09-02-2011 20:45 Germany - Italy

Avenging World Cup Defeat

Germany were on course to the final of the 2006 World Cup held in their own country until Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero struck in the extra-time period for Italy in the semi-finals. The 2-0 loss saw Die Mannschaft head towards the exit while the Azzurri went on to lift the World Cup trophy for the fourth time in their history.

Since then, though, it's been a tale of stark contrast, with one side developing and progressing in leaps and bounds while the other radically spiralling down into the abyss. Germany reached the final in Euro 2008 and the semis in the World Cup in the summer, while Italy lost to Spain in the last-eight in Austria and Switzerland and failed to get past the group stage in South Africa.

Yet tonight the small matter of revenge will be weighing on Germany's minds, who would love to bury the ghost of the 2006 disappointment at the same venue. However, coach Joachim Loew, who replaced Juergen Klinsmann in 2006, is not taking Italy's new-look and youthful squad lightly and warns, "We don't have a very good record against Italy. Germany have always struggled against them because they are very defensive and concede very few chances against every big nation.

"They have known how to defend for years and decades and they know how to take the speed out of a game and bring their opponents out of their rhythm. They also have great individual players so I think it will be an interesting game which will ask a lot of us. It is our first game after a long break and so it will be important to carry on from where we left off last year."

In 29 matches contested between the two teams, Italy have won 14 while Germany just half as many, with eight remaining games having ended in draws. Loew is assertive of the need to set the record straight and stresses, 'We haven't beaten Italy for nearly 16 years, from those statistics, you can see they are a team we have feared in the past. I want to break that record, that is our goal. We want to continue last year's trend."

Reconstructing Greatness

The last four and a half years years in Italy's illustrious footballing history has encompassed one of the worst eras. Since their World Cup triumph in Berlin in 2006, the Azzurri have fallen off the pedestal and have flirted with one disaster after another. Under Roberto Donadoni, the former European and world champions failed in the European Championships in 2008 and in the summer last year Marcello Lippi, who led Italy to success in Germany, failed miserably to spark any inspiration or positive note whatsoever.

Cesare Prandelli has commenced to reconstruct a Italy team that still desperately lacks truly great players. The former Fiorentina coach has decided to integrate young, promising Italian players as well as those left out of the unit by Lippi because of non-footballing reasons such as Antonio Cassano, and this is only going to help them in the long run.

Prandelli is relishing the chance to take on Germany once again and reflects, "It is always a fascinating match. I would play a friendly against Germany once every year, there are so many good memories attached to these games.

"In Mexico City (in 1970), I was little and I was woken up to watch the game; in '82 I had lots of friends playing and in 2006, it was an extraordinary semi-final. It was only then that you could tell that Marcello Lippi's team could win the World Cup."

However, the 53-year-old is in no doubt that it will be a difficult encounter tonight and warns, "I expect a difficult game, but I don't fear a collapse from the team. Against Germany it is an important game for many reasons. We are not here to listen to what people say, but to continue on our road.

"Apart from what we are expecting, I want to see a squad with courage on a difficult pitch and a team that will play for the game."

TEAM NEWS

Germany

Loew has remarked that only two positions are yet to be filled in his starting line-up, which means that the left-back and one of the two centre-backs slots are up for grabs.

Manuel Neuer will start in goal behind Lahm (at right back) and Per Mertesacker (centre-back). Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira will be the two defensive midfield pivots in a 4-2-3-1 formation that will have Miroslav Klose as the targetman upfront with Thomas Mueller, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Oezil just behind him.

Italy

Prandelli has confirmed his starting line-up, which will follow a 4-3-3 design. Gianluigi Buffon returns between the posts and Mattia Cassani, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Ranocchia and Giorgio Chiellini will shape up the backfour.

Brazil-born Thiago Motta will make his debut for Italy in midfield alongside Riccardo Montolivo and Daniele De Rossi, while Stefano Mauri, Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini will form the front-three.

Prediction

Germany 1-1  Italy

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09-02-2011 21:00 France - Brazil

Special Occasion

Wednesday’s encounter between France and Brazil will take fans of les Bleus back 13 years to remember the balmy July evening their side recorded a 3-0 success over the Selecao to lift the World Cup. Laurent Blanc should have captained his country that day, but for an unjust suspension, but returning to the Stade de France in midweek he will lead his side from the dugout.

