Showing posts with label friendly soccer. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Watch England vs Egypt Live Streams here on 3rd march 2010

England

Date/Time:	Mar. 3, 2010, 3:00pm
Competition:	Friendly
Live/Repeat:	Live

Egypt

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England vs Egypt Match Preview

Hurt bodies and hurt feelings limit Fabio Capello's choices as England line up against Egypt tomorrow in a World Cup warm up at Wembley.

Fabio Capello relieved John Terry of the England captaincy England manager Fabio Capello’s selection plans for the upcoming friendly against African champions Egypt on Wednesday hit a few snags over the past couple of weeks.

First the intense scrutiny on England captain and Chelsea defender John Terry over his personal life choices caused Capello to relieve Terry of the England captaincy.

Then England and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole broke his ankle in a game against Everton.

The dressing room’s not big enough for Wayne and Terry

Then England and Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge, whose former partner was the focus of Wayne Bridge and John Terry in happier days John Terry’s aforementioned personal life choices, opted to remove himself from consideration for the England squad citing that he could not share a dressing room with a fellow whose personal life choices included acts of hanky panky with a person once very much involved with himself.

Meaning, of course, that he intended never again to share either sponge or shampoo with the aforementioned John Terry.

Then replacement England captain and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand got injured, thus rendering himself unavailable for the match against Egypt.

Further injuries plague Capello: to England and Liverpool defender Glenn Johnson, and there is now a possibility that Wayne Rooney will be out due to a knock sustained during his substitute performance in the Carling Cup Final on Sunday.

Difficult decisions for Capello

Due to the injury concerns that Capello found himself embroiled in as he was making public his selection for the Egypt friendly, he also found himself in the awkward position of offering an England call-up to Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross, who just hours earlier had left the Britannia Stadium pitch under a cloud, having seen a red card for a challenge on Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey that broke the young Welshman’s leg in two places.

Suffice to say that Fabio Capello will be rather glad that this is March in England and not June in South Africa.

Whoever the England boss puts into the defensive line in place of Ashley Cole, that person and his teammates will have to beware of a potent Egypt squad fresh of their third consecutive championship in the African Cup of Nations.

England to pretend Egypt is Algeria

Egypt, who failed to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa, are said to be a team that England manager Fabio Capello hopes will prepare his boys for their upcoming encounter with World Cup Group C opponents Algeria on June 18.

With their success in the African competitions over recent years it’s hard to understand how the Egyptians failed to qualify for World Cup 2010.

The short answer is Algeria, who beat Egypt 1-0 in a tie-breaking playoff in the Word Cup Qualfiers after both countries found themselves with identical records.

Do the Egyptians really play footy like the Algerians?

A run out against a North African side such as Egypt will undoubtedly provide Capello and his men with invaluable learning experience as June approaches. But questions are bound to linger since the Egyptians are reputed to play a more elegant and free-flowing game than the Algerians, whose tactics are said to involve a bit of smash and grab mentality.

The only England-based player among the Pharoes is Amr Zaki of Hull City, although ex-Spurs midfielder Hossam Ghaly has been named to the Egypt squad. The England defenders will have to beware strikers Emad Meteb, Mohamed Zidan and Mohamed Nagy, who goes by the name Geddo.

But its all a little bit of a mystery

Is Egypt really a team that shares a style of play with their North African rivals Algeria? The England squad can only hope so. Capello, however, will be taking no chances. As Wednesday approaches he’ll be doing just what you and I normally do week in and week out during the season: He’ll be setting up his DVR to catch a game while he’s at work. He’ll be recording the Algeria-Serbia game

England squad:

Goalkeepers:
James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham), Hart (Birmingham),

Defenders:
Brown (Man Utd), Terry (Chelsea), Upson (West Ham), Lescott (Man City), Shawcross (Stoke), Baines (Everton), Warnock (Aston Villa),

Midfielders:
Milner (Aston Villa), Beckham (AC Milan), Walcott (Arsenal), Lampard (Chelsea), Barry (Man City), Gerrard (Liverpool), Carrick (Man Utd), Wright-Phillips (Man City), Downing (Aston Villa),

Forwards:
Heskey (Aston Villa), Defoe (Tottenham), Rooney (Man Utd), Crouch (Tottenham), C Cole (West Ham).

Egypt Squad:

Goalkeepers:
Essam Al-Hadari (Ismaili), Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed (Zamalek), Mahmoud Aboul-Saoud (Mansoura).

Defenders:
Wael Gomaa, Sayed Moawad, Ahmed Fathi (Ahli), Mahmoud Fathallah, Hani Saied, Mohamed Abdul-Shafi (Zamalek), Moatassem Salem (Ismaili), Ahmed Al-Muhammadi (ENPPI), Abdul-Zaher Al-Saqqa (Eskisehirspor, Turkey).

