Match Brazil vs Uruguay 26-06-2013 - FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

The first semifinal of the Confederations Cup will pit Brazil against Uruguay, so it is certain that one South American team with make the final. 

         Uruguay are only ranked 5th in the South America World Cup qualification group, must make progress not to miss the upcoming World Cup. At least in the Confed Cup they are doing alright so far, even have the chance to reach the final. The 'Charruas' had lost the first match against World champions Spain, but after coach Oscar Tabarez made some changes in the starting line-up against Nigeria, his side won this decisive fixture 2:1, also defeated Tahiti 8:0 afterwards. Uruguay are not easy to predict. While they played with four defenders against Spain, Tabarez started with a 3-5-2 system against Nigeria. Up front the Copa America winner have some dangerous players in Forlan, Suarez (Liverpool) and Cavani (Napoli). 

        Brazil has won all three of its matches at this year's Confederations Cup, finishing first in Group A and looking good for a third straight title as evidenced by their 3-0 victory over Japan, 2-0 victory over Mexico and 4-2 victory over dangerous Italy. In the match against Italy, which rested influential midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi, Brazil never appeared entirely comfortable sitting back and defending their lead.
Neymar has scored in all three matches thus far this tournament. He's scored in a variety of ways, too, flashing a deadly finish in both the run of play and on set pieces. Of course, the new Barcelona striker will lead the Seleçao attack. Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari should have Paulinho (ankle) back for the match, although Hernanes’ performance against Italy will have given him reason to pause.

Brazil vs Uruguay:  

Football: FIFA Confederations Cup: Semi-finals
Match date: 26 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 21:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte 

Possible line-ups:

Brazil: J.Cesar; D.Alves, T.Silva. D.Luiz, Marcelo; L.Gustavo, Paulinho; Hulk, Oscar, Neymar; Fred.
Uruguay: Muslera; Godin, Lugano, Caceres; M.Pereira, Arevalo, Gonzalez, Rodriguez; Forlan; Suarez, Cavani.

 

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Match Nigeria vs Spain FIFA Confederations Cup - 23-06-2013

On Sunday, 23rd June at 21:00 (CET), Nigeria will face Spain at the Estàdio Castelào for the 2013 Confederations Cup.

Spain met expectations in their 10-0 demolition of Tahiti on Thursday. Strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa scored 4 and 3 goals apiece against the island nation and they will be hungry to add to their tally against Nigeria. Vicente Del Bosque will not be spoiled for choice and although his side need only a point, will press for the attack with the various weapons at his disposal.

 Nigeria have brought a development squad here to Brazil and this side is a typical African side. Pacey strong but lacking in all round ability, The side is lacking defensively and will struggle against Spain for sure. They were very wasteful against Tahiti and lacked cohesion for most of the game. Impressive Milan striker Nnamdi Oduamadi apart they gave a lacklustre performance. Indeed they gifted a goal to the tiny Pacific Islanders and if they can score World and European Champions Spain could have a field day here. Nigeria know only a win is good enough and even that may not be enough if Uruguay run riot in Recife.

Nigeria vs Spain: 

Football: 2013 Confederations Cup, Group B
Match date: 23 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 21:00 CET
Venue: Estàdio Castelào - Fortaleza

Possible line-ups:

Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo, Elderson; John Ogu, John Obi Mikel, Fegor Ogude; Nnamdi Oduamadi, Ideye Brown, Ahmed Musa.

Spain: Victor Valdes: Alvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta; Cesc Fabregas, Pedro Rodriguez, Roberto Soldado.

The channels showing the match:

Turkish TRT 1, Swiss SF2, Alfa TV, RTE One, Alfa Sports 2, RTS 1, Al Jazeera Sports +9.

