The World Cup can't be far off - because the deluge of over-opinionated articles, not all of which will be written by me, has begun. Step forward Hartley Anderson of the Jamaica Observer.
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
04/05/2010
'World Cup Street' to start in June
A unique experiment in broadcasting is to take place during the 2010 World Cup. An entire street of 1966 England World Cup fans and their families goes 'live' during the tournament, giving the modern generation a taste of what life was really like in the Swinging Sixties.
Modelled on 'Blitz Street', the C4 programme which built a 1940s street and then bombed it back to the Stone Age, 'World Cup Street' features reconstructions of life in a typical English street throughout July 1966.
Tony Robinson of Time Team guides viewers through the ninety-minute episodes, each one focusing on England's group and knock out matches in the run up to the memorable final.
Highlights include the episode in which the Atkins family fall out because the baby has colic and Dad can't follow the commentary on the Argentina game.
Don't miss the episode where the local loner has one too many Stouts in the pub and picks a fight with a lamppost on the way home.
And of course there's the final itself, when everyone gets together in the street for a party during which a new family from what older residents of 'World Cup Street' call 'The Empire' is repeatedly snubbed.
'World Cup Street' also features men with handkerchiefs tied to their heads, policemen allo-alloing, two gangster brothers breaking heads, and hushed conversations about birth control.
It was a gentler, more innocent age. Find out for yourself when 'World Cup Street' starts on Channel 4 at 9pm on June 12th and continues until July 11th.
Modelled on 'Blitz Street', the C4 programme which built a 1940s street and then bombed it back to the Stone Age, 'World Cup Street' features reconstructions of life in a typical English street throughout July 1966.
Tony Robinson of Time Team guides viewers through the ninety-minute episodes, each one focusing on England's group and knock out matches in the run up to the memorable final.
Highlights include the episode in which the Atkins family fall out because the baby has colic and Dad can't follow the commentary on the Argentina game.
Don't miss the episode where the local loner has one too many Stouts in the pub and picks a fight with a lamppost on the way home.
And of course there's the final itself, when everyone gets together in the street for a party during which a new family from what older residents of 'World Cup Street' call 'The Empire' is repeatedly snubbed.
'World Cup Street' also features men with handkerchiefs tied to their heads, policemen allo-alloing, two gangster brothers breaking heads, and hushed conversations about birth control.
It was a gentler, more innocent age. Find out for yourself when 'World Cup Street' starts on Channel 4 at 9pm on June 12th and continues until July 11th.
25/04/2010
A Handy Guide to World Cup 2010 Trouble Spots in London
Metropolitan Police analysts are to scour the World Cup 2010 tournament schedule for potential flashpoints among supporters in London. It’s almost as if a) they don’t know about my handy guide to places where trouble is likely to start b) someone is setting up the overtime rota for June and July.
16/04/2010
Obscure football tournaments from the past
The Taca das Nacoes (“Nations' Cup” in Portuguese) was held in 1964 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Brazilian Football Confederation. To my surprise, the hosts and World Cup holders didn’t have everything their own way.
Argentina, Portugal and England joined Brazil for a series of matches held in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in late May and early June.
The tournament was played on a league basis, which meant Argentina had wrapped things up before Brazil played their last game.
Here are the results and scorers:
30th May 1964
Brazil 5 (Rinaldo 2, Pele, Julinho, Roberto Dias) England 1 (Jimmy Greaves)
31st May 1964
Argentina 2 (Alfredo Rojas, Alberto Rendo) Portugal 0
3rd June 1964
Brazil 0 Argentina 3 (Roberto Telch 2, Ermindo Onega)
4th June 1964
England 1 (Roger Hunt) Portugal 1 (Fernando Peres)
6th June 1964
Argentina 1 (Alfredo Rojas) England 0
7th June 1964
Brazil 4 (Jairzinho 2, Pele, Gerson) Portugal 1 (Mario Coluna)
So Argentina won each of their three games, didn’t concede a goal, and overcame a Brazilian side boasting the likes of Pele, Gerson and Jairzinho in its ranks. No mean feat.
What interested me most were the reports from the England games available at http://www.englandfootballonline.com/.
