A few more while I have the time.. For these guys I'll start talking about their Group Stage draw etc, but I doubt I'll be going back to edit the others.
FRANCE
So we've all seen how France eventually qualified, winning in extra time against the Republic of Ireland with a, lets just say, dubious "goal" from true professional Thierry Henry. Not too much point going into detail about this, but Henry cheated, he should have been caught. It's a shame as it was a sickening way for Ireland to be eliminated, and on such a grand stage, a blatant foul like that has to be spotted.
Now France themselves, Raymond Domenech is in charge just now, but after what was a disappointing qualifying campaign (despite actually qualifying...) it is still to be seen whether Domenech will actually be the man in charge come June 2010. I am actually quite interested to see how France will fare this time around, still they have bags of quality, and if they can start performing to their potential they will do well in South Africa.
France were drawn into Group A, alongside hosts South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico. Tricky group but I'm sure Domenech and the squad will be pleased to avoid some other tricky sides.
Star Man: Nicolas Anelka
In the form of his life just now, an on-form Anelka is absolutely key to France's success. Leading the line with Henry and Benzema, France in truth do have a very impressive forward line.
Player to watch: Hugo Lloris
Will be one of the top keepers in South Africa. Keeping goal has been a somewhat problematic position for France in the past while, Landreau has yet to meet his potential, Coupet was just not up to scratch, and now Hugo Lloris has arrived to save the day.
Great shot-stopper, great command of his area, and a mistake is rare from him. Top player.
Prediction: Quarter finals. Got the team to go farther, got the lack of team spirit to be stopped at the groups or second round. Quarter finals is the most likely outcome for Les Bleus
GERMANY
They were finalists in Euro 2008, and generally do well in the World Cup, so you would be excused for thinking Germany are in with a shout for winning. In truth this is a team with a few problems, only increased by the tragic death of first choice goalkeeper Robert Enke.
Their qualifying was quite straightforward though, remaining unbeaten in their group with Russia, Finland and Wales. Germany have some big time players and will always be tricky to beat for ANY side, but with integral players like Ballack coming out and saying he doesn't think they have a chance of winning, don't expect too much from them.
Germany are placed in Group D alongside Serbia, Australia and Ghana.
Star Man: Michael Ballack
Top player and has been for many years. Extremely gifted technically, and as the captain really has to run the team from the centre. Ballack is one of those players that if he were to be injured, Germany's chances would dwindle further.
Player to watch: Mesut Ozil
Ozil, 21, has been coveted by the German national set up for years. The exciting Werder Bremen attacking midfielder has been drawing admirers from all around the footballing world this season with some virtuoso performances. He is a firm favourite in Bremen, comfortably filling the void left by Diego. Ozil is already being tipped by journalists (and the man himself) as Ballack's natural heir in the national team, and he possesses all the qualities to become a world-class no.10. Amazing first touch, great vision, and an explosive turn of pace make him a very very tricky customer.
Prediction: In truth, Germany have a deceptively tough group which they will have to work very hard to get through. However if they do make it as expected, I can see Germany exiting in the Quarter Finals.
GHANA
A team for the future, Ghana made a really good impression on the footballing world with their resilient showing at WC2006 in Germany. Currently competing in the African Cup of Nations, Ghana have been plagued with injuries making their campaign tougher than usual. But they do have some classy players and with everyone fit, their starting line-up is a daunting prospect to play against with the likes of Essien, Muntari, Appiah, Gyan etc.
Ghana find themselves in group D, facing Germany, Serbia and Australia.
Star Man: Michael Essien
Essien is certainly the most famous of players in the Ghana squad, and alongside Muntari and Appiah in midfield, it gives Ghana a fantastic engine room from which to power the team.
I've always been a massive fan of Essien, always used to watch him at OL and when I said he would be world-class, he didn't let me down at Chelsea. Fabulous player.
Predictions: Strong team, but if they make it through the group I would expect a second-round exit.
