Serbia’s 2010 World Cup 23 Man Squad

Serbia have announced their final 23 man squad for the 2010 World Cup Finals:

Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Sporting), Bojan Isailovic (Zaglebie Lubin), Andjelko Djuricic (Uniao Leiria).

Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese), Ivan Obradovic (Zaragoza), Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio).

Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan), Gojko Kacar (Hertha Berlin), Nenad Milijas (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Zdravko Kuzmanovic (VfB Stuttgart), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade), Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow), Zoran Tosic (Manchester United), Milos Ninkovic (Dynamo Kiev), Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege).

Strikers: Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City), Marko Pantelic (Ajax Amsterdam), Danko Lazovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dragan Mrdja (Vojvodina Novi Sad).

Looking at the squad they appear fairly solid defensively with Chelseas Branislav Ivanovic & Manchester Uniteds  Nemanja Vidic both being amongst the best in the Premire League.  However they look likely to struggle to score goals with this forward line and the midfield dosent look like being able to pick up the slack. They should be quite hard to beat but an early exit looks on the cards.

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Woeful Performances By France & Italy in Latest Wam Up Matches

Raymond Domenech
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Some mixed performances in the latest World Cup warm up matches including awful results for the 2006 finalists France & Italy.  
 

Friday 4th June 2010

 

France 0-1 China PR
 
France were looking to get back on track following their disappointing1-1 draw withTunisia in their last game, but despite staring with a strong side including  Franck Ribery, Florent Malouda, and Patrice Evra they finished with another embarrassing result. Their form is dreadful going into the Finals and French fans can only take heart from the fact that surely they can’t keep playing this badly. Their manager Raymond Domenech (right) must be feeling the pressure now, and a poor showing in the Finals will almost certainly bring his tenure to an end.  

Japan 0-2 Ivory Coast
 
The scoreline is of little importance to the Ivory Coast, (who looked good in the game) compared to the injury to Didier Drogba. The news of his broken arm is not only a blow to their fans but to the whole tournament as he is Africa’s most talismanic player and his loss will probably cost the Ivory Coast any chance they had of making the last 16.

Thursday 3rd June 2010

 
 

Germany 3-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
 
Nice and comfortable for Germany, who are looking quietly confident going into the Finals.

Italy 1-2 Mexico
 
It is debatable whether this was a poor performance by Italy or a good one by Mexico, who again looked good in possession and seem to have improved their defense markedly since their dominant but ultimately futile performance against England a couple of weeks ago. Mexico swept into a deserved 2 goal lead and Italy rarely looked like getting back into the game only managing a consolation goal in the 89th minute. Italy will need to rediscover their goal scoring form if they are to make much of an impact , while on this showing Mexico are genuine contenders for the Quarter Finals at least.

Spain 1-0 South Korea
 
Neither side looked particularly interested in what looked more like a practice match than a competitive game. The Spanish starting 11 included a lot of second string names so it would be unwise to read too much from this performance.
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Injuries Hit Ivory Coast & England With Only A Week To Go

Rio Ferdinand
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There was bad news from both the England & Ivory Coast camps today with the announcements that England Captain Rio Ferdinand was on his way home with an injury and that Didier Drogba the Ivory Coasts talismatic striker had broken his arm and was unlikley to take part in the finals.

The Injury to Rio, although disapointing for England fans is not the end of the world so to speak and given that he has not looked fit in the build up could prove to be a blessing in disguise as Michael Dawson has looked competent all season and with Ferdinand’s knee going now there is at least time to draft him in. Had the injury occcured in the opening game then England would have bee down to a 22 man squad for the remainder of the tournament.  Steven Gerrard has been given the captains arm band which looks like a good choice.

The Ivory Coast on the other hand will be devastated and the possible loss of Africas most recognised talent will take a little of the shine off of what promises to be a great specticle. The Ivory Coast just like 2006 have been handed a tough draw and the loss of Drogba probably means that qualification for the last 16 will be beyond them again. Hopefully the draw will be slightly kinder to them in 2014.

