retired_deljo

6th September 2011

Match Previews

Group Two - France vs Bulgaria
A win for Paul Le Guen's side in Paris will confirm them as Group Two winners and they can start planning for Norway. Visiting Bulgaria need three points to have a realistic chance of taking top spot and avoiding the potentially tricky playoffs, which will contain some good sides. The last time the two sides met in Saint-Denis was a little over two years ago, and France ran out 3-0 winners with two goals from Thierry Henry. A similar outcome would go down well with the Barcelona man: "It is an exciting time, but we must remember to be professional about everything. We lost in Bulgaria earlier, but now we can make things right." Captain Patrick Vieira is suspended, and Sidney Govou ruled out injured, which will see David Trezeguet and possibly Bruno Cheyrou stepping in, with Jonathan Lacourt possibly getting a debut after being called into the party as eleventh hour cover for Govou. Bulgaria have a doubt over Valeri Bojinov, who would be a big miss, but the showdown in Paris is set to be one hell of an encounter.

Group Four - Italy vs Sweden
Italy will cement their spot in Norway with success at home to Sweden on Wednesday night. If Uno Andersson's side harbour hopes of making a direct path to the Scandinavian summer, they must win in Rome and hope for Greece to do them a favour in Athens a month from now. Italy are unbeaten at home for seven years - a measure of the task awaiting the Swedes. Add to that Francesco Guidolin has a full strength squad to choose from, and it looks ominous for the visiting side. Furthermore, influential talents Alex Farnerud and Kim Kallstrom are both suspended, and the replacements are not as experienced, nor of the quality the duo possess. Zlatan Ibrahimovic knows the onus is on him to perform: "It is hard to win in Italy, but not impossible. I know I have a responsibility to lead the side from the front, and score the goals to win. Of that, I am confident." Italy have victored 1-0 in both recent previous meetings, and know that a replica of that scoreline will put them in the draw for the Finals.

Group Six - Holland vs Finland
Anything other than a win for the World Champions will see them eliminated from the competition at the qualifying stages. Some desperate performances early on from Ruud Gullit's Holland have left them in the position of needing to beat Finland, who come into the game fresh off the back of a 6-1 assault on Serbia & Montenegro. Positively for the home side, playmaker and icon Rafael van der Vaart is fit to resume international duty, and he will be expected to supply the bullets for Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben to fire. Captain David Mendes da Silva knows he too has to perform: "Mr Gullit has told us all what we need to do, but to be fair we know. Everyone has to be at the peak of their game to beat Finland, who are an extremely good side. It's certainly win or bust." Finland will miss Aki Riihilahti due to suspension, but the fantastic second half performance of Matti Lähitie in Helsinki at the weekend must mean he is a dead cert to start. Daniel Sjölund might play, but probably won't complete 90 minutes, so Antti Muurinen might not risk the Sociedad frontman. Finland, maybe importantly, hold two straight wins over Holland, and another will see Holland's future looking bleak.

Possible happenings on Wednesday night:

Group 1: Denmark win and Croatia fail to win, Denmark will qualify.
Group 2: France win and they will will qualify.
Group 3: Ukraine will qualify top if they beat Estonia.
Group 4: Italy will qualify with a win over Sweden, Greece eliminated if they fail to win.
Group 5: England qualify if they win or Romania fail to win.
Group 6: Holland eliminated if they fail to win, Finland secure playoff place in same scenario. Ireland will qualify if Finland fail to win.
Group 7: Germany can guarantee a playoff place with a win.
Group 8: Nothing
Group 9: Iceland qualify with a win over Czechs

