10-10-2010 18:30 Sierra Leone - South Africa

Keeping The Momentum

After making a great start to their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a 2-0 win over Niger, South Africa will on Sunday enter a lions den in Freetown, knowing that anything other than a victory against a team that’s ranked 132 in the world will be a disappointment.

Now ranked 58th in the world and 10th in Africa, Bafana Bafana were beaten 1-0 in their last visit to Sierra Leone, but the team is different now and the 2010 World Cup hosts have a new coach in Pitso Mosimane, who is yet to lose a game since taking charge of the team.
Goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, who has not conceded a goal in his last two appearances for Bafana will surely be looking to make it a hat-trick of clean sheets, which could turn out to be key should it come down to goal difference to decide who progresses.

“We have to make sure we do not concede a goal in this match. We have to go there and keep a clean sheet. It does not matter that we played at home in our last two matches, because home or away we have a good record and we need to build from that,” the shot stopper told the media at a press conference.

The conditions that Mosimane’s troops might face in Sierra Leone could well be the deciding factor of the match as Bafana struggled to string passes together in their last visit to Sierra Leone, but Khune says they just have to focus on their game and nothing else.

“We have no control over the conditions, we just have to go there and play. We know we have to win the match and we have the players who can do the job,” the Bafana keeper said.

Home Advantage Is Key

Having already made two appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations back in 1994 and 1996, Sierra Leone are hungry and eager to compete in the 2012 finals. They proved their undoubted desire by playing to a 1-1 draw against the defending champions Egypt in Cairo during the last round of qualifiers.

After years of internal unrest and a civil war that couldn’t help but bring football largely to a halt, Sierra Leone coach Christian Cole believes that the current Leone Stars team can rise above their past and erase bitter memories to qualify for the 2012 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

Cole’s ambition is beyond just bringing football glory to Sierra Leone, he is determined to add a new chapter for the country that has for many years been associated with negative news and has already made a huge statement with a draw against seven time African champions Egypt. South African should surely brace themselves for a tough game.

“We defeated them in Freetown in the last qualifiers, and this is a feat I am determined to repeat come October tenth.” Cole told Fifa.com.

TEAM NEWS

South Africa

Bafana Bafana’s preparations received a major blow ahead of this game after they lost deputy captain Steven Pienaar because of an injury while playing for Everton in England. This could well be the chance for the off form Teko Modise to relaunch his Bafana career, however he will have to battle it out with Reneilwe Letsolonyane and Surprise Moriri for the start.

It is all systems go with no reports of any further injuries and captain Aaron Mokoena has already been cleared by the medical team of a minor injury. The red hot Katlego Mphela is expected to lead the attack with Bernard Parker after Mosimane said he will not be making unnecessary changes.

Squad: Itumeleng Khune, Moeneeb Josephs,Dareen Keet, Siboniso Gaxa, Morgan Gould, Tshepo Masilela, Aaron Mokoena, Anele Ngcongca, Siyabonga Sangweni, Bongani Khumalo, Innocent Mdledle, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Daine Klate, Teko Modise, Thanduyise Khuboni, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Surprise Moriri, MacBeth Sibaya, Andile Jali,Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker, Sthembiso Ngcobo


Sierra Leone

Coach Christian Cole’s preparations also had a share of disappointments after Aston Villa’s Nigel Reo-Coker turned down a request to play for Sierra Leone. The midfielder qualifies for the African nation through his father and spent a number of years living in the country as a child.

Sierra Leone football authorities handed him an invite to play for the country in their African Cup of Nations qualifier game against South Africa, but his agent Tony Finnigan insisted that the midfielder is keen on fighting for a place in the English national team.

Also out of this game is the captain and all-time leading scorer Mohamed Kallon, the former Inter Milan striker who has netted 19 goals in 28 games. missed the Egypt match due to injury. According to reports coach Cole decided to exclude him saying that the player did not make contact about his recovery, however Kallon has denied the coach’s statements.

Mustapha Bangura, who scored against Egypt has promised to score against South Africa again and striker Mohamed Poborsky Bangura will be part of the team that will be captained byIbrahim Obreh Kargbo.

Squad: Christian Caulker, John Trye, Ibrahim Koroma, Gibrilla Woobay, Umaru Bangura, Ahmed Deen, Alpha Lansana,Pa Salieu Sesay,Rodney Strasser, Ibrahim Kargbo, Mustapha Bangura, Samuel Barlay, Sheriff Suma, Alfread Sankoh, Alfred Sankoh, David Simbo, Mohamed Pobosky Bangura, Sulamina Fullah Sesay, Ibrahim Tetteh Bangura,  Benjamin Dondem Sesay

PREDICTION

This is going to be a tough game with South Africa on form and Sierra Leone playing at home under their own conditions, which will no doubt be a blow for Bafana’s short passing game.

