09-02-2011 17:30 FYR Macedonia - Cameroon

Lacing the boots ahead of Republic of Ireland clash

Macedonia are playing Cameroon for the first time, and their choice for the robust African side can best be described as an appropriate test ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifying clash of Group B against big guns Republic of Ireland, which is slated for the end of March.

Cameroon’s recent win over Poland 3-0 in Szczecin, with Inter Milan forward Samuel Eto’o shining away with a brace, combined with their record as four-time winners of the African Cup of Nations, probably lured the Macedonians into having them as sparing partners ahead of their vital away fixture against the Boys in Green.

The Indomitable Lions’ physical style of play will help the Red Lions reassess their force of penetration and defensive strength, and then fine tune the rest.

Interestingly, both teams’ nicknames carry the word “lion.” Cameroon’s are the Indomitable Lions and Macedonia are the Red Lions. And then captains of both teams are team mates at Inter Milan – Samuel Eto’o for Cameroon and Goran Pandev for Macedonia.

Cameroon boast of more proven talents than Macedonia, but the host team is happy to uphold that challenge and ensure a worthwhile outcome, according to coach Mirsad Jonuz during a press conference on Tuesday at the Alexander Palace hotel in Skopje.

“Surely Cameroon has bigger names in their squad than Macedonia, but that’s only a challenge for us to put a good play and show our real capabilities before the qualifiers continue in March,” Mirsad Jonuz was quoted as saying by MacedonianFootball.com.

Home advantage might not really help here, but rather enough rage and caution to keep the fighting Africans out of their game.

Repeating the outcome against Poland and sending a threat to Senegal

Cameroon are currently not in a comfortable posture in their Group E of the African Nations Cup qualifying, where they trail Senegal with two points, and their next fixture in the third round will be against the Lions of Teranga in Dakar. Senegal are in top form and the Cameroonians know fumbling in that meeting will go a long way to jeopardizing their campaign towards Gabon & Equatorial Guinea 2012.

Coach Javier Clemente and his assistants have been preparing for the Senegal clash, by bringing aboard players who had been sacked from the set up for one reason or the other, but displaying what has been cooked so far within the team during the Macedonia match is as important as anything.

Senegal, although playing their own friendly, have positioned a delegation to watch the Macedonia-Cameroon match and take useful notes that will serve as case study. This too, the Indomitable Lions might be aware of, and would be willing to roll out during this friendly what will drive awe into the bones of the Senegalese, to maintain historic advantage.

Macedonia are statistically inferior to Cameroon, but again the technical staff wants to wipe this out of the minds of the central African outfit. Underestimation cost them a bitter 1-1 home draw against DR Congo in Garoua in the second round of the African Nations Cup. So, the Red Lions will be handled with enough seriousness as if it were a bigger side.

Eto’o also made it clear during the press conference, “I feel good here. I know Pandev and that’s enough for me to know that we are facing a good team as Macedonia is. I saw some videos of their play and what I saw was a strong team that knows what it wants from a game so therefore I'm expecting a good football,” said Eto’o.

Expect the Indomitable Lions to play good and tough, but don’t think Macedonia will fold arms and watch them do that.

FORM GUIDE
Macedonia

December 22 2010: China PR 1-0 Macedonia (Friendly)

November 17 2010 Albania 0-0 Macedonia (Friendly)

October 12 2010 Macedonia 0-1 Russia (Qualifiers)

Cameroon

October 09 2010 Cameroon 1-1 DR Congo

September 04 2010 Mauritius 1-3 Cameroon

August 11 2010 Poland 0-3 Cameroon

TEAM NEWS

Macedonia

Goran Popov of Dynamo Kyiv was withdrawn from the squad due to injury to be replaced by Borce Manevski of Rabotnicki.