They’ve done an amazing job in bringing together summaries from hundreds of England games and I was captivated by reports of matches at the Taca das Nacoes.
Pele produced a masterclass to drive Brazil on to the 5-1 victory. He set up the first goal, earned two free kicks “while dancing through the England defence juggling the ball like a circus performer”, scored with a long range effort after nutmegging Bobby Moore, and then set a team mate up for the fifth goal.
Roger Hunt scored and both Jimmy Greaves and Johnny Byrne hit the woodwork in an ill-tempered match against Portugal. Each side also had a goal disallowed, with Portuguese protests ending in striker Torres being sent off for taking a swing at the ref.
England’s final game saw the Argentineans, led by skipper Antonio Rattin, play “strolling possession football to frustrate England and to clinch victory in the ‘Little World Cup’ tournament”. According to the report, England returned home believing Argentina would be the toughest team to beat at the 1966 World Cup.
Argentina, Portugal and England joined Brazil for a series of matches held in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in late May and early June.
The tournament was played on a league basis, which meant Argentina had wrapped things up before Brazil played their last game.
Here are the results and scorers:
30th May 1964
Brazil 5 (Rinaldo 2, Pele, Julinho, Roberto Dias) England 1 (Jimmy Greaves)
31st May 1964
Argentina 2 (Alfredo Rojas, Alberto Rendo) Portugal 0
3rd June 1964
Brazil 0 Argentina 3 (Roberto Telch 2, Ermindo Onega)
4th June 1964
England 1 (Roger Hunt) Portugal 1 (Fernando Peres)
6th June 1964
Argentina 1 (Alfredo Rojas) England 0
7th June 1964
Brazil 4 (Jairzinho 2, Pele, Gerson) Portugal 1 (Mario Coluna)
So Argentina won each of their three games, didn’t concede a goal, and overcame a Brazilian side boasting the likes of Pele, Gerson and Jairzinho in its ranks. No mean feat.
What interested me most were the reports from the England games available at http://www.englandfootballonline.com/.
They’ve done an amazing job in bringing together summaries from hundreds of England games and I was captivated by reports of matches at the Taca das Nacoes.
Pele produced a masterclass to drive Brazil on to the 5-1 victory. He set up the first goal, earned two free kicks “while dancing through the England defence juggling the ball like a circus performer”, scored with a long range effort after nutmegging Bobby Moore, and then set a team mate up for the fifth goal.
Roger Hunt scored and both Jimmy Greaves and Johnny Byrne hit the woodwork in an ill-tempered match against Portugal. Each side also had a goal disallowed, with Portuguese protests ending in striker Torres being sent off for taking a swing at the ref.
England’s final game saw the Argentineans, led by skipper Antonio Rattin, play “strolling possession football to frustrate England and to clinch victory in the ‘Little World Cup’ tournament”. According to the report, England returned home believing Argentina would be the toughest team to beat at the 1966 World Cup.
30/03/2010
Capello on Spain and World Cup 2010
England manager Fabio Capello has revealed his admiration of the way Spain play, which other teams he thinks are a danger in South Africa, and which England player has improved more than anyone else this season.
24/03/2010
Rooney, Torres and Messi – can they deliver?
They are probably the three best players in the world right now; Wayne Rooney is in explosive form, Lionel Messi appears unstoppable with the ball at his feet, and an injury-ravaged season hasn’t prevented Fernando Torres from scoring goals when fit. It will be a privilege to see all three in action during the World Cup. The question is: can they deliver?
23/03/2010
Are England and Argentina on a World Cup collision course?
I recently spotted a press report suggesting a group of “Argentinian football hooligans” are plotting to attack England fans during the World Cup. How likely is a meeting between fans of the two teams and when could one take place?
03/03/2010
Is there anything interesting to say about the midweek international friendlies?
With 28 qualified nations in action last night (Tuesday) or tonight, including eight games between qualifiers and 12 others involving at least one team heading for South Africa, this is a good time to assess the usefulness of international friendlies. Is there really anything interesting to say about this week’s matches?
23/09/2009
I can’t do it all, says Messi
The blame for Argentina’s poor World Cup qualifying performances lies with the team.
That’s according to Lionel Messi, the Barcelona forward whose own form for his country is now under intense scrutiny.