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Paraguay Building Momentum as World Cup Nears

Paraguay beat fellow World Cup qualifiers Greece 2-0 in Winterthur yesterday and look to be gathering momentum going into the finals. This excellent result follows on from a hard fought 2-2 draw with the Ivory Coast where they came back from 2-0 down. They are most people s tip to take the second qualifying spot in group F, and on this form they could push Italy close for the top spot.

In other matches both Honduras and Serbia failed to impress both gaining disappointing 0-0 draws. Honduras will be particularly worried as Azerbaijan are one of Europe’s weakest teams.

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Holland Send Out A Warning With Emphatic Win

The FIFA World Cup (awarded 1974–Present)
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Holland sent a clear indication that they will be a force in the World Cup Finals with a very impressive win over a good Ghana side at the Feijenoord Stadium in Rotterdam. The 4-1 scoreline doesn’t flatter the Dutch and Ghana will have no complaints as they had a near full strength team out.

This is Hollands last meaningful match before the finals and no one will fancy playing them on this form.

On other warm up matches Australia had a good 1-0 win over Denmark and Portugal had a nice 3-1 win over Cameroon,  who again looked short of firepower.

Switzerland lost 1-0 to Costa Rica and will struggle in the finals on this form.

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Ghana Announce Their World Cup Squad

Ghana have annoubced their final 23 man squad for the 2010 World Cup Final in South Africa. Despite Essien being injured it still looks a strong squad and it has a few African based players in it. The only real concern for me is up front with none of the strikers chosed with the possible exception of Matthew Amoah being particularly prolific.

Goalkepers : Richard Kingson (Wigan, England), Daniel Agyei (Liberty Professionals, Ghana), Stephen Ahorlu (Hearts of Lions, Ghana).

Defenders : Samuel Inkoom (FC Basel, Switzerland), Jonathan Mensah (Free State Stars, Spain), Lee Addy (Bechem Chelsea, Ghana), Rahim Ayew (Zamalek, Egypt), Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), John Mensah (Sunderland, England), Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim, Germany), John Paintsil (Fulham, England).

Midfielders : Sulley Ali Muntari ( Inter Milan Italy), Derek Boateng (Getafe,Spain), Anthony Annan (Rosenborg, Norway), Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese, Italy), André Ayew (Arles-Avignon, France), Stephen Appiah (Bologne, Italy), Quincy Owusu Abeyie (Al-Sadd, Qatar), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth, England).

Forwards : Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda, Netherlands), Asamoah Gyan (Stade Rennais, France), Prince Tagoe (Hoffenheim, Germany), Dominic Adiyiah (AC Milan, Italy).

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Latest World Cup Warm Up Matches

The FIFA World Cup (awarded 1974–Present)
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Friday, 28 May 2010

Rep of Ireland 3-0 Algeria
Not a good result for Algeria who look likely to struggle in the group stages on this showing. Ireland who were unlucky not to be in the finals themselves have now beaten two World Cup teams in their last two games and will start their European Championship qualifying campaign in good heart.

Saturday, 29 May 2010

Hungary 0-3 Germany
A comfortable win for Germany who on this form should take Group D without too much trouble – not much else to say here.

New Zealand 1-0 Serbia
A great win for New Zealand who shocked the world no 15 ranked Serbs thanks to a nicely worked goal by Shane Smeltz in the 22nd minute. This didn’t go down well with the Serbian element of the 14,000 crowd who proceeded to cause a bit of trouble throwing flares andother objects onto the pitch. Although you cant read too much into a warm up friendly match on this showing Serbia will struggle to justify their second favourites ranking and Ghana despite the fact they will be missing Essien look a good bet to take the second qualifying place in Group D.

Slovakia 1-1 Cameroon
Slovakia will be quietly confident of making a respectable World Cup Debut after holding the Indomitable Lions to a draw in Klagenfurt, Austria. In a group where all the attention will be on Italy and Paraguay they remain probably 3rd choice, but they should go home without being embarrassed. Cameroon will be very worried about their lack of firepower andthis could be telling as goal difference or even goals scored could decide who joins Holland in the last 16 from Group E

Spain 3-2 Saudi Arabia
 
Spain started this game witha near full strength squad including players of the caliber of Casillas, Puyol, Pique, Xavi, Alonso, Iniesta & Villa probably expecting a comfortable victory. However that’s not how things turned out and they looked very ordinary in scraping this narrow win. They have a couple more warm up matches left but will have to show a whole lot more than this if they are to lift the trophy for the first time in South Africa.
 

