Turkey

Playing in Istanbul to around 20,000 spectators gave The Honduran national team a preview of what’s to come when they face off against European opposition in South Africa (Switzerland, Spain). The result was not a good one as Honduras had few scoring opportunities. Mistakes resulted in two goals for Turkey while several Tuncay Sanli misses could have resulted with a couple more goals for Turkey. Honduras or “La H” have rarely faced European opposition and relied on a full strength squad to face Turkey who also brought on a strong squad featuring players from Turkey’s strong domestic league and other players from Europe’s top leagues.La Bicolor matched Turkey’s athleticism but lacked technical ability and could not finish as well as Turkey.

Honduras will not have any upcoming fixtures until late May because of the Honduran football federation’s bungling of a potential friendly with New Zealand. Late May and early June will bring fixtures against Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Romania.

Beckham Looks Set To Miss World Cup

David Beckham was odds on to appear at this years World Cup finals and become the first English player in history to appear at 4 consecutive World Cups, however in AC Milan’s match against Chievo on Sunday Beckham tore his left Achilles tendon.

The injury looks to almost certainly have ruled him out of the World Cup with recovery time going to be at least 3-4 months but potentially even longer which would mean Beckham wouldn’t be back to full fitness for the tournament starting.

This is a huge blow for both England and AC Milan who have enjoyed a good run of form since Beckham joined them in January. Beckham was a key man for the England squad not just for his quality but also for his experience and with Aaron Lennon also struggling for fitness there looks like an opportunity for one of the young players to make a breakthrough into the squad.

This will be Beckhams last chance to play at the World Cup and if you see the pictures of when he got the injury he is clearly gutted about it. Beckham has worked tirelessly to get back into the international set up and this is a cruel blow.

Rooney Says Bald Patch The Secret Behind His Heading Ability

Wayne Rooney says his receding hairline is partly responsible for his improved heading prowess this season.

The 24-year-old England international took his goal tally for the season to 30 with two strikes against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday and opened the scoring with his seventh successive headed goal at Old Trafford.

“It’s coming off my bald patch and that’s helping me score,” joked Rooney, who was speaking at a FIFA promotional event.

“I’ve been working on my heading a lot and thankfully it’s paying off.

“I’ve been in the box a lot more, I’ve been working on my timing and my finishing. I’ve played up front in every game I’ve played this season and that’s definitely the main reason for me scoring a lot of goals.”

Rooney’s rich form in front of goal has heightened expectations that he can fire England to World Cup glory in South Africa but he rejected suggestions he was feeling under pressure.

“No, to be honest, I don’t,” said Rooney. “I think I’ve had pressure since I started playing for Everton at 16 and for England at 17.

“I’ve managed to deal with that pressure and find a way to deal with it and it doesn’t really affect my game. I don’t think I have any problems there.”

England coach Fabio Capello recently awarded the England captaincy to Rooney’s United team-mate Rio Ferdinand and Rooney says he would like the armband to be handed to him one day.

“I think I’ve got qualities to be England captain so I hope one day to be able to do that,” he said.

From Obscurity to the Big Stage

Wednesday, October 14th 2009-A date in which every fan of the Honduran National team will remember quite fondly when American left back Jonathan Bornstein scored in the final minutes of the US’s last world cup qualifier against Costa Rica in Washington DC. By virtue of that result and El Salvador’s defeat at home to Honduras, Honduras qualified for only their second world cup. Celebrations in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa rang through the night with chants of “Bornstein, Bornstein”. Jonathan Bornstein eventually auctioned off the boots he wore when he scored the game-tying goal against Costa Rica goal for nearly $2,000, all of which went to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Honduran fans have been suffering for years of the disappoint of not seeing the team qualify for a World Cup since the 1982 World Cup that was held in Spain. In their last appearance, two impressive draws against Spain and Northern Ireland gave them a chance at making it out of the group stage, though a one-nil loss to Yugoslavia doomed them to last place in the group. Since then, a last gasp chance at making it to Korea/Japan 2002 was the closest Honduras has been.

