Pages

Subscribe:
Showing posts with label Soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soccer. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Armenia keep hopes alive


Armenia boosted their hopes of claiming a top-two finish in Group B after comfortably seeing off ten-man FYR Macedonia 4-1 in their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Yerevan.
First-half goals from Marcos Pizelli and Henrikh Mkhitaryan set Armenia on their way and, after Macedonia had lost Velice Sumulikoski to a red card just after half-time, Gevorg Ghazaryanmade it 3-0 in the 69th minute.
Macedonia, who had lost five of their eight matches coming into the clash, pulled a goal back through Vance Sikov in the closing stages but Armenia had the final word when substitute Artur Sarkisov completed the scoring in stoppage time.
The win provisionally lifted Armenia level with erstwhile leaders Russia on 17 points and two clear of the Republic of Ireland, with those two sides playing later tonight. Armenia play Ireland in their final qualifier in Dublin on Tuesday.
After a low-key start in which neither goalkeeper was tested, Armenia broke the deadlock in the 28th minute. Yura Movsisyan played the ball in from the left and Pizelli slotted in from close range.
Armenia take advantage
It was 2-0 six minutes later when Mkhitaryan, with his fifth goal in qualifying, drilled home a long-range shot that Macedonia goalkeeper Martin Bogatinov was unable to keep out.
Macedonia came close to halving the deficit just before the break when home custodian Roman Berezovsky was called on to parry Nikolce Noveski's effort, but the visitors saw their hopes of getting anything out of the game suffer a setback in the 52nd minute when Sumulikoski was shown a second yellow for a foul on Karlen Mkrtchyan.
Armenia made the most of their man advantage to extend their lead in the 69th minute through Ghazaryan, who, like Mkhitaryan, made it five goals in qualifying when he fired past Bogatinov.
Sarkisov then hit the crossbar for the hosts but he would still end up on the scoresheet, slotting in from Movsisyan's ball in the 90th minute, four minutes after Macedonia had netted a consolation strike through Sikov's header from a Vlade Lazarevski corner.

England join EURO elite


England booked their ticket at UEFA EURO 2012 on Friday evening, thereby becoming the seventh team qualified for next summer’s continental contest, joining Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as hosts Poland and Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Sweden and Montenegro both ensured that they would finish second in their respective groups, earning themselves a slot in the play-off round. These knockout ties will see the eight group runners-up paired off to decide the last four participants that will travel to Poland and Ukraine. The final round of fixtures will be played on Tuesday.
Game of the day
Montenegro 2-2 England
Goals: Elsad Zverotic 45, Andrija Delibasic 90+1 (Montenegro); Ashley Young 11, Darren Bent 31 (England)
England enjoyed the ideal start to this match, taking charge right from kick-off and creating several good chances against a static Montenegro defence. Spearheading a 4-4-2 formation with Darren Bent, Ashley Young opened the scoring from a fine Theo Walcott cross, before turning provider for Bent 20 minutes later, following a tremendous break by Wayne Rooney. Just before half-time, Elsad Zverotic’s clinical finish signalled the beginning of a fightback for the Montenegrans, whose performance markedly improved in the second half. The sending-off ofWayne Rooney a quarter-hour from full time provided a further boost to the home side’s chances, but they would have to wait until injury time to score the elusive equaliser, Rayo Vallecano forward Andrija Delibasic heading home to secure a point and an historic play-off spot for his country.
Elsewhere
Group A
Azerbaijan 1-4 Austria
Turkey 1-3 Germany
Belgium 4-1 Kazakhstan
Germany overcame Turkey in typical authoritative manner, in a match that featured another goal from the in-form Mario Gomez. Belgium, who disposed of Kazakhstan without any great trouble, consequently move one point ahead of Turkey in the standings. This could all change during the final round of matches, however, as while the Turks host Azerbaijan, the Belgians face a tricky trip to Germany.
Group B
Armenia 4-1 Macedonia
Slovakia 0-1 Russia
Andorra 0-2 Republic of Ireland
Russia, who play host to Andorra in their last match, took an enormous step towards qualification by pulling off a crucial away win in Slovakia, with CSKA Moscow midfielder Alan Dzagoev scoring the only goal of the game. As the Russians are now practically assured of finishing top of the section, the play-off place will likely be decided in Dublin, where a point will be enough for the Republic of Ireland in their clash with Armenia, for whom victory is essential.