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Confederations Cup: Japan vs Mexico 22-06-2013

Japan vs Mexico - Football: 2013 Confederations Cup, Group A

Mexico team carried their disappointing form in CONCACAF qualifying to this tournament. A 2-1 loss to Italy suggested the side were much better than they actually were. They were a little bit livelier against Brazil, but still ineffective. Mexico have not managed a single goal from open play.
The results in this competition have seen Mexico only win one match in their last 11 matches. In their last eight games there have been only two goals from open play scored by Mexican players; while also drawing nine from 13 in all competitions. Javier Hernandez, who scored their only goal so far in Brazil, appears to be the only real goal threat Mexico have available to them, the Manchester United forward has scored five of their last seven goalsJose Manuel de la Torre has no new injury worries at the moment, but he could make several changes to the starting line-up  with Carlos Salcido set to return to left back and Jesus Zavala coming back into midfield.
Japan entered the competition with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Brazil but looked better in Wednesday's seven goal thriller against Italy. The 4-3 loss was unfortunate as Japan had taken an early two-goal lead but were beaten in the 86th minute when Sebastian Giovinco netted the winner. Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa have looked especially lively and will start their side confidently against Mexico. 

Match date: 22 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 21:00 CET
Venue: Mineirão Stadium - Belo Horizante

Possible line-ups:

Japan: Manager: Alberto Zaccheroni (4-2-3-1): Kawashima – Uchida, Konno, Yoshida, Nagatomo – Endo, Hosogai – Kiyotake, Honda, Kagawa – Havenaar.

Mexico: Manager: Jose de la Torre (4-2-3-1): Corona – Mier, Rodriguez, Moreno, Salcido – Torrado, Herrera – Barrera, Dos Santos, Guardado – Hernandez.

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Match Brazil vs Italy 22-06-2013 - FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

The Italians looked set and comfortable in their 2-1 defeat of Mexico in the first match of group play, but against Japan they quickly found themselves in for a serious fight. Japan came out attacking and stole an early lead of 2-0 by the 33' before Italy successfully countered with 3 quick goals before and after the half-time mark. Japan found an equalizer just 15 minutes later but Juventus striker Sebastian Giovinco secured the win with a late finish. Italy will not relish a repeat of the Euro 2012 final and should give their best to win here and delay a Spanish rematch until at least the final.Unlike the Italians, the Brazilians routinely carried out the job in the first two rounds, and after a victory over Japan with 3-0 they defeated Mexico with 2-0, and being the first in the Group A are waiting for the great derby against Italy. It in fact means that a draw would suit them to, so we can expect a more cautious game compared to one displayed in the first two matches, especially as they know that Italy’s greatest strength lies in the midfield. But on the other hand, they play in front of their fans, so in every game they have imperative to win which forced coach Scolari to announce that he will change nothing in the first team. In the past two matches Neymar, a new member of Barcelona, has particularly distinguished himself who in addition of scoring two goals has assisted in two others, so the Italians will certainly pay a due attention to him in this match. On the other hand, the Brazil’s last line was impressive in the first two rounds, and it is the only one that has not yet received a goal in the Confederations Cup, which is certainly an encouraging fact ahead of this Saturday’s match.

Brazil vs Italy:
Football: 2013 Confederations Cup, Group A
Match date: 22 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 21:00 CET  

Venue: Arena Fonte Nova

Possible line-ups:

Brazil: Julio Cesar – Dani Alves, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Marcelo – Paulinho, Luiz Gustavo – Hulk, Oscar, Neymar – Fred.

Italy: Buffon – Abate, Barzagli, Chiellini, De Sciglio –De Rossi, Pirlo, Montolivo, Marchisio – Balotelli, Giovinco.

The channels showing the match:

Turkish TRT 1, stv 2 Slovak, Swiss SF2, German ZDF, Italian Sky Sport 1, Alfa TV, RTE One, Alfa Sports 2, ORF 1, RTS 1, Al Jazeera Sports +9.

Watch the match here 

Live score here

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Match Nigeria vs Uruguay 20-06-2013 - FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

 Uruguay lost their first game against World and European Cup winner Spain with 1:2. It was a good performance by the South Americas, but finally the were not able to level the score. Now the team from manager Oscar Tabárez needs a win against Nigeria if they want to reach the semi finals. In 1997 Uruguay was qualified for the Confederations Cup, at that time they finished the group stage on the 1st position. But finally the lost the semi final leg against Australia with 0:1, and they also lost the game for the 3rd place against Czech Republic with that score.