retired_deljo

8th September 2011

Italy surge through to Finals

Over eighty-two thousand fans crammed into Rome's Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday night to witness Italy beating Sweden by one goal to nil and thus securing their place in next year's European Championships. Whilst the 1-0 scoreline suggests a close game, in reality the home side were rampant, and with Sweden missing influential names they looked a little lightweight. Rami Shaaban was forced into an early save from Mattia Rossini's free kick, and then Eder Bau, on his home ground, headed over from close range. Brighi and Ventola drew further saves from the Sunderland keeper before Sweden survived a strong appeal for a penalty. Fabio Rustico appeared to have been body-checked by Labinot Harbuzi, but referee David McGarvey turned away. In first half injury time the Azzurri made the breakthrough. Shaaban had saved well from Rossini and Brighi to produce a corner for the home side. After a scramble was partially cleared, Matteo Brighi sensibly crossed for Bau to volley in his seventh international goal, and maybe his most crucial. Bologna's experienced midfielder Francisco Monternvino was having an amazing influence over the game on his debut, as it was he who broke up Swedish play and built Italian attacks time and again. On 57 the goal opened up for Rossini, but once again the Inter man blazed his shot well wide. Shaaban was still busy, as Italy went for the security of a two goal cushion. They really didn't need it as Uno Andersson's side were offering very little by way of advancing. Kennedy Bakircioglu dribbled through and unleashed a shot Buffon could only watch soar wide. That was about as good as Sweden had it. Denis Pavesi had a last minute penalty appeal turned down, but by then Italy had already won, and the final whistle was greeted with much celebration, as Italy are one of the first sides to confirm their place in Norway next summer.


Italy 1 (Bau 45)
Sweden 0
Attendance - 82,882
Referee - David McGarvey (Scotland)

Italy - Buffon(c), Montervino, Brighi, P.Cannavaro, Rustico, Vianello (Cioffi 61), Lodesani (Dalla Bona 61), M.Rossini (Pavesi 61), Bau, Ventola, Bellini

Sweden - Shaaban, Eriksson, Dorsin, Johansson(c), Mellberg, Harbuzi, Djordjic (Chanko 64), Bakircioglu, Ibrahimovic, Hjelm, Ishizaki

retired_deljo

World Champions humilated and eliminated, Ireland qualify

The holders of the FIFA World Cup and reigning World Champions will not be present in Norway next year. Failure by Ruud Gullit's Holland to beat Finland in Amsterdam on Wednesday night means that the Oranje have too much of a gap to mathematically reduce. Full credit must be given to Finland, who dominated the game in the Ajax ArenA against a below-par but determined Dutch side. The hosts came out of the traps well and nearly took an early lead when Pasanen nicked the ball away from a waiting Ruud van Nistelrooy, ready to pounce. On twenty-two minutes Finland had their first shot at goal, and unsurprisingly it was Juho Mäkelä who dragged it wide. Just five minutes later though, and Finland had their lead. Teemu Tainio hit an outswinging corner to the back post. Petri Pasanen, on his own club ground, beat Kevin Hofland and headed Antti Murrinen's side into the lead. It might have been far worse even sooner, as Mikael Forssell dribbled dangerously before unleashing a bullet of an attempt which shaved the crossbar. On half time Arjen Robben thought he was about to equalise when totally clear. However, Tuomas Saarela managed to get back to slide the ball away at the last moment for a wonderful tackle. The second half was much the same. Finland dominated, and Dutch frustration on the pitch and anxiety in the stands was reaching its peak. With fifteen minutes remaining Yousseff Hersi drew a world class save from Otto Fredrikson, but a glimmer of hope came with six minutes to go. The goalscorer Pasanan challenged for an aerial ball with Dirk Kuijt. The referee deemed the challenge illegal, and awarded the home side a penalty. It was highly controversial, as more than one have voiced their opinion that Kuijt dived. Either way, Hersi scored the penalty to set up a tense last few minutes. Niels Oude Kampuis nearly scored a fine solo effort, but as the full time whislt went, two sets of fans were celebrating. Finland secured a playoff place, whilst Mick McCarthy's Ireland, by virtue of this draw, qualify as Group Winners. As for the Netherlands, an inquest into this failure will certainly come sooner than later, with Gullit's job well and truly up for appraisal.