The Honduran National team is made up of several European based players. Some of the most well known players ply their trade in the English Premier League. Wilson Palacios was on trial with Arsenal but could not seal a move with the Gunners since they were in excess of midfielders. A phone call to Steve Bruce sealed a loan deal between Palacios’s Honduran club Olimpia and Birmingham City. Steve Bruce left for Wigan Athletic and brought Wilson Palacios who flourished at Wigan alongside Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia. Palacios eventually sealed a deal to Tottneham Hotspur for £13 million. He’s arguably the hardest working midfielder in the premier league who’s role in Tottenham’s midfield resembles very much like that of Claude Makelele, though he has the skill set and technical ability of a Joe Cole type winger. Because of his hard work, Tottenham are in contention of reaching a Champion’s league spot. The other two Hondurans play together for Wigan Athletic. Maynor Figueroa has been an anchor for Wigan’s defense for several seasons now and recently made headlines for his 56-yard strike against Stoke City.  Hendry Thomas is another player who has been a mainstay in Roberto Martinez’s Wigan Side.

Apart from the three Hondurans who play in England, Honduras or “La Bicolor” has relied on Striker David Suazo who has struggled since he transferred to Italian club Inter Milan. A loan move to Portuguese side Benfica did not change his fortunes and he recently moved on loan to Genoa for more playing time. Edgar Alvarez is a speedy winger playing for Seria A club Bari. Free kick specialist Julio Cesar “Rambo” De Leon spent several seasons in Serie A with Reggina and Genoa, but now finds himself playing for Serie B side Torino after helping Parma reach promotion. Many other members of the Honduran national side play in either the Honduran domestic league or in the American Major Soccer League. Several also ply their trade in Belgium and Romania. Overall, The National side has never had this many players playing in European domestic leagues making it arguably the best Honduran side seen in quite awhile.

By Edwin Reyes

Capello Not Interested In Swapping England Job For Italy

Fabio Capello says he is still happy dealing with the most important challenge of his life and that he prefers managing England.

“I like the challenge and this will be the most important challenge of my life. To be England manager was one of my dreams and I am really happy to be England manager.

“I would not swap my position with (Italy coach) Marcello Lippi, I prefer to be England manager.”

Capello admits that he has been surprised by the amount of off-the-field issues he has had to handle to date as England manager, ” “Yes, usually my job was to have to decide on the pitch, not outside the pitch. It’s a new job for me.

“My job when I was manager of Milan, Juve, Roma or Madrid, I try to win always. For me it’s the same now as England manager.

“I am focused to find the best way and we are one of the best teams in the World Cup. We hope to arrive at the semi-finals, minimum, and then, after a lot of years, win the World Cup.

“We have a good team, good players and at this moment we think we can beat all of the teams because we can play at the same level of the best teams in the world.”

Capello also spoke proudly about the reserves defenders who had to fill the void left by those injured before claiming that Wayne Rooney is among the top 3 footballers in the world.

“I think I am happy because the players are injured now and missing time before the World Cup starts,” Capello said. “Brown, Ferdinand and Cole are out but the players who played against Egypt played very well and we have no big problem with defenders.

“Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney are the three best players in the world at the moment. Their styles are completely different. One is fast, one has lots of imagination.

“Rooney is more strong, he runs a lot and helps everyone, and this year he scored many goals. I think he is one of the best but those three are really young and they are the best players for the future.

“I hope he will be in the same form during the World Cup and that he will be fit and not injured because he is one of the most important players.”

English FA To Increase Security

Football Association officials are trying to ensure bugged conversations between England players and coaches remain confidential, it emerged on Tuesday.

It is understood talks involving England manager Fabio Capello and his squad at the team’s hotel ahead of last week’s 3-1 friendly international victory against Egypt at Wembley were taped secretly.