Messi is clearly reluctant to take the blame for a dismal run of form which has left Argentina on the verge of missing the World Cup for the first time since 1970.
“I'm not going to win a game by myself,” Messi told Spain's Radio 2. “It's the responsibility of everyone on the team,” the diminutive striker said in an AP report for USA Today.
Messi also had words of praise for beleaguered coach Diego Maradona.
“My personal and professional relationship with Maradona is tremendous,” he said. “Not just with me, but with everybody. Working with Maradona, it's impressive to see how he treats his players.”
Now Argentina waits to see if Messi and Maradona can end qualifying with wins against Peru and Uruguay. Anything less than victory in both games could see them facing an ignominious play off against the fourth placed team in the North, Central America and Caribbean group.
That’s according to Lionel Messi, the Barcelona forward whose own form for his country is now under intense scrutiny.
Messi is clearly reluctant to take the blame for a dismal run of form which has left Argentina on the verge of missing the World Cup for the first time since 1970.
“I'm not going to win a game by myself,” Messi told Spain's Radio 2. “It's the responsibility of everyone on the team,” the diminutive striker said in an AP report for USA Today.
Messi also had words of praise for beleaguered coach Diego Maradona.
“My personal and professional relationship with Maradona is tremendous,” he said. “Not just with me, but with everybody. Working with Maradona, it's impressive to see how he treats his players.”
Now Argentina waits to see if Messi and Maradona can end qualifying with wins against Peru and Uruguay. Anything less than victory in both games could see them facing an ignominious play off against the fourth placed team in the North, Central America and Caribbean group.
17/09/2009
Speculation about likely World Cup bases
A Reuters report out today about World Cup bases makes for interesting reading, not least because some of the teams mentioned haven’t yet qualified and may not even do so.
According to this report France, Sweden and Paraguay have set up coastal bases, despite the South Americans being the only one of the three to have secured qualification.
The French have apparently booked a facility on the southern Cape coast. Coach Raymond Domenech must be thinking the play offs are an inconvenient but easily surmountable barrier.
Other teams looking ahead include Sweden, who have booked in at Durban, and Argentina, Germany, Italy, Mexico and the USA, who have all booked hotels or guest lodges in Pretoria.
Japan and Switzerland are heading for Johannesburg. Japan have already qualified, but the Swiss may not make even make the play offs.
England will allegedly be based at Sun City, although Fabio Capello and his team will probably wait for the draw in December before deciding on the location of their base for the tournament.
According to this report France, Sweden and Paraguay have set up coastal bases, despite the South Americans being the only one of the three to have secured qualification.
The French have apparently booked a facility on the southern Cape coast. Coach Raymond Domenech must be thinking the play offs are an inconvenient but easily surmountable barrier.
Other teams looking ahead include Sweden, who have booked in at Durban, and Argentina, Germany, Italy, Mexico and the USA, who have all booked hotels or guest lodges in Pretoria.
Japan and Switzerland are heading for Johannesburg. Japan have already qualified, but the Swiss may not make even make the play offs.
England will allegedly be based at Sun City, although Fabio Capello and his team will probably wait for the draw in December before deciding on the location of their base for the tournament.
Veron admits play-offs may suit Argentina
Juan Sebastian Veron has said he would be happy to settle for fifth-place in the South American qualifiers.
The midfielder knows this would see Argentina face the fourth-placed team from the North, Central American and Caribbean group over two legs for a place in South Africa.
“It gives us another chance to qualify. To qualify directly we will have to win ourselves and we need other results to help us, but for the playoff we depend on ourselves,” Veron told Goal.com.
Veron, who will miss the qualifier against Peru next month after being sent off against Paraguay, also had a few comments about Lionel Messi and why Argentina are under-performing.
“If you see how he [Messi] moves at Barcelona, and how they move at Barcelona, it is very different to the national team. What he has at Barcelona is players in front of him who arrive from the sides and important players inside of the area, where he supports, switches off and then continues.”
The implication is that Argentina don’t play this way, and Messi suffers as a result.
“What I see is that there are players who aren't at the level which everyone expects for the national team. And maybe for their clubs they have this. Maybe they feel more comfortable in one place than the other.”
