2010 Fifa World Cup: South Africa

[Rob2012]

ENGLAND'S 2010 WORLD CUP SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney

Link

[Rafa]

Durban's stadium approach from the beach!

Promenade link to the stadium at night

Landscaping looks amazing

<font size="5"><b>Soccer City: Overlay</b></font><br><br><img src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0bKKg8t5orb73/610x.jpg"><img src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09B24mx1Px07B/610x.jpg"><img src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0dc38ebeZGbHt/610x.jpg"><br><br>

Soccer City Overlay

[gotosy]

Friendly: Netherlands 4 - 1 Ghana,

Netherlands looked rather impressive

[arwebb]

They looked like a team that hadn't played together, which in many ways was true. I'm not going to read too much into it, it was obviously an experimental side and nobody had a chance to get settled.

Who would be the seven you'd leave out?

Personally, I'd have taken Johnson, Dawson and Parker instead of Wright-Phillips, Upson and Carrick.

[Rob2012]

Personally, I'd have taken Johnson, Dawson and Parker instead of Wright-Phillips, Upson and Carrick.

Dawson over Upson certainly. I think being a part of a nearly relegated defence is probably a good enough reason to be dropped, even if it is for someone with no England experience. Upson hasn't impressed. Not that it matters a huge amount; we're talking 5th choice centre backs here after all.

Johnson/SWP I'm not too worried either way. Hopefully we'll have Lennon on the right and either Joe Cole or Milner on the left anyway.

Parker for Carrick. No. Not for me. Carrick might be a little off form but if he can find it again he's a very, very good central midfielder. Maybe not the first name on the teamsheet on current form but he should definitely be in S.A.

----

I'm pretty happy with the squad overall. I'm amazed (in a good way) Walcott was dropped because there's no point running a players if you don't do anything afterwards. As a winger, he's where Lennon was before Harry Redknapp arrived at Spurs. Pleased Bent was the one to go from the strikers rather than Heskey (Rooney has a much better scoring record with EH in the team and Bent is a passenger at this level, which we can't afford).

I hope Barry is fit by the time the tournament starts though. He mightn't be a star name, but our midfield has a much better balance when he's in it. I can understand Capello taking a chance on him.

Not long to go now anyway, getting excited!

[baron-pierreIV]

Mo, is Soccer City the main venue in Jo'burg?

[gotosy]

Italy 23 men squad

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari).

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan).

Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli).

AP

[gotosy]

Germany's final World Cup squad of 23

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Jorg Butt (Bayern Munich)

Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburg), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

Strikers: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Cologne)

AFP

[Aronious]

Scrappy but solid hit out for the Socceroos in Roodepoort against Denmark with the final score 1-0 in favour of the green and gold. The Danes had some nice moments but Aussie defence (a.k.a. The Great Wall of Verbeek) held strong. Good to see some of the fringe players for the Aussies step up and team stalwarts like Cahill, Culina, Wilkshire and Kennedy contribute.

Germany's final World Cup squad of 23

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Jorg Butt (Bayern Munich)

Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburg), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

Strikers: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Cologne)

AFP

All players from German clubs. Must be very comforting for the German football knowing their best players come from their own league rather than the EPL, Spain, Italy etc.

[KRATK]

What other teams will they be playing before the start of competition?

The matches of the last days and the following days:

Chile 1-0 Northern Ireland (Chillán, CHI - 30/05)

Tunisia 1-1 France (Rades, TUN - 30/05)

Nigeria 1-1 Colombia (Milton Keynes, GBR - 30/05)

Japan 1-2 England (Graz, AUT - 30/05)

Mexico 5-1 Gambia (Bayreuth, GER - 30/05)

Chile 3-0 Israel (Concepción, CHI - 30/05)

South Africa 5-0 Guatemala (Polokwane, RSA - 31/05)

Netherlands 4-1 Ghana (Rotterdam, NED - 01/06)

Portugal 3-1 Cameroon (Covilha, POR - 01/06)

Australia 1-0 Denmark (Roodepoort, RSA - 01/06)

Switzerland 0-1 Costa Rica (Sion, SUI - 01/06)

Greece vs Paraguay (Winterthur, SUI - 02/06)

Serbia vs Poland (Kufstein, GER - 02/06)

Azerbaijan vs Honduras (Zell am See, AUT - 02/06)

Zimbabwe vs Brazil (Harare, ZIM - 02/06)

Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (Frankfurt, GER - 03/06)

Spain vs South Korea (Innsbruck, AUT - 03/06)

Italy vs Mexico (Brussels, BEL - 03/06)

France vs China (Saint-Pierre, Rèunion, FRA - 04/06)

Slovenia vs New Zealand (Maribor, SLO - 04/06)

Japan vs Cote d'Ivoire (Sion, SUI - 04/06)

Netherlands vs Hungary (Amsterdam, NED - 05/06)

Slovakia vs Costa Rica (Bratislava, SVK - 05/06)