Zinedine Zidane’s brace helped cement the No.10’s reputation as one of the game’s all-time greats, and it is notable that les Bleus are without a player of such calibre at present. French football has fallen upon some rocky times over the course of the decade or so, but Blanc is showing signs of being able to put their pieces back together after a dreadful World Cup 2010.

A shock home defeat against Belarus was an inauspicious start on the competitive front, but the results have started to flow, with wins in Bosnia and England included in a four-match winning sequence enjoyed by the French. The Selecao certainly represent their biggest test under ‘Le President’, who has indicated his desire to pit his men against the best as often as possible.

“Taking on one of the top two teams in the world in front of our own fans could help the team grow in confidence,” Blanc told the media, according to FIFA’s official website. “We don’t get that many chances to play against them, either in friendlies or in the World Cup. The players are well aware that this is a unique opportunity, and my guess is that there were a lot more French players waiting on the announcement of the squad than usual.”

Les Bleus are unbeaten in five meetings against Brazil dating back to 1992, and if that record is maintained, Blanc will be very happy come full-time.

Building For The Summer

Like France, Brazil didn’t enjoy the best World Cup in South Africa, though their collapse was not nearly as spectacular. Still, for a country who almost expect to be lifting the trophy come the day of the final, it was something of a shock for them to be eliminated at the quarter-final stage by a superior Dutch side.

Dunga, whose rather dour approach to the game had won him few fans, was allowed to quietly leave, and in came Mano Menezes, a coach who has spent over a decade coaching on the domestic front.

The 48-year-old has injected new life into the side since taking the reins, ignoring some of the nation’s more established players and putting his faith in youth. This approach has largely been successful to date. USA, Iran and Ukraine have all fallen to the new-look Selecao without so much as conceding a goal, but on the other hand, rivals Argentina were too good for the Brazilians in Doha last November.

In an attempt to ready themselves for the summer’s Copa America, fixtures against France and Netherlands have been confirmed, allowing Brazil to test themselves against two of Europe’s top sides before plunging into the continental competition in which they will be expected to excel. Expectations are always high on Brazil sides, and this unit has no room for error.

TEAM NEWS

France

Laurent Blanc’s panel has remained unchanged since it was named last Thursday. Patrice Evra and Jeremy Toulalan have both been overlooked, while Franck Ribery and Samir Nasri are the main injury absentees.

Brazil

Neymar will play for the Under-20s instead of the full team this week, while familiar faces such as Maicon, Felipe Melo and Luis Fabiano cannot break into Mano Menezes’ squad, which contains a mixture of youngsters and more hardened pros.

Prediction

France have improved significantly under Laurent Blanc’s stewardship, but this will be a really tough test for a side still relatively raw. The Brazilians are also in something of a transitory process, but with greater experience than their hosts, the Selecao will start as favourites.

France 1-2 Brazil

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09-02-2011 21:00 Argentina - Portugal

Slaying Another Iberian Team

The last time Argentina played a team from Iberia was in September when they took on European and world champions Spain in Buenos Aires. On that occasion the Albiceleste ran out 4-1 winners in what was a supreme performance and one that shattered Spain right to the core.

Since then, though, it's been mixed luck for the former world champions as they were defeated 1-0 by Japan in another international friendly in Saitama but got the better of Brazil in Doha in November, thanks to a scintillating Lionel Messi late goal.

Heading into tonight's encounter against Portugal in Geneva, coach Sergio Batista will hope for another encouraging performance from his Argentine players. It is a friendly but for a team who have, for one reason or the other, underachieved in international football in recent years this will be a key step in regaining an identity and building a case for themselves towards the Copa America in the summer, especially with much of the squad playing for different clubs across Europe.

Batista's squad selection has raised a few questions as Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has been sensationally not called up to the squad and neither has experienced but error-prone defender Martin Demichelis. However, the evergreen Javier Zanetti remains a vital part of the team and is in line to make his 139th appearance for the South American powerhouse.

Much of tonight's focus will be on the duel between Argentina's Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Batista has added fuel to the fire by saying, "Let's say that Cristiano is incredible, but Messi is from another planet. I don't have enough adjectives to describe Lionel, and there is not one which can define his level.

"It is a pleasure to coach him, I know that I am privileged. There are a lot of trainers that must envy me and [Josep] Guardiola. Players like Lionel emerge very rarely, if they emerge at all."

Defeating Yet Another Big Team

Portugal may have slipped down the ladder in international football since Euro 2008 and may not have a 'great' team, but the Seleccao have started to pick up momentum and are looking threatening again. Paulo Bento's side are currently on a three-game winning streak, having defeated Denmark, Iceland and Spain in the last three matches.