Midfielders:
Mohamed Abou-Treika, Ahmed Hassan (Ahli), Shikabala (Zamalek), Abdul-Aziz Tawfik (ENPPI), Ahmed Eid (Harras Hodoud), Hosni Abd-Rabou (Ahli, UAE), Hossam Ghaly (Nassr, Saudi Arabia).

Forwards:
Emad Meteb (Ahli), Ahmed Raouf (ENPPI), Al-Sayed Hamdi (Petrojet), Geddo (Ittihad), Mohamed Zidan (Dortmund, Germany), Amr Zaki (Hull City, England).

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Watch France vs Spain Live Streams here on 3rd march 2010

France

Date/Time:	Mar. 3, 2010, 3:00pm
Competition:	Friendly
Live/Repeat:	Live

Spain

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France vs Spain Live Streams and TV Channels

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France vs Spain Match Preview

This match surely looks like a World Cup final fixture but it isn't actually. France and Spain will meet on March 3rd for a titanic friendly match at the Stade de France in Paris.

France trying to reclaim their giant status

Nobody speaks about football’s top 20 elites without mentioning France. The 1998 World Cup champions elevated themselves among the sport’s highest ranked nations such as Brazil, Italy, and Argentina.

The achievements of the French national football team in the late 1990s and the early part of the last decade are a proof of Les Bleus’ power.

In the past few years though, France have struggled to affirm their authority even against minor teams. Their disastrous run during Euro 2008 which saw them exit from the group stages publicly exposed the weaknesses of the club.

Throughout the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, Les Bleus performed unconvincingly – leaving French supporters anxious about the team’s fortunes.

Now the nation will have to thank destiny for allowing ‘La Main d’Henry’ to save the team from suffering an upset. This controversial incident helped France to reach South Africa 2010 at the expense of the Republic of Ireland.

Perhaps, Les Bleus won’t be able to “benefit” from “miracles” in every difficult and important match during the World Cup.

Time is running out for the French to build an invincible squad which will terrorize opponents during the big event come June.

However, Raymond Domenech doesn’t feel the need to panic and to rush. Speaking ahead of the friendly encounter against Spain, the criticized French coach explained:

"We know that Spain and Brazil are World Cup favorites,

"This match is offering us the chance to see where we stand."

As the French national team is facing the pressure of proving their value by defeating the Spaniards on Wednesday despite the squad’s injury worries, Raymond Domenech warned the public:

"It will be hard to find a good balance with all the injured players and the new faces that I selected."

"In 2006, we played against Slovakia at home in March and we were defeated 2-1," the coach added.

"It had no consequence on our preparations for the World Cup."

Spain taking on a great test

As Coach Vicente del Bosque prepares to create ‘THE’ perfect roster which will be given the task of conquering the world in Africa, Spain have chosen to play a strong team, France, so as to test their potential.

Goal poacher Fernando Torres explained the reasons behind the benefit of playing against Les Bleus. He said:

"These kinds of matches are great, especially because we will be playing against a team that we consider as one of the best.

“These are always great matches for Spain and we have a lot of motivation to play against them [France] since they eliminated us from the last World Cup."

Spain are obviously on a great run. It seems like winning has become a habit for the European champions. Since their shocking defeat against the USA during the 2009 Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa, they are undefeated.

France vs Spain, a bit of history

France and Spain have met 29 times in the history of football and Les Bleus have defeated their rivals 11 times.

Considering the comparison between Spain’s wonderful form and France’s unconvincing performances, one may quickly tip La Furia Roja to win on Wednesday.

However, history is not on the side of the Spanish. The last time they beat Les Bleus on French soil was way back in 1922.

Will Vicente del Bosque’s men break this curse?

France Team news

France will be without Karim Benzema and William Gallas. Louis Saha has also pulled out from the squad due to injury.

Panathinaikos striker Djibril Cissé will replace him.

One quick note:

Cissé has never been able to participate in a World Cup tournament as he always suffers a long-term injury blow weeks before the event.

Goalkeepers:

Carrasso, Lloris, Mandanda

Defenders:

Cissokho, Evra, Escude, Fanni, Sagna, Boumsong, Cian, Rami

Midfielders:

Diarra, Gourcuff, Sissoko, Toulalan, Cheyrou

Attackers:

Anelka, Govou, Henry, Malouda, Remy, Ben Arfa, Ribery, Cissé

Spain Team news

Fernando Torres and Marcos Senna are back in the squad. The pair missed Spain’s matches against Austria and Argentina earlier in November 2009.

