By Chris Wright

Everton have agreed a deal with Azerbaijani side Neftchi Baku to sign their 18-year-old 'wonderkid' Araz Abdullayev once the transfer window re-opens in January.

The promising midfielder will move to Goodison on an initial three-year contract (with the option for two more seasons) subject to gaining a work permit.

Once again, the calendar has rolled around to an international friendly date. As clubs pray to whatever gods will hear them for an injury-free break, most international fans get their last chance in 2010 to see their national sides in action, and with several regional rivals going head-to-head, there are sure to be some interesting stories.

European champions Spain were given no favors this morning when the draw for the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying rounds were made. Spain's group includes the Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

Runners up in 2008 Germany were handed a much easier draw as they will play Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and the side they beat in a dramatic UEFA EURO 2008 semi-final, Turkey.

The 2010 World Cup has not even started yet, but the qualifying groups for the 2012 European Championships were drawn today in Warsaw. Germany faces Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. Going on current form Turkey and Austria followed by Belgium should be the closest encounters, but overall the draw

The draw for the qualification phase of the Euro 2012 tournament took place on Sunday. Turkey found out who they would be playing in order to get into Euro 2012, which will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. Turkey was drawn into group A with the following nations:

• Germany
  
• Austria
  
• Belgium
  
• Kazakhstan
  
• Azerbaijan
  

What's interesting about this draw is that Germany, Austria, and Belgium are countries with a sizable Turkish expatriate population.

Honestly, though, I'm not sure if this is more cause for celebration, laughter, or tears.

Tony Adams has been hired to manage . . . (drum roll, please) Gabala FC. Wait, what?

Who in the hell, you may ask, are Gabala FC? Apparently they are in the Azerbaijan Premier League. Where they currently sit 6th in the table.

(Summary is not available.)

Turkey's 27-man squad for upcoming EURO 2012 qualifying matches against Germany and Azerbaijan has been announced.

Turkey squad consists of the following players:

Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe), Hakan Arıkan, Cenk Gönen (Beşiktaş), Onur Recep Kıvrak (Trabzonspor)

Defenders: Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe), Sabri Sarıoğlu, Servet Çetin, Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray), Ömer Erdoğan (Bursaspor), İbrahim Toraman, [read more]

Group A
Germany continued their impressive start to qualifying for Euro 2012 with a win over Turkey, while Austria overcame Azerbaijan and Belgium defeated 10-man Kazakhstan.
Group B
Republic of Ireland produced an impressive last-gasp comeback but were unable to overthrow Russia in a 3-2 defeat at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

Tony Adams, the former Arsenal and England captain, has become inadvertently involved in a bizarre controversy over the treatment of a caged bear in Azerbaijan.
The original article

The ex Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams is currently managing a team called Gabala in Azerbaijan, and despite a slow start to the season, they have now gone ten games without losing and are in the quarter finals of the cup. Adams intends to stay there for a while, win the league, and then [...]

The ex Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams is currently managing a team called Gabala in Azerbaijan, and despite a slow start to the season, they have now gone ten games without losing and are in the quarter finals of the cup. Adams intends to stay there for a while, win the league, and then [...]

The draw for the 2012 Euro's in Poland and Ukraine will be held tomorrow and UEFA has already conformed the seeds for the draw.

With the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland all in Pot Three, the likelihood of England drawing one of them is 38%. We could also see a repeat of the World-Cup playoffs games between the Republic of Ireland and France.

The draw for Euro 2012 qualification is set to take place on Feburary 7th. With the excitement leading up to qualifications, along with who will be the head coach of the Turkish National Team, the draw is highly anticipated. Turkey is in pot 2 of the draw as seen below.

Pot 1: Spain (holders), Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, and Russia

Pot 2: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, and Romania

Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, and Bosnia-Herzegovina

Pot 4: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, FYR Macedonia, and Cyprus

Pot 5: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Liechtenstein

Pot 6: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, and San Marino

England will take on Wales in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

They will also come up against Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro.

The Scots were drawn in Group I where they will play world cup favorites Spain along with Czech Republic, Lithuania & Liechtenstein.

