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FIFA International friendlies: England v Denmark and more

Leon Smolski — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 14:18:09 +0000

Players, whose place in the England squad for the World Cup in Brazil is not concrete, have the last opportunity to impress Roy Hodgson at Wembley against Denmark on Wedneday night.

England v Denmark
Roy Hogdson was seen at St.Mary’s Stadium last Saturday, as Southampton hosted Liverpool. These two clubs employ nine out of thirty England players, called-up to represent the national team in the match against Denmark with Luke Shaw earning his first call-up. Another five players come from Manchester United, three from Chelsea, two from Everton, Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal. Cardiff, Norwich, West Brom, Celtic and Toronto have one representative in the squad. However, Spurs head coach Tim Sherwood claimed Kyle Walker will not be fit for Wednesday fixture, as well as Danish international Christian Eriksen. Denmark will not take part in the World Cup having been the lowest-rated group runner-up during qualification campaign.

England’s remaining friendlies against Peru, Ecuador and Honduras come in May and June after the final provisional 30-man squad will have been named.

South Africa v Brazil
The hosts of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, South Africa and Brazil, meet in Johannesburg. Bafana Bafana, who finished behind Ethiopia in the group and failed to qualify for the tournament, will test the Selecao, who missed the entire qualification campaign as Cup hosts. South Africa leader and Crystal Palace midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi will sit out the friendly match along with Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.
Luiz Felipe Scolari brought the following squad to Joburg:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (QPR), Jefferson (Botafogo)

Defenders: Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Dante (Bayern Munich), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Rafinha (Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Paulinho (Tottenham), Ramires, Oscar, Willian (all Chelsea)

Strikers: Neymar (Barcelona), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk), Hulk (Zenit), Fred (Fluminense), Jo (Atletico Mineiro)

The Brazilian specialist claimed ahead of the game:
‘If you are a team like Brazil and you take part in a World Cup, everybody expects you to lift the trophy. We are certainly working towards that aim’.

Spain v Italy
The winners of the last two World Cups face each other in Madrid, at Estadio Vicente Calderon. Diego Costa could make his debut for La Furia Roja after obtaining Spanish citizenship. Manchester United and Chelsea stars Juan Mata and Fernando Torres were left out of the squad, but other Premier League players, such as Santi Cazorla, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Silva, Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo are all in the team.

However, Spain manager Vicente del Bosque highlighted that ‘This is just a squad to play Italy, not for the World Cup’.
Emmanuele Giaccherini from Sunderland was called up to represent Italy.

Other fixtures:
Turkey v Sweden
Romania v Argentina
Ukraine v United States
Austria v Uruguay
Switzerland v Croatia
Germany v Chile
Republic of Ireland v Serbia
Belgium v Cote D’Ivoire
Poland v Scotland
Wales v Iceland
France v Netherlands
Portugal v Cameroon

Shaun Bartlett “The South African players should stick together as a squad all the way at the Nations Cup”

Cyrill Kirushkin — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:12:23 +0000

Bafana Bafana is preparing for their first game at the Nations Cup against Cape Verde and the fans unite behind the team.

Former striker of the South African national team and current assistant coach at Golden Arrows Shaun Bartlett is an ardent supporter of the side who claims that players should realize that “as much as they feel high pressure, the whole country is behind them.” Bartlett was a part of the squad that won the title in 1996 and hopes this generation will repeat the triumph.

The tactician says that every game for the national team is difficult, yet points out the players should see a clear aim and believe in themselves. “Qualifying from the group is the first step and the players should stick together as a squad all the way” states Bartlett.

The South African underlines that the beginning of the tournament is the most significant moment, as “when you only start the tournament there is a lot of hype and everybody is very excited about the first match and I guess it takes a lot out of the players. Yet remembering the 1996 success he states that “it was after the first fixture that we actually understood that we could go much further in the Cup than expected”.

Tottenham Adebayor to take part in African Nations Cup

Basil Naumov — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:10:36 +0000

Emmanuel Adebayor changed his mind on boycotting the African Nations Cup after he discussed the matter with the Togo’s president Faure Gnassingbe.

The Tottenham striker has been previously determined to boycott the tournament in South Africa due to the disagreement with Togo Football Association on the bonus payments for the players.

Adebayor was expected to stay at the club during winter after he publicly announced the decision to retire from football (which is his third ‘retirement’, by the way). However at the moment it looks as if he takes part in the Premier League clash against QPR on Saturday before joining his teammates ahead one week of the tournament kick-off.

Togo is set to play its opening game of the tournament against the much fancied Ivory Coast on January 22.

South African players want to pay tribute to their assistant coach by winning AFCON title

Basil Naumov — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 10:48:43 +0000

2013 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off January, 19 in Johannesburg. Host nation South Africa is touted as the favorite to win its second ACP trophy because of the strong squad filled with quality players. Yet there is one more special reason for Bafana Bafana to claim the AFCON title.

Assistant South Africa coach Thomas Madiga has tragically died in a car accident in October, 2012. Most of the players took the death of their mentor and coach close to heart and hope to turn their rueful feelings into the energetic performance during the Africa Cup of Nations. South Africa midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi revealed that the best way to pay tribute to the coach is winning the tournament on home soil.

According to the latest team news South Africa will miss their all-time best leading scorer Benni McCarthy and defender Eric Mathoho who have been dropped out of the South Aftica squad due to injuries. However the support from South African home crowd will undoubtedly be strong motivator to put the shoulder to the wheel and win 2013 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off January, 19 in Johannesburg.