Craig Foster blasts current Socceroos
November 23, 2008
SBS football analyst got stuck into the current Socceroo team on SBS television today. He said they are nothing like the team was two years ago and he was also a bit annoyed with the comments from Socceroo star Tim Cahill in relation to past Socceroo teams.
Foster said Cahill stated that past Socceroo teams would not have been able to grind out a win as the Socceroos did in their recent World Cup qualifying match. Foster said Cahill should not comment on past Socceroo performances.
Do you agree with Tim Cahill or is Craig Foster right?
Socceroos steal points in Bahrain
November 20, 2008
In the latest round of Asian zone World Cup qualifying Australia has left it until the fourth minute of stoppage time to score the winning goal against Bahrain.
In a team that contained Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Josh Kennedy it looked as though the Socceroos would have to go away from there trip to the middle east with just one point. Thanks to Marco Bresciano the Socceroos now go away with full points and maintain their lead at the top of Group 1.
The goal came after Breschiano took advantage of a mistake from Bahrain captain Mohamed Husain. Bahrain had themselves not taken advantage of chances they had to score and paid the penalty with the late goal snatching the points for Australia.
In the other Group 1 match Japan travelled to Qatar and came away 3-0 winners. Japan are on 7 points in Group 1 and trail top of the group Australia by two points. Australia and Japan face each other when Japan hosts the Socceroos on 11 February 2009.
In Group 2 the United Arab Emirates and Iran had a 1-1 draw while the Korea Republic scored a 2-0 away win against Saudi Arabia. The Koreans are now on top of group 2 with seven points from three matches, followed by Iran on five.
The top two teams from both five team groups will earn a spot in the World Cup finals in South Africa. The two third placed teams will have a playoff for the right to take on New Zealand in an interconfederation play-off for the the last spot available.
Australia too good against Qatar in World Cup qualifier
October 15, 2008
The Australian Socceroos team has cruised to a win over Qatar in their second match in the fourth stage of Asian zone qualifying. The match was delayed for half an hour after a torrential downpour in Brisbane.
The rain nor Qatar could stop the Australians. Tim Cahill opened the scoring after a cross from the right was headed across to Josh Kennedy, he in turn flicked another header across to an unmarked Cahill. The Everton player made no mistake as he shot with accuracy into the bottom right of the goal. 1-0 to Australia after nine minutes.
The second goal for Australia came via a penalty which was converted by Brett Emerton in the 17th minute. The penalty was awarded after Cahill was shoved in the back as he attempted a shot from close range. Emerton shot to the right of the keeper from Qatar. Abdulaziz Abdulla managed to get a hand to the ball but only deflected it into the side netting.
After dominating the first 25 minutes of the match Australia eased off. The visiting Qatar team started to get more possession and managed to fire off a few shots. Only one made Mark Schwarzer do some work. The halftime break came with Australia leading 2-0.
The second half was an even affair apart from on the scoreboard. Josh Kennedy setup another goal when he fed Emerton on the right. From about a 45 degree angle the Australian no. 7 shot to the right of the outstretched keeper. The keeper got his fingertips to the ball only to see the shot go in off the lefthand upright. 3-0 after 59 minutes.
Another goal was to come for the Australians who were now cruising to a win. This time it was Josh Kennedy who beat the advancing goalkeeper to head home in the 76th minute. This was a well deserved goal for the towering Australian. Kennedy was later named man of the match.
The win for Australia sees them take full points from the first two matches in this stage. It is also the third win for the Australians over Qatar in the 2010 World Cup qualifying. The first match was a 3-0 win for Australia at home and then the away match saw an Emerton double helf Australia take a 3-1 win.
In the other match in group 1, Japan took on Uzbekistan at home. Maksim Shatshikh gave the visitors the lead after 27 minutes. Japan hit back through Keiji Tamada after 40 minutes. 1-1 was how the match ended.
Australia now sits at the top on group 1 with 6 points from two matches. Japan is second on 4 points from 2 matches played. Qatar is third, also with 4 points. They have played three matches.
Australia’s next match is away against Bahrain on 19 November.
European zone World Cup qualifying results
October 12, 2008
Saturday in Europe saw another round of European zone World Cup football qualifying for the 2010 finals to be held in South Africa.
England kept their perfect start to qualifying going as they trounced Kazakhstan 5-1 at Wembley. England now lead group 6 by two points from Ukraine after three games.
Current World Cup holders Italy dropped points in Bulgaria with a 0-0 draw. Despite the draw they still lead group 8 by three points.