The midfielder knows this would see Argentina face the fourth-placed team from the North, Central American and Caribbean group over two legs for a place in South Africa.
“It gives us another chance to qualify. To qualify directly we will have to win ourselves and we need other results to help us, but for the playoff we depend on ourselves,” Veron told Goal.com.
Veron, who will miss the qualifier against Peru next month after being sent off against Paraguay, also had a few comments about Lionel Messi and why Argentina are under-performing.
“If you see how he [Messi] moves at Barcelona, and how they move at Barcelona, it is very different to the national team. What he has at Barcelona is players in front of him who arrive from the sides and important players inside of the area, where he supports, switches off and then continues.”
The implication is that Argentina don’t play this way, and Messi suffers as a result.
“What I see is that there are players who aren't at the level which everyone expects for the national team. And maybe for their clubs they have this. Maybe they feel more comfortable in one place than the other.”
15/09/2009
Costa Rica sack coach
Poor recent form has put Costa Rica on the brink of elimination from the World Cup and resulted in Rodrigo Kenton being handed his P45.
The former national team assistant and youth manager took over the Ticos in June 2008 and single-handedly resurrected their fortunes after a disastrous spell under Hernan Medford. By last month his team were riding high at the top of the North, Central America and Caribbean group.
But three losses over the past month means Costa Rica are now in fourth spot and face the prospect of a play off against South America's fifth-place finisher. This could be Ecuador, Colombia or Argentina.
A new coach will soon be appointed to oversee the remaining qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago (10th October) and the USA (14th October).
The former national team assistant and youth manager took over the Ticos in June 2008 and single-handedly resurrected their fortunes after a disastrous spell under Hernan Medford. By last month his team were riding high at the top of the North, Central America and Caribbean group.
But three losses over the past month means Costa Rica are now in fourth spot and face the prospect of a play off against South America's fifth-place finisher. This could be Ecuador, Colombia or Argentina.
A new coach will soon be appointed to oversee the remaining qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago (10th October) and the USA (14th October).
11/09/2009
England win World Cup tie on penalties shock
That’s right, some England players do know how to take a penalty... at the Homeless World Cup in Italy.
People who are homeless and socially excluded are enjoying a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever.
This annual international football tournament was first held in Graz in 2003. 18 national teams took part. Just six years later and 48 nations have come together for Milan 2009.
The event now supports grass roots football projects in over 60 nations and works with over 25,000 homeless and socially excluded people throughout the year.
Teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are squaring up against the likes of Argentina, Germany, South Africa and Spain.
They play Street Soccer on courts 22m long by 16m wide. The maximum number of players on a team at any one time is four (three outfield and one goalkeeper). Halves last 14 minutes and winning teams receive three points. Drawn matches are decided by a sudden-death penalty shoot out.
In this year’s tournament England advanced through the Preliminary stage after winning four games and scoring 37 goals in Group D.
Yesterday the Secondary group stage saw England draw 3 – 3 with Rumania before winning a thrilling penalty shoot out. Earlier in the day the team had lost 4 – 2 against Portugal. Matches against Hungary and the Ukraine take place today.
After the Secondary stage, the teams are split into six groups of eight according to their results. England will be hoping to become one of the top eight ranking sides to play for the official Homeless World Cup trophy.
Let’s hope the players involved in a penalty shoot in South Africa can cope just as well.
For more on the Homeless World Cup visit http://www.homelessworldcup.org/
People who are homeless and socially excluded are enjoying a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever.
This annual international football tournament was first held in Graz in 2003. 18 national teams took part. Just six years later and 48 nations have come together for Milan 2009.
The event now supports grass roots football projects in over 60 nations and works with over 25,000 homeless and socially excluded people throughout the year.
Teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are squaring up against the likes of Argentina, Germany, South Africa and Spain.
They play Street Soccer on courts 22m long by 16m wide. The maximum number of players on a team at any one time is four (three outfield and one goalkeeper). Halves last 14 minutes and winning teams receive three points. Drawn matches are decided by a sudden-death penalty shoot out.
In this year’s tournament England advanced through the Preliminary stage after winning four games and scoring 37 goals in Group D.
