Yesterday ended the long and difficult road that is World Cup qualifying. The 32-team field is
set and while we won't know until next month what the groups are it does present a good time to
discuss each team and how they got there.
(Note: I hope this is a start of many more World Cup posts going into next year.
Chelsea will look to bounce back from their second loss of their domestic campaign. The Blues
lost to Aston Villa at the weekend because of two lapses on set pieces but Ballack says that they
are looking to eradicate those mistakes.
"John's (Terry) reaction on the pitch showed that he takes a big responsibility not just for
himself but for the team," said Ballack.
The Wes Brown song is proving to be as popular at home as it has been away.
Use this shop if you live in: UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco,
Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Ireland, Italy Spain, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland,
Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden,
Cyprus, Iceland and Japan.
After the international break, the man of the moment is undoubtedly Alberto
Gilardino. The Fiorentina striker scored 4 goals in 2 matches with the Azzurri, including
the impressive hat trick in 14 minutes vs. Cyprus. He now has 16 goals in 38 appearances (now level
with Gianluca Vialli and Luca Toni) for the Azzurri and looks to be the headline striker heading
into South Africa this June.
Alberto Gilardino scored a late hat-trick to rescue world champions Italy as they came back from
2-0 down to beat Cyprus 3-2 here on Wednesday. For 78 minutes the visitors looked likely to pull
off an upset against a virtual Italy reserve side until the Fiorentina hit-man's clinical finishes
rescued the . Click to continue reading...
Alberto Gilardino scored a late hat-trick to bring Italy back from the brink- back from being
2-0 down to eventually beat Cyprus 3-2 in their world cup qualifier.
With the World Cup qualification programme completed following last night's dramatic 3-2 comeback
win over Cyprus in Parma, all the talk in Italy now is over who will make the Azzurri squad for
South Africa. Si o no...? Click to continue reading...
In another tense evening of World Cup qualifiers across the globe, Switzerland and Slovakia
qualified from the European zone for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Switzerland played out a
nervous 0-0 home draw with 10-man Israel and Slovakia held on for a 1-0 win in Poland. Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Ukraine took the remaining play off spots. Click to continue reading...
Just a reminder that we have one game left in World Cup qualifying against Cyprus, a game that
counts for absolutely nothing. We're top of the group no matter what happens, and I fully expect
Lippi to experiment with players and lineups. He might as well, because a loss here with all new
guys in a new formation will tell us more than a draw with the usual starters.
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying: Costa Rica - USA is on ESPN2 with the pre-game starting at 7:30pm
and Mexico - Trinidad & Tobago is on Telemundo at 8pm. Salt Lake - New York is on ESPN2 at 10pm.
WCQ on GolTV: Germany - Finland at noon and Italy - Cyprus at 2pm. On Setanta: Portugal - Malta at
2:40pm and Greece - Luxembourg at 5pm. Click to continue reading...
Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov's goal was not enough to stop a determined Cypriot
side easing past Bulgaria and ending the eastern European sides hopes of a play off place.
1-0 Charalampidis
2-0 Charalampidis
2-1 Berbatov
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Manchester United's Waterford born defender John O'Shea has revealed his strong desire to
go to next summer's World Cup with Ireland, having missed the squad back in his country's previous
appearance in the competition in 2002. The versatile defender failed to make the Ireland cut for the World Cup in 2002.Click to continue reading...
Italy coach Marcello Lippi on Sunday named a 24-man squad for this month's decisive World Cup
qualifiers against Republic of Ireland and Cyprus. World champions Italy travel to Dublin on
October 10 where a draw will see them qualify for next year's World Cup in South Africa. However,
if they lose, they . Click to continue reading...
Ever heard of the Crossbar Challenge? Well, Footy Factor brings you the new and
improved Corner Challenge. Shot at the GSP Stadium during Chelsea's recent trip
to Cyprus to face APOEL in the Champions League, see John Terry andÂ
Frank Lampard try their luck at scoring directly from a corner under the watchful eye of
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.
It's time to get back to work. And back to winning.
Carlo Ancelotti's first real test as Chelsea manager arrives today when the Blues resume Group D
play in the Champions League against Cyprus' APOEL Nicosia.
This will be Chelsea's more importantly CA's first match since the 3-1 defeat away to Wigan on
Saturday, the Blues' first loss of the 2009-10 season.
With the U.S. Under-20 National Team all gathered in Cyprus for a pre-World Cup minicamp, let's
check in with Studio 90...- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...
