TC Admin

Nov 27 2007, 12:39 AM

England

BBC Sport

 

The next England manager will be able to clock up the air miles after the World Cup draw for South Africa 2010 provided several lengthy treks abroad.
Croatia and Andorra are mere short hops compared to trips to fellow Group Six rivals Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The winners of each of the nine European groups will qualify for the finals automatically and the best eight runners-up play off for four more qualifying berths.

But, apart from the logistical difficulties, what problems will the countries pose?


CROATIA
World ranking 10

Oh no, not again. The biggest gasps at the draw went out when this rematch was drawn.

Croatia beat England twice in the recent Euro 2008 qualifying group to help end their hopes of reaching next summer's finals and they have plenty of dangermen.

The England players, fans and media will be able to tell the new manager plenty about the likes of Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Eduardo Silva.

An up-and-coming team, Croatia are expected to be England's main rivals to qualify from the group.


UKRAINE
World ranking 29

Striker Andriy Shevchenko is their main threat but, judging by his form at Chelsea, he looks like a player on the wane.

But his reputation earns him the right to be seen as a threat, while fellow forward Andriy Voronin is showing the potential to be a thorn in England's side as he tries to make his mark at Liverpool.

Holding midfielder Anatoliy Tymoschuk starts Ukraine's attacks and has reportedly been eyed by both Arsenal and Manchester United.

Ukraine will host Euro 2012 and will be making attempts to improve and bring on their national side so England will have to be wary.

They finished fourth behind Italy, France and Scotland as they failed to qualify for Euro 2008 but lost only one game at their Kiev home - to Italy - in the process.


BELARUS
World ranking 60

They ended their failed Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a home win over a Holland side that had already secured their slot in Austria and Switzerland for the finals.

Arsenal playmaker Alexander Hleb poses their biggest threat and Belarus have the potential to be troublesome if England take them too lightly.

They finished fourth in their Euro 2008 qualifying group and German Bernd Stange is at the helm and in charge of making them into a force.

He will be hoping they can match some of their promising play with more bite.

Maksim Romaschenko is an experienced and key player and another man of whom England will have to be careful.

"There are more military in the stands when you play in Belarus," said Dutch journalist Rob Fleur.

"A lot of players don't want to go there because it is always cold and the pitch is frozen. They play with two strikers and the rest defending."


KAZAKHSTAN
World ranking 110

The Borat jokes are already doing the rounds but Serbia were not laughing after their defeat in Kazakhstan during their Euro 2008 campaign.

Serbia went on to miss out on qualification and Kazakhstan also held Belgium at home and narrowly lost to Portugal.

Those results showed Kazakhstan could be difficult opponents who are improving and can raise themselves for high-profile opposition.

But despite the length of the trip and potentially tough nature of the conditions, England will be castigated if they do not beat Kazakhstan.


ANDORRA
World ranking 174

Any opposition whose country is known as a principality should be viewed as a gimme and Andorra are no different.

England made hard work of beating them 3-0 in the away leg in Spain but, while they are a tough team to break down, they are an exception to the phrase 'there are no easy games in international football'.

ESPNsoccernet

 

Lions unlikely to roar in Asia

Jason Dasey

Singapore: Away from the raucous, outdoor sports bars that broadcast wall-to-wall TV coverage of the English Premier League, national pride is burning bright ahead of the latest Asian qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.

The tiny island state is preparing to enter new territory: the third qualifying round, for the first time in its history.

Singapore will face Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Lebanon in Group 4, with the top two teams advancing to the next stage, on the long road to South Africa.

The Lions are considered favourites to be eliminated but won't be taken lightly, having compiled an impressive record since 2005: just three defeats in 23 competitive fixtures. And over the past two years, they've beaten Asian champions Iraq, drawn with regional powerhouses China, and toppled Thailand to win back-to-back ASEAN Championships.

It's a massive improvement on their ill-fated qualifying campaign for the previous World Cup. They were knocked out in the first round after finishing bottom of their group with five defeats in six matches, including a 7-0 thrashing by Oman. Even India finished ahead of them.

Their Serbian coach Raddy Avramovic has transformed an under-achieving side that leaked goals and was overawed by big-name opponents into a combative unit that defends strongly and can eke out good away results, despite difficult conditions.

Singapore progressed to the third round after beating Tajikistan over two legs in November: a 2-0 victory at home followed by an impressive 1-1 draw on the road, despite many of the squad being afflicted by a stomach bug.

