 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
|
|
France vs. Slovenia
With Juventus striker David Trezeguet on the sidelines, coach Jacques Santini has recruited uncapped Lens forward Daniel Moreira as Les Blues return to the Stade de France for the first time since meekly surrendering the World Cup in June. Auxerre defender Philippe Mexes, a 20-year-old centerback, could also make his first start. Slovenia comes off a 1-0 victory over Italy in a friendly and a 3-0 beating of minnow Malta in its first qualifying game and has high hopes of an upset.
Defending European champions France will play Slovenia in Paris on October 12, before travelling to Malta in Valletta on October 16. After their unimpressive opening 2-1 win over Cyprus, they’ll be hoping to take a stranglehold of their group to ease some of the tension following their disastrous World Cup campaign.
Chelsea’s uncapped William Gallas has been named in the 20-man squad, presumably to replace his club teammate and French captain Marcel Desailly, who is still struggling with injury. Leeds United’s Olivier Dacourt also got a surprise call up and could win his fourth cap in the absence of Emmanuel Petit. Besides midfielder Petit, Bayern Munich’s fullback Bixente Lizarazu and Auxerre’s striker Djibril Cisse are the other notable absentees.
France boss Jacques Santini is also confident that star forward Thierry Henry should be fit to play in both matches despite picking up a slight hamstring injury in Arsenal’s Champions League victory at Auxerre.
However, there is disappointment once again for Nicolas Anelka. The 23-year-old, despite already netting four goals this season, has no place in Santini’s squad as he sticks mainly to the same forwards from the Cyprus game. Olympique Lyon’s Sidney Govou, Fulham’s Steve Marlet will vie for the two striker roles with Gunners duo Henry and Sylvain Wiltord.
The impressive Wiltord, who got France out of jail against Cyprus with a superb winner from outside the box, could be deployed instead in the right wing position where he’s been filling in with aplomb so far for Arsenal.
Slovenia meanwhile, opened their qualifying campaign with a morale-boosting 3-0 win over Malta. Club Brugge midfielder Nastja Ceh is recalled to the side after missing the first match through suspension.
French coach Santini has added young blood to his squad after the retirement of some of the veterans. Franck Lebeouf, Youri Djorkaeff and Christophe Dugarry have retired after the World Cup while highly rated AJ Auxerre defender Philippe Mexes, Liverpool midfielder Bruno Cheyrou and Lyon’s Sidney Govou are the names to look out for in future.
Santini has also kept the core players with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram. Fabien Barthez faces a battle to retain his place in goal with the highly impressive Gregory Coupet of Lyon proving more than able deputy whenever called upon. In midfield, Patrick Vieira and Zidane are certainties with both vying for the captaincy in Desailly’s absence.
With a new coach Bojan Prasnikar at the helm too, Slovenia are expected to be France’s closest challengers for the one automatic spot for Euro 2004. After qualifying for both Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002, the major tournaments of their short history, they’ve already made great strides in the European and World stage. Despite a less than satisfying experience in Japan and Korea, they’ll have no doubt learnt a lot from their foray to the Far East.
Slovenia will not roll over for anyone, much less France. On paper, it looks like a mismatch but the same could be said about Cyprus. Slovenia will consider a draw in Paris a success, while France need to win to secure the sole automatic qualifying spot. Therefore Slovenia is likely to pack their defences and rely on counter-attacks. France has not shown much skill in unravelling defensive opponents, judging from their performance against Cyprus.
As with all international matches, several additional factors come into play that is unique from club matches. The number of days of preparation before the match is of utmost importance. Other factors are the motivation of players and harmony among teammates. As Argentina and France demonstrated in their disastrous outings in the last world cup, a team made up of top individual players can flop if they don’t have a good understanding of each others’ style. The new French team has not gelled well and Slovenia may take full advantage of this.
France’s squad :
Goalkeeper: Fabien Barthez.
Defenders: Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Philippe Mexes, Mickael Silvestre
Midfielders: Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele.
Attacking Midfielders: Sylvain Wiltord, Zinedine Zidane, Eric Carriere.