South Africa vs Denmark (Atteridgeville, RSA - 05/06)

Argelia vs United Arab Emirates (Nuremberg, GER - 05/06)

Romania vs Honduras (Sankt Veit an der Glan, AUT - 05/06)

United States vs Australia (Roodepoort, RSA - 05/06)

Serbia vs Cameroon (Belgrade, SRB - 05/06)

Ghana vs Latvia (Milton Keynes, GBR - 05/06)

Switzerland vs Italy (Geneva, SUI - 05/06)

Nigeria vs North Korea (Johannesburg, RSA - 06/06)

Tanzania vs Brazil (Dar es Salaam, TAN - 07/06)

Spain vs Poland (Murcia, ESP - 08/06)

Portugal vs Mozambique (Johannesburg, RSA - 08/06)

Chile vs New Zealand (Nelspruit, RSA - 09/06)

Quite surprised by the results of Switzerland (losing at home against a non qualified country) and France (just drawing)... also Netherlands had really good victory...

[KRATK]

Chile's final World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad, ESP), Miguel Pinto (Universidad de Chile), Luis Marín (Unión Española)

Defenders: Pablo Contreras (PAOK, GRE), Ismael Fuentes (Universidad Católica), Gary Medel (Boca Juniors, ARG), Gonzalo Jara (West Bromwich, ENG), Waldo Ponce (Universidad Católica), Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen, GER)

Midfielders: Mauricio Isla (Udinese, ITA), Carlos Carmona (Regina, ITA), Marco Estrada (Montpellier, FRA), Matías Fernández (Sporting Lisboa, POR), Jean Beausejour (América, MEX), Rodrigo Millar (Colo-Colo), Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas, TUR), Jorge Valdivia (Al Ain, UAE), Gonzalo Fierro (Flamengo, BRA)

Strikers: Mark González (CSKA Moscow, RUS), Fabián Orellana (Xerez, ESP), Esteban Paredes (Colo-Colo), Alexis Sánchez (Udinese, ITA), Humberto Suazo (Monterrey, MEX)

[Aronious]

The matches of the last days and the following days:

Chile 1-0 Northern Ireland (Chillán, CHI - 30/05)

Tunisia 1-1 France (Rades, TUN - 30/05)

Nigeria 1-1 Colombia (Milton Keynes, GBR - 30/05)

Japan 1-2 England (Graz, AUT - 30/05)

Mexico 5-1 Gambia (Bayreuth, GER - 30/05)

Chile 3-0 Israel (Concepción, CHI - 30/05)

South Africa 5-0 Guatemala (Polokwane, RSA - 31/05)

Netherlands 4-1 Ghana (Rotterdam, NED - 01/06)

Portugal 3-1 Cameroon (Covilha, POR - 01/06)

Australia 1-0 Denmark (Roodepoort, RSA - 01/06)

Switzerland 0-1 Costa Rica (Sion, SUI - 01/06)

Greece vs Paraguay (Winterthur, SUI - 02/06)

Serbia vs Poland (Kufstein, GER - 02/06)

Azerbaijan vs Honduras (Zell am See, AUT - 02/06)

Zimbabwe vs Brazil (Harare, ZIM - 02/06)

Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (Frankfurt, GER - 03/06)

Spain vs South Korea (Innsbruck, AUT - 03/06)

Italy vs Mexico (Brussels, BEL - 03/06)

France vs China (Saint-Pierre, Rèunion, FRA - 04/06)

Slovenia vs New Zealand (Maribor, SLO - 04/06)

Japan vs Cote d'Ivoire (Sion, SUI - 04/06)

Netherlands vs Hungary (Amsterdam, NED - 05/06)

Slovakia vs Costa Rica (Bratislava, SVK - 05/06)

South Africa vs Denmark (Atteridgeville, RSA - 05/06)

Argelia vs United Arab Emirates (Nuremberg, GER - 05/06)

Romania vs Honduras (Sankt Veit an der Glan, AUT - 05/06)

United States vs Australia (Roodepoort, RSA - 05/06)

Serbia vs Cameroon (Belgrade, SRB - 05/06)

Ghana vs Latvia (Milton Keynes, GBR - 05/06)

Switzerland vs Italy (Geneva, SUI - 05/06)

Nigeria vs North Korea (Johannesburg, RSA - 06/06)

Tanzania vs Brazil (Dar es Salaam, TAN - 07/06)

Spain vs Poland (Murcia, ESP - 08/06)

Portugal vs Mozambique (Johannesburg, RSA - 08/06)

Chile vs New Zealand (Nelspruit, RSA - 09/06)

Quite surprised by the results of Switzerland (losing at home against a non qualified country) and France (just drawing)... also Netherlands had really good victory...

Yes quite surprising. Especially Switzerland who have been in great form recently.

Sorry CAF, but I'm glad Germany is playing only one warm-up match against a relatively weak Bosnia.