It means that Singapore fans no longer have to keep talking about the 'good old days', with the current crop exceeding the achievements of the beloved 1977 and 1994 teams.

In their inaugural World Cup campaign ahead of Argentina '78, Singapore finished a gutsy second in their group after wins against Thailand and Malaysia. But they were dumped out before the final qualifying round after losing a play-off with Hong Kong.

After missing out on the USA World Cup, the 1994 team sent Singapore into national ecstasy by winning the Malaysia Cup and league double, overcoming the best club sides from across the causeway.

But the Lions' latest success hasn't come without controversy, namely the Foreign Talent Scheme which targets overseas players. No fewer than seven of the current 22-man squad were born outside Singapore, in countries like Nigeria, England and Serbia.

The newest star recruit is 37-year-old Aleksandar Duric who scored both the goals in the first-leg win against Tajikistan, the oldest international debutant less than two months after becoming a Singaporean. Duric was born in Bosnia, represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in canoeing at the 1992 Olympics and played in Australia's old National Soccer League (NSL) as an Australian citizen.

He's become the biggest star of Singapore's S-League: last season's top scorer with 37 league goals, voted player of the year and a key member of champions, Singapore Armed Forces FC (SAFFC).

The inclusion of Duric - and so many other imports - has irritated Singapore's most capped player, Malek Awab, who made 123 appearances in the red and white. Awab says foreigners are holding back local talent.

'Look at Shahril Ishak. He's the finest midfielder now, but, because of the foreign-born players, he has to sit on the bench,' Awab told the Straits Times.

Singapore, with a population of 4.5million (roughly the same as Croatia), is as passionate about football as any European or Asian nation. The back pages of the newspapers are dominated by coverage of Serie A, the Primera Liga and the Bundesliga, in addition to its beloved EPL.

But holding back the development of the elite player base is the fact that its ethnic Chinese majority - around three-quarters of the population - tends to be football watchers instead of serious football players. These educated and business-minded people usually choose less risky career paths instead of the uncertain life of a professional footballer.

It's left to Singapore Malays and Singapore Indians to wear the national strip on the football field - along with naturalised Singaporeans like Shi Jiayi, Daniel Bennett and Agu Casmir.

Even so, much of this vibrant island nation identifies with, and closely follows, the achievements of the Lions. As soon as they start winning matches, everyone, it seems, is jumping on the bandwagon.

In football, like anything else for such a tiny speck on the map, Singapore uses planning and ingenuity to make up for a lack of natural resources and usually ends up doing better than most of its much bigger neighbours.

• Sydney-born Jason Dasey ( www.jasondasey.com ) is a host of Soccernet SportsCenter and SportsCenter on ESPN 

BBC Sport

 

England will begin their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign under new coach Fabio Capello away to international minnows Andorra on 6 September.
The Italian's team then face a tough trip to take on their Euro 2008 nemesis Croatia in Zagreb four days later.

England end their campaign at home to Belarus on 14 October 2009, four days after playing Ukraine in Kiev.

"September is a good month for English footballers, so to play them (Croatia) then is ideal," said Capello.

Capello achieved his aim of securing two September clashes with Croatia - England will host Slaven Bilic's men at Wembley on 9 September 2009.

The Croatians, currently ranked 10th in the world, will undoubtedly be England's toughest opponents.

England will be keen to avenge their two defeats to Croatia during Euro 2008 qualifying which ended their hopes of reaching this summer's finals, and ultimately cost manager Steve McLaren his job.

"He (Capello) wanted Croatia twice in September - he was really relaxed about whether we were home or away," said Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association's director of football development.

"It has worked out quite nicely that we have a free Saturday before the home game. He also wanted to start with Andorra."

Ukraine, whom England play at Wembley on 1 April next year and then away on 10 October, could be the group's dark horses.

They finished fourth behind Italy, France and Scotland as they failed to qualify for Euro 2008 but lost only one game in Kiev - to Italy - in the process. 

Belarus, who feature Arsenal playmaker Alexander Hleb, could potentially prove troublesome but Kazakhstan, ranked 110 in the world, and Andorra should present no problems.

Brooking added that the FA would seek an evening kick-off for their 6 June clash away to Kazakhstan next year to negate the effects of the sweltering heat and eight-hour flight.