The only Nigerian forward who looked convincing against Tahiti was Nnamdi Oduamadi, who hit the back of the net in the first-half. The 22-year-old’s pedigree is such that he is currently on the books of AC Milan winger, although he spent last season on loan at Serie B club Varese. Oduamadi went on to score a hat-trick against Tahiti, and will be crucial if the Nigerians are to prosper against Uruguay. Nigeria are currently on a remarkable 19 game unbeaten run, with their last defeat coming way back in May 2012. During that time they won their first African Cup of Nations since 1994, while they currently top their Group F qualifying group for Brazil 2014. 

Nigeria vs Uruguay: 

Football: FIFA Confederation Cup, group B
Match date: 21 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 00:00 CET
Venue: Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador)

Referee: Björn Kupiers (NED)

Possible line-ups:

Nigeria: Enyeama – Ambrose, Oboabona, Omeruo, Echiejile – Onazi, Mikel, Mba – Oduamadi, Ideye, Musa.
Uruguay: Muslera – Godin, Lugano, Caceres – M. Pereira, A. Gonzalez, Rios, C. Rodriguez – Forlan – Suarez, Cavani.

The channels showing the match:

Turkish TRT 1, Swiss SF2, German ZDF, RTE One, ORF 1, Italian Sky Sport 1, Al Jazeera Sports - HD 1, Al Jazeera Sports +9, Al Jazeera Sports +10, Al Jazeera Sports - HD 2.

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

FIFA Confederations Cup: Italy vs Japan 19-06-2013

Italy vs Japan  

Football: FIFA Confederations Cup, group A
Match date: 20 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 22:00 GMT
Venue: Arena Pernambuco (Recife)

Referee: Diego Abal (ARG)

On Wednesday night, Italy and Japan lock horns in a Group A Confederations Cup fixture at the Arena Pernambuco both keen to get a win. 

        Italy won their first game of the FIFA Confederations Cup against Mexico with 2:1. Andrea Pirlo made the first goal for Italy after 28 minutes, the Mexican forward Chicharito levelled the score with a penalty a view minutes later. Italys super star Mario Balotelli made the 2:1 for his team after 78 minutes. From the last five games, the team from manager Claudio Prandelli won three legs, for example the qualification game for the World Cup in 2014 against Malta and the friendly leg against San Marino. The legs against Czech Republic and Malta ended draw. If Italy wins the game against Japan, they got excellent chances to reach the next round of the tournament.

       Japan - who recently qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Australia - slumped to a 3-0 defeat against host nation and three-time winners Brazil.They have no new injuries to report.  Zaccheroni could well deploy Ryoichi Maeda up front and push Stuttgart's Shinji Okazaki out wide.Japan have played against European opposition three times in previous Confederations Cups, with all of those games seeing a winning side with just a one-goal margin. In the Italy v Japan head to head, there has only been one previous meeting between the two nations, and that ended in a 1-1 draw. That was an international friendly all the way back in 2001 in Saitama, Japan.

Possible line-ups:

Italy (4-3-2-1)(Manager: Claudio Prandelli): Buffon – Abate, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini – De Rossi, Pirlo, Montolivo – Giaccherini, Marchisio – Balotelli. 

Japan (4-2-3-1)(Manager: Alberto Zaccheroni): Kawashima – Uchida, Konno, Yoshida, Nagatomo – Hasebe, Endo – Okazaki, Honda, Kagawa – Maeda.

The channels showing the match:

Turkish TRT 1, Swiss SF2, RTE One, ORF 1, Italian Sky Sport 1, Canvas (Belgium), Al Jazeera Sports - HD 1, Al Jazeera Sports +9, Al Jazeera Sports +10, Al Jazeera Sports - HD 2.

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Match Brazil vs Mexico 19-06-2013 - FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Brazil vs Mexico - Football: FIFA Confederations Cup: Group A    

 Brazil face Mexico on the second match day of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 on Wednesday. The five times World Champions could already make it to the semi-finals with another victory. 