A great free-kick by man of the match Liam Lawrence gave Ireland victory over South Africa
in Limerick tonight. Stoke City midfielder Lawrence set a curling and dipping 37th-minute strike beyond the dive of
South Africa goalkeeper Fernandez. Speaking after the game Lawrence said he was "absolutely delighted" to score and said
"everyone had given a good account of themselves" The decisive goal came against the run of play as South Africa had created a lot of early
pressure.Click to continue reading...
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has confirmed that John O'Shea has a blood clot
on his calf, which could mean he would miss two months if it was aggravated.
He hasn't been able to walk thanks to the injury he sustained in his country's 2-1 win over
Cyprus.
"He has blood on the muscle and it is up to the club to decide but I have told him to be
careful because it is an area of the leg which makes it difficult to run and he could be out for
two months," said Trapattoni.
.World Cup qualifiers Europe (Group 1) Denmark 1 1 Portugal Hungary 1 2 Sweden World Cup qualifiers
Europe (Group 2) Moldova 0 0 Luxembourg Israel 0 1 Latvia Switzerland 2 0 Greece World Cup
qualifiers Europe (Group 3) Poland 1 1 Northern Ireland Slovakia 2 2 Czech Republic World Cup
qualifiers [. Click to continue reading...
Tottenham's Robbie Keane scored a late winner to help Ireland to a crucial win in Cyprus. Wolves
striker Kevin Doyle scored the other goal for Marcelo Lippi's side.
Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager!
Good day for the home teams as former Red, Robbie Keane scored the winner for Ireland against
Cyprus in Nicosia to maintain their search for the top-spot in their group. England had Jermaine Dafoe to thank in their 2-1 win against Slovenia in their friendly at Wembley Stadium. Click to continue reading...
After the latest round of World Cup qualifiers in the European qualifying zone, Northern Ireland
are on track for qualification after their 1-1 draw in Poland. Scotland kept their slim chances
alive with a 2-0 win at home to Macedonia. The Republic of Ireland secured a vital 2-1 win away in
Cyprus. Elsewhere results went mostly as expected with the big guns Spain and Italy beating Belgium and
Georgia respectively. Click to continue reading...
The Republic of Ireland team have had put the final touches on preparation for their crucial World
Cup Qualifier against Cyprus in Nicosia tomorrow evening. There was only one small hick-up and an
un-wanted reminder of the bad old days of how the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) can ... Click to continue reading...
Little more than nine months before the World Cup makes its first appearance in Africa, all but six
of the 32 team spots are still to be decided. So far, Japan, Australia, North and South Korea and
the Netherlands have captured places alongside host South Africa in the Dec. 4 draw at Cape Town,
although several more teams are banging on the door. Click to continue reading...
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Ireland defender Richard Dunne after the Premier
League ratified his ÂŁ6million move from Manchester City. Dunne was unable to finalise his switch to Villa Park on Tuesday despite the paperwork having
already been sent off to the Premier League.Click to continue reading...
In Denmark there has been a lot of talk today of the match between FC Copenhagen and Apoel Nicosia,
where the team from Cyprus won 3-1 and qualified for the Champions League, while the (too)
ambitious Danish champions were out. This seemed to be a big surprise for FC Copenhagen, who
nevertheless have a strong tradition of underestimating opponents when these come from apparently
smaller countries Click to continue reading...
Giovanni Trappatoni announced on Friday that there would be no changes to the Irish squad ahead of
the crucial qualifier against Cyprus on September 5th. The Irish team has been remarkably lucky in
the last year or so with injuries not having as much an affect throughout the course ... Click to continue reading...
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has announced a 24 man squad for the forthcoming FIFA
World Cup group 8 qualifier against Cyprus in Nicosia on September 5 and the friendly against South
Africa on September 8. Trapattoni said, "We have put ourselves in a good position in the qualification group going
into this game.Click to continue reading...
Ireland were hammered 3-0 in their friendly game against Australia on Wednesday night as they
prepare for next month's key World Cup qualifier against Cyprus. Damien Duff - expects Ireland to
be OK for Cypress game While it was never a 3-0 game, Ireland had their chances but didn't take
them, and suffered a big defeat before [. Click to continue reading...
Thomond Park hosted Ireland and the Socceroos last night in a
game that Ireland should have taken in their stride. Cahill got the Aussies in front after 38 mins.
Giovanni Trapattoni had obviously given a good pre match speech because Ireland
did give it all they had , but with so many premiership players on the pitch it was definitely a
night of "Could have done better".
On Friday UEFA drew the 10 fixtures that will determine the final qualifiers for this year's
Champions League. Under the revised format, 22 teams are already in via automatic qualifying. In
one of the most appealing qualifying round meetings ever, Celtic will face 2009 semifinalists
Arsenal. For two teams accustomed to appearing in the group stages, a demotion to the Europea
League will be tough to take. Click to continue reading...