Yesterday the Secondary group stage saw England draw 3 – 3 with Rumania before winning a thrilling penalty shoot out. Earlier in the day the team had lost 4 – 2 against Portugal. Matches against Hungary and the Ukraine take place today.
After the Secondary stage, the teams are split into six groups of eight according to their results. England will be hoping to become one of the top eight ranking sides to play for the official Homeless World Cup trophy.
Let’s hope the players involved in a penalty shoot in South Africa can cope just as well.
For more on the Homeless World Cup visit http://www.homelessworldcup.org/
06/09/2009
Maradona admits “I might need more than the Hand of God now”
Argentina have lost 3 – 1 at home to Brazil. The result means their chances of automatic qualification for South Africa 2010 are now in considerable doubt.
By contrast, Brazil have officially qualified, and deservedly so. They will soon be followed by Spain, who battered Belgium 5 – 0 and will probably give Estonia a kicking on Wednesday night.
Elsewhere, there was cause for rejoicing on both sides of the border as Northern Ireland and the Republic secured wins. Both now have a great chance of at least making the play-offs.
In Group 1 Sweden have renewed hope of a place in the finals after a 2 – 1 victory in Hungary.
Switzerland beat Greece and now look in control of Group 2.
France are officially rubbish – unless they beat Serbia this week.
Scotland must avoid defeat against Holland on Wednesday. If they don’t, their best hope is for Norway and Macedonia to draw in Oslo.
As expected, Croatia overcame Belarus. Now they must beat England at Wembley to have any chance of automatic qualification.
Reports that Cameroon brought Roger Miller out of retirement are of course untrue. Whatever the cause, if they repeat yesterday’s 2 – 0 victory over Gabon against the same opposition on Wednesday evening, they’ll be dancing in the streets of Yaounde.
And if the Ivory Coast don't qualify from their group now, we can expect a ridiculous conspiracy theory from Didier Drogba within hours.
The North, Central America and Caribbean group is still up for grabs after wins for the USA, Honduras and Mexico.
That’s the qualification stuff over and done with for now. Now for the important stuff - inventing quotes from Maradona which hark back to this infamous Hand of God goal against England in 1986.
Quizzed by reporters after the loss against Brazil the legendary No. 10 may or may not have said “I might need more than the Hand of God now”.
He may or may not have gone on to say “I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing.”
And finally, there is of course some doubt about whether Maradona actually said “I’m genuinely sorry about that incident. It should never have happened and I probably deserved to be booked or even sent off. Of course the second one was a belter, so I’d prefer to talk about that if you don’t mind.”
Somehow I can’t see that happening...
By contrast, Brazil have officially qualified, and deservedly so. They will soon be followed by Spain, who battered Belgium 5 – 0 and will probably give Estonia a kicking on Wednesday night.
Elsewhere, there was cause for rejoicing on both sides of the border as Northern Ireland and the Republic secured wins. Both now have a great chance of at least making the play-offs.
In Group 1 Sweden have renewed hope of a place in the finals after a 2 – 1 victory in Hungary.
Switzerland beat Greece and now look in control of Group 2.
France are officially rubbish – unless they beat Serbia this week.
Scotland must avoid defeat against Holland on Wednesday. If they don’t, their best hope is for Norway and Macedonia to draw in Oslo.
As expected, Croatia overcame Belarus. Now they must beat England at Wembley to have any chance of automatic qualification.
Reports that Cameroon brought Roger Miller out of retirement are of course untrue. Whatever the cause, if they repeat yesterday’s 2 – 0 victory over Gabon against the same opposition on Wednesday evening, they’ll be dancing in the streets of Yaounde.
And if the Ivory Coast don't qualify from their group now, we can expect a ridiculous conspiracy theory from Didier Drogba within hours.
The North, Central America and Caribbean group is still up for grabs after wins for the USA, Honduras and Mexico.
That’s the qualification stuff over and done with for now. Now for the important stuff - inventing quotes from Maradona which hark back to this infamous Hand of God goal against England in 1986.
Quizzed by reporters after the loss against Brazil the legendary No. 10 may or may not have said “I might need more than the Hand of God now”.
He may or may not have gone on to say “I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing.”