Strikers: Thierry Henry, (Sidney Govou)
Slovenia’s squad:
Goalkeepers: Mladen Dabanovic (Lokeren/Bel), Marko Simeunovic (Olympiakos Nicosie/Cyp)
Defenders: Spasoje Bulajic (Koper), Fabijan Cipot (Maribor), Aleksander Knavs (Kauserslautern/Ger), Matej Mavric (Gorica), Muamer Vugdalic (Maribor)
Midfielders: Milenko Acimovic (Tottenham/Eng), Nastja Ceh (Bruge/Bel), Suad Filekovic (Maribor), Sasa Gajser (Olympiakos Nicosie/Cyp), Amir Karic (Ipswich/Eng), Miran Pavlin (Porto/Por), Aleksander Radosavjlevic (Shinmik Jaroslav), Goran Sukalo (Unterhaching/Ger), Zlatko Zahovic (Benfica/Por), Anton Zlogar (Vega Olimpija)
Strikers: Sebastjan Cimirotic (Lecce/Ita), Patrick Ipavec (Koper), Ermin Siljak (Panionios/Gre)
Denmark vs. Luxembourg
Denmark entertains Luxembourg at the Parken in Copenhagen in their Euro 2004 Group 2 qualifier. Denmark opened their campaign with a 2-2 away draw at Norway while, Luxembourg are yet to play a game in the group.
Denmark are the favourites to win the group after their fine showing in the World Cup where they beat defending World and European champions France, a result eliminated the French.
Luxembourg are perennial minnows and things have not changed.
AC Milan star Jon Dahl Tomasson is expected to be fit despite nursing a rib injury. Tomasson suffered the injury in a Serie A 1-1 tie with Lazio Sept. 28 and sat out last weekend's 6-0 crushing of Torino. Another Milan player, Thomas Helveg, is out with a shoulder injury while goalkeeper Thomas Soerenson is sidelined for three months after dislocating his elbow playing for Sunderland against Arsenal on Sunday.
Romania vs. Norway
Romania welcomes Norway to the Steaua stadium in Bucharest for their Euro 2004 Group 2 qualifier. Romania beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in their opener, while Norway shared the spoils with Denmark in a 2-2 draw.
Romania’s coach Anghel Iordanescu has boosted his squad a little when he recalled Adrian Illie and Viorel Moldovan. Both players have tremendous European club football experience and have played for Romania on numerous occasions.
Meanwhile, Norway’s coach Nils Johan Semb has selected an obvious counterattacking team and will rely on John Carew and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to convert the chances created by the break aways. With Rosenborg midfielder Roar Strand out of action with a hamstring problem, coach Nils Johan Semb has recruited 20-year-old newcomer Pa-Modou Kay of Valerenga.
Belarus vs. Austria
Belarus coach Eduard Malofeev has called up Andrei Lavrik for the first time since March 2001 and newcomer Petr Kachuro.
Moldova vs. Czech Republic
Liverpool striker Milan Baros and Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved are both suspended after their red cards against Belgium at the World Cup while another Liverpool star, Vladimir Smicer, is injured.
Poland vs. Latvia
Coach Zbigniew Boniek is mystified that goalkeeper Grzegorz Szamotulski has turned down his offer of a callup to the national team. Boniek said he wanted the Amica Wronki 'keeper to be No. 2 to Liverpool's Jerzy Dudek. Panathanaikos striker Emmanuel Olisadebe misses the game because of 'flu. Maccabi Tel-Aviv striker Andrejs Prohorenkovs is likely to face the Poles in Warsaw.
Sweden vs. Hungary
With Sweden hoping to improve on a lackluster 0-0 tie with Latvia, coaches Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback have to decide who should partner Ajax Amsterdam's Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack. AIK Solna's Andreas Andersson, FC Copenhagen's Jorgen Pettersson or Marcus Allback of Aston Villa are the choices.
Iceland vs. Scotland
Scotland coach Berti Vogts, whose team was 2-0 down after 12 minutes against the Faeroe Islands before salvaging a 2-2 tie, regards his ailing team as the underdog in Reykjavik. Fielding a mixture of youth and experience, which includes Celtic's Paul Lambert and Barry Ferguson of Rangers, Vogts is still looking for his first win after five losses in a row and a tie in Toftir. Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen is likely to be a real danger to his defense.
Sweden vs. Hungary
With Sweden hoping to improve on a lackluster 0-0 tie with Latvia, coaches Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback have to decide who should partner Ajax Amsterdam's Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack. AIK Solna's Andreas Andersson, FC Copenhagen's Jorgen Pettersson or Marcus Allback of Aston Villa are the choices. Saturday's game is being played on the 100th anniversary of Hungary's first game in 1902, a 5-0 loss to neighbor Austria. Midfielder Pal Dardai is expected to recover from a fever.
Spain vs. Northern Ireland
In the lesser known, city of Albacete, Spain prepares to entertain Northern Ireland in the Carlos Belmonte stadium. This is the Irish’s first game of the qualifying campaign and they are excited about the event.