Group C
Northern Ireland 1-2 Estonia
Serbia 1-1 Italy
Stunned by a first-minute strike by Claudio Marchisio, Serbia fought back to earn a draw withItaly, whose starting line-up included no fewer than six players from Juventus. Meanwhile,Estonia continued their impressive run of results by beating Northern Ireland via a brace from Konstantin Vassiljev. This triumph propels the Baltic side to second spot in Group C, one point ahead of Serbia, over whom they also enjoy a better head-to-head record. To leapfrog the Estonians and enter the play-offs, the Serbians must defeat Slovenia away on Tuesday.
Group D
Bosnia-Herzegovina 5-0 Luxembourg
Romania 2-2 Belarus
France 3-0 Albania
Leaders France and nearest challengers Bosnia-Herzegovina, comfortable winners over Albaniaand Luxembourg respectively, will now meet on the final matchday to decide who qualifies automatically from the group, in what promises to be a suspenseful encounter.
Group E
Finland 1-2 Sweden
Netherlands 1-0 Moldova
Thanks to the three points they brought back from their trip to Finland, secured via goals from Sebastian Larsson and Martin Olsson at the start of each half, Sweden confirmed their place in the draw for the play-offs. Even if the Swedes lose their last fixture against the Netherlands, and Hungary were to draw level on points, the Scandinavians will remain in second spot by virtue of their superior head-to-head results. The Dutch, meanwhile, maintained their 100-per cent record by getting the better of a stubborn Moldova side through a Klaas-Jan Huntelaar goal.
Group F
Latvia 2-0 Malta
Greece 2-0 Croatia
Greece gave themselves a great chance of appearing at EURO 2012 by defeating Croatia via second-half goals from Giorgios Samaras and Theofanis Gekas in front of a raucous crowd in Athens. The Greeks now enjoy a two-point lead over the Croatians, who need to beat Latvia at home and hope that their Hellenic rivals slip up in Georgia to qualify automatically for the tournament.
Group G
Wales 2-0 Switzerland
After having beaten Montenegro in their last outing, Wales saw off another supposedly superior side, with Switzerland the victims this time around in Swansea. Aaron Ramsey’s penalty and Gareth Bale’s expert finish propelled the home side to victory and eliminated the Helvetians from Poland/Ukraine 2012 in the process.
Group H
Cyprus 1-4 Denmark
Portugal 5-3 Iceland
Denmark ruthlessly disposed of Cyprus in a match where the away side had built up an unassailable 4-0 lead after just 20 minutes of play. The evergreen Dennis Rommedahl was the star of the show with a double. Portugal, leading Iceland 3-0 at half-time through goals by Nani (twice) and Helder Postiga, gave their fans some nervous moments in the second period, allowing Hallgrimur Jonasson to score a brace, before regaining control of the match in the last ten minutes. The final group positions will become clear on Tuesday, when the Danes and Portuguese meet in Copenhagen.
Group I
Czech Republic 0-2 Spain
Liechtenstein-Scotland (Saturday)
Defending European champions Spain made it seven wins out of seven with victory in Prague. The Czechs will regret losing control of the game at a crucial time, especially as they have now opened the door to Scotland, who still harbour hopes of claiming a place in the play-offs.
The player
The career of Romanian forward Adrian Mutu has continually risen from the ashes over the years. In March 2011, he hit the net twice – against Luxembourg – in a match that marked the controversial striker’s return to the national set-up, two years after being banned from the team for disciplinary factors in October 2009. Excluded from the side again in August of this year for the same reasons, the former Parma star proved once more that comebacks bring out the best in him, as he scored twice in his country’s 2-2 draw with Belarus.
Goal of the day
Czech Republic 0-1 Spain, Juan Mata 6
The Czech defence was still finding its feet in this match when Spanish midfielder Xavi threaded one of his trademark slide-rule passes through to Juan Mata, who suddenly found himself bearing down on goal from the right-hand corner of the box. One-on-one with Chelsea team-mate Petr Cech, Mata made no mistake, opening the scoring and sending Spain on their way to an eventual 2-0 success.
The stat
40
 – the number of matches over which Fabio Capello has now presided as England coach. The Italian tactician boasts a record of 26 wins, 8 draws and 6 defeats, a set of statistics that places him at the top of the all-time list of Three Lions’ managers.