Right, just to let you know, I really haven't been able to watch much or any of the African teams in qualifying, so the actual teams are a bit of an unknown quantity to myself. However I know a good few players in the squads and will give my thoughts based on that.
At first glance, this isn't an Algeria squad full of recognised names. Fans from Scotland will be able to pick out Madjid Bougherra and possibly even Hull's Kamel Ghilas, but in truth this is a team with a lot of undiscovered talent. I look forward to seeing them perform as a group, and they shouldnt just be dismissed as being no-hopers.
Star Man: Madjid Bougherra
Don't need to say terribly much about Bougherra, as most of us know him already. The 27 year old's career is now starting to come together at Rangers, with silverware and some Champions League experience. Bougherra's accomplished defending will be key for this Algeria side.
Player to watch: Kamel Ghilas
From now until the first game of the 2010 World Cup, Algerian forwards will be battling it out to earn the second starting place up front alongside Rafik Saifi. Players like Djebbour, Ghezzal and this man Ghilas will be the ones in the running. Lucky enough to play in the English Premier League, Ghilas has been able to test his skills against some of the best defences in the world. If he is placed just behind goal-getter Saifi, then Ghilas could give a lot of teams something to think about.
Prediction: Realistically, they will exit in the first round. If they get a favourable draw, then maybe they could dig out some big results.
CAMEROON
"The Indomitable Lions" are Africa's most successful team. They have qualified for five World Cups (now six), and managed to make it to the quarter finals on one ocassion. In recent years however, they have been underperforming. Failing to qualify for World Cup 2006 was an aberration, and the former experienced stars like Geremi, Wome and Rigobert Song are beginning to fade. However, it really isn't all bad, as the Indomitable Lions have the potential to get back to their best. Here is a little reminder of one of their proudest moments, victory in the Second Round of World Cup 1990:
Young talent in Cameroon is abundant, players like Landry N'Guemo, Alexandre Song and Stephane M'Bia are starting to look like the players they were tipped to be. Also with players like Samuel Eto'o looking as dangerous as ever, it could be a good year for Cameroon.
Star Man: Samuel Eto'o
World Class striker, and someone capable of taking the Golden Shoe if Cameroon were to progress to the later stages. If he gets the service he needs, Eto'o will shine once again for Cameroon.
Player to watch: Stephane M'Bia
Always tipped for the top, M'Bia is now starting to realise that potential at 23 years old. Recently the subject of a £10.5 million transfer from Rennes to Marseille, watch out for this young midfielder.
Prediction: Second Round. Unless they get a tough draw, then they will go at the first hurdle.
DENMARK
For the first time in about 10 years, Denmark are looking like a serious team again. Qualifying top of a very tough group containing Portugal, Sweden and Hungary, Denmark will now be looking to relive some of their former glory. Morten Olsen looks like he's got the team to click. Famously frustrating striker Nicklas Bendtner is looking comfortable and scoring goals, veterans Gronkjaer, Tommason and Rommedahl are still showing their class, and in general the team's set-up looks top-class.
Star Man: Christian Poulsen
Maybe a surprise choice, but Poulsen has now firmly established his place as the engine that runs this Denmark squad. He played the most minutes in the qualifying campaign and popped up with a couple of goals from centre midfield. He is one of those players that really aggravates his opponents, but when he is on your side he is invaluable.
Player to watch: Nicklas Bendtner
You'll know him already, so I won't have to say much, but I predict WC2010 is where Bendtner goes from useful young striker, to renowned goalscorer. He will be playing in quite a good team, with some great service around him, and hopefully he won't be as frustrating as he usually is.
Predictions: I'm going to say quarter finals, but maybe I'm overrating them.
ENGLAND
The Auld Enemy qualified comfortably through their group to progress to their 13th World Cup and grudgingly, they have a great chance. England have always had an excellent squad, but they can just never seem to get it done in the end. Now, with Capello at the helm, realistically they could win the thing.
They have quality all over the park, and a top manager who knows how a football team works, and if he picks a good squad, England are serious contenders.