Holland 1 (Hersi 84 pen)
Finland 1 (Pasanen 27)
Attendance - 51,299
Referee - Ilmar Nool (Romania)

Holland - Bosman, Lamey, Bouma, H.Seedorf, Hofland, van der Vaart (Clarence Seedorf 52), Oude Kamphuis, Mendes Da Silva(c), Hersi, van Nistelrooy (Kuijt 52), Robben

Finland - Fredrikson, Saarela, Bergholm, Hyypia(c), Pasanen, Tainio (Nyman 56), Wirtanen (Okkonen 83), Heikkinen, Forssell, J.Mäkelä, Savolainen

retired_deljo

French also through in tight decider

Les Bleus have done it again. Paul Le Guen's French side are back in the big time as they reached the European Championship Finals in Norway next year with a 1-0 win over Bulgaria. Despite the scoreline looking as if the game was tight, France were always in control of their own destiny, and in truth never looked like faltering since the start, when they beat Georgia 2-0 in Tblisi. Bulgaria missed Valeri Emilov Bojinov with a neck injury, and it showed as his liveliness would have been an asset. The winner came relatively early. After just a quarter of an hour Stéphane Dalmat chipped a perfect pass over the Bulgarian defence to Didier Soler. The Nantes midfielder stole through to score with aplomb, and to score the goal which sent his country through. Bulgaria were unable to offer anything by way of return, as the French back line was proving to be as solid as it is reknowned to be. If there was to be another goal it would have been for the home side, as Henry showed with a header just over five minutes before half time. The same player put a volley wide ten minutes after half time as France looked to put the result beyond doubt. Dalmat went off with a nasty gash on his leg, which opened the way for Lyon's Jonathan Lacourt to make his international debut, having only received a call-up on Sunday. Ten minutes from time Christian Rivière was sent off for receiving a second yellow card after arguing too profusely with the referee. It put a downer on the evening, but just ten minutes later France could relax in the knowledge they will be enjoying a Norweigan summer in 2012. Captain Patrick Vieira, unavailable for the Bulgarian game, summed up their feelings: "It feels wonderful to know we've earned our place. Everyone who has played in the last year has contributed to the cause, and we hope it will lead to bigger and better things." Wise comments indeed from the world's most active capped player.


France 1 (Soler 15)
Bulgaria 0
Attendance - 79,963
Referee - Reha Biçici (Turkey)

France - Frey, Gallas (Sagnol 71), Rivière, Escudé, Boumsong (Silvestre 58), Dalmat (Lacourt 71), Rothen, Soler, Henry, Trezeguet(c), Meriem

Bulgaria - Kamburov, Andonov, Peev, Topuzov, Joao Carlos, Mladenov (Dimov 53), S.Petrov (Trifonov 91), Zhelev, M.Petrov, Berbatov(c), Blagoev (Gargorov 53)

retired_deljo

Round-Up

With opportunity knocking, Denmark declined to take automatic qualification from Group One as they limped to a 1-1 draw in Lithuania. Bottom of the table, they shocked Torsten Dürr's side by taking the lead twelve minutes from time with Martin Kunevichius' fifth goal for his country. Morten Skoubo saved Danish blushes with an equaliser five minutes later to keep them top and in need of a win over Slovakia (who can still qualify top) next month to take first place. Croatia shall be breathing down their necks as they beat Wales 1-0 in Cardiff by way of Mihael Mikic's first half strike. Jerko Leko also missed a penalty, but Wales signed off in a disappointing manner, failing to reach another major competition.

With France through and Bulgaria in second, Group Two has run its course. Latvia strolled to a 3-0 win over what must be the poorest Hungarian team possibly ever. Pavel Koltsov, Pavel Korchagine, and Vladimir Kokhan scored the goals which leaves Hungary on just five points, one better than perennial no-hopers San Marino, who fell to a 1-0 defeat to Gocha Shekriladze's winner for Georgia.