Although there has been no public comment by the FA, English football’s governing body, on the issue, their lawyers have contacted British media organisations warning that publishing the contents of any bugged conversations would be illegal under the Data Protection Act.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said reports of bugging were a worry for England.

The veteran Scottish boss found himself caught up in a similar controversy in 2005 when listening devices were found in the home dressing room at United’s Old Trafford ground after a match with leading English rivals Chelsea.

“It happened to us once before,” Ferguson, speaking on Tuesday ahead of United’s Champions League last 16 second leg clash against AC Milan, said.

“I would be concerned about it. You have to be.

“Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven’t revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the match tomorrow (Wednesday). I haven’t been asked. And do you know why? Because I wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Why should I tell anyone?

“Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team. All of a sudden someone else has got it.

“It is a concern.”

A spokesman for the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, north-west of London, where the England team stayed before the Egypt match, told The Times: “We do not know anything about it.

“We have been hosting England for three or four years and provide a very high level of security for them.

“They also bring their own security team. It would surprise me if they had been bugged here.”

Reports of taped conversations are the latest off-field problem to confront Capello after the Italian was forced to strip John Terry of the England captaincy following allegations the defender had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Portugal in friendly: Poor finishing in front of the goal

Goals by Hugo Almeida and Liedson gave Portugal a 2-0 win against China in a friendly on last Wednesday, though the World Cup finalists were dogged by a lack of cohesion and poor finishing. 

A lack of goals dogged Portugal for much of their World Cup qualifying campaign and they only qualified for the finals in South Africa after a play-off victory over Bosnia. 

The hosts dominated the first half, but were only able to produce the one goal, through Almeida following a counter attack before Liedson, who had replaced Cristiano Ronaldo at half-time, deflected in a Joao Moutinho shot deep into injury time. 

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz had chosen to play China as preparation for their World Cup match against North Korea on June 21, and the team welcomed the return of Ronaldo, who had missed the two-legged play-off victory with an ankle injury. 

With playmaker Deco injured, Queiroz used Almeida up front with Simao Sabrosa sitting behind him and Nani and Ronaldo on the wings. 

The four players tormented the Chinese defence throughout the first half though they also failed to convert several chances. 

Queiroz made five changes at half-time, including replacing Ronaldo with Liedson, and with several of the replacements playing out of position his side failed to gel or maintain the tempo of the first half. 

China, the East Asian champions, had two half chances in the final 10 minutes, which caused the home fans to voice their disapproval and Portugal’s second goal in injury time failed to appease the fans’ worries. 

Similar to 02 and 06 World Cup, Portugal’s biggest problem is that they cannot score many goals.  Even though they can push Ronaldo forward, Deco is getting elder and often injured, Raul Meireles and Tiago are both not creative midfields.  These forces Ronaldo often comes back to get the ball and try to shoot in quite a long distance.  This situation may be improved if Ronaldo forms a partnership with Liedson, or if Liedson acts as a centre forward, then Ronaldo and Simao act as a pair of wingers.  The appearance of Liedson solves the problem in short term after Pauleta retired from the international football.  This Brazilian born striker scored when they faced Denmark and Hungary in the World Cup qualifying campaign and led Portugal to South Africa.  Even though Ronaldo acts as a striker, he likes to come back to the midfield and wing positions.  This makes the team lacks a player who can threaten the opponents in the penalty area.  When they have Liedson, the opponents have to man-mark him.  As a result, Ronaldo should have more space to attack, and can use his speed and skills to try to score. 

However, the biggest problem is that Liedson, who is 32, is not young anymore.  Whether he can keep his level in the World Cup—such a high intensity competition, is not sure.  Portugal are in Group G with Brazil, African heavyweights Ivory Coast and North Korea.  Even though they should have the ability to beat North Korea, I don’t that they can do so when they face Brazil.  Therefore, the Ivory Coast game is the most important.  If Portugal cannot beat them, four points may not be enough for them to go to the knock-out stage.   As a result, they will have to be much more clinical in front of goal than they were on last Wednesday if they are to avoid an early exit.