When Spain hosted the World Cup in 1982, Northern Ireland beat them against all odds. They will hope that some of that spirit is left in them as they undertake a huge task ahead of them.
Spain’s coach Inaki Saez has named a number of newcomers for his first competitive home game. Jose Antonio Garica Calvo from, Atletico Madrid, Joan Capdevila (Deportivo Coruna), Raul Bravo (Real Madrid), and Carlos Marchena (Valencia) will come into the defence.
In-form midfielders, Capi and Joaquin (Real Betis) and Gaizka Mendieta (Barcelona) will also feature prominently. The two men upfront will be chosen from Diego Tristan (Deportivo Coruna), Raul Tamudo (Espanyol), Raul and Fernando Morientes (Real Madrid).
The Irish have called only a few experienced players themselves. Andy Griffin, Aaron Hughes, Gerry Taggart, Keith Gillespie and Steve Lomas, should help steady the side.
However it is likely that Spain are going to massacre the hapless Northern Irish.
Ukraine vs. Greece
Ukraine had hoped to field star forward Andriy Shevchenko but he was pulled out of the squad by AC Milan because he has still not recovered from knee surgery. The Greeks are desperate not to lose having been beaten 2-0 at home by Spain yet coach Otto Rehhagel has kept faith with the lineup.
Ukraine welcomes Greece to the Olimpiyskyi stadium in Kiev in this crucial Group 6 Euro 2004 game. The winner of this game will probably be best equipped to have a go at qualifying for the final tournament in Portugal.
However, Greece will be happy with a draw as they might fancy their chances of getting a result against the former Soviet republic back in Greece. Ukraine will surely take the game to the Greeks and probably find that their Mediterranean guests will not have too many answers to their footballing questions.
A home win is brewing and the battle for the automatic qualifying spot looks set to be between Spain and the Ukrainians.
Macedonia vs. Turkey
A third place finisher at the World Cup, Turkey remains buoyant. But Hakan Sas hasn't scored for Galatasaray so far this season and may be dropped with Ilhan Mansiz returning to the lineup. Another World Cup star, Umit Davala, was involved a scuffle with a TV camera crew last weekend reportedly breaking the camera.
Slovakia vs. England
England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is urging his men not to underestimate the smaller teams when they open their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign against Slovakia on Saturday.
Either England or World Cup semi-finalists Turkey are expected to top Group 7, also containing Macedonia, who Eriksson's men host next Wednesday, and Liechtenstein.
But the Swede suspects the automatic qualification place may be won and lost not in the matches between England and Turkey, but in how the favourites cope with games like Saturday's in Bratislava.
'On paper, Turkey and England are the favourites to win and be second,' the Swede told a news conference on Friday.
'It might be that one point lost here and there decides who wins the group. I said to the players yesterday, it's like a group in the Champions League -- only you have two more games here. If you fail in one or two games, the risk of going out is extremely big. So every game is very, very important.'
Though the Slovaks are going into Saturday's clash after opening their campaign with a 3-0 defeat to the Turks in Istanbul last month, Eriksson was keen to play up the challenge facing his side.
'Slovakia are an organised team...Turkey had difficulties breaking them down in Turkey,' he said. 'I don't expect an easy evening tomorrow at all -- I expect a very difficult one.'
England's task will not be helped by a pitch, used by Slovak club side Slovan Bratislava, in far from ideal condition and which also soaked up a near-continuous drizzle on Friday.
With the risk of further rain on match day, the return to fitness of Michael Owen, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard is likely to come on a surface least suited to their ball skills.
'The pitch could be better but you can't do very much about that, so we have no complaints or excuses about that,' said Eriksson, who has nevertheless asked for the grass to be cut.
'Of course, it's a pity when we have all our best footballers, in the sense of players who can play the ball quickly, that we don't have a pitch. If it keeps on raining, it's not going to be easy to move the ball very quickly on the ground. But that's football. If you are a good team, you have to win if it's snowing, raining or if the pitch is bad.'
The fitness of Owen and Beckham, who were both carrying injuries at the World Cup, along with Gerrard, who missed the tournament altogether due to surgery, will be crucial to England's qualifying chances in the months ahead.
As they start their bid to reach the 2004 finals in Portugal, Eriksson seems convinced that fitness -- in the sense of staying injury-free and being rested -- will play an important part.
Looking back to a bitter-sweet World Cup which ended with a quarter-final defeat to Brazil, Eriksson said: 'In the second half (of matches) we didn't have that flair and energy which we all wanted to see -- the players as well.