Goalkeepers:

Casillas, Reina, Diego Lopez

Defenders:

Sergio Ramos, Piqué, Puyol, Marchena, Albiol, Capdevilla, Arbeloa

Midfielders:

Senna, Alonso, Busquets, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta

Attackers:

Mata, Navas, Silva, Torres, Villa, Guiza, Negredo

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Watch Scotland vs Czech Republic Live Streams here on 03 /03/ 2010

Scotland

Date/Time:	Mar. 3, 2010, 3:00pm
Competition:	Friendly
Live/Repeat:	Live

Czech Republic

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BWIN

Sky Sports 1

Sky Sports HD 1

Scotland vs Czech Republic Match Preview

By Brian Moore, Mar 2nd 2010

Come back drunkards,...all is forgiven! Scotland's new manager brings the bad boys back into the fold but bans alcohol too. Och no, laddie,...dinnae!

As Scotland prepare for their friendly encounter with the Czech Republic at Hampden Park on Wednesday news comes that new manager Craig Levein has banned alcohol from the squad during international duty.

Scotland team quote of the day:

Scotland's James McFadden: Alcohol ban's nae bother, as long as its a short one "I don't think anyone has any major problems not being able to have a drink. We are only here for a short period of time.”
Scotland and Birmingham midfielder James McFadden.

“Och no, it’s nae bother,…” you can almost hear the Scotland players say,… “but if we were going to be here a wee while longer we would have a problem with that.”

There it is in a nutshell. Scotland’s hopes and dreams of international glory encapsulated innocently enough in an unconsciously amusing statement of support for the new manager.

Amusing though it may appear the sad reality is that Scotland’s history of international competition has been riddled with incidents of excessive drink, poor behavior and even an allegation of drug use.

But due to inconsistent results, not helped at all by the alcohol-fueled behavior of midfielder Barry Ferguson and goalkeeper Allan McGregor, the Scotland squad faces the Czech Republic at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Wednesday in what is now a rehearsal for Euro qualifying.

Previous manager George Burley saw fit to ban Ferguson and McGregor from the Scotland team but new manager Levein, despite the alcohol ban, has welcomed the pair back into the fold, although neither is included in the squad that will face the Czechs.

More trouble for McGregor

Deep in his heart Levein must harbor at least a particle or two of misgiving; McGregor’s exclusion from the side was apparently forced upon him as the result of an incident outside a Glasgow nightclub over the weekend!

Rangers Kris Boyd and Lee McCulloch have also been welcomed back by the new manager.

Levein is clearly aiming at a rebuild for the Euro 2012 competition. Former Celtic defender Steven McManus has been left out due to concerns over his form and Rangers age-defying defender, 40 year-old David Weir, is out because,…well its because he’s 40 years old, actually.

Czechs missed the World Cup too

Like Scotland, the Czechs failed to qualify for the World Cup and their recent won/lost record makes for reading nearly as grim as Scotland’s.

The Czechs will arrive in Glasgow without goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was stretchered off after Czech Republic keeper, Petr Cech in injured suffering a calf muscle injury against Inter Milan last week in Champions League play. Cech’s place in the squad will be taken by Michal Danek who plays for Plzen.

Most of the Czech squad hail from continental clubs but if you’re familiar with the English football you will recognize Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky and perhaps West Brom’s Roman Bedner.

Given that the Czechs and the Scots will be meeting in Euro 2012 qualifying they’ll use Wednesday's encounter at Hampden as a tune-up for their qualifyer in Prague next October.

Squads

Scotland

Goalkeepers:
Neil Alexander (Rangers), Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Cardiff City).

Defenders:
Alan Hutton (Sunderland), Christophe Berra (Wolves), Gary Caldwell (Wigan Athletic), Paul Dixon, Garry Kenneth, Andy Webster (all Dundee United), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), Lee Wallace (Hearts).

Midfielders:
Charlie Adam (Blackpool), Scott Brown (Celtic), Graham Dorrans (West Brom), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Bristol City), James McFadden (Birmingham City), Barry Robson (Middlesbrough), Lee McCulloch, Kevin Thomson (both Rangers).

Forwards:
Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller (both Rangers), Steven Fletcher (Burnley), Chris Iwelumo (Bristol City).

Czech Republic

Goalkeepers:
Jaroslav Drobny (Hertha Berlin), Michal Danek (Plzen).

Defenders:
Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin), Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk), Michal Kadlec (Leverkusen), Ondrej Kusnir (Sparta Prague), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Jan Simunek (Wolfsburg).