England’s Underperformance Against Egypt Left Fans A Little Dismayed

England did beat the African champions 3-1 last Wednesday but it seems fans and bookies have been left equally unimpressed by the performance, especially in the first hour of the game.

England entered half time 1-0 down, with several key players underperforming. After several subs in the second half things began to pick up. Peter Crouch scored twice and Shaun Wright Phillips also scored securing the victory. The bare result of the match is certainly a positive and if England play how they are capable of playing at the World Cup then you would expect them to justify expectations.

The first game most fans will be looking out for at the World Cup is England v USA which is England’s first game of the campaign. A win in that match should ensure England qualify as Group winners, most probably with the maximum nine points. Funnily enough it was England’s second opponents Algeria who knocked Egypt out of the World Cup Qualifying in a playoff so they shouldn’t be underestimated.

England’s final group game is England v Slovenia and England have recent winning form against Slovenia so that should be the most straight forward three points of England’s campaign.

The friendly against Egypt gave strong indicators about Fabio Capello’s World Cup Squad, which will be announced on June 1st. Theo Walcott now looks set to miss out after a poor display whilst Robert Green looks certain to go to the tournament as England’s number one. He played the full game despite many speculating that Joe Hart would be given a chance to impress.

If you want all the best bets for the World Cup you can click the following link England World Cup Odds and you will have access to the best bets on England and all the other teams at the World Cup. Even if you are not a big punter the site makes interesting reading and might persuade you to part with your cash!

Pepe Could Make Finals

Pepe could recover in time to play for Portugal in the World Cup finals, according to the surgeon who operated on the defender.

The Brazil-born Portugal international, who is recovering from the knee ligament damage sustained last December, was set to miss the mega-football event this summer in South Africa.

However, surgeon Jose Carlos Noronha is pleased with the Real Madrid defender’s rehabilitation and is predicting he will be available fit for the finals.

“His recuperation is going perfectly and I’ve noticed the player is in good spirits,” Noronha told Marca.

“I’m optimistic he’ll be fit for the World Cup finals in South Africa. By June he’ll be in good physical condition.”

Croatia Overcome Belgium Challenge

Croatia traveled to Brussels last week for their first friendly in early preparations for Euro2012 qualifying. Even as players were pulled from clubs across Europe ending their seasons, Croatia recruited a strong lineup trying a new 3-5-2 formation consisting of Vedran Runje; Hrvoje Čale, Vedran Ćorluka, Ivica Križanac, Josip Šimunić; Niko Kranjčar, Luka Modrić, Darijo Srna, Ognjen Vukojević; Mate Bilić and Ivica Olić. Subs used were Dejan Lovren, Eduardo da Silva, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, Danijel Pranjić, Tomislav Dujmović, and Drago Gabrić.

For Belgium the lineup was Logan Bailly, Steve Colpaert, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Jelle van Damme, Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen, Maarten Martens, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Moussa Demble. Their subs used were, Wesley Sonck, Mehdi Carcela Gonzales, Nicolas Lombaerts, Thomas Buffel, Jonathan Bloudel, and Toby Alderweireld.

There were many missed opportunities throughout the game, however, Croatia broke the ice in the 63rd minute with a thunderous shot from Niko Kranjčar, which was the only goal of the match. Luka Modrić collected the ball at midfield and brilliantly slid it out to the wing for Kranjčar to fire home from 30 yards out.

Croatia’s new formation did not work as well as they would have hoped but when asked about its potential coach Slaven Bilić said, “3-5-2 is one of our options. So far it has not been based on a lot of training but on the conversations and sketches on paper, but it suits us and is ideal in certain phases of the game.”

Goal scorer Niko said after the match, “This is a friendly game; it can not show too much quality. However, it is nice to go home with a win after such difficult opponents. The ball came right for me, and perhaps their keeper was wrongly placed. All in all I am satisfied, although this game came at the worst time of the season.”

Croatia next play Austria in May.

Jill Guthrie

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