Ukraine have qualified as winners of Group Three. Their game in hand over Scotland was away to Estonia on Wednesday night, and goals from Andriy Shevchenko, Andriy Smalko, and Olexiy Belik meant top spot is now theirs guaranteed. Scotland will console themselves with a playoff spot and as one of the stronger sides in the mix, they'll fancy their chances of progression. Spain, ultimately disappointing, beat Israel 3-0 in Tel-Aviv with one goal from Güiza and two from Victor Salas on debut. Miguel Ángel Lotina handed out three debuts as Spain had nothing but pride to play for, and with his future in doubt he'll look to impress as many as possible by blooding new talent. Israel finish with nine points, a rather poor total for some of the talent they possess.

As Italy have won Group Five the only thing to be resolved is to who takes the playoff spot, between Sweden and Greece. Despite the former's defeat in Rome, they simply have to beat Faroe Islands at home next month to take it. Greece are still in the hunt, winning 2-0 in Luxembourg with two goals from Manolis Ligkos. Luxembourg are still to get off the mark, and are unlikely to. Roman Vasilyuk scored the only goal as Belarus beat the Faroes in Minsk by one goal to nil.

Cherno Samba is starting to explode onto the world stage. Two goals last time out for England, he started in Macedonia after scoring two consecutive hat-tricks for Chelsea at the start of the season. Two more goals on Wednesday night continued his fabulous form and gave England their place in Norway, as had been expected for many months. Steve McLaren's side has a balance of youth and experience, and no shortage of talent. Romania clinched a playoff place with the same scoreline in Armenia. Early goals from Florin Cernat and Adrian Mutu sealed second spot for them, and they have hopes of making a fifth consecutive major finals.

Serbia & Montenegro stuttered to a 1-0 win over Albania in a meaningless Group Six match in Belgrade. Albania had Artan Muca and Klodian Lika both red-carded in the second half, and as it looked as if the game would end in a drab goalless draw Mateja Kezman won a penalty. He stepped up to convert it, but Serbia & Montenegro join Albania and Holland in not qualifying for the next phase, as Finland have won their playoff place and Ireland qualify automatically.

Everything in Group Seven will be decided on one dramatic night in October. The two protagonists, Germany and Belgium, could only draw one apiece in Brussels. Germany's Stephan Kling was dismissed after just 104 seconds for a dangerous lunge on Emile Mpenza, who then went to give Marc Wilmots' side the lead. Kai Brand got his country and manager Rudi Völler off the hook with a late, late equaliser which keeps Germany in pole position going into their final game with Bosnia. The Germans have 18 points, one more than Belgium. Slovenia are an extra point behind, failing to take advantage by being held 1-1 by Malta. Dejan Robnik scored another goal, but Dejan Komljenovic was sent off and will miss the final game. Michael Mifsud equalised to shock Slovenia and leave their fate outside of their hands. Bosnia are also still in contention for a playoff spot, and showed it with a 4-0 drubbing of Azerbaijan. Samir Duro grabbed two, whilst there was one each for Armin Sistek and Enes Buhic. With anything still possible, Group Seven is where the action will be.

The Group Eight qualifier will also go down to the last game. Portugal will go through with a win in Moldova, whilst Turkey must go unbeaten in Russia and hope Moldova can pull off a shock. Portugal brushed Northern Ireland aside on Wednesday night, with four goals from Rodrigo Brasao, Ricardo Quaresma, Hélder Postiga, and Felipe Oliviera. Mainz forward Kevin Braniff scored a consolation for Northern Ireland, who round off yet another poor campaign with just three points and no wins from eight games. Turkey maintained pace with a 2-0 win against Moldova, with Ibrahim and Serhat both scoring again. Mehmet Özturk's side have the best current record of all second placed sides, and will be favourites to take the extra qualifying place.