'The main reason was that unfortunately we were tired in every second half.'
But he added: 'I'm sure that if we're fit, we will play as good football as any country in Europe, and maybe the world.'
Teams:
Slovakia (from): Konig, Klimpi, Zeman, Dzurik, Petras, Janocko, Karhan, Hlinka, Pinte, Nemeth, Vittek.
England (from): Seaman, G Neville, Woodgate, Southgate, A Cole, Beckham, Butt, Gerrard, Scholes, Heskey, Owen.
Andorra vs. Belgium
Mbo Mpenza looks certain to miss the game in Andorra but hopes to be fit again to face Estonia four days later. Either Peter Van Houdt or Stein Huysegems will compete for a place on the strikeforce alongside Wesley Sonck. After losing 2-0 to Bulgaria, the Belgians need to win both games.
Andorra, who entertain Belgium at the Estadio Communal in Andorra La Vella, will be hoping that Belgium have not recovered from their shock home defeat at the hands of Bulgaria. They make up for their lack of clinical finishes with tremendous resolve in frustrating their opponents.
The small stadium in Andorra will help their cause as they like to play tight in the centre of the park, forcing their opponents wide and then they pack their box. A tactic like this might work against a Belgian squad still smarting from that loss to the Bulgarians.
Belgium’s new coach, Aime Anthuenis will want to get his first win and hence he will employ an attacking formation and peg the Andorrans in their own half and allow them to crack under sustained pressure.
A ploy that should work and send Belgium back into the reckoning as Bulgaria and Croatia are squaring off on the same night.
Bulgaria vs. Croatia
Veteran Krasimir Balakov looks certain to miss the game because of an abdominal muscle injury he picked up playing for VfB Stuttgart against Munich 1860. Croatia, a World Cup semifinalist in 1998, comes off a 0-0 tie with Estonia and hopes that returning stars Igor Tudor of Juventus, Mario Stanic of Chelsea and Middlesbrough's Alen Boksic will help the team gain at least a point.
Bulgaria takes on Croatia at the Vasilij Levski stadium in their capital Sofia. Bulgaria lead the group in this infant stage and know that Croatia are yet to gel and hence might fancy their chances to claim all three points here.
A win here for the Bulgarians will set them up for automatic qualification. Croatia however, know that they have to compensate for the two points dropped against Estonia at home and hence will also go all out for all three here.
A tight battle is poised to ensue and the winner will sit pretty at the top of the group until the next round of games 4 days later.
Italy vs. Yugoslavia
Christian Vieri of Juventus, AC Milan's Filippo Inzaghi and Francesco Totti of AS Roma are all missing and that puts pressure on Alessandro del Piero and Vincenzo Montella. Playmaker Andrea Pirlo from the Under 21 squad is included but there is no place for Massimo Maccaroni, who has been playing well in England for Middlesbrough. Algerian-born Matteo Ferrari of Parma could make his first start against an experienced Yugoslav lineup which will have Lazio's Sinisa Mihaljovic and Dejan Stankovic, Savo Milosevic of Espanyol, Mateja Kezman of PSV Eindhoven and Pedrag Mijatovic of Spain's Levante.
Yugoslavia opens their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign with the toughest tie on the cards – a trip to Naples against Group 9 favourites Italy. The Italians ease to a 2-0 win at Azerbaijan last month and Yugoslav coach Dejan Savicevic knows the enormity of the task that awaits them in Naples. He concedes that defeat is highly possible but maintains that his side will not go to Italy with the mindset of avoiding defeat, but to bring the game to the Azzurri.
“I know Italy’s players and tactics very well,” Savicevic said. “They will not surprise us. They will adopt a 3-4-1-2 formation but we will try to keep them as far as possible from our goal. We will come under pressure but we will not set our stall out to defend – that could be fatal.”
Savicevic will not be able to call upon Deportivo La Coruna defender Goran Djordjevic, FK Partizan’s Vladimir Ivic and Sasa Ilic due to injuries, but he should have all his other key players fit for the Italian test. Former Real Madrid star Pedrag Mijatovic has been recalled to the squad and along with Savo Milosevic, Mateja Kezman and Darko Kovacevic, Yugoslavia has four top strikers who can trouble the Italian defence, depending on who Savicevic picks. He has called up Zvedza’s Milan Dudic as a late replacement.
Italy might be without inspirational playmaker Francesco Totti for the match in Naples. He joins a growing list of key players, which Azzurri coach Giovanni Trapattoni might have to do without for the Yugoslavian clash, as well as the tough outing against Wales in Cardiff four days later.