South Africa 1-1 Sierra Leone

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08-10-2010 20:30 Moldova - Netherlands

Doing Just Fine

By their modest standards, Moldova have started the Euro 2012 qualifying process in decent form, but despite an upbeat start to the series, the Eastern Europeans start as severe underdogs when they welcome the Netherlands to Chisinau on Friday.

Ranked 80 in the world by FIFA, Gavril Balint’s side will doubtless adopt a pragmatic approach for their forthcoming encounter, aiming to keep the game as tight as possible for as long as possible before springing on the counter.

In their opening home fixture against Finland, a 2-0 victory was claimed, though their passage to three points was eased by Sami Hyypia’s dismissal with little more than half an hour played. Even so, it still took the hosts until the final quarter of the match to stamp their authority, with Alexandru Suvorov breaking the deadlock on 69 minutes before Anatolie Doros struck soon afterwards.

Four days later against Hungary, all the goals again arrived in the second half, though of the three struck in Budapest, only one was for the Moldovans, consigning them to a defeat that was not especially a shock.

Against the Oranje, Moldova can only hope faintly for a point, but that will mean defending impeccably for 90 minutes.

Huge Game

Much of the build-up to the Netherlands’ encounter in Moldova has been dominated by an event that happened outside the confines of the national team. Nigel de Jong’s leg breaking tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa while playing for Manchester City against Newcastle United has sparked a great deal of debate, though the midfield hardman certainly won’t be featuring in either of the Oranje’s next two encounters after coach Bert van Marwijk axed him from the squad in the wake of the incident.

On the field, the Dutch can have few worries. Coming off the back of their excellent performance at the World Cu they drew a friendly in the Ukraine in early August but have since rebounded with victories over San Marino and Finland in qualifying. Dirk Kuyt is not about to play down the importance of the forthcoming qualifiers against Moldova and Sweden though.

“The match against Moldova is huge. Away games are always very difficult and it'll be a tough game. But we have the team to beat them, so we have to be ready,” he told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. “We have lots of confidence in ourselves and we know how big these matches are: if we win these two games, we'll be well on our way to qualifying for the European Championships.”

Van Marwijk’s record in qualifying competition cannot be beaten. During the World Cup series, his side won a perfect eight games from eight, while they are already two from two in the Euro 2012 campaign. Indeed, the World Cup final is the only competitive game the Dutch coach hasn’t won during his tenure, spelling danger for the Moldovans.

TEAM NEWS

Moldova
Gavril Balint hasn't had to cope with any injury issues in the build-up to this fixture.

Netherlands

Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben are both out due to injury complaints, while Nigel de Jong has been dropped from the squad by Bert van Marwijk following the midfielder’s challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa last weekend. Eljero Elia is missing too.

Defensively the coach has a number of headaches, with Ron Vlaar, Hedwiges Maduro and Vurnon Anita all missing.

Elsewhere in the group...

Hungary – San Marino
Hungary continue their attempts to qualify for a first European Championship finals since 1972 when they meet minnows San Marino at home on Friday evening.

Sandor Egervari’s side have made a distinctly mixed start to the qualification process, going down 2-0 against Sweden in their opening game before scrambling to maximum points against Moldova at home. Having lost a recent friendly to the Netherlands 6-1, the Magyars can hold out little hope of taking anything from the World Cup finalists, increasing the importance of the weekend’s encounter.

Tiny San Marino will always be serious underdogs when attempting to qualifying for any finals competition, and against the landlocked state has started its campaign in losing fashion. Thumped 5-0 by the Oranje, they were then hit for six by Sweden. Any kind of improvement will be welcomed, with defeat accepted as almost inevitable. 

Prediction

The Netherlands will be too strong for their hosts and will come through relatively comfortably. Winning in such venues is rarely an easy task, and it may take the Dutch time to break their opponents’ resistance, but they will come through in the end.

Moldova 0-2 Netherlands

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08-10-2010 20:45 Germany - Turkey

No Worries Over Form

It’s been a case of so far so good for both Germany and Turkey in Euro 2012 qualification to date, but at least one side will lose their perfect record when the countries do battle in Berlin on Friday evening.

After reaching the World Cup semi-final final with an exceptionally young team, there is pressure on Joachim Loew’s side not just to reach the finals, but to actually claim the competition. They’ve started in the right manner, edging past Belgium 1-0 on their travels and dispatching Azerbaijan 6-1 at home, but this forthcoming fixture is not so obvious.

Once again Loew’s squad will be formed largely around a strong contingent from domestic champions Bayern Munich, but die Roten’s form has been poor this season and there are very real worries that this could finally spill over to effect die Mannschaft.