The 4-0 demolition of their Iberian rivals in November in Lisbon was one of the most encouraging and bigger results Portugal have had had in 2010 and they will now hope to carry on that run and win against Argentina tonight. The match will also be a key one in Portugal's preparations for the ongoing Euro 2012 qualifying campaign in which they currently lie second in Group H, two points behind Norway having also played a game more.

Just as Messi will be the star player for Argentina, Ronaldo will be Portugal's torchbearer but Bento claims that there is more to the match than just the Messi-Ronaldo duel and says, "For me, it is not just about Ronaldo against Messi, but above all about Portugal against Argentina - individual duels are for the fans (to enjoy).

"We have to bring out the best in Ronaldo within a team dynamic, and ensure they cannot do that with Messi. We want to win and play well. It is an important game to prepare the key qualifier against Norway in June.

"This is one more game for us to get ready for the Euro qualifiers," adds midfielder Danny. "It is an important match in our preparation because it is against a big team like Argentina.

"Argentina are one of the best national teams on the planet but we are at the same level. We've come to Switzerland to win the match. We know they are tough rivals and have some of the best players in the world playing at the best teams in the world."

TEAM NEWS

Argentina

Sergio Batista has already announced his starting line-up. In a 4-3-3 formation, Sergio Romero will start in goal and Javier Zanetti, Nicolas Burdisso, Gabriel Milito and Marcos Rojo will form the back-four, although Ezequiel Garay is on standby as Milito's replacement since the Barcelona centre-back suffered a knock during Tuesday's training.

Ever Banega, Javier Mascherano and Esteban Cambiasso will form a flat midfield trio and Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria are set to commence in attack that will have width and finese as well as pace.

Striker Diego Milito is injured and so is Gonzalo Higuain, while Tevez and Demichelis were left out of it altogether.

Portugal

Paulo Bento could deploy a formation that will have Eduardo in goal and Jose Bosingwa, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Costa and Fabio Coentrao in defence, although Rolando could also slot in place of Costa. Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho are injured.

In midfield and attack it could either be a flat-three of Carlos Martins, Raul Meireles and Joao Moutinho with Nani, Hugo Almeida and Ronaldo deployed as the three forwards, or Almeida playing as the lone striker upfront with Nani and Ronaldo behind him as the creative minds.

Ricardo Quaresma is back in form after a good season with Turkish giants Besiktas and there are whispers that he could even make the starting xi against Argentina.

Prediction

On paper Argentina look the favourites as they have a truly exceptional attackline. But Portugal are coming off the back of a 4-0 thumping of Spain and will head into this encounter with confidence and self-conviction. With both sides committed to attacking, attractive football, one can expect goals in this fixture, which should eventually be pocketed by the South Americans.

Argentina 2-1 Portugal

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09-02-2011 21:00 Morocco - Niger

Gerets Looks To Create Chemistry

This will only be the second match in charge for former Marseille coach Eric Gerets and the Belgian has called up an interesting mix of talent from the domestic league and Europe to ascertain who he can count on in upcoming 2012 AFCON qualifying, particularly the must win encounter against Algeria in March. His first outing with Morocco finished in a 1-1 away draw against Northern Ireland that saw the north Africans show some of their potential but fall well short of fully satisfying their fans.

Moroccan football has been in a notable decline since their final appearance at the 2004 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia but the recruitment of Gerets has given many Atlas Lions fans hope that the worst dies are behind them. They are currently in second place of their AFCON qualifying group after a disappointing draw against the Central African Republic and a positive away win against Tanzania’s Taifa Stars.

The Mena Seek To Surprise Again

Hardly a force in international football over the years, the Mena are surprisingly in second place of their 2012 AFCON qualifying group after two games played. The minnows began their campaign with a 2-0 away loss to South Africa in September of last year but followed that up with what has to be considered their most important national team victory to date: A 1-0 home win against none other than six time continental champions Egypt in Niamey.

Harouna Doula Gabde’s side are behind the Bafana Bafana by one point and will be full of confidence ahead of their qualifier against Sierra Leone in March. Thus, the goal for the Mena is to maintain the positive momentum in Marrakech and maybe even pull out another surprise win against a north African opponent.