And to Group Nine where Iceland will return to the European Championship Finals after finishing runners up in Scotland and Wales in 2008. A 3-1 win at home to the Czech Republic has given Atli Edvalðsson's Iceland an unassailable five point lead over Poland, as the round off their campaign in style. Goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ellert Jón Björnsson, and Emil Hallfreðsson were too much for the Czechs, who could only muster a Milan Baros goal in response. The Czechs have failed to keep their grip over the playoff place, which Poland now occupy after goals from Emmanuel Olisadebe and Tomasz Makurkiewicz gave them a 2-0 victory in Iceland. A win over Switzerland next month will confirm second place for them.

retired_deljo

The latest tables look like this:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * European Championship Qualifying - Thursday 8th September 2011********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2011 Tables============================================ ================================================== ==Group 1Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Denmark 7 1 1 1 5 4 3 1 0 6 1 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Croatia 7 1 1 1 4 3 3 0 1 4 2 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Slovakia 7 3 0 1 8 3 1 0 2 3 5 12 4th Wales 8 2 0 2 4 4 1 1 2 3 7 10 5th Lithuania 7 0 1 3 1 4 0 1 2 2 7 2 Group 2Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q France 9 5 0 0 16 1 3 0 1 9 3 24 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Bulgaria 9 3 0 1 7 2 3 1 1 8 4 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Latvia 9 2 1 2 7 9 2 0 2 4 9 13 4th Georgia 9 2 1 1 5 5 1 2 2 4 6 12 5th Hungary 9 0 2 2 2 4 1 0 4 3 12 5 6th San Marino 9 1 0 4 3 8 0 1 3 1 6 4 Group 3Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Ukraine 7 3 0 0 8 2 3 1 0 7 2 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Scotland 7 2 2 0 10 5 2 0 1 7 1 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Spain 7 1 0 2 2 5 2 1 1 14 6 10 4th Israel 8 2 0 2 3 5 1 0 3 4 7 9 5th Estonia 7 0 0 4 1 16 0 0 3 1 8 0 Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Italy 9 5 0 0 14 2 3 1 0 12 1 25 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Sweden 9 3 0 1 8 2 3 1 1 10 3 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Greece 9 2 2 0 9 2 3 0 2 9 6 17 4th Belarus 9 1 1 2 3 6 2 1 2 9 7 11 5th Faroe Islands 9 1 0 4 3 14 1 0 3 6 8 6 6th Luxembourg 9 0 0 5 1 22 0 0 4 2 13 0 Group 5Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q England 7 3 0 0 10 0 4 0 0 10 0 21 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Romania 7 2 0 1 6 2 3 0 1 5 5 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Austria 7 2 0 2 6 4 1 1 1 1 2 10 4th FYROM 8 1 1 2 4 4 0 0 4 1 12 4 5th Armenia 7 1 0 3 2 8 0 0 3 1 9 3 Group 6Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Ireland 7 2 0 1 2 1 3 1 0 6 1 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Finland 8 2 1 1 10 6 2 1 1 5 3 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Holland 7 1 3 0 4 3 1 0 2 3 4 9 4th Serbia & Montengro 7 1 0 3 1 3 1 1 1 4 7 7 5th Albania 7 0 0 3 1 7 1 1 2 2 3 4 Group 7Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Germany 9 2 1 1 11 3 3 2 0 12 2 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Belgium 9 3 2 0 11 3 1 3 0 7 5 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Slovenia 9 3 2 0 10 4 1 2 1 4 4 16 4th Bosnia 9 2 2 1 11 6 2 1 1 9 3 15 5th Azerbaijan 9 1 0 3 2 8 1 0 4 1 12 6 6th Malta 9 0 1 3 1 11 0 0 5 2 20 1 Group 8Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Pl Portugal 7 4 0 0 13 2 2 0 1 3 1 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Turkey 7 4 0 0 7 0 2 0 1 7 6 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Russia 7 2 0 1 5 2 1 1 2 4 8 10 4th N.Ireland 8 0 2 2 4 7 0 1 3 4 11 3 5th Moldova 7 0 1 2 5 9 0 1 3 2 8 2 Group 9Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Iceland 8 4 0 0 9 4 2 0 2 7 6 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Poland 7 3 0 0 8 2 1 1 2 4 4 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Czech Republic 7 3 0 0 4 0 1 0 3 4 6 12 4th Switzerland 7 2 1 1 6 4 0 1 2 2 4 8 5th Cyprus 7 0 1 3 0 9 0 0 3 2 7 1 Second Placed TeamsPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Turkey 5 3 0 0 5 0 1 0 1 3 5 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Sweden 6 2 0 1 4 1 1 1 1 4 2 10 3rd Finland 6 2 0 1 9 5 1 1 1 2 2 10 4th Bulgaria 6 2 0 1 5 2 1 1 1 5 4 10 5th Croatia 6 1 1 1 4 3 2 0 1 3 2 10 6th Romania 5 1 0 1 3 2 2 0 1 3 5 9 7th Scotland 5 1 2 0 6 4 1 0 1 3 1 8 8th Belgium 6 1 2 0 5 3 0 3 0 5 5 8 9th Poland 5 2 0 0 6 1 0 1 2 2 4 7 </pre>