And finally, there is of course some doubt about whether Maradona actually said “I’m genuinely sorry about that incident. It should never have happened and I probably deserved to be booked or even sent off. Of course the second one was a belter, so I’d prefer to talk about that if you don’t mind.”
Somehow I can’t see that happening...
04/09/2009
Will Cameroon bring Roger Miller out of retirement?
Looking ahead to World Cup qualifiers in September
South America
The top 4 teams qualify for the World Cup. The 5th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 4th placed team from the North, Central America & Caribbean group.
Brazil currently lead the group by one point from Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).
The real surprises are the Chileans, who have managed to overcome the handicap of ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez to score 23 goals. We can expect to hear more about the trio which has contributed 13 so far - Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo and Matias Fernandez - next year.
Expect a late surge from Argentina, who’ve been a bit inconsistent so far. They play Brazil and Paraguay in early September, while Chile take on Brazil in the second of their scheduled September games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Argentina - Brazil
Chile - Venezuela
Colombia - Ecuador
Paraguay - Bolivia
Peru - Uruguay
September 8th
Uruguay - Colombia
Venezuela - Peru
Paraguay - Argentina
Bolivia - Ecuador
Brazil - Chile
North, Central America and Caribbean
Three sides qualify directly for South Africa 2010 and the fourth-placed team takes on the fifth-placed finisher in South American qualifying.
This one looked almost done and dusted for Costa Rica until a recent heavy defeat in Honduras put their plans on hold. Now four teams are vying for the three automatic places: Costa Rica (12 pts), Honduras and USA (10) and Mexico (9).
The US has the easiest of the September fixtures, facing El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago in the space of four days. They should win both.
Costa Rica and Mexico also square up in early September. This and the US – Costa Rica clash in October are the remaining key games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
USA - El Salvador
Honduras - Trinidad and Tobago
Costa Rica - Mexico
September 9th
Trinidad and Tobago - USA
El Salvador - Costa Rica
Mexico - Honduras
Africa
One team qualifies from each group.
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are looking good in their respective groups. If the latter beat Burkina Faso in early September they will be six points ahead with two games to play.
Cameroon clearly need to bring Roger Miller out of retirement. They have one point from two games and must now beat Group A leaders Gabon to stand any chance of going through.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Group A
Gabon - Cameroon
Togo - Morocco
Group B
Mozambique - Kenya
Group C
Rwanda - Egypt
Group E
Malawi - Guinea
Ivory Coast - Burkina Faso
September 6th
Group B
Nigeria - Tunisia
Group C
Algeria - Zambia
Group D
Ghana - Sudan
Benin - Mali
September 9th
Group A
Cameroon - Gabon
Asian play-off
The winner plays New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Inter-Continental Play-Off
September 5th
Bahrain - Saudi Arabia in Manama
September 9th
Saudi Arabia - Bahrain in Riyadh
Keep an eye out for the scores and results at World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010 from this Saturday.
South America
The top 4 teams qualify for the World Cup. The 5th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 4th placed team from the North, Central America & Caribbean group.
Brazil currently lead the group by one point from Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).
The real surprises are the Chileans, who have managed to overcome the handicap of ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez to score 23 goals. We can expect to hear more about the trio which has contributed 13 so far - Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo and Matias Fernandez - next year.
Expect a late surge from Argentina, who’ve been a bit inconsistent so far. They play Brazil and Paraguay in early September, while Chile take on Brazil in the second of their scheduled September games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Argentina - Brazil
Chile - Venezuela
Colombia - Ecuador
Paraguay - Bolivia
Peru - Uruguay
September 8th
Uruguay - Colombia
Venezuela - Peru
Paraguay - Argentina
Bolivia - Ecuador
Brazil - Chile
North, Central America and Caribbean
Three sides qualify directly for South Africa 2010 and the fourth-placed team takes on the fifth-placed finisher in South American qualifying.
This one looked almost done and dusted for Costa Rica until a recent heavy defeat in Honduras put their plans on hold. Now four teams are vying for the three automatic places: Costa Rica (12 pts), Honduras and USA (10) and Mexico (9).
The US has the easiest of the September fixtures, facing El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago in the space of four days. They should win both.
