World Cup 2010 Blog: “World Cup Friendlies: Sunday Preview” plus 3 more |  |
- World Cup Friendlies: Sunday Preview
- Glory for New Zealand, America and Spain win, Just.
- Eto’o threatens to walk away from World Cup
- Domenech set to equal Hildago’s record, but can Domenech supplant him in fan’s hearts?
| World Cup Friendlies: Sunday Preview Posted: 30 May 2010 05:21 AM PDT In preparation for South Africa, several World Cup bound teams are playing in friendlies today to physically warmup and mentally prepare for the juggernaut tournament this summer. Amongst today’s games, fans can look forward to seeing former England coach Sven Eriksson’s Ivory Coast for the first time since he was hired, if Nigeria can overcome the off-field distractions that have plagued their World Cup preparations, if Japan can respond to positively versus England after being booed off the field by their own fans or if Tunisia can record a win over their former colonial ruler (France) at home. Mini Previews available after the jump…. BELARUS VS. SOUTH KOREA South Korea, looking to replicate their 2002 World Cup semi-final run, will be hoping to continue their 4-match winning streak against Belarus. In the recent past, they’ve managed to beat their regional rivals, Japan, Ivory Coast and Ecuador. Belarus, though not qualified for the World Cup, will be tough competition for South Korea. Early this week, they beat Honduras 2-2 and their tough, physical style will be tough to break down (though a perfect warmup for South Korea’s group competitor, Greece). For more coverage on the game, visit the South Korea World Cup Blog. MEXICO VS. GAMBIA Mexico will be hoping to head into the World Cup with at least one win after not being rewarded for some impressive play in their first two preparation games versus the Netherlands (lost 2-1) and England (lost 3-1). Though losing to two of the tournament favorites is hardly something to be ashamed about, it will be interesting to see how these losses will affect the team’s psyche and form against the smallest footballing nation in the world, Gambia. Even under these circumstances, Mexico should easily dispose of Gambia, who have never qualified for the finals of a FIFA tournament at the senior level. Though it won’t be as easy as it sounds- Gambia have shown a lot of promise in their recent games against Tunisia and Angola. This game should be a good warmup for Mexico’s opening World Cup game versus South Africa, but a loss here could be traumatic heading into the tournament this summer. For more coverage on the game (including a live blog), visit the Mexico World Cup Blog. PARAGUAY VS. IVORY COAST Fans of the Ivory Coast will be looking to this game to see if Eriksson is the man to transform this team of undoubtedly awesome talent into a cohesive group that can deliver consistent, winning performances needed to escape the Group of Death. Luckily, this game should provide them a pretty good benchmark from what they can expect from Paraguay’s CONMEBAL competition Brazil as well as Portugal this summer. The results of this game should be interesting, considering Paraguay have also recently played and narrowly beat (1-0) the Ivory Coast’s 3rd group competitor, North Korea. Unlike the Ivory Coast, who will be playing their first friendly since March, Paraguay will be playing their third preparation game. Their previous win against North Korea (1-0) and loss to Ireland (2-1) have both been disappointing- something even Paraguay’s coach Gerardo Martino has admitted in interviews. This is especially true considering their impressive World Cup qualification campaign which saw them beat both Brazil and Argentina. For more coverage on the game, visit the Paraguay and Ivory Coast World Cup Blogs. NIGERIA VS. COLOMBIA It will be interesting to see how Nigeria react to coach Lars Lagerback’s anger and disappointment in their performance against a young Saudi Arabia team last week. But, hey, this is the same Saudi team that narrowly lost to Spain yesterday (2-3). And unlike Spain, Nigeria can point to the absence of key players against the Saudis. The team, who is under tremendous pressure from criticism at home, have hardly had an ideal buildup to the World Cup. In recent weeks they have had to postpone this friendly versus Colombia after Upton Park declined to host the team and have abandoned their original plans for a training camp in London. Since the postponement, the two federations have scrambled to find a replacement stadium to host the game. Though fans will be disappointed that this game will be played in a closed stadium due to a fear of over-stretching the local security forces who will also be policing a local carnival. On a more positive note, the team have received a boost from the return of John Mikel Obi (Chelsea) and Brown Ideye (Sochaux). A win against Colombia, who beat