Qualified: Norway(hosts), France, Ukraine, Italy, England, Ireland, Iceland

Playoffs at minimum: Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Scotland, Poland

retired_ronniecat

Whew...at least Latvia did their job much better than our neighbours - and now we can say we're as good as Spain (although most of the Latvian players mentioned ARE real they are pretty obscure at the moment - and I pretty much doubt if they'll be able to be even considered for Latvian NT for next few hundreds of years )

Risking being very unoriginal I'll say - good work with the story, Juni.

retired_deljo

Cheers

30th September 2011

Germany at full strength for decider

German coach Rudi Völler has the liberty of naming as strong a squad as he could possibly have named in preparation for the Nationalmannschaft's Group Seven decider against Bosnia. A win in Berlin on Saturday night will seal Germany's place in Norway next summer, and the talent named has a perfect chance of doing so. Kai Brand once again leads the names, as his goals will doubtless be crucial to any hopes Germany harbour of making progress. The Union Berlin hitman took time out of preparations to speak on the game: "Of course, the Bosnia match is massive, but we are all very confident of success. Then we can relax, and look forward to preparing to play in Norway and succeeding there. But Bosnia is first and most important. We all have faith in Völler and know we can do it." Wolfsburg striker Benjamin Heinrich receives his first ever callup after starting the season quite impressively, but the 23 year old will have work to do to displace the duo of Jermaine Jones and Brand up front. Dortmund's Eugen Bopp, thought to have been an injury doubt, has shown no signs of ill health and is named in a 26 strong party for next weekend's clash. The squad will meet on Monday in Berlin to train at Hertha BSC's training complex for a week before the Bosnia game.

Squad
Gk: Timo Hildebrand (Rostock), Simon Jentzsch (Celtic), Marco Wrzesczinski (Mannheim)
Def: Marco Krause (Bayern Munich), Hanno Balitsch (Leverkusen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC), Tobias Rau (Wolfsburg), Christoph Metzelder (Napoli), Fabian Ernst (1860 Munich), Frank Krüger (Dortmund), Markus Feulner (Bayern Munich), Andreas Hinkel (Leverkusen), Alexander Voigt (1860 Munich)
Mid: Sebastian Kehl (Inter), Peer Kluge (Stuttgart), Dennis Becker (Bayern Munich), Marco Reich (Stuttgart), Christian Rahn (HSV), Eugen Bopp (Dortmund), Clemens Fritz (Leverkusen), Daniel Bierofka (Wolfsburg)
Fwd: Kai Brand (Union Berlin), Benjamin Heinrich (Wolfsburg), Ralf Schuster (Rostock), Marco Vorbeck (Stuttgart), Jermaine Jones (Saarbrücken)

