Lee Vilenski

Jun 17 2010, 09:39 PM

lol. Loving the pizza hut. I bet there is a huge party in Dublin tonight!

Lee Vilenski

Jun 17 2010, 09:49 PM

To be fair Kev, there is a difference from being Irelands' goalkeeper, and being Iker Casslias...

shefellover93

Jun 17 2010, 09:44 PM

Lee Vilenski

Jun 17 2010, 09:39 PM

lol. Loving the pizza hut. I bet there is a huge party in Dublin tonight!

This is our national channel, in the studio during post match analysis



Also holy fuck about Iker's girlfriend, I have to be a national team goalkeeper!!!

BBC Sport

 

Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger missed training on Wednesday with a cold and is rated doubtful.

If he is forced to miss out, coach Joachim Loew may have a tactical reshuffle due to the lack of another holding midfielder in his squad who could directly replace him.

Serbia will bring in Neven Subotic in place of the suspended Alexsandar Lukovic, who was red carded against Ghana.

Wolves' midfielder Nenad Milijas could be replaced in central midfield by Zdravko Kuzmanovic and winger Zoran Tosic is also pushing for a starting spot.

Suspended: Lukovic (Serbia) One booking from suspension: Oezil, Cacau (Germany) & Zigic, Kuzmanovic (Serbia).

MATCH PREVIEW

Never write of the Germans. It's a cliché, but a cliché that cannot be ignored after the first round of matches of the World Cup. By the time all 32 teams had completed their opening group games, Germany's four goals in their emphatic win over Australia contributed nearly a sixth of the 25 goals scored.

In a World Cup lacking excitement, Germany's thrilling performance saw the plaudits pour in from around the globe. One of coach Joachim Loew's biggest tasks will be to keep focus and temper expectation amongst his young squad. Not that he needs to worry - Holger Badstuber, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil and Thomas Mueller may boast just 22 caps between them, but possess such level heads they appear to be a coach's dream.

When you play well you are everyone's darling, but if we lose to Serbia they will tear us apart, so we need to keep our feet on the ground," said 20-year-old Muller, who was lauded this week by his namesake, the legendary Der Bomber, Gerd.

Much-fancied Serbia got off to the worst possible start and contributed little in a drab defeat to Ghana. Heads may be down but they have to rouse themselves as defeat could knock them out of the competition if Ghana avoid defeat to Australia on Saturday. Radomir Antic may ring the changes as his side looked sluggish in midfield against the vibrant and young Ghanaians. They are going to have to significantly up their game in Port Elizabeth otherwise their World Cup hopes will be cast adrift.

MATCH STATS
Head-to-head

- Taking into account games played by West Germany, plus those by the Yugoslavia or Serbia and Montenegro this is the seventh time they have met at the World Cup. As a result, this becomes the joint most-played fixture at the World Cup along with Brazil v Sweden. Germany lead by four wins to one.

- Overall, this is the sides' 28th meeting and Germany lead by 16 wins to seven. The last time Germany lost this fixture was in May 1973.
Germany

- Miroslav Klose is now only four goals behind Ronaldo's all-time record of 15 goals at the World Cup. His goal against Australia was the seventh header he has scored at the World Cup, a record.

- Germany have conceded seven goals in their last three World Cup matches against teams from the Balkans (1-2 v Bulgaria in 1994, 2-2 v Yugoslavia and 0-3 v Croatia in 1998).

Serbia

- Serbia set a World Cup record when Alexsander Lukovic was sent off against Ghana as they have now had a player red-carded in each of their last three World Cup matches.

- Discipline is a real issue as they have now conceded three goals to penalties in their last two World Cup matches.

- Their last victory at a World Cup came when they beat USA 1-0 in 1998.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee Alberto Undiano (Spain)

Assistants Fermin Martinez & Juan Carlos Yuste Jimenez (Esp

Fourth official Martin Vazquez (Uruguay)

BBC Sport

 

Slovenia have no reported injury concerns and could be unchanged from the victory over Algeria. Forward Zlatan Ljubijankic replaced the ineffective Zlatko Dedic in the second half of that game and is pushing for a start.

USA goalkeeper Tim Howard will play despite suffering bruised ribs in a collision with England's Emile Heskey on Saturday. Coach Bob Bradley is expected to stick with the same starting XI, having praised their character in recovering from the early goal conceded against England.

MATCH PREVIEW

The smallest nation at this World Cup size up to the biggest, with Slovenia's slingshot trained on America's Goliath. Having recorded their first World Cup win at the expense of Algeria, Slovenia will qualify for the last 16 if they beat the USA.

That would ensure redemption for coach Matjaz Kek, who was mockingly called Kekec - meaning a fool - after failing to win any of his first five competitive games in charge.