Nigeria’s group competition, Argentina, and managed a draw against Brazil in their World Cup qualification campaign, will be tough competition for the Eagles, despite not qualifying for South Africa. A win will also help to prove to the Eagle’s fans that the team can overcome all of the distractions, pressure and uncertainty surrounding the team this summer. For more coverage on the game, visit the Nigeria World Cup Blog. CHILE VS. NORTHERN IRELAND Chile will be heading into this match feeling confident after their 3-0 win against Zambia and are expected to easily beat Northern Ireland with their exciting, fluid attacking style. Chile may have been absent from the international stage since 1998, but the expectations for the team at this summer’s tournament are still high. Though this game is hardly expected to provide the Chileans with a preview of what they can expect from the likes of Spain, Switzerland or Honduras- a win may provide the team with the confidence it needs to beat even the likes of the current European Champions. That said, Northern Ireland has a promising team of youngsters who are hungry to prove themselves on the big stage- they will come to win and give 100% until the final whistle. (Please note that ESPN incorrectly advertised a game with Chile and Israel later today, which to my knowledge is not happening.) For more coverage on the game, visit the Chile World Cup Blog. JAPAN V. ENGLAND England’s pre-match preparation appears to be going as well as their World Cup qualification campaign. The team beat Mexico and Egypt both by 3-1 margins- proving they have what it takes to successfully take on the US (Mexico’s CONCACAF rival) and Algeria (Egypt’s regional rival). That said, the scoreline was unfairly flattering to England in both games- as both Mexico and Egypt definitely looked the better at times during the matches. Given the biggest criticism of England’s World Cup performances in the past have mostly been about their mental fortitude, it will be interesting to see how England’s players respond to pressure during this game since Capello will be cutting 7 players to whittle his squad down to the 23 names required by FIFA by June 1. As well as England is doing in their buildup to the World Cup- Japan has been disappointing, especially since their coach set a goal of making at least to the semi-finals. After some recent lethargic losses to South Korea and Serbia, Japan was booed by their own fans. So, they will be looking to get their World Cup preparation back on track. For more coverage on the game, visit the Japan and England World Cup Blogs. TUNISIA V. FRANCE Tunisia will be hosting Les Bleus for their second World Cup preparation match and will be hoping to crank out a better result than their 2008 3-1 loss in Paris. France’s 2-1 win last week against Costa Rica should have given the team back some confidence they lost during their controversial qualification campaign. Tunisia, though not qualified for the World Cup, are a talented team with a crop of young players who are anxious to prove themselves on the big stage especially against France. And though I’m sure the historical and social significance of beating France won’t be lost on the Tunisian team and fans- Les Bleus can (most likely) look forward to a positive reception during the game. The tension is expected to be far less than when Tunisia played in Paris and a repeat of France’s friendly game versus Algeria which ended when Algeria fans invaded the field is not expected to happen. For more coverage on the game, visit the France (live blog taking place) and Tunisia World Cup Blogs.
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| Glory for New Zealand, America and Spain win, Just. Posted: 29 May 2010 06:28 PM PDT Interesting day of pre-World Cup friendlies that threaten to throw all we know about the World Cup up in the air. For a start, New Zealand as you can see above, beat Serbia to get Kiwki pulses racing that little bit faster in the build up to South Africa. To put that in perspective, Serbia are ranked 15th in the Fifa World Rankings and have Stankovic and Vidic. They qualified for the World Cup ahead of France. New Zealand are ranked 78th, have Chris Wood and Ryan Nelson, and had to qualify ahead of Fiji. Its an amazing result, and well done to them. Elsewhere, Spain, a lot of people’s favourites, didn’t look entirely convincing in a 3-2 win against Saudi Arabia – it took a last gasp Llorente strike in injury time to win the game for the Spanish. The USA meanwhile came from behind to beat Turkey, to give them a good send off to South Africa. Clint Dempsey got the winner. Their group rivals England take on Japan tomorrow. Germany won their game 3-0 against Hungary, with an early goal from Podolski. At least someone is carrying on in a predictable way. And it would be the Germans, right?