Star Man: Wayne Rooney
He is undoubtedly amongst the best players in the world. Consistently world-class, he will be key to Capello's plans and potentially could win the Golden Ball award for player of the tournament.
Prediction: Potential winners, I'm saying they will be finalists or eliminated in the semis.
More later on.
Oh and just a reminder, the Group Stage draw is made on the 4th of December in Cape Town. Dont miss it!
OK as you may or may not have noticed, I haven't posted much here at all recently. My job isn't really leaving me enough time to write, but after a half-day today due to a server shutdown, I'm here with a new post about the World Cup finals in 2010.
Basically what I want to do over the next wee while, is discuss the teams that have made it so far, pass on a bit of my own knowledge (players to look out for etc.) and basically get some response with people's ideas on who's going to do well, who's going to struggle and all that jazz.
It might take me a while to get through them all, but just bear with me as I'll try to post some other stuff in between. So without further ado, in alphabetical order, let's get on with the show.
ARGENTINA
The Argies have been all over the news recently after just scraping through the qualifying stages, so I won't go in to why that is or anything as you all probably know. Despite the problems though, Argentina still have the quality in their squad that could essentially go all the way. Even though I don't think they will, with the best player in the world (Leo Messi in case you didnt know) and players like Tevez, Aguero and Mascherano in their squad, they can rival any team they come up against in the World Cup.
If Maradona can fashion a proper team out of the talent he has, with a good spine and a team ethic, then yes he could take them to the quarters or semis. Worst case scenario? They draw a tough group and fall at the first hurdle.
Star Man: Lionel Messi
Needs no introduction, been misfiring a little for his country, but the Barcelona forward is still the best player in the world. Expect a decent tournament, but in a team that are underachieving, he will surely be overshadowed by other players in more successful teams.
Player to watch: Nicolas Otamendi
In a nation where every young player is heralded as "the new Maradona", 21-year old centre half Nicolas Otamendi has been tipped to be the long-awaited natural heir to Roberto Ayala. Argentina's main problems are in defence, and with the unexperienced Otamendi being thrown in at the deep end and expected to perform, he has actually coped very well. He has all the qualities of a classic centre-half, and by the time South Africa comes around, I'm tipping him to be one of the best centre halfs in the tournament.
Prediction: Got the team to make the final, but will have to settle for a Quarter Final exit (maybe semis if they get a good draw).
AUSTRALIA
They gave a very good account of themselves at the finals in Germany in 2006. The Socceroos are a nation who have really increased their worldwide standing in the past few years. Australia were always disadvantaged by losing players that qualified to play for Australia through European roots (most notably Christian Vieri, Sasa Ilic etc.) but thanks to their improved reputation, the Socceroos have managed to keep a lot of their home grown talent. Topping their group in the qualifying stage, manager Pim Verbeek has said they are targeting the Quarter Final stage come 2010.
Star Man: Tim Cahill
Again, really doesn't need much introduction. Cahill is a world-class player in a half-decent team, and I can really see him shining in South Africa. With him bossing the midfield, and pitching in with a few goals, he will be a massive player for the Socceroos.
Player to watch: Harry Kewell
Maybe a surprise choice, but I'm guessing the last time you saw Harry Kewell was when he was a fading light coming off the bench once in a blue moon for Liverpool. But now he is playing for Galatasaray in Turkey and he honestly looks like his old self, the fans love him and he is playing some truly great stuff.
He still has a decent kick of pace, a wicked cross, and is a goal threat anywhere around the area. Get ready for a surprise.
Prediction: Their goal is Quarter Finals, in all honesty that's more of a dream than a realistic goal. Group stage exit or scrape through to the Second Round.
BRAZIL
The most successful nation ever to enter the World Cup are at it again. I'm saying it right now that I think Brazil will win this tournament. Dunga has done a great job with the team, but with the abundance of talent they have, they couldn't really go far wrong. Demolishing Argentina earlier in the qualifying, Brazil sealed their ticket to South Africa early on. I don't really know what else I can say about them, they'll win.
Star Man: Luis Fabiano
One of the top goalscorers in