retired_deljo

Destiny awaits Denmark

A win over Slovakia in Copenhagen on Saturday will see Torsten Dürr's Danish side make the short trip up to Norway next summer. The veteran 60 year old German coach sees this as a final chance to make a lasting impression on Danish football by leading them to their first glory since winning the same European Championships on a sunny day in Stockholm nineteen years ago. The days of Jensen, Vilfort, Laudrup and Schmeichel are firmly in the past, but after a traumatic few years, Denmark finally appear set on success with a strong squad. Many of the names selected in Dürr's latest 26 strong party are on the wrong side of thirty, but have the experience, nous, and quality required to not only claim three points against Slovakia, but do well next summer. Prolific striker Morten Skoubo and captain Kasper Bøgelund are two of the thirtysomething players who will be expected to guide the younger talent, the likes of Morten Rasmussen and Karsten Petersen (by no means inexperienced themselves), through the testing situations of a major tournament. Brondby winger Thomas Kahlenburg, formerly a B international, may make his bow at full international level if Michael Silberbauer doesn't return to fitness, but the fact Dürr has selected him speaks volumes. "Thomas has shown many times in the past he is quality. He assists the forwards, keeps defenders occupied, and will be an asset to any side." Comments from club and country team-mate Peter Madsen.

Squad
Gk: Thomas Sørensen (Bolton), David Sørensen (Brondby), Rune Pedersen (FC København)
Def: Thomas Østergaard (Sunderland), Kim Madsen (Freiburg), Jan Frederiksen (Feyenoord), Jacob Høj (FC København), Martin Laursen (Juventus), Nikolai Hust (AGF), Kasper Bøgelund (Monaco, capt), Carsten Abildgaard (FC København), Kasper Kure Vidkjær (Bremen), Per Krøldrup (Lazio)
Mid: Anders Olsen (Silkeborg), Mads Jørgensen (Millwall), Michael Silberbauer (Rayo), Thomas Kahlenburg (Brondby), Christian Poulsen (Inter), Mads Beierholm (Lyon), Dennis Rommedahl (Liverpool), Claus Jensen (Leeds)
Fwd: Karsten Petersen (Brondby), Jonas D.Schmidt (OB), Peter Madsen (Brondby), Morten Rasmussen (FC København), Morten Skoubo (Utrecht)

retired_deljo

Moldovan adventure for Giresse's giants

Moldova, with all due respect, isn't perhaps the nicest place to visit on a wet Saturday night in October. Yet a win for Portugal will see them progress to Norway and the European Championships of 2012. Being reknowned as a side who always flatter to deceive, Alain Giresse has had limited success to date, with just the 2007 Confederations Cup to his name. Yet this qualification campaign has shown a different Portuguese side - a new found hunger, with some cracking quality. Giresse explains that the squad he has named has come to fruition: "Like a fine wine, quality takes time to come good. It must be nurtured over periods of time, and when it is right, it can be enjoyed." Certainly, this is the case in the example of Ricardo Quaresma and Hélder Postiga. Many years of gradual progression should, hopefully for Portugal, reap benefits next summer. The squad must achieve victory in Moldova first, and the wealth of experience named by the French legend suggests the Iberians are more than capable of coming through with something to spare. Valencia's Rodrigo Brasao has been named despite suffering from an injured neck, as he is expected to recover in time for the trip to Chisinau.

Squad
Gk: Hugo Pinheiro (Perugia), Hilário (Bahia), Filipe Leao (Liverpool)
Def: Bruno Aguiar (Benfica), Nuno Mata (Deportivo), Alfredo Cardoso (Lyon), Filipe Armando (Birmingham), Lino (Arsenal), Ricardo Costa (Sevilla), Jorge Andrade (Sporting Gijón), Fernando Augusto (Lecce), Hélder Ramos (Braga), Carvalho (Denizlispor), Fernando Meira (Celta), Ricardo Carvalho (Porto)
Mid: Rodrigo Brasao (Valencia), Edgar (Real Madrid), Duda (Bastia), Ricardo Quaresma (Leeds), Alexandre Mário (Oviedo)
Fwd: Lucas (Chelsea), Felipe Oliviera (Nantes, capt), Guilherme Alves (Salernitana), Márcio (Besiktas), Mokas (Bari), Hélder Postiga (Porto)

In brief...
Smith recalled by England, set to break goalscoring record....Savidan, Puygrenier earn French callups....Scott Michie called up by Körner.....Demba Traore in Swedish squad for first time....Charleroi's Michel in for Belgium....