"We have to make sure we get an evening kick-off for the Kazakhstan game but if you are going to have to play two matches in June, they are the ones you would have chosen," he said.

Capello's first match in charge is against Switzerland at Wembley on 6 February, when David Beckham could win his 100th cap - if selected.

"All managers have sentiment - but they also need to take decisions," said Capello.

"Beckham is important for England and can still give a lot, but all the players are equally important to me and start from the same position, including David Beckham."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

England's 2010 World Cup qualifying fixtures:
Andorra (a) Saturday, 6 September 6 2008
Croatia (a) Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Kazakhstan (h) Saturday, 11 October 2008
Belarus (a) Wednesday, 15 October, 2008
No game - Saturday, 28 March, 2009
Ukraine (h) Wednesday, 1 April, 2009
Kazakhstan (a) Saturday, 6 June, 2009
Andorra (h) Wednesday, 10 June, 2009
No game - Saturday, 5 September, 2009
Croatia (h) Wednesday, 9 September, 2009
Ukraine (a) Saturday, 10 October, 2009
Belarus (h) Wednesday, 14 October, 2009

BBC Sport

 

I was mildly surprised when I was in the middle of my toast and coffee this morning to look up and see England manager Fabio Capello walking into breakfast at the hotel.

It's a fairly regulation thing for everybody to do but in my experience you would never have seen that with Sven-Goran Eriksson, who very much stayed in his own quarters.

But Capello, who was wearing wine-coloured glasses and a smart suit without a tie at that time - although he later put one on - just walked in like we would to a table in the corner.

He came in along with Football Association development director Trevor Brooking and the rest of the negotiating team.

I had a word with Trevor at breakfast and he told me that they had been given an indication that things might not be decided on Monday.

The understanding was that the eastern European countries may actually not decide and it might have to go to the drawing of lots in Zurich on Wednesday. 

So, after breakfast they all went into the meeting with the rest of the representatives from the other five countries in the group and that was at 9.30am.

There then followed a very long day of waiting. It was seven hours later, which included a 40 minute break for lunch, that they came out and had agreed on the fixture list.

I think Ukraine and Croatia were not singing from similar hymn sheets and that was causing a bit of blockage to the whole thing.

The problem was that as soon as solutions were found in one area, that caused problems in other areas.

Trevor was saying that they started to piece the schedule together on a chart as they went along with fixtures that had been agreed.

Eventually, they found a bit of common ground and agreed to sort it out on the day.

At one stage Trevor said that some of them were on the verge of getting up and walking out and leaving it to lots.

The FA told us that Capello's priority was to have the two games against Croatia in September 2008 and September 2009 and they got that.

The reasoning for that was that he felt at that time of the season the English players would be at their freshest.

He also wanted the Croatia game at home in September 2009 to be preceded by a free Saturday so they have more time to prepare.

Capello didn't want to finish with a home game to Croatia or Ukraine but the one thing he has, perhaps, had to give way on is that England will have to go to Kazakhstan in June 2009.

It will be very hot at that time of year in the country but he was satisfied to take the Saturday for that game as the game will be played in the evening when it will be cooler.

I got the impression the FA got a good deal of what they wanted.

And Trevor said that Capello very much took a strong part in negotiations to sort it all out.

ESPNsoccernet

 

SEOUL, Feb 12 (Reuters) - North and South Korea are at loggerheads over which national anthems and flags will be used when the two countries meet in a World Cup qualifier next month, an official said on Tuesday.


'North Korea wants us to use a joint Korean flag and anthem ... instead of allowing us to use our own,' said You Young-cheul, spokesman for South Korea's soccer federation.

According to FIFA rules, the flags and national anthems of both participating countries must be used in international matches, You added.

The two Koreas, still technically at war, each state in their respective constitutions that their government is the legitimate ruler over the other half of the peninsula.

The 1950-1953 Korean War was settled by a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.

Despite competing as separate teams, the two countries have marched together at Olympic Games and other sporting events, carrying a joint flag that shows the entire peninsula in blue against a white background.

A folk song popular in both countries has been used as their anthem.

The two Koreas will try to resolve the issue themselves but may have to turn to FIFA for help, You said.

North and South Korea, who have been drawn in Group three with Jordan and Turkmenistan, will play their match on March 26 in Pyongyang.

South Korea easily won their opening qualifier against Turkmenistan 4-0 and North Korea beat Jordan 1-0.