Northern Ireland have the toughest draw as they face world champions Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Estonia & The Faroe Islands.

The Euro 2012 qualifying draw was held today, with Italy getting a decent group with two teams that could cause a little trouble (Serbia and Slovenia). Marcello Lippi was not in attendance, fueling speculation that he won't be leading the national team after the World Cup. Italy were drawn into Group C with Serbia, Slovenia, Northern Ireland, Estonia, and the Faroe Islands.

The national team schedule for the qualifiers for the Euro 2012 tournament has been determined. The schedule is as follows:

• September 3, 2010: Kazakhstan – Turkey
  
• September 7, 2010: Turkey – Belgium
  
• October 8, 2010: Germany – Turkey
  
• October 12, 2010: Azerbaijan – Turkey
  
• March 29, 2011: Turkey – Austria
  
• June 3, 2011: Belgium – Turkey
  
• September 6, 2011: Austria – Turkey
  
• October 7, 2011: Turkey – Germany
  
• October 11, 2011: Turkey – Azerbaijan
  

Perhaps the hardest team to get the wins from will be Germany.

UEFA has announced the 12 dates that have been reserved for group matches in qualifying. Those dates are:

• 3/4 and 7 September 2010
• 8/9 and 12 October 2010
• 25/26 and 29 March 2011
• 3/4 and 7 June 2011
• 2/3 and 6 September 2011
• 7/8 and 11 October 2011

The following dates are reserved for the play-off matches between the remaining eight runners-up:

• 11/12 November 2011
• 15 November 2011

Countries have until 16 March to agree on the order of their matches.

Finally, the day may soon be upon us where children are running through the streets of Latvia wearing the famous Red & Grey. Yes, Mo Johnston must have taken Air Latvia on his way to Brazil this year because the latest rumour is that the "Highlands Genius" is about to sign defender Raivis Hščanovičs.

Source: Sp Ftball Sprts BlogThe Spanish National U/19 Football Team has defeated Azerbaijan 0-4 a seals its qualification for the European U/19 Championships to be held in France this July. The first 5 national sides placed in this tournament will automatically have their place secured for the U/20 World Championships the following year.

As today's Independent says: It's not all a hoax.

Tony Adams, Mr Arsenal, the finest defender and captain in all my years as an Arsenal fan, is the new manager of Azerbaijani minnows FC Gabala (capacity: 1,080).

It might not be a hoax, but I tell you what, you couldn't make it up.

Second guessing Tony Adams though has been a fine art pretty much since he emerged from his alcoholism a reformed man while still at Arsenal.

Watch out for the footballitis tis the season.

(Classic 2002 ad)

• The wacky & weird of the Bundesliga. (DW)
• 1982 World Cup disarray. (World Cup Wonderland)
• Tony Adams' Azerbaijan allure. (BBC)
• Games you can play with the World Cup. (The DA)
• Nike is trying to steal your money with a US LA Lakers kit.

We have done our best to piece together this list of 31 of the 32 World Cup bound team's pre-tournament friendly matches (location of matches not included):
-Mon May 24
Argentina v Canada
Australia v New Zealand
England v Mexico
Japan v South Korea
Portugal v Cape Verdes Islands
South Africa v Bulgaria
-Tue May 25
Cameroon v Georgia
Greece v North Korea
Nigeria v Saudi Arabia
Paraguay v Ireland
USA v Czech Republic
-Wed May 26
Chile v Zambia
France v Costa Rica
Mexico v Netherlands
Uruguay v Israel
-Thu May 27
Denmark v Senegal
Honduras v Belarus
South Africa v Colombia
-Fri May 28
Algeria v Ireland
-Sat May 29
Cameroon v Slovakia
Germany v Hungary
New Zealand v Serbia
North Korea v Congo DR
Spain v Saudi Arabia
USA v Turkey
-Sun May 30
Chile v N Ireland
Chile v Israel
Cote d'Ivoire v Paraguay
England v Japan
France v Tunisia
Mexico v Gambia
Nigeria v Colombia
South Korea v Belarus
-Tue Jun 1
Australia v Denmark
Cameroon v Portugal
Ghana v Netherlands
Switzerland v Costa Rica
-Wed Jun 2
Greece v Paraguay
Honduras v Azerbaijan
Serbia v Poland
-Thu Jun 3
Germany v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Italy v Mexico
South Korea v Spain
-Fri Jun 4
Cote d'Ivoire v Japan
France v China
New Zealand v Slovenia
-Sat Jun 5
Algeria v UAE
Cameroon v Serbia
Denmark v South Africa
Ghana - v Latvia
Honduras v Romania
Italy v Switzerland
Netherlands v Hungary
Slovakia v Costa Rica
USA v Australia
-Sun Jun 6
Nigeria v North Korea
-Tue Jun 8
Portugal v Mozambique
Spain v Poland
-Wed Jun 9
Chile v New Zealand
(We have not yet heard of any matches for Brazil.