Eight qualify but big boys are denied


Angola, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Niger, Tunisia and Zambia all qualified for the 2012 CAF Africa Cup of Nations today, while Nigeria and South Africa were eliminated after a day of drama.
South African footballers, coaches, supporters and media celebrated after a 0-0 home draw with Sierra Leone, believing Bafana Bafana had qualified, only to discover later that Niger had topped the table on the head-to-head rule despite a 3-0 drubbing in Egypt.
Early goals from Asamoah Gyan and John Mensah earned four-time champions Ghana a 2-0 victory in near 40 degrees celsius temperatures in Sudan, and top place in their group with 16 points from six matches.
Ibrahima Traore levelled in the final minute as Guinea salvaged a 2-2 draw against Nigeria after a dramatic second half in Abuja saw Ismael Bangura put the visitors ahead, before goals from Obinna Nsofor and Ikechukwu Uche swung the game in favour of the home team.
Zambia, Angola seal spots
Although Zambia and Libya failed to score in Chingola, the 0-0 draw took the home team through as group winners, while the north Africans are sure to fill one of two places reserved for the best runners-up.
Angola won 2-0 in Guinea-Bissau via goals from Manucho and Mateus, to finish a point ahead of long-time group leaders Uganda, who could only draw 0-0 at home against Kenya and so a 33-year wait to get back to the Cup of Nations continues.
Mali drew 2-2 in Liberia to pip Cape Verde Islands on the head-to-head rule and Tunisia, who triumphed 2-0 at home against Togo, were grateful to Chad, whose last-gasp 2-2 draw prevented Malawi from qualifying.
Ethiopia completed a miserable campaign for winless Madagascar with a 4-2 victory in Addis Ababa, Mozambique finally found their scoring boots to outclass Comoros Islands 3-0 in Maputo, and Congo defeated Swaziland 1-0 in Lobamba.

Home sides dominate in South America


Home sides dominate in South America
© AFP

THE DAY REPLAYED – There were four home wins out of four as the CONMEBOL qualifying competition for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™ began on a rainy Friday across South America.
FIFA.com has the details on comfortable opening victories for Uruguay, Ecuador, Argentina and Peru.
Match of the day
Uruguay 4-2 Bolivia
Goals: Luis Suarez 4, Diego Lugano 26 and 72, Edinson Cavani 35 (Uruguay); Rudy Cardozo 18, Marcelo Martins 86 pen (Bolivia)
The goals and the chances flowed as Uruguay and Bolivia played out the day’s most entertaining game in wet conditions in Montevideo. Fourth in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, La Celeste racked up their third consecutive big home victory over a side ranked 77 places below them thanks to the attacking prowess of Suarez and Cavani and an unusually prolific goalscoring contribution from Lugano. The captain received the loudest cheers of the day from the Centenario faithful as Bolivia’s long search for a win on Uruguayan soil continued.
Elsewhere
Real Madrid duo Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain showed the depth of their understanding as Alejandro Sabella began his reign as Argentina coach with a commanding 4-1 defeat of Chile. Sporting the captain’s armband, Lionel Messi was also in fine form, scoring his first international goal in 16 games, a drought stretching back two years and seven months. La Roja, who have never won on the other side of the Andes, have now gone five games without winning, a record they will need to end when Peru come visiting on Tuesday.  
Third at the recent Copa America, the Peruvians continued their renaissance under Sergio Markarian with an excellent 2-0 defeat of Francisco Arce’s Paraguay, both goals coming from Paolo Guerrero. Under the cosh from the start in Lima, La Albirroja were saved from an even heavier defeat by Diego Barreto’s fine performance between the posts, as the Peruvians tuned up for their trip to Santiago with a confidence-boosting win.
Ecuador recorded a 2-0 triumph of their own against Venezuela, who had spent a month preparing for the altitude of Quito but had no answer to Luis Antonio Valencia’s galloping runs up the right. The on-song Manchester United wide man sent in pinpoint first-half crosses to allow Jaime Ayovi and Cristian Benitez to head Reinaldo Rueda’s side to victory and avenge last July’s Copa America loss to La Vinotinto.
Player of the day
Gonzalo Higuain (ARG)Fresh from scoring a Spanish league hat-trick for Real Madrid against Espanyol, the 23-year-old striker put Chile to the sword with another triple, one of the goals coming from his right foot and the other two with his left. “I’m happy but I can’t afford to relax. I need to keep it going,” said the insatiable Higuain, who also set up Messi for La Albiceleste’s second goal of the day.
The stat
15: 
The number of FIFA World Cup qualifiers Paolo Guerrero has now played for Peru. Prior to hitting a match-winning brace against La Albirroja, the Hamburg striker had only scored two goals in those games and featured in one win.