Probable starting XI: Edin Nuredinoski, Nikolce Noveski, Igor Mitreski, Goran Popov, Vance Sikov, Velice Sumulikoski, Darko Tasevski, Muhamed Demiri, Goran Pandev, Ivan Trickovski, Ilco Naumoski

Cameroon

There have been some adjustments to the original roster due to injury, late arrivals and illness. Russian FC Anzhi Makhachkala right back Benoît Angbwa and Tottenham defender Benoît Assou-Ekotto are yet to report to camp and couldn’t partake in Monday’s training session.

Aston Villa’s midfielder Jean Makoun and Espanyol goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni are sick and Vincent Aboubakar and Georges Mandjeck were earlier sidelined.

Probable starting XI: Guy Roland Ndy Assembe, Sébastien Bassong, Gaetan Bong, Stéphane Mbia, Aurelien Chedjou, Matthew Mbuta Andongcho, Somen Tchoyi, Landry Nguemo, Choupo-Moting, Achille Webo, Samuel Eto’o

Prediction

Cameroon have what it takes to carry the day but Macedonia will be obstinate as much as they can.

Macedonia 1-2 Cameroon

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09-02-2011 19:00 Turkey - South Korea

Happy Reunion

On Wednesday evening, Guus Hiddink, Turkey coach, will be reunited with the side who earned so much acclaim under his charge at the 2002 World Cup, South Korea. The Dutchman is hoping to reach the same heights he managed with the Taegeuk Warriors in his new position leading the Turks, and he will view Wednesday’s encounter as an important stepping stone towards future success.

Qualifying for the European Championships in 2012 is Turkey’s most immediate goal, but after four matches it no longer looks an obvious one. Earning an automatic place looks impossible as they trail a powerful Germany side by six points, and even winning second won’t be especially easy after suffering a shock 1-0 reverse against Azerbaijan in October.

Like the South Koreans, the Crescent Stars have fond memories of 2002, which was the last time they reached a major championship finals. It was also their most successful campaign, finishing third during that World Cup, defeating the co-hosts 3-2 in an exciting third place play-off.

A repeat of that result would be welcome in Istanbul on Wednesday evening, as the Turks are a side badly in need of an injection of positivity going into 2011, which is a year that will likely be crucial to Hiddink’s legacy in charge of the national side.

Cup Disappointment

While the Turkish players have all been busy in domestic action in Europe, the South Koreans have had a rather different experience over the course of the last couple of months, having been immersed in an Asian Cup competition in which they finished third.

Cho Kwang-Rae’s side have played seven matches in little over six weeks, and results have largely been positive. Indeed, aside from the semi-final loss to Japan on penalties around a fortnight ago, South Korea have come through these fixtures unscathed, winning on five occasions.

There were a few signs of fatigue creeping in during the third place play-off against Uzbekistan, but a stirring first half performance, in which they were 3-0 up by 40 minutes, gave the Taeguk Warriors enough of a platform to see off an Uzbek rally.

Inevitably there have been a few alterations to the squad for this encounter, with several home-based players dropping out to enjoy their post-season break. A number of new faces will be involved in the squad for the first time, with no less than four players all chasing their debuts. Of these international virgins, only Lee Sang-Duk is older than 21, and even he is only 24.

With an eye to the future, the Red Devils will attempt to keep their positive momentum going against Turkey, though the journey to Europe may be an unwelcome one after such a gruelling month in the heat of Qatar.

TEAM NEWS

Turkey

A squad almost wholly comprising of domestic-based players has been named by Guus Hiddink. Mehmet Ekici, Hamit Altintop and Tunay Torun are the exceptions; all three ply their trade in the Bundesliga.

South Korea

Yoon Suk-Young, Lee Sang-Duk, Hong Chul and Nam Tae-Hee all hope to make their international debuts.

Kim Yong-Dae, Kwak Tae-Hwi, Cho Yong-Hyung, Yeom Ki-Hun and Yoo Byung-Soo have all dropped out of the squad.

Prediction

Turkey 2-2 South Korea  

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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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