TEAM NEWS

Morocco

Notable absences in the Moroccan side are that of Badr El Kaddouri, Mounir El Hamdaoui, and Nadir Lamyaghri as well as Nacer Chadli who has officially opted for Belgium after a long period of hesitation. Mehdi Carcela and Ismail Aissat made the squad for the first time but the latter may miss out due to injury. Meanwhile, Adel Taarabt and Michael Basser are back after missing the Northern Ireland match.

Squad: Ahmed Mohamedina (OCK), Issam Badda (FUS), Abdelillah Bagui (CRA), Ahmed Kantari (Stade Brestois), Mehdi Benatia (Udinese), Abdelfettah Boukhriss (Standard de Liège), Rachid Soulaimani (Raja Casablanca), Michael Basser (AS Nancy), Mohamed Amine Nejmi (OCK), Mehdi Karnas (DHJ), Hicham Mahdoufi (Raja Casablanca), : Mohamed Amine El Bakkali (FUS), Mohamed Chihani (MAS), Houssine Kharja (Inter Milan), Younes Belhanda (Montpellier), Mbark Boussoufa (Anderlecht), Adel Taarabt (QPR), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liège), Ismail Aissati (Vitesse Arnhem), Youssef Hadji (AS Nancy), Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal), Youssef El Arabi (SM Caen), Oussama Assaidi (SC Heerenveen)

Niger

Although the Mena’s squad list had still not been published by the country’s FA (FINFOOT) at the time of publishing, it is known to all that the most high profile player on the squad at the moment is undoubtedly Alhassan Youssoufou who played an integral part in helping FUS Rabat win the 2010 CAF Confederation Cup. He will be looked on to lead Niger’s attacks in Marrakesh.

PREDICTION

The Mena might be improving but Morocco simply have too much talent for them to handle and without a packed stadium behind them like they had against Egypt, it is hard to imagine them pulling out a similar result. Look for the Atlas Lions to dominate possession. They should win comfortably but that will largely depend on their efficiency in front of goal.

Morocco 3-1 Niger

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09-02-2011 20:15 Denmark - England

Memories Of August '05

England travelled to Denmark in August 2005 unbeaten in the calendar year and having conceded just one goal during that time. The big names were all included, with Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney starting a game that was seen as a mere stepping stone friendly ahead of more important World Cup qualifying matches.

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men were mistaken if they thought their Scandinavian opponents could be taken lightly. A second-half horror show saw Denmark run out 4-1 winners, with Dennis Rommedahl and Jon Dahl Tomasson among the scorers. David James, on as a substitute at half-time, claimed after conceding four goals in 45 minutes that he was not mentally prepared for the match.

Scandinavian Repeat?

Long before Steve McClaren and the ‘wally with the brolly’ England managers were on the receiving end of criticism from the newspapers. There even appeared to be a hate campaign against Sir Bobby Robson at one stage during his reign. But the famous ‘Swedes 2 Turnips 1’ headline after England’s 2-1 loss to Sweden back in 1992 lives long in the memory.

Supporters never took to Graham Taylor, whose head was superimposed onto a turnip next to the headline, after the loss, also because he failed to guide England to the 1994 World Cup. Sweden are not the only Scandinavian team to cause a shock against the Three Lions, with the ‘your boys took one hell of a beating’ commentary after the loss to Norway in 1981 still brought up to this day.

TEAM NEWS

Denmark

A number of Premier League players have been included in the Denmark squad for this friendly.

Anders Lindegaard, Lars Jacobsen, Daniel Agger, Christian Poulsen and Nicklas Bendtner look set to feature, while former Charlton Athletic man Dennis Rommedahl could also play a part.

Ajax youngster Christian Eriksen is expected to start, having become a key player for his club since the World Cup.

Possible starting XI: Lindegaard; Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, S Poulsen; Enevoldsen, Eriksen, C Poulsen, Silberbauer; Rommedahl; Bendtner.

England

Fabio Capello faces a selection headache after being hit with a number of withdrawals since naming his squad on Saturday.

Steven Gerrard, Peter Crouch and Ben Foster have pulled out through injury, while Gabriel Agbonlahor hasn’t joined up with the squad due to personal reasons. Robert Green and Carlton Cole have earned late call-ups, but nether are likely to start.

Capello has confirmed that Jack Wilshere will start in what is expected to be a deeper role in midfield, while Darren Bent could also get his chance to impress alongside Wayne Rooney in attack.

Possible starting XI: Hart; Johnson, Dawson, Terry, Cole; Walcott, Lampard, Wilshere, Milner; Bent, Rooney.

Prediction
Denmark 1-1 England  

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