Italy v Mexico in Brussels should be an interesting match. Definitely the most competitive of all of the warm up matches. Spain - South Korea should also give a good indication of where Spain is at.

[DannyelBrazil]

Netherlands is my non-patriotic bet on this World Cup. They have a great team, and it would be great to World Cup to have them as champions.. To correct some unfair history in the past... Specially 1978.

[Citius Altius Fortius]

Sorry CAF, but I'm glad Germany is playing only one warm-up match against a relatively weak Bosnia.

... the June 13th will become tough for me, due the match Australia vs. Germany - I do not know for which team I should cross my fingers -

By the way I started to wear my Aussie Golden Wattle sweater yesterday here in Germany and I wear it with pride!!!

[baron-pierreIV]

Argelia vs United Arab Emirates

What is that country - Argelia? I never heard of it.

[LuigiVercotti]

What is that country - Argelia? I never heard of it.

Argelia split from Masuria after the Mauve Revolution in 1912. Their star player is Ivan Getyagearoff who plays for FC Prosthesis in the Argelia Primus Division.

[Faster]

Baron Argelia = Algeria

[Aronious]

... the June 13th will become tough for me, due the match Australia vs. Germany - I do not know for which team I should cross my fingers -

By the way I started to wear my Aussie Golden Wattle sweater yesterday here in Germany and I wear it with pride!!!

Nice one mate.

I would love to see Germany do well in the tournament. I think they have a fantastic team, and could go all the way. I just hope its not at the expense of the mighty green and gold.

[baron-pierreIV]

Baron Argelia = Algeria

How about Ancref v. Meocanor?

[DannyelBrazil]

In Portuguese and Spanish, Algeria is called "Argelia"...

I don't know why, but there are lots of this strange translations for countries names in some languages...

For example: Iceland in Portuguese and Spanish is "Islandia"... Isla in Spanish means Island and not Ice... Totally weird.

[KRATK]

I'm sorry... I translated the list I had in Spanish of all the matches to the respective names of the cities and towns in English... but, yeah... you could make fun of just one missed word.

[DannyelBrazil]

It's also weird for us Brazilians to see some spanish speakers calling the city of Sao Paulo as San Pablo...

We know that Pablo is the spanish equivalent for Paulo (or Paul in English), but it's weird because here in Brazil people can have both names.

But the worst is when some non-accurate English speakers calls the city of Sao Paulo as "San Paolo" (a mix of Italian and Spanish)...

[LuigiVercotti]

Final Aussie team for WC2010:

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer, Adam Federici, Brad Jones.

Defenders: Scott Chipperfield, David Carney, Lucas Neill, Michael Beauchamp, Craig Moore, Mark Milligan, Luke Wilkshire.

Midfielders: Vince Grella, Carl Valeri, Jason Culina, Mile Jedinak, Tim Cahill, Brett Holman, Dario Vidosic, Mark Bresciano, Brett Emerton, Richard Garcia.

Strikers: Nikita Rukavytsya, Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell.

Not a bad team however there is certainly some degree of weakness in the strikers. If Pim follows his usual formation of 1 striker supported by 2 attacking midfielders then either Kennedy or (a hopefully fit) Kewell will have to be willing to hold onto the ball as opposed to being a purely aggressive goal scorer. Cahill should assist strongly with perhaps Culina the second attacking midfielder (Bresciano would be logical but I'm not sure of his form and fitness).

The back field looks good with Moore perhaps a little slower than required, but his experience and tactical skill should compensate. Beauchamp is the one to watch as an emerging younger player from the defensive line, whilst Vidosic should be another to garner strong experience from the tournament.

Goalkeeping is not a problem and possibly is where we will be superior to Germany, Ghana and Serbia. As long as Schwarzer retains fitness he will be the last best hope for the Roos.

Sorry to see Tommy Oar miss out, as well as an injured Rhys Williams. It would have been nice to have an extra striker (Bruce Djite perhaps) but considering the Socceroo progression of solid defence with the emphasis on keeping the goal undisturbed at their end this was never going to happen.

[Aronious]

Final Aussie team for WC2010:

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer, Adam Federici, Brad Jones.

Defenders: Scott Chipperfield, David Carney, Lucas Neill, Michael Beauchamp, Craig Moore, Mark Milligan, Luke Wilkshire.

Midfielders: Vince Grella, Carl Valeri, Jason Culina, Mile Jedinak, Tim Cahill, Brett Holman, Dario Vidosic, Mark Bresciano, Brett Emerton, Richard Garcia.

Strikers: Nikita Rukavytsya, Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell.

In 2006 Cahill played a predominately 2nd half attacking role, usually replacing a midfielder like Bresciano. I am very much look forward to have three small and pesky forwards in Kewell, Cahill and Rukavystya terrorising other teams defences.

The is a remarkable speed difference between our mids/strikers and our defenders. Craig Moore is very lucky to be included IMO.

[Rob2012]

I hear Kewell has very much found his feet again in Turkey.