USA 2-1 Turkey
 
The USA had to come from behind to win this game but in doing so showed a lot of character and tactical awareness which will stand them in good stead in the finals. Group C should be very interesting with only Algeria looking like whipping boys.
 
Sunday, 30 May 2010
  
  

Belarus 1-0 South Korea
 
A very disappointing result for South Korea in light of their excellent wins over Equador and Japan in their previous games. However Belarus are not a pushover for any tam and this could just be a blip in form. They face Spain on June 3rd and this will give us a lot more idea about their chances.
 
 

Chile 1-0 Northern Ireland
 
A near second string Chile won a pretty insignificant match against Northern Ireland thanks to some good goalkeeping and a well taken goal by Colo Colo Midfielder Esteben Paredes. They have a match against Israel coming up and they will probably field a team closer to their starting eleven in that.
 
 

Japan 1-2 England
 
Inept is probably the kindest way to describe Englands performance against a plucky Japan side who will feel a trifle unlucky. Trailing 1-0 at half time England had to rely on two Japan own goals for the narrow win and the usually dependable Frank Lampard missed his second consecutive penalty which ironically is probably a good thing as he will never miss three in a row. The good news for England is that they have now managed to beat two fellow World Cup contenders while playing poorly. If they get it right and play to their full potential then they will go a long way in the finals. However if they reproduce this sort of form in the Finals they could go out in the group stages and wont get past the last 16.
 
 

Mexico 5-1 Gambia
An easy win for Mexico who look a good team in going forward but their shakydefense was still evident. If they can learn to defend set pieces they could surprise a few teams this year.
 

Nigeria 1-1 Colombia
 
Not an overly impressive performance by Nigeria who may not have been ideally suited by the playing conditions at the MK Stadium. An early exit looks on the cards for the Super Eagles in 2010.
 
 

Paraguay 2-2 Ivory Coast
 
A hugely entertaining encounter between two teams who have their sights firmly set on a place in the last 16 at least. Overall The Ivory Coast looked the better team and Paraguay had Aureliano Torres to thank for their draw when he struck from a free kick in the 90th minute.
 
 

Tunisia 1-1 France
 
A crowd of around55,000 watched Tunisia pile the pressure on France coach Raymond Domenech following another disappointing performance. Tunisia took the lead in a first half more notable for the pitch invasion by a cat than the standard of the football. It took France until the 62nd minute for France to equalise and when it came it was defender Wiliam Gallas who snatched the goal. Group A is starting to look very interesting and the French will be hoping that they don’t repeat their ignominious exit of 2002.

 
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Chile & Uruaguay Both Have Comfortable Wins In World Cup Warm Ups

Diego Forlán
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Two of the South American representatives in the 2010 World Cup had comfortable wins in their warm up games, with both winning by 3 goal margins.

Chile brushed aside a good Zambia side 3-0 thanks largely to Two goals from Udinese striker Alexis Sanchez  and looked comfortable defensively, never really looking troubled against Zambia, who had some good possession in the opening half. However the  losing quarter-finalists at the African Cup of Nations lacked  quality up front and Claudio Bravo only had to deal with a handful of long range efforts.

Chile have a final game against Northern Ireland to come on Sunday and although this might pose a bit more of a test they should win that game too and enter the finals with their confidence high.

Uruguay arguably had a better result beating Israel 4-1 in a game they dominated from start to finish. Given that Israel are ranked 26 by FIFA such a comfortable win was impressive and their main striker Diego Forlan scored again showing he has carried his impressive club form on into the World Cup. They have a tricky group to negotiate and although this result will not send too many shock waves through their opponents France will do well to remember their ignominious early exit in 2002 when Uruguay helped put one of the nails into the coffin.

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2010 World Cup Warm Up Matches

Coat of arms of Cape Verde, according to here.
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Several of the teams heading for the World Cup in South Africa have played warm up matches this week and the results are below. Although it is dangerous to read too much into these results Fans of Portugal and The USA will be a touch apprehensive after their results, while Argentina look to be coming into a bit of form just in time for the finals winning with ease despite leaving Messi on the bench.