 Mexico lost their opening match 2-1 against Italy and this means they need to take something from the tournament favourites on Wednesday evening.
José Manuel de la Torre isexpected to name an unchanged side for the meeting with the hosts, resuming his selection of a lone striker being supported by a 4-2-3-1 formation. That puts Chicharito through a lot of lonesome and tiring work, especially if Giovani Dos Santos is unable to get in the game. Mexico ran out 2-1 winners at Wembley against the Selecao during last summer's London Games. The Mexicans have a good recent record against Brazil with seven wins in their last 12 fixtures. This will be the fourth match in the Confederations Cup between them, and Mexico have won two of the three surprisingly. They also won the most recent meeting, that friendly last summer in Arlington, Texas.

       Brazil had a perfect start to the Confed Cup when beat Japan 3:0 last Saturday. With two early goals in the 3rd minute and right after the break the Brazilians had decided this opener, could have won it even higher, if would have converted all chances into goals. The team of Luiz Felipe Scolari had found to form the recent weeks, but it had not always looked so well for the Seleção in the recent past. In February Scolari had lost his first match after his return 1:2 in Wembley against England, could also not beat Italy (2:2) and Russia (1:1) in friendlies, and even played only 2:2 at home against Chile. Another 2:2 against England two weeks ago followed a convincing 3:0 against France ten days ago, where Brazil had already displayed rising form.

Match date: 19 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 21:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza 

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

Possible line-ups:

Brazil (4-2-3-1): Cesar – Alves, Silva, Luiz, Marcelo – Paulinho, Gustavo – Hulk, Oscar, Neymar – Fred.
Mexico (4-2-3-1): Corona – Flores, Rodriguez, Moreno, Salcido – Zavala, Torrado – Aquino, dos Santos, Guardado – Hernandez.

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Euro U21 final: Italy vs Spain 18-06-2013

Italy vs Spain

European Under-21 Championship: Final
Match date: 18 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 18:00 CET
Venue: Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel 

 Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

After Italy and Spain have played the EURO 2012 senior final last year, we will see both countries now also in the final of the European Under-21 Championship in Israel on Tuesday evening.

      Italy made it to the final with a 1:0 victory over the Netherlands on Saturday. The Dutch were actually the dominating team in this semi-final, hit the post and missed several chances, but then it was striker Fabio Borini (Liverpool) who scored the 1:0 winner for the 'Azzurrini' eleven minutes before the end. Italy had beaten England 1:0 in the first game of the tournament, also defeated host Israel 4:0 and drew with Norway 1:1 in the last group match. Devis Mangia's side continues Italy's strong defence tradition, the goal they conceded against Norway was the only goal Italy's U21 conceded in the whole year 2013. 

       Spain ran over Norway and won fully deserved 3-0. The only point of criticism was their conversion of chances, as they had missed several great opportunities in the first half. They beat Russia 1-0 in their opening match of the tournament before going on to beat a well fancied German side by the same scoreline thanks to a Morata winner. Morata continued his record of scoring in every game of the tournament with the opener against Holland on the way to a 3-0 victory.Meanwhile for Spain, their single alteration is likely to see Alvaro Morata, the competition's top scorer with four strikes to his name in Israel, return to the XI at the expense of the goal-shy Rodrigo. With no fresh injury worries to report, Spain will be at full strength for the final. 

Possible line-ups:

Italy (4-2-3-1): Bardi; Donati, Bianchetti, Caldirola, Regini; Verratti, Florenzi; Saponara, Insigne, Borini; Gabbiadini.
Spain (4-3-3): De Gea; Montoya, Bartra, Martinez, Moreno; Illarramendi, Koke, Thiago Alcantara; Isco, Morata, Tello.

Categories: European Under-21 Championship

Mexico vs Italy - FIFA Confederations Cup 16-06-2013

Winner of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Mexico take on Italy in Group B of the Confederations Cup. The Italians are there courtesy of finishing as runners up at Euro 2012, the winner of which gains entry into the FIFA tournament. But because Spain won Euro 2012 and are current World Cup holders as well, the Euro 2012 entry spot went to Italy. 

 Italy will be hoping to start their campaign on a high with win a win in Group A, which has qualify sides and it will be difficult to make it to the next round if they lost the first match. Both the side are unbeaten in their last 5 matches with Italy winning 2 and drawing three while Mexico have won just 1 of the last 5 matches. Both teams last meet back in 2010 in the internations friendly match where Mexico came out as winners and they will be hoping to achieve somthing like that again.