But Kekec is also the name of the hero in a famous Slovenian children's story who outwits the villain. A country of only two million people will have a real person to revere if Kek guides his team to the knockout stages by beating a nation that is 150 times bigger in terms of population.

The USA's players have acknowledged that their opening draw against England will count for nothing if they lose this game. While defeat would virtually eliminate them, a win would put the USA well-placed to progress from the group with an unsurpassed four points.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

- This is the first meeting between Slovenia and the USA at any level.

Slovenia

- Slovenia is the fifth smallest nation by population ever to play in a World Cup, behind Trinidad & Tobago (2006), Northern Ireland (1958), United Arab Emirates (1990) and Uruguay (1930).

- Slovenia have won seven of their last eight matches since losing to England in September.

- Striker Milivoje Novakovic needs one goal to move clear in second place on Slovenia's all-time goalscorers list. He is currently alongside the retired Saso Udovic on 16 goals.

- Aleksander Radosavljevic and Andrej Komac will be suspended for the next game if booked.

United States

- The USA have lost four of their last six matches against European opposition, with their only win in that time coming against Turkey in May.

- They have gone 11 consecutive matches without keeping a clean sheet.

- Landon Donovan is poised to earn his 125th cap. He is the fourth most-capped player in US history.

- Robbie Findley, Steve Cherundolo and Jay DeMerit will earn a one-match ban if booked.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)

Assistants: Redouane Achik (Morocco) & Inacio Candido (Angola)

Fourth official: Subkhiddin Salleh (Malaysia)

ITV1 for us in the UK

BBC Sport

 

Midfielder Gareth Barry will start for England, having recovered from the ankle ligament damage he sustained six weeks ago. Jamie Carragher is expected to deputise for injured defender Ledley King, while goalkeeper Robert Green appears increasingly likely to keep his place. Manager Fabio Capello has said he is considering starting Jermain Defoe in place of Emile Heskey.

Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi might miss out through injury. Chaouchi, who was to blame for the defeat by Slovenia, had been told by coach Rabah Saadane he would start but he sprained his left knee on Tuesday and is a doubt. Rookie Rais M'Bolhi is on standby, as the long-serving Lounes Gaouaoui is seemingly out of favour.

MATCH PREVIEW

England play this game against the backdrop of Table Mountain in the knowledge that failure to win would leave them between a rock and a hard place.

Given the aura of despair that followed the opening draw with the USA, Fabio Capello's side might have preferred the nearby Cape of Good Hope as a venue. Should England lose or draw this match, the likelihood is that they would be left needing to beat a stubborn Slovenia to avoid an early exit.

Algeria would be eliminated on Friday by a second successive defeat. They, like England, were afflicted by a costly goalkeeping blunder in their opening game, with Faouzi Chaouchi allowing a tame shot from Slovenia's Robert Koren to squirt into the net.

Chaouchi is an injury doubt but will start if fit, having been given an immediate vote of confidence from his coach. England's Robert Green might have appreciated a similar gesture from Capello following his mistake against the USA.

Wayne Rooney's bullish assertion that England will beat Algeria is misguided according to the African side, who will target the lack of pace in the English defence.

However, Algeria have been impotent of late, with their only goal in six matches coming from the penalty spot. They mustered a mere two shots on target against Slovenia, offering little to suggest they will ruin Capello's 64th birthday.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

- England and Algeria have never previously met at any level.

- Algeria are the 82nd different country England have played.

England

- England have never lost to an African nation, winning 11 and drawing four of their previous 15 encounters.

- They are unbeaten in their last six World Cup matches, excluding penalty shootouts. England can equal their World Cup record of seven matches without defeat on Friday, set between 1966 and 1970.

- England have not failed to win either of their opening two matches at a World Cup since 1990 - when they went on to reach the semi-finals.

- Manager Capello celebrates his 64th birthday on the day of this match.

- Wayne Rooney has failed to score in his last six internationals, his worst run since 2006.

- James Milner, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard will serve a one-match ban if booked in this game.
Algeria

- Algeria's only win in the last 16 attempts against European opposition was against Romania in December 2000 (W1, D6, L9).

- The Desert Foxes have conceded at least one goal in each of their seven previous matches at a World Cup finals.

- They have lost five of their last six matches without scoring. Their only win - and goal - came courtesy of a Karim Ziani penalty against the United Arab Emirates earlier this month.

- The squad includes 17 players who were born in France.

- Hassan Yebda is one booking from a ban, having received a yellow card against Slovenia.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Assistants: Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan) & Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)

Fourth official: Michael Hester (NZL)

shefellover93

Jun 17 2010, 09:00 PM

TC Admin

Jun 17 2010, 08:55 PM

BBC Sport live text

 

Pizza Hut Dublin outlet have had to hand out 700 free pizzas tonight. They were giving 350 free pizzas for any World Cup goal against France...

I love my country!