Midfielders:
Adam Hlousek (Slavia Prague), Mario Holek (Dnipropetrovsk), Jan Moravek (Schalke), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Jan Rajnoch (Ankaragucu), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), Rudolf Skacel (Larissa).

Forwards:
Roman Bednar (West Bromwich), Tomas Necid (CSKA Moscow), Vaclav Sverkos (Sochaux).

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Watch Portugal vs China PR Live Streams here on 3rd march 2010

Portugal

Date/Time:	Mar. 3, 2010, 3:45pm
Competition:	Friendly
Live/Repeat:	Live
Venue:	Coimbra, Portugal

China PR

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Portugal vs China PR Live Streams and TV Channels

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RTP Internacional

Portugal vs China PR Match Preview

By Angela Asante, Mar 1st 2010

Portugal have decided to take on China in a friendly encounter on March 3rd. That international day on FIFA’s calendar marks the last chance for each coach of the 32 World Cup participants to test their players before announcing their World Cup roster in some weeks to come.

Portugal working for a smoother future

South Africa 2010 is indeed not far away and Portugal are optimistic over their fortunes come June.

A Selecção have endured tough moments since the retirement of the legendary skipper Luis Figo after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Throughout the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, their fate seemed to be hanging from a thread. In dramatic fashion, Carlos Queiroz’s side pipped out Sweden to grab Group A’s play-off spot where they subsequently saw off Bosnia Herzegovina to seal their place in the finals of the World Cup.

Now, Portugal are looking forward to entering a new phase where their hard work will be compensated by convincing wins in a less difficult road to achieve success.

Supporters have their eyes set on one particular player to uplift the Portuguese national team. It is no other person but Real Madrid’s on-fire star winger, Crisitano Ronaldo.

Echoing the people’s opinion, manager Carlos Queiroz explained a week ago:

“We expect a lot from Cristiano Ronaldo. If we have the contribution and added value of a player considered and recognized as one of the best in the world, the team will definitely benefit."

Ronaldo had an alarming record throughout the 2010 World Cup qualifiers; the Portugal captain and prolific goal scorer didn’t net a single goal during the campaign.

As June approaches, the 25-year-old skipper will have to prove how inspirational he is as a player and a captain.

Portugal to face China for a vital test

Was it a good choice by the Portuguese Football Federation to choose China for a friendly encounter?

Fans of A Selecção might ponder about the significance of this friendly match opportunity compared to the caliber of Portugal’s opponents China.

Either way, a game against the Asians could offer a lot to the Portuguese as Portugal's skipper Cristiano Ronaldo explained:

"The aim is to study this team (China) which plays like North Korea, one of Portugal's opponents in the group stages of the World Cup."

Talking about Group G's underdogs North Korea, they are looking forward to upset the table's favorites and Portugal especially.

Speaking earlier in January, the team's assistant manager Jo Tong-Sop revealed Korea DPR's wishes, stating:

"We'll be giving our all in every game. But of course, the players are particularly keen to beat Portugal."

North Korea could indeed be a threat to the Portuguese who will therefore test themselves against China on Wednesday.

Looking ahead to the clash which will take place at the Cidade de Coimbra stadium, Cristiano Ronaldo concluded:

"It's just another game. But hopefully, it will be a good game and one that we'll win."

Portugal and China quick statistics

China might be far from equaling the standards of countries such as Italy, Brazil, or even France. However, it doesn’t mean that they will not pose any threat to Portugal.

Earlier in February 2010, China stunned Korea Republic 3-0 in a friendly match and then followed this victory with a 2-0 triumph over rivals Hong Kong lately.

China, who are ranked 87th in FIFA’s World Ranking, haven’t experienced defeat in any of their last 15 matches. Their recent run certainly explains why they moved six places up in the chart.

Portugal meanwhile remain 5th. They’ve also won all of their last 5 matches since clinching a very late draw away to Denmark in the qualifiers.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his team mates at a Portugal training session. Portugal and China played once; that was back in May 2002. The game ended 2-0 in favor of the Europeans.

Portugal's 18-man squad

After missing Portugal's last match through injury, attackers Cristiano Ronaldo and Hugo Almeida return to the squad with midfielder Pedro Mendes as well.

Porto winger, Silvestre Varela, has earned his first call-up while Sporting Lisbon's Joao Moutinho has been included in the roster following his good performance in his side's 3-0 victory over Porto last Sunday.

Goalkeepers:

Eduardo, Hilario

Defenders:

Bruno Alves, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Rolando, Miguel

Midfielders:

Duda, Pedro Mendes, Raul Meireles, Tiago, Joao Moutinho

Forwards:

Cristiano Ronaldo, Liedson, Nani, Simao Sabrosa, Silvestre Varela, Hugo Almeida

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