Obviously the result of the week was by Cape Verde who in drawing with Portugal must have given their fellow Africans The Ivory Coast a massive boost.

Wednesday, 26 May 2010

USA 2-4 Czech Republic

Not a good result for the USA who were admittedly missing a couple of probable starters. The Czech Republic are a good team but on this form the USA wont beat England.

Tuesday, 25 May 2010

Georgia 0-0 Cameroon
Greece 2-2 North Korea
Nigeria 0-0 Saudi Arabia
Rep of Ireland 2-1 Paraguay

A good result for North Korea who could do with something to cheer about at home given their current political problems. In their last four matches they have had good draws with South Africa and now Greece and one goal losses  to Mexico & Paraguay, they are destined to go out at the group stages but wont get hammered on this form.

Monday, 24 May 2010

Argentina 5-0 Canada
Australia 2-1 New Zealand
England 3-1 Mexico
Japan 0-2 South Korea
Portugal 0-0 Cape Verde Islands
South Africa 1-1 Bulgaria

A shocker by Portugal, a flattering win for England and a confidence boosting win for a below strength Argentina were the main points of note in these matches. Mexico will not be too disheartened by their defeat as they dominated possession and if they can magic up a goal scorer and a central defender who can clear set pieces they could be a threat in the finals. Paraguay will not be too despondent either as the Republic of Ireland are hard to beat vat home and would have been in the finals had it not been for the hand of Henry.

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England Win But Are Far From Impressive

Ledley King, Tottenham Hotspur captain
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The 3-1 scoreline looks emphatic, but it disguises a rather below par performance by England and is flattered by a dodgy goal from Peter Crouch and Mexico’s total lack of ideas in and around the England penalty area. Still there are some positives to be taken by both teams and they could meet in the Quarter Finals of the World Cup assuming they finish in the same qualifying position in their respective groups.

On the slightly bumpy Wembley pitch, which didn’t seem to play as badly as we were led to believe it would Mexico dominated possession but looked totally bereft of ideas in the final third of the pitch, while England can take heart from some find defensive blocking and from the goals, two of which were from defenders who should have sealed their places in the 23 man squad.

The opening goal was nicely worked and showed Mexico’s weakness in defence – lacking big men to deal with set pieces. The goal cam from a Steven Gerrard corner which should have been dealt with easily, however it alluded the Mexico defense and a crisp header back across goal from Peter Crouch was met by Ledley King who had an easy nod in for 1-0.

The second goal was more questionable and an offside Peter crouch managed to bundle the ball in with his arm following a nice save by the Mexican keeper. On another night this goal would have been chalked off but is stood and England looked in Cruise mode, however in first half injury time Mexico got a goal back when Guillermo Franco pounced on a rebound to knock the ball in.

Fortunately for England a Rocket shot from Glen Johnson just after the break restored the 2 goal lead and effectively allowed England to relax a bit and probably ensured that Mexico were content to play possession football for the remainder of the game.

So whats the positives for England:

Well we know that Leighton Banes is not good enough at this stage of his career – he was partially at fault for the goal and was cruelly exposed on several occasions by the speedy Mexican wingers. Finding this out now is a positive and I will be amazed if he makes the 23.  Ledley King and Glen Johnson both look composed and should be in the 23 and Arron Lennon has the pace to upset any back four in the world.  Overall the team is starting to take shape now and at full strength England will be hard to beat and have shown they can win games without dominating them.

As for Mexico they have shown that they can pass the ball and retain possession, which will stand them in good stead in the rarified atmosphere of South Africa, but look suspect in defense and need to convert their possession and chances into goals. They should at least make the last 16 on this performance.

So overall a win for England but the stats are not impressive 7 shots to Mexico’s 16, 3 corners to 7, out passed out tackled and only 34.3% possession. One gets the feeling that if Mexico had really came to play that the scoreline could have been different and if they were to meet in the World Cup Quarter Finals I wouldn’t bet too much on a repeat result.

On this showing England will struggle in the latter stages.

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