Evidently, the coach does not buy such talk. “Their disappointing form at club level doesn't worry me,” he affirmed to the media, doubtless considering the case of Miroslav Klose, who was so poor for FCB last term but who rose to the occasion with the national team in South Africa. “It is something I had expected. The players have had an incredible World Cup and some of them are showing they have lost a bit of strength. That is normal.”

Loew has formed an exciting squad and a unit good enough to shrug off questionable club form when required on the big occasion, and with this widely considered to be Germany’s pivotal game in qualifying, expect to see die Mannschaft produce another strong performance to earn a positive result.

Thinking Of A Surprise
Like Germany, Turkey have made an excellent start in their quest to reach Poland and Ukraine in the summer of 2012. The Crescent Stars will ideally seek first place and an automatic spot in the European Championships, but at the very least they must go for second and a likely spot in the play-offs.

Kazakhstan and Belgium are also the sides previously seen off by the Turks, who claimed a 3-0 win in Astana before hosting les Diable Rouge, who took the lead before eventually succumbing 3-2 in a dramatic encounter.

Turkey may not have been as impressive as their opponents, but that has not stopped Halil Altintop talking up their chances of three points in Munich.

“It will not be an easy game, but we could surprise Germany,” the Eintracht Frankfurt forward told SPOX in the lead up to the game.

A proud side lead by the vastly experienced Guus Hiddink, Turkey will be going out for revenge following their dramatic 3-2 loss to die Mannschaft in the semi-final of Euro 2008, which they have never really recovered from.

TEAM NEWS

Germany

A host of players have been forced to pull out of Joachim Loew’s squad, with perhaps the most notable absentee Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Philipp Lahm remains the captain as Michael Ballack is out injured, while striker Stefan Kiessling is another player not fit enough to feature.

Youngster Kevin Grosskreutz is also absent, though there is hope the left-winger could return for the midweek encounter against Kazakhstan.

Turkey
Fenerbahce’s Selcuk Sahin was named in the initial squad but has since pulled out due to injury. There remains a squad of 26 players, 21 of whom are domestically based.

Prediction

The German forwards may not be in especially good form, and Turkey may be a side too easily underestimated, but this should be a home victory. Though young, die Mannschaft have a very complete an exciting squad, and with surprising depth in just about every area of the field they should have enough to claim three important points en route to Euro 2012.

Germany 2-1 Turkey

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08-10-2010 20:45 Ireland - Russia

Wanting Another Three Points
When Group B of the Euro 2012 qualification process was drawn, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni would have quickly picked out Russia as the major threat to his side. However, the Sbornaya have already stumbled once, so victory in Dublin for the Boys in Green, who have a perfect record to date, would give them a huge push towards the finals of the competition.

Regularly strong performers on the international circuit, Ireland have surprisingly failed to qualify for the European Championship finals since 1988, and their last appearance at a major finals was in 2002 in the Japan and South Korea World Cup. A decade of disappointment therefore weighs heavily on the shoulders of the team.

A couple of narrow victories over Andorra haven’t exactly left Irish eyes smiling to their full potential, but simply picking up the three points is crucial in the early stages of the campaign, and in that regard Trapattoni’s men cannot be faulted.

“Would I take a draw on Friday night?” goalkeeper Shay Given mused when posed the question by the media. “Ideally, we are at home and we want to win, obviously, but we must not lose as well. I don't know. It's a good question. We want to win the game, but we know Russia have got some great players and it is going to be one of the most difficult games in the group.”

With World Cup finalists Slovakia to come on Tuesday, the next few days are set to be pivotal in Ireland’s campaign, and four points would set them up nicely for the months ahead. Actually achieving that feat will be no easy task.

Difficult Beginnings

Euro 2008 semi-finalists Russia really caught the eye for periods during that competition, playing incisive attacking football that had them tipped as potential winners before coming spectacularly undone against Spain. Since that 3-0 defeat, the Sbornaya have never really recovered, missing out on World Cup qualification and starting their journey to Euro 2012 in an inauspicious manner.

Hosting Slovakia in their opening encounter wasn’t expected to be too big a problem for Dick Advocaat’s side, though just as they were bested by Slovenia in the World Cup play-offs, the Russians would surprisingly succumb 1-0 to a Miroslav Stoch goal.

Four days earlier a double from Pavel Pogrebnyak guided Russia to a 2-0 success in Andorra, though the follow-up loss would have far more resonance and is likely to pose problems for Advocaat as the campaign progresses. Already ‘the Little General’ has indicated that nothing short of six points will be good enough from the forthcoming qualifiers against Ireland and Macedonia.

The Dutch coach will come under severe pressure should matters go awry on Friday evening, while Russia’s road to the finals will suddenly look very rocky indeed.