 Jose de la Torre will no doubt be frustrated his talented squad were unable to claim more than 2 points from their recent fixtures in World Cup qualifying against Panama and Costa Rica, both of which resulted in scoreless draws. The team will continue to look to Javier Hernandez and the very talented midfield to provide the attack in hopes of recreating their 1-2 friendly victory over Italy in 2010.

Mexico vs Italy  

Football: 2013 Confederations Cup, Group A
Match date: 16 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 19:00 GMT

Venue: Estadio do Maracana 

 Possible line-ups:

-Mexico: (Manager: Jose de la Torre) - Corona; Rodriguez, Moreno, Flores; Guardado, Salcido, Zavala, Herrera, Barrera; De Nigris, Hernandez.
-Italy: (Manager: Cesare Prandelli) - Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Abate; De Rossi, Pirlo, Montolivo, Marchisio; Balotelli, El Shaarawy.

 

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Brazil vs Japan - Confederations Cup 15-06-2013

Football: 2013 Confederations Cup, Group B
Match date: 15.June.2013 - Kick Off Time: 21:00 CET
Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Brasilia - Brasilia  

Brazil team will be taking on Japan in the opening match of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 and it will be a massive game between the sides as this is the first group game and a win in this one will put the winner in prime position to make it through to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. Japan are coming into this match on the back of a huge 1-1 draw against Australian in the FIFA World Cup asian qualifiers.

 Japan have found themselves the underdogs of Group A, being matched up with the likes of Italy, Mexico and Brazil. The Blue Samurais defeated Iraq 0-1 on the road this Tuesday, a victory that solidified their position as leaders in Group B of Asian World Cup Qualifiers. Naturally, Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda have been pegged as the major threats for the Brazilian defensive line, but they will need to be on song if Japan is to pull off the unlikely on Saturday.

Brazil will enter this match on high confidence following their comfortable 3-0 victory over France in their friendly match recently but it will be interesting to see how they cope with the pressure of playing on home soil. The state of Brazilian football is at its worse as of now, as criticisms over the national team's standards has been raging consistently.Neymar is evidently the key player for the Selecaos, and all eyes will on the new Barcelona man, with the demanding Brazil fans expecting them to win the Confederations Cup.

Possible line-ups:

 BRASIL: (Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari) Cesar; Alves, Silva, Luiz, Marcelo; Hulk, Paulinho, Luiz Gustavo, Oscar; Neymar, Fred.

JAPAN: (Manager: Alberto Zaccheroni) Kawashima; Konno, Uchida, Yoshida, Nagatamo; Endo, Hasebe, Okazaki, Honda, Maeda; Kagawa.

The channels showing the match:

Al Jazeera Sports - HD 1
Al Jazeera Sports +9
Al Jazeera Sports - HD 2

Categories: FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Match Brazil vs France 09-06-2013 International Friendly

Brazil vs France  

Football: International Friendly
Match date: 9 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 19:00 GMT .
Venue: Arena do Grêmio - Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.

 Referee:‬ V. Carrillo‎

Brazil vs France Football Match will be played on 9 June 2013 at Arena do Grêmio - Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. for an International Friendly. V. Carrillo will be the match referee.

 For Brazil the match against France is the last test before they start to the Confed Cup on the 15th of June against Japan. Last Sunday they already played England in the Maracana stadium. In that match they displayed attacking football, created goal scoring opportunities, but squandered several of them in the first half. At the end they even had to be happy with a 2:2 draw then. Coach Felipe Scolari has already said that he won't make any major changes in his side in the match against France. Brazil had lost the first game under Scolari in February 1:2 in England, played 1:1 against Russia in London afterwards and at least beat Bolivia 4:0 without the European players before only drew 2:2 at home against Chile. 

In France they hope that they will come back to Brazil for the World Cup next year, but to do so they will most probably go through the play-offs, as they are only second in the qualifying group behind Spain.

Their most recent win was from Georgia for a 3-1 score at home. They played a bad game against Uruguay  recently, and the result was 1-0 loss away.

