As part of the Football Unites project, the British Council and Stretford End Flags is
organising a match between visiting Moscow CSKA and Manchester United fans. Just a few hours before
the two sides face each other at Old Trafford on 3 November, their fans will take to the pitch at
the Cliff Training Academy in a celebration of football and the friendships created through
sport.
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West Ham 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur ( Carlton Cole 49′/ Jermain Defoe 54′, Aaron Lennon 79′) A
late goal from winger Aaron Lennon allowed Tottenham Hotspur to emerge triumphant in their London
derby against West Ham United at Upton Park today afternoon. The result means Spurs have now won
their first three games of their season- a [.
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Obligatory pre-Kazakhstan match Borat post Remember, Borat has cursed England once and he could do
it again tomorrow. Here he is helping Croatia to victory in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.
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England boss Fabio Capello has recalled Gary Neville to the squad for the upcoming World Cup
qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra. England play Kazakhstan on June 6, followed by the clash
against Andorra four days later. With David James and Ben Foster sidelined due to injury, Capello
has also called up Paul Robinson to the national [.
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English football suffered an uncomfortable night as a muddled display from Fabio Capello's side was
played out against the backdrop of high-level political intrigue in Soho Square. While England
struggled against an impressive looking Czech Republic side, whispers of Brian Barwick leaving his
post at the FA echoed around Wembley Stadium.
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It was less than a year ago when James McFadden sent the Tartan Army delirious, after his
thirty-yard strike was enough to give Scotland a 1-0 win away to France in the Euro 2008
qualifiers. Despite his international heroics, 'Faddy' continued to struggle holding down a
first-team place at Everton ..
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Arsenal have signed 21-year-old French attacking midfielder Samir Nasri.
Now that Nasri's signed, and taken over the number 8 jersey, recently vacated by Lassana Diarra,
Arsenal supporters want to know good he is.
Here's some video of Nasri playing.
Samir Nasri only played briefly for France at Euro 2008.
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France kick off their Euro 2008 campaign against Adrian Mutu's Romania on Monday, June 9, 2008 in
Zurich. Mutu, in form for his country during Euro 2008 qualifiers, is a goal-scoring threat, but
France's defense should keep a clean sheet.
Wicked Deflection hereby reveals it's predicted first 11 for France against Romania.
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This has nothing to do with the national team, but I'm furious, so here goes. The British
government has ordered the deportation of Alhassan Bangura, a young footballer from Sierra Leone
who fled his home at the age of 15 amidst death threats and violence. He's created a new life in
Britain, married and Englishwoman, [.
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Apologies for not posting - I've been moving back to Europe after a three-month stint volunteering
in South America. And what's happened while I've been away? Not much. You might think Jose
Mourinho's decision to rule himself out for the England role is news, but it really isn't. Mourinho
never once said he wanted the job [.
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The Sun quotes José Mourinho: "You will have to speak to the FA to see if they are interested in
offering me the job. I cannot say what I think until they say they are interested. Tell the FA to
come and get me. We will have to wait and see, but I rule nothing out." [...]
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The Guardian is reporting (with a remarkable degree of certainty) that José Mourinho wants the
England job and will accept if the FA offer it. Read it here. He's apparently also interested in
the top jobs at Real Madrid and Barcelona, either of which might become available before the new
year, so if the story [.
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In today's Times, Tony Cascarino condemns Steve McClaren in terms so damning it's a wonder the man
isn't the latest incarnation of Satan. He defends England's players, the English youth coaching
system, foreign players in the Premier League, and lays the blame for England's failure to qualify,
in its entirity, at McClaren's feet.
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I'm feeling a bit better about things now after a horrible day of blind fury. So let's step back
and try to assess, rationally, what went wrong. And what went right. And to be positive, I'll start
with that. The Good: Peter Crouch: Literally the only man on the pitch for the whole 90 minutes who
[...
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First up: Croatia. Croatia: Goalkeeper: Stipe Pletikosa, a regular in the Croatian national team
and the first-choice goalkeeper since the 2002 World Cup (although he was injured for much of Euro
2004). Hasn't made many mistakes since his Under-21s days. Defence: On the right, Manchester City's
summer signing Vedran Corluka will turn out for Croatia.
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This is only going here because it's one of my personal axes, but Martin Samuel in The Times has
written a brilliant article explaining why English players aren't as good as their European and
South American counterparts. I've written about this before on TheOffside.com (check it out here)
but Martin Samuel makes a particular persuasive [.
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Steve McClaren still won't reveal his starting 11 for tomorrow's match against Croatia, but that
isn't going to stop me speculating. Goalkeeper: The Times is reporting that Paul Robinson has
performed abysmally in training, which probably means Scott Carson will get his first competitive
start for England. The Guardian has the same story, but goes further [.
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Football365.com columnist John Nicholson thinks that the FA should create a new Championship team -
England FC - made up entirely of young English players, to serve as a means of training young
players outside of the usual system. Is it genius or just batshit?
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Hello all - I'm the new guy. My name is Matthew and I'll be taking over the England coverage here
on WorldCupBlog.org. I'm a soon-to-be postgrad at England's University of Sheffield, although I'm
currently in Perú and will be in Belgium for much of December. Elsewhere on the Web, I'm the Leeds
United blogger over [...]
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Steve McClaren's having a rough week. As if all the injuries aren't bad enough, he's got the likes
of Tony Adams comparing him to Graham Taylor in certain newspapers. But if he gets six points from
the next two games (Israel on Saturday, Russia on Wednesday) then things will look a lot brighter
and failed [...]
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