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| Eto’o threatens to walk away from World Cup Posted: 29 May 2010 03:30 PM PDT
Why? Because Cameroon legend, Roger Milla spoke out and claimed that Eto’o “hasn’t brought anything to our national team”. Milla of course is Cameroon’s answer to Pele, delighting fans the world over twenty years ago as he lit up Italia 90. Pele has a habit of speaking out of turn every now and then, but mostly everyone ignores it. Eto’o however is clearly a more sensitive soul. “…is it worth me going to the World Cup? I’ve still got some days to think about it but I’ll see if my taking part is important because I don’t need this in my career. It is always before tournaments that bitter people wake up. What has he [Roger Milla] done? He hasn’t won the World Cup.” is what Eto’o said exactly. Harsh words indeed. Although I don’t recall Samuel Eto’o winning the World Cup just yet either. Though he has won basically everything else. Perhaps it is little more than a tantrum, and its tough to image that Eto’o would walk away from the biggest stage on Earth – an African World Cup no less – just because a former player said some mean things about him. He wouldn’t be the first iconic player to walk away from appearing a World Cup by any stretch of the imagination. In different circumstances, Johan Cruyff decided he didn’t want to go over to Argentina to play in 1978 (Holland got to the final and lost that time around). I hope he does get his head down and go though. It kinda makes me sad when great players from different eras argue (maybe because the fantasist in me wants to see them play together), but what a blow it would be, not just for Cameroon and their hopes at the World Cup, but also for African football as a whole. Along with Drogba, Eto’o is the most recognisable name in African football, and a World Cup on African soil without him in it is just unimaginable.
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| Domenech set to equal Hildago’s record, but can Domenech supplant him in fan’s hearts? Posted: 29 May 2010 01:59 PM PDT When Raymond Domenech leads the French team onto the field on Sunday, in their World Cup friendly versus Tunisia, he will equal Michel Hildago’s record of 75 matches in charge of Les Bleus. But unlike Domenech, Hildago is a revered figure in France’s footballing history. He led the France team of the midfield “magic square” of Michel Plantini, Jean Tigana, Alan Giresse and Luis Fernandez to the 1984 European Championship and the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup, where France lost to West Germany. After retiring on June 27, 1984, Hildago had a record of 41 victories, 16 draws and 18 defeats with 139 goals scored and 72 goals conceded in his eight years as the coach of the national team. While Hildago is revered and his time as the national coach is looked upon with much nostalgia- despite his team giving up a 3-1 lead against West Germany to lose on penalties in the World Cup semis (for more on this memorable match, I suggest reading Four Four Two’s essay). Domenech on the other hand, has not endeared himself to the public in his six year reign and he is regularly jeered when France play in Paris. The frustration stems from his fascination with astrology, inappropriate marriage proposals and, more recently, his bizarre explanation of football to women (see video below the jump).
And given Domenech’s reputation with fans and the media, it is surprising that (at least on paper) Domenech’s record isn’t much worse. Since being hired by the French Football Federation (FFF) in 2004, Raymond has accumulated 41 victories, 22 draws and 11 defeats with 108 goals and 49 conceded. And during Domenech’s reign, the France team made it to the finals of the World Cup in 2006 where they famously lost to Italy in a penalty shootout after Zidane was controversially sent off after headbutting Marco Materazzi. Domenech’s success is constantly undercut by criticism that he shouldn’t be credited with the success of the Bleus in 2006 because of the crop of talented players he was lucky enough to have at his disposal. But, clearly both coaches were lucky to have team of great players- Hildago with the “magic square” and Domenech with among others, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Lillian Thuram and Claude Makelele. But, the disdain for Domenech is clearly related to his tactics as well, and I’m not just talking about his strange drawings in the video above. I’m referring to the defensive system and formations which imply he isn’t particularly interested in creating beautiful football. So, even when France wins, the boring playing style can make fans feel like they have lost. And though Domenech has led the team for two less years and has roughly around the same record- he remains a controversial and arguably hated figure in France (and beyond). Time will only tell if Domenech’s place in France’s football history will remain as it is now- ridiculed and hated – or if his contributions to the team will be better appreciated once he leaves the team after the World Cup. Afterall, hindsight is only 20/20- and perhaps one day we will look at the Domenech era with the same nostalgia we have when we reflect on Hildago’s time with France. But, regardless of how we remember him, after tomorrow Domenech will go down in history (at least for now) as the longest reigning coach in France’s history (in terms of games, not years). So, how do you think you will remember Raymond Domenech after this summer?
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Samuel Eto’o eh? He sure knows a thing or two about team stability. Though he seemed to have calmed down in recent times (to the point where Didier Drogba has stopped becoming the poor man’s Eto’o in terms of unpredictability) he lashed out today, claiming he might just walk away from that big party in South Africa afterall. 
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