TEAM NEWS

Ireland
Giovanni Trapattoni won’t be able to select Fulham winger Damien Duff as he has a calf injury, meaning there is a 90 per cent chance the former Newcastle United man won’t be able to play against Slovakia either.

Keith Andrews has a groin problem, while stand-in Keith Treacy won’t be available either as he is fatigued.

Stephen Kelly and Darren O'Dea have both withdrawn since the initial squad was named, with Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson called instead.

Russia

Roman Pavyluchenko has pulled out of the Russia squad due to an ankle injury and will not feature in either of the forthcoming qualifying matches. Fellow attacker Aleksandr Kerzhakov is also rated doubtful, but Igor Akinfeev will be fit to keep goal.

Dick Advocaat isn’t likely to rotate his squad a great deal, but Sergey Parshivluyk from Spartak Moscow and Pavel Mamaev of CSKA have both been called into the panel for the first time.



Prediction

  Ireland 1-1 Russia  

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08-10-2010 21:45 Portugal - Denmark

Bento’s Reign Begins
The Portuguese national side have endured a difficult period over the last three or four months, with their World Cup campaign coming to an abrupt end at the hands of Spain in the last 16 and then controversy following former coach Carlos Queiroz in the aftermath.

Queiroz was smacked with a lengthy suspension from the dugout by the Portuguese FA due to his attitude towards anti-doping testers in May, but was ultimately sacked by the body. In his place, Paulo Bento has the role of piecing together a fragmented and underperforming squad.

Already Portugual’s place at Euro 2012 is under severe threat. A 4-4 draw against Cyprus kicked off their campaign, and though that was simply a disappointing beginning, further worries have been raised following the Seleccao’s 1-0 defeat in Norway.

“The team is confident, and I am confident. We will give a good response, and we will win,” the ever-confident Cristiano Ronaldo told the media ahead of this fixture.

Bento’s reign simply has to start with a victory or Portugal face being on the ropes for the remainder of the qualification process. A slip either on Friday or on Tuesday in Iceland would be disastrous.

Unrealistic Expectations?

While the Portuguese are floundering, Denmark are, by contrast, on a relative high. Coach Morten Olsen may have seen his side eliminated from the first round of the World Cup, but they have made a positive start to their Euro 2012 campaign by defeating Iceland 1-0.

Against a Seleccao side in turmoil, long-serving coach Olsen, who has overseen over 100 games during an 11-year tenure, has been keen to play down expectations ahead of the trip to Portugal.

“We have to look realistically at the options we have in Danish football,” he told the press. “You can talk about our three central strikers or other players, but we do not have a Preben Elkjaer or a Michael Laudrup anymore. I like the fact people have expectations for our team but these have to be realistic – if not, they hamper the team.”

European Championship winners way back in 1992, a competition they actually reached without successfully negotiating the qualifying matches, the Danes appeared at every continental finals from 1984 until 2004, making them one of the most consistent forces in Europe.

Three points would see the Danish Dynamite well on their way to Ukraine and Poland in the summer of 2012.

TEAM NEWS

Portugal

Miguel Veloso has been forced to pull out of the squad due to injury, while Liedson is also unavailable. Paulo Bento has been swift to call in Ruben Micael and Manuel Fernandes as replacements.

Denmark

Nicklas Bendtner and Daniel Agger are obvious omissions from the Danish side due to injury, but coach Morten Olsen should be able to call upon all of his other top stars for this encounter. Soren Larsen and Thomas Kahlenberg are other noticeable omissions from the squad, with the latter at the bedside of his pregnant wife.

Elsewhere in the Group...

Cyprus – Norway

In what is shaping up to be a fascinating contest for the top two spots in Group H, both Norway and Cyprus have made what they would deem to be good starts.

The Islanders picked up a point in their opening, and to date only, match of the competition thus far, going to Portugal and earning a 4-4 draw. In a memorable encounter, the Cypriots were actually ahead twice in the leader stages but relied upon a goal in the penultimate minute from Andreas Avraam to claim them a point.

Norway, meanwhile, were busy fashioning a couple of typically narrow wins to start their quest. Egil Olsen’s side had to come from one down at half-time to pick up three points against Iceland, but a goal from Erik Huseklepp gave them a far more impressive victory four days later against the Seleccao. If the Scandinavians complete a hat-trick of wins on Friday, they will be in a superb position going into 2011. 

Prediction

Portugal will hope to be kicked into life by the arrival of Paulo Bento, but the coach has a big job to do in a short period of time. With some of his top stars either injured or misfiring, the coach has a massive task on his hands. Denmark will be resolute and well-organised, and they are unlikely to give anything away cheaply. It would be little surprise if Morten Olsen’s side gain a draw.

Portugal 1-1 Denmark

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