Germany scored a win over the European Cup finalists Russia with a 2-1 result in Dortmund. Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack scoring for Germany, with Andrei Arshavin netting Russia’s goal.
Below are the results.
World Cup football qualifying - European Zone results Saturday 11 October
Group 1
Hungary 2-0 Albania
Denmark 3-0 Malta
Sweden 0-0 Portugal
Group 2
Grece 3-0 Moldova
Switzerland 2-1 Latvia
Luxembourg 1-3 Israel
Group 3
Poland 2-1 Czech Republic
San Marino 1-3 Slovakia
Slovenia 2-0 Northern Ireland
Group 4
Wales 2-0 Liechtenstein
Finland 1-0 Azerbaijan
Germany 2-1 Russia
Group 5
Belgium 2-0 Armenia
Estonia 0-3 Spain
Turkey 2-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Group 6
England 5-1 Kazakhstan
Ukraine 0-0 Croatia
Group 7
Faroe Islands 1-1 Austria
Serbia 3-0 Lithuania
Romania 2-2 France
Group 8
Georgia 1-1 Cyprus
Bulgaria 0-0 Italy
Group 9
Scotland 0-0 Norway
Netherlands 2-0 Iceland
For more information the 2010 World Cup qualifying visit the FIFA website.
England thrash Croatia in FIFA World Cup qualifier
September 11, 2008
In the most recent qualifying campaign before the FIFA World Cup England failed to earn a spot in the European Cup finals played earlier this year. This was partly due to two losses against Croatia, including a 3-2 loss at home on the final day of qualifying.
Going into the match in Zagreb the English would have been keen to make amends for the past failure. Before the match the Croatians had not lost at home in its short history. They opened the 2010 World Cup qualifying at home with a comfortable 3-0 win over Kazakhstan. The English on the other hand a less than impressive start against Andorra where they won 2-0.
What was to follow will no doubt have delighted English fans. Many will be asking is this the new England? It is after all the beginning of a new era under the guidance of Fabio Capello.
In the match England erased all memory of the previous losses to Croatia. They also ruined the home teams 31 home game unbeaten streak. Theo Walcott would turn out to be the hero of the day. He scored his first international goal on the way to a memorable hat-trick for England as they defeated Croatia 4-1.
The youngster was given the nod ahead of David Beckham and as it turned out it was a wise decision. Wayne Rooney did a good job setting up the goals for Walcott as well as grabbing one for himself.
The Walcott goals came in the 26th, 59th and 81st minutes. Rooney scored in the 63rd minute. Mario Mandzukic scored a consolation goal for Croatia in the 77th minute.
Robert Kovac was sent from the field in the 51st minute after he hit Joe Cole with his elbow when making a challenge.
Time will tell if this is a new chapter in the story of English international football. Recent years have not been that inspirational for a country that prides itself as one of the best. At the club level the top clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have shown that they are the best. Now is the time for this club level dominance to transfer itself to the national team.
In other World Cup qualifying action the main upset was Portugal’s loss at home to Denmark. The score was 3-2 in favor of the visitors. France made a return to the winners circle with a 2-1 win over Serbia.
The next qualifying matches for the Europe zone take place on 11/10/2008. Germany at home to Russia is probably the standout match from the scheduled fixtures. Sweden and Portugal should also be interesting.
European qualifiers for 2010 Football World Cup kick off
September 7, 2008
The European zone of the football World Cup has started its qualifying matches over the weekend. With the World Cup finals in South Africa still 641 days away it signals the first step for many of the big guns of Europe as they begin their quest to hold up the World Cup trophy in 2010.
Some of the surprises to come out of European matchday 1 was the defeat of France at the hands of Austria. The Austrians surprised the 2006 runnersup with a 3-1 win. Following this performance France may be hard pressed to even make the finals in South Africa.
The 2006 winners needed a last minute goal to take the maximum points against Cyprus. It was 1-1 until a 90th minute goal by Antonio di Natale saved the world champions from an inglorious opening to the qualifying campaign.
England playing their first competitive match under new coach Fabio Capello were not that convincing against Andorra. They did however win 2-0 thanks to two second half goals by Ashley Cole. Also in group 6 Ukraine snatched a late win with a 93rd-minute penalty goal to Andriy Shevchenko against Belarus. Croatia looked the most impressive in the group with a 3-0 win against Kazakhstan.
For the full list of European World Cup 2010 qualifying results from the weekend head over to the FIFA website. The next matchday in on 10 September.