Roger Espinoza came off the bench for a seven minute appearance today for the Honduran national team today in Austria. Espinoza came off the bench in the 83rd minute for Julio Leon in Honduras' 2-2 draw with Belarus in Villach. All the scoring was done by the time Espinoza entered the game as Honduras took an early lead before conceding twice.

Today, Honduras continued FIFA World Cup preparations with a 0-0 friendly tie at Azerbaijan. Wizards defender/midfielder Roger Espinoza was one of three halftime substitutes and played the entire second half. He came on for Wilson Palacios, who had been playing left midfield. It appears Espinoza will wear number 13 during the tournament, which starts for Honduras June 16 at 6:30 a.

Honduras has not been getting the results they probably want so far in their World Cup tune ups. Today Honduras played to a 0-0 draw with Azerbaijan in Austria. Honduras only managed one shot on goal against a team that only got 1 win in World Cup qualifying, even though Azerbaijan had a player sent off.

Honduras' dismal FIFA World Cup build-up continued with a heavy defeat to Romania in Austria. Winless since January after defeats to Turkey and Venezuela and draws with Belarus and Azerbaijan, Reinaldo Rueda's team were desperate for a boost ahead of ...

The Europa League Pits Dortmund And Leverkusen Against Much Weaker Opposition.

After today's Champions League qualifying match saw Bundesliga side Werder Bremen dismantle their Serie A opposition, it will be interesting to see if Bundeslifa sides Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund can fight their way into qualification for the Europa League.

Ballack Is Captain Once Again But Must Fight For His Place In The Side.

Joachim Loew announced that veteran midfielder Michael Ballack will remain the captain of the German national team and has thus ended all debate surrounding the issue. Despite this, Loew has not chosen Ballack for Germany's two upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Belgium and Azerbaijan, and has not promised him a place in the squad for Germany's next round of qualifiers.

By Ollie Irish

Tottenham dynamo Gareth Bale was the subject of a "big-money bid" over the summer, according to Wales manager John Toshack.

Toshack said: "It was a big-money bid it's big money to me anyway. You'll have to ask Tottenham, they know about it.

Are they disappointing? Everyone is talking about how these friendly matches have been disappointing. Are people losing faith in the big teams? Is it only a strategy? Will they play better when the 11th comes around?

Here are the Pre-World Cup friendly matches for June 2010:

• Netherlands 4-1 Ghana
• Portugal 3-1 Cameroon
• Australia 1-0 Denmark
• Switzerland 0-1 Costa Rica
• Norway 0-1 Ukraine
• Greece 0-2 Paraguay
• Serbia 0-0 Poland
• Belarus 0-1 Sweden
• Azerbaijan 0-0 Honduras
• Albania 1-0 Andorra
• Brazil 3-0 Zimbabwe
• Romania 0-1 FYR Macedonia
• Germany 3-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Spain 1-0 Korea Republic
• Mexico 2-1 Italy
• France 0-1 China PR
• Slovenia 3-1 New Zealand
• Japan 0-2 Ivory Coast
• Sudan 1-1 Palestine
• Luxembourg 0-0 Faroe Islands
• Netherlands 6-1 Hungary
• Slovakia 3-0 Costa Rica
• South Africa 1-0 Denmark
• Algeria 1-0 United Arab Emirates
• Romania 3-0 Honduras
• USA 3-1 Australia
• Serbia 4-3 Cameroon
• Ghana 1-0 Latvia
• Switzerland 1-1 Italy
• Nigeria 3-1 Korea DPR

There are two more coming June 08: Spain vs.