There are other key players missing from Italy’s line-up. Christian Vieri (ankle), Gianluca Zambrotta (knee) and Luigi Di Biagio (flu) are sidelined, leaving Damiano Tommasi and Gennaro Gattuso to patrol the centre of midfield. Andrea Pirlo of Milan will play behind the front two, while the make-up of the defence will depend on the fitness of Alessandro Nesta and Mark Iuliano – the duo having been struggling with flu and toothache respectively this week. Trapattoni has also handed Salvatore Lanna of AC Chievo Verona his chance.
But one man Trapattoni can definitely count upon is Azzuri golden boy Alessandro Del Piero. The Juventus forward is possibly in his best form of his life, reaching double figures in the goal scoring charts, and full of confidence after a difficult past number of years. He scored in he win over Azerbaijan last month and will definitely be asked to spearhead the Italian charge against the Yugoslavs once again.
The Italians have an embarrassment of riches on their side. Their greatest enemy will be themselves. Trapattoni has been accused of being overly defensive, which was blamed for their early exit in the 2002 World Cup. He prefers using an out-and-out striker, presumably Inzaghi, and a withdrawn striker’s role behind. This position could either go to Del Piero or Pirlo. This formation often starves the lone striker of support, resulting in few goals.
Otherwise, the defensive stability that has been the hallmark of past Azzurri sides is still there, with the imperious Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro in command at the back.
The Yugoslavs will be eager to qualify for the Euro 2004 Finals in Portugal to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup this summer. This opening tie will be a huge indication of how far they can go. Savicevic will keep his faith with the bulk of the team, which narrowly missed out on the World Cup. The hopes of the country will once again mostly rest on the shoulders of the likes of “evergreens” like Pedrag Mijatovic, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Dejan Stankovic, Savo Miosevic, Darko Kovacevic and a few new bloods like Mateza Kezman.
The Italians are on blazing form, whether be it in the individual players for their clubs or as a national side. The Yugoslavs on the other hand, suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat against Czech Republic at Prague. The Slavs also do not seem to have quality new players to replace the ageing stars, which means the team can only be in decline. I believe that Yugoslavia will be happy with a draw, while Italy will play cautiously for a win.
Italian squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Christian Abbiati (Milan).
Defenders: Danele Adani, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Coco (Inter), Matteo Ferrari (Parma), Mark Iuliano (Juventus), Alessandro Nesta (Milan), Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Christian Panucci (Roma).
Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini, Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Cristiano Doni, Luciano Zauri (Atalanta), Damiano Tommasi (Roma).
Forwards: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Filippo Inzaghi (Milan), Massimo Marazzina (Chievo), Vincenzo Montella (Roma).
Yugoslavia’s squad:
Goalkeepers: Dragoslav Jevric (Vittese), Dragan Zilic (Sartid Smederevo/Yugoslavia).
Defenders: Nemanja Vidic (Red Star/Yugoslavia), Zoran Mirkovic (Fenerbahche/Turkey), Sinisa Mihajlovic (SS Lazio/Italy),Mladen Krstajic (Werder Bremen), Dejan Stefanovic (Vittese), Ivica Dragutinovic (Standard Liege).
Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic (SS Lazio/Italy), Ognjen Koroman (Dynamo Kyiv), Zoran Njegus (Sevilla/Spain), Predrag Djordjevic (Olympiakos), Goran Trobok, Igor Duljaj (Partizan/Yugoslavia).
Strikers: Predrag Mijatovic (Levante/Spain), Savo Milosevic (Espanyol/Spain), Mateja Kezman (PSV Eindhoven/Holland), Darko Kovacevic (Real Sociedad/Spain)
Finland vs. Azerbaijan
After nine goals in nine games for IFK Norrkoping in the Swedish League, striker Antti Sumiala is likely to start against Azerbaijan because of the absence of Mikael Forssell. The Finns fear that Ajax Amsterdam may pull top striker Jari Litmanen from the game because of a thigh injury.
Albania vs. Switzerland
Liverpool defender Stephane Henchoz is missing from the Swiss lineup because of a painful calf muscle injury he picked up in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Chelsea. Massimo Lombardo of Servette has been called up as cover although he usually plays in midfield.
Georgia vs. Russia
Georgia coach Alexander Chivadze has surprisingly left out Giorgi Kinkladze of Derby County and Giorgi Nemsadze of Scotland's Dundee. After beating Ireland 4-2, the Russians are confident of victory while the game in Tbilisi goes ahead against a background of a war of words between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, over the presence of Chechen rebels in Georgia.