 Possible line-ups:

 Brazil: (Luiz Felipe Scolari)Júlio César; Dani Alves, Dante, Thiago Silva, Filipe Luis; Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho - Hulk, Oscar, Neymar ; Fred .
France: (Didier Deschamps )Mandanda; Sagna, Koscielny, Mangala, Trémoulinas; Matuidi, Capoue - Payet, Valbuena, Benzema ; Giroud .

The channels showing the match:

The channels showing the match:

The channels showing the match:

Al Jazeera Sports + 4

Categories: International Friendly

Switzerland vs Cyprus WC Qualification Europe - 08-06-2013

Match Switzerland vs Cyprus will be played on 08-06-2013 at Stade de Genève (Carouge) for a WC Qualification match.

 Switzerland team Football Team are currently rankedfourteenth in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. In their last 5 matches they have three draws and 2 win. Last time, they lost, it was against Romania for a 0-1 loss away in May 2013.Since then, they haven’t lost in the past eight games.  Their last win was against Tunisia for a 1-2 win away in November 2012.

  The Cypriots are coming to Switzerland with a squad based on domestic talent. Football in Cyprus has had an upswing in recent years, and the league defnitely isn't as poor as many think.Cyprus Football Team are currently one twenty second in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. In their last 5 matches, they have one draw and four losses. Their most recent win was from Iceland for a 1-0 score at home. They played a bad game against Serbia  recently, and the result was a 1-3 loss at home.

Switzerland vs Cyprus  

Football: WC Qualification Europe
Match date: 8 June 2013 _ Kick Off Time: 15:30 GMT
Venue: Stade de Genève (Carouge)

Referee: P.Mazzeloni

Switzerland vs Cyprus team form:

 Switzerland:
- currently ranked on 1. place in World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st round grp. E
- last match draw 0 - 0 against Cyprus (view Cyprus - Switzerland details)
- results in last 10 matches: won 6 matches, drawn 3 matches and lost 1 matches
- scored 18 goals and conceded 8 goals in last 10 matches
- more than 2.5 goals have been scored in 3 of last 10 matches
- have scored in 7 of last 10 matches
Cyprus:
- currently ranked on 6. place in World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st round grp. E
- last match draw 0 - 0 against Switzerland (view Cyprus - Switzerland details)
- results in last 10 matches: won 1 matches, drawn 2 matches and lost 7 matches
- scored 6 goals and conceded 17 goals in last 10 matches
- more than 2.5 goals have been scored in 6 of last 10 matches
- have scored in 6 of last 10 matches

Categories: WC Qualification Europe

Jamaica vs USA 08-06-2013 WC Qualification North America

Jamaica vs USA
World Cup Qualification North America
Match date: 8 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 0130 GMT
Stadium: Independence Park - Kingston

Referee: Roberto Moreno (Panama)

 Jamaica have managed two draws in the 4th round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualification. This leaves them in last place but a win over the United States would conceivably put them on level terms with 2nd place Panama. Their meeting with Mexico on Tuesday ended disappointingly, with the visitors taking full points in 0-1 result. 

USA have been a bit hit and miss over the last 18 months or so. Teams in this part of the world tend to play a lot more games than others and USA have tried a few things out. Since the start of 2012 they have been very busy with 11 wins, 5 draws and 4 defeats. With 31 goals scored and 22 conceded they have been involved in a few goalfests. They have recorded some impressive results over them games with Italy beaten in Genoa, old rivals Mexico in Azteca and a strong 4-3 over a Germany 2 eleven. The US are an underated side for me and they have a good manager in Jurgen Klinsmann. USA have a huge roster of players and although Landon Donovan is absent they have some major experience there. Two top England Premier keepers in Howard & Guzan. Defence is their weakness for me with Beesley and Goodson suspect. In the middle they are very impressive with Bradley of Roma and Holden of Bolton a decent pairing. They will likely go with Dempsey behind Altidore which is a dangerous strikeforce. USA sit in 4^th with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat in this very tight group.

Head-to-Head:

 Last Meeting: 11.09.2012, USA - Jamaica 1:0
Wins Jamaica: 1
Wins USA: 7
Draws: 9

Categories: WC Qualification North America

WC Qualification Europe: Portugal vs Russia 07-06-2013

Russia team is dominating Group F and after winning all four games played so far, it is only fair to say that they are favorites to win the group. Portugal were credited with the first chance at finishing on top, but right now they are struggling to stay within striking distance from the leader while overtaking Israel.