Costa Rica and Mexico also square up in early September. This and the US – Costa Rica clash in October are the remaining key games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
USA - El Salvador
Honduras - Trinidad and Tobago
Costa Rica - Mexico
September 9th
Trinidad and Tobago - USA
El Salvador - Costa Rica
Mexico - Honduras
Africa
One team qualifies from each group.
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are looking good in their respective groups. If the latter beat Burkina Faso in early September they will be six points ahead with two games to play.
Cameroon clearly need to bring Roger Miller out of retirement. They have one point from two games and must now beat Group A leaders Gabon to stand any chance of going through.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Group A
Gabon - Cameroon
Togo - Morocco
Group B
Mozambique - Kenya
Group C
Rwanda - Egypt
Group E
Malawi - Guinea
Ivory Coast - Burkina Faso
September 6th
Group B
Nigeria - Tunisia
Group C
Algeria - Zambia
Group D
Ghana - Sudan
Benin - Mali
September 9th
Group A
Cameroon - Gabon
Asian play-off
The winner plays New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Inter-Continental Play-Off
September 5th
Bahrain - Saudi Arabia in Manama
September 9th
Saudi Arabia - Bahrain in Riyadh
Keep an eye out for the scores and results at World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010 from this Saturday.
21/08/2009
News from South America
Brazil have moved to counter the growing threat from Argentina by recalling striker Adriano for next month’s World Cup qualifiers.
The five times winners play away against Argentina and then face Chile at home.
Now recovered from off-field problems that almost caused him to quit football, Adriano has scored 10 goals in 16 games for Flamengo since returning from Italy in April.
Adriano’s return may be a timely move by coach Dunga. The ex-Inter man has form against Argentina, having headed the injury time equaliser in a 2-2 draw in the 2004 Copa America final and scoring twice in the 2005 Confederations Cup final in Brazil's 4-1 victory.
Liverpool midfielder Lucas also returns in place of the injured Kleberson.
Here’s the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Victor (Gremio)
Defenders: Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (Inter Milan), Filipe (Deportivo La Coruna), Lucio (Inter Milan), Luisao (Benfica), Miranda (Sao Paulo), Juan (AS Roma)
Midfielders: Elano (Galatasaray), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (VfL Wolfsburg), Ramires (Benfica), Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Kaka (Real Madrid), Lucas (Liverpool)
Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Robinho (Manchester City), Adriano (Flamengo)
Meanwhile, Argentina and manager Diego Maradona are also making preparations for the clash in Rosario on September 5th.
“I'm only thinking of victory, I'm not considering defeat,” he said, before moving onto dangerous territory for someone who had a gastric band fitted in 2005.
“We're hungrier than Brazil,” insisted Maradona, thereby unintentionally inviting a global blog audience to submit their own jokes. Brazil currently lead the group by one point from Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).
The five times winners play away against Argentina and then face Chile at home.
Now recovered from off-field problems that almost caused him to quit football, Adriano has scored 10 goals in 16 games for Flamengo since returning from Italy in April.
Adriano’s return may be a timely move by coach Dunga. The ex-Inter man has form against Argentina, having headed the injury time equaliser in a 2-2 draw in the 2004 Copa America final and scoring twice in the 2005 Confederations Cup final in Brazil's 4-1 victory.
Liverpool midfielder Lucas also returns in place of the injured Kleberson.
Here’s the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Victor (Gremio)
Defenders: Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (Inter Milan), Filipe (Deportivo La Coruna), Lucio (Inter Milan), Luisao (Benfica), Miranda (Sao Paulo), Juan (AS Roma)
Midfielders: Elano (Galatasaray), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (VfL Wolfsburg), Ramires (Benfica), Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Kaka (Real Madrid), Lucas (Liverpool)
Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Robinho (Manchester City), Adriano (Flamengo)
Meanwhile, Argentina and manager Diego Maradona are also making preparations for the clash in Rosario on September 5th.
“I'm only thinking of victory, I'm not considering defeat,” he said, before moving onto dangerous territory for someone who had a gastric band fitted in 2005.
“We're hungrier than Brazil,” insisted Maradona, thereby unintentionally inviting a global blog audience to submit their own jokes. Brazil currently lead the group by one point from Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).
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