After France's shock defeat at home to the Belarus on Friday night manager Laurent Blanc will hope to regain those three points lost against Bosnia tomorrow , England will hope to continue their winning ways also, even if Wayne Rooney's mind
may be elsewhere against the Swiss who defeated Spain in South Africa in the Summer 1-0 and the Rep.

Legendary Berti Vogts Will Battle His Home Nation.

After grabbing a pivotal three points in Belgium on the weekend, Germany host Azerbaijan today in what should be a one-sided goal-fest. While Joachim Loew has called for focus in his pre-match press conference, Germany's attacking stars should fully take advantage of an Azerbaijani side who are ranked 106th by FIFA.

Per Mertesacker Could Miss Vital Games For Werder Bremen.

During Germany's European Championship qualifying match against Azerbaijan, towering defender Per Mertesacker received an accidental elbow to the face after challenging for a ball with an Azerbaijani attacker. While at first the knock looked minor, it has been confirmed that Mertesacker will miss up to six weeks of action due to his injury.

These days FIFA release their much derided (but pretty good) World Rankings, and UEFA release c0-efficients for the rankings of leagues. I thought it'd be interesting to compare these two rankings to discover the most over-performing leagues and the international sides that under-perform (or the other way around, whichever way you want to look at it).

For the second time in a little over a month, we're enticed with Euro 2012 qualifying before heading into hibernation until late March, so enjoy it while you can.

The bulk on the games will be played on Friday, with a couple stragglers on Saturday so as not to keep your weekends international free.

Euro 2012 qualifiers are back one last time, and with Friday serving as the hors d'ourvres to Tuesday's meaty entree. There were a few delectable delights pre-weekend and a couple during but this lineup feels real, as though a number of these games could be dropped into the Euro 2012 knockouts without skipping a beat.

The final day of Euro 2012 qualifying was loaded with drama, from canceled games to 4-4 injury time thrillers to upsets to the near upsets.

The results are below, with group standings which will largely stay unchanged between now and late March lots of time with which to bemoan lost chances.

The road to continues to Poland and Ukraine tonight with all the Qualifiers Groups Results and scorers below. It was a mixed bag of results with most Groups still tightly contested. Check your Countries results and scorers from Game One and Game Two by clicking the links.

Group A

Kazakhstan 0 - 2 Belgium
Ogunjimi '52, '70

Austria 3 - 0 Azerbaijan
Prodl '3
Arnautovic '53, '90

Germany 3 - 0 Turkey
Klose '42, '87
Ozil '79

Group B

Andorra 0 - 2 Macedonia
Naumoski '42
Sikov '60

Armenia 3 - 1 Slovakia
Mousijyan '23 Weiss'37
Ghazaryan '50
Mkhitaryan '89

Rep.

The Euro 2012 bandwagon continued on it's merry way tonight with mixed results. Shock of the night was Azerbaijan beating Turkey. Below are all the Results and Scorers from tonight's important ties.

Group A

Azerbaijan 1 - 0 Turkey
Sadygou '38

Belgium 4 - 4 Austria
Vossen '12 Schiemer '14, '63
Fellaini '47 Arnautovic '30
Ogunjimi '87 Harnik'90
Lomberts '89

Kazakhstan 0 - 3 Germany
Klose'48
Gomez '76
Podolski '85

Group B

Armenia 4 - 0 Andorra
Ghazaryan '4
Mkhitaryan '16
Mousisyan '33
Pizzelli '52

Macedonia 0 - 1 Russia
Kerzhakov '8

Slovakia 1 - 1 Rep.