 Portugal were favorites for winning this group, but Russia have looked impressive while Portugal perhaps have been a subpar so far. For instance, they needed an injury time goal to secure a point against Israel. They actually went 1-0 up in that one, but had to work themselves out of a 3-1 down hole.

 Portugal made it to the semi-finals of the EURO 2012, but disappointed since, are ranked just 3rd in the World Cup qualification Group F. A team with players like Christiano Ronaldo, Fabio Coentrao, Joao Moutinho or Bruno Alves should normally be able to qualify for a major tournament, but they actually couldn't even beat Northern Ireland (1:1) at home, played only 3:3 in Israel and even had big problems when beat Luxembourg only 2:1. As they also lost 0:1 in Russia, chances to win the group and get directly qualified have become tiny. At least three of Portugal's four remaining matches are played at home, so Portugal should be able to get second, if they not lose to Russia on Friday. 

 Not only have Russia won all four games so far, they havent conceded a goal yet. With their technical, well composed football Russia is a force in today's game. Many tipped them to do well in the European Championship, but perhaps it is only now we get to see what Russia is capable of.

Portugal vs Russia 

 WC Qualification Europe: Group F

 Match date: 7 June 2013 _ Kick Off Time: 19:45 GMT
Venue: Da Luz, Lisbon

 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia) 

Possible line-ups:
Portugal (4-3-3): Patricio – Pereira, Alves, R. Costa, Coentrao – Moutinho, Veloso, Meireles – Nani, Postiga, Ronaldo.
Russia (4-3-3): Akinfeev – Nababkin, V. Berezutski, Ignashevich, D. Kombarov – Shirokov, Denisov, Faizulin – Bystrov, Kerzhakov, Samedov.


Head-to-Head:
Last meeting: 12 October 2012, Russia - Portugal 1:0
Wins Portugal: 4 - Wins Russia: 2
Draws: 1 

Categories: WC Qualification Europe

Czech Republic vs Italy 07-06-2013 WC Qualification Europe

Czech Republic vs Italy  - WC Qualification Europe: Group B

Czech Republic vs Italy Football Match will be played on 07-06-2013 at Generali Arena (Praha) for a European World Cup Qualifier.

 Czech Republic are in decent form going into this vital World Cup Qualifier. Since losing to Portugal in second round of Euro 2012 Czech Republic have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 2. With 11 goals scored and 5 conceded (with 5 clean sheets too) The Czechs have played some decent opposition in that time too so the form line is fairly strong. Only Malta would be classed a walkover in those games.  The Czech Republic have blooded a lot of new players this year after a lot of the old guard left the side. Indeed only keeper Petr Cech, Tomas Rosicky. Tomas Hubschmann and Jaroslav Plasil have over 50 caps.  Among the new caps there are a few decent prospects. Defender Theodor Gabre-Selassie was their best player at the Euros, Matej Vydra looks class and opened his international account recently. Striker David Lafata is hardly a youngster but the lightly capped Sparta Prague man has an excellent striker rate and is in top form at the moment. Czech Republic sit in 3^rd position in Group B with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.

 Italy Football Team are currently one eighth in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. In their last 5 matches, they have two wins, one loss and two draws. They have won in the past four games. Their most recent win was from San Marino for a 4-0 score at home. They played a decent game against Brazil  recently, and the result was  2-2 draw at home. Italy are having a three point lead at the top the group with 13 points and also a game left over second-placed Bulgaria.

Match date: 7 June 2013 - Kick Off Time: 18:45 GMT
Venue: Generali Arena - Praha

Possible line-ups:

Czech Republic: Čech • Selassie • Sivok • Kadlec • Limberský • Darida • Hübschman • Plašil • Rosický • Lafata • Vydra.
Italy: Buffon • Abate • Barzagli • Bonucci • Chiellini • Marchisio • Rossi • Pirlo • Cerci • Balotelli • Shaarawy.

Categories: WC Qualification Europe