What they said
“It’s a big blow for us. We didn’t just lose to Argentina today, but to a lot a Chilean media outlets who’ve been laying into us. This defeat will make a lot of people happy.”
Chile coach Claudio Borghi responds to the nation’s media after his side’s 4-1 loss to Argentina.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Vargas: Mentality key for Venezuela

Vargas: Mentality key for Venezuela

Venezuela’s surprise run to the Copa America semi-finals earlier this year was the culmination of three years of positive progress. Once regarded as South American football’s whipping boys, La Vinotinto climbed from the bottom of the ladder to within touching distance of the podium in Argentina, and now have their sights set on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
It has been a story of slow but steady progress for Venezuela, who finally appear to be reaching maturity on the international stage. They reached the last 16 of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009 – their first ever FIFA tournament – and it has been onwards and upwards ever since. “We’re a talented group and we should fancy our chances,” former Caracas FC midfielder Ronald Vargas told FIFA.com.
Vargas moved to Belgium three years ago, where he now plies his trade for Anderlecht in the country’s top flight. The midfielder, who missed the recent Copa America through injury, forms part of a bright new generation of Venezuelan footballers, along with young talents such as Salomon Rondon and Yohandry Orozco. Unlike the latter pair, however, Vargas’s chances to shine have been limited by two lengthy lay-offs since his arrival in Europe.
“I’m hoping to make the most of the qualifiers and establish myself in the team, but it’s going to be a long journey,” said Vargas. “I’m coming back from injury and I’m only just starting to regain my physical fitness.” Vargas netted 15 times for former employers Club Brugge in the first half of last season, lighting up the Belgian championship before suffering his injury.
 
"We have to treat every match like a cup final. Mental strength and motivation will make the difference, more so than our physical condition or technique."
 
Ronald Vargas
The Venezuelan has since returned to action and is relishing his side’s Brazil 2014 qualifying campaign. As far as the team’s approach is concerned, Vargas’s message is clear: “We have to treat every match like a cup final. Mental strength and motivation will make the difference, more so than our physical condition or technique.”
Venezuela are the only team in South America never to have reached a FIFA World Cup finals, and they will no doubt be aiming to put that right by building on their historic run to the Copa America semi-finals. With several key players now based in Europe and with Caracas FC reaching the Copa Liberadores quarter-finals in 2009, Venezuela now looks anything but a nation that has lost a record 74 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
La Vinotinto lost just eight matches in their South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign, finishing a mere two points behind Uruguay to narrowly miss out on a place in the play-offs. Determined to build on the promise shown in the South Africa 2010 preliminaries, Venezuela have since pulled out all the stops to achieve their current status as rising stars of South American football.
As Vargas explained, the impressive showing at the Copa America is just the first step for Venezuela’s new generation. “This group has a lot of scope for progression and the Copa America mustn’t become an isolated success,” he said. Venezuela travel to Ecuador for their opening Brazil 2014 qualifier, but Vargas is not unduly worried about kicking off the campaign away from home. “Ultimately, we will need to get points from our away matches and look to win at home,” he explained.
Four days after their curtain-raiser in Quito, Cesar Farias’s men host Argentina in Puerto la Cruz. In the absence of Brazil, the Albiceleste start as strong favourites in what is sure to be a very open qualifying section. “Without Brazil, all of the teams will be even more motivated,” said Vargas. Having waited until 1982 for their maiden qualifying victory, Venezuela will now be determined to reach world football’s showpiece event for the very first time.
With Farias at the helm, Vargas and Co have already shown some encouraging signs of potential. The Venezuelan fans would love nothing more than to cheer on their team at Brazil 2014, and if La Vinotinto continue in this positive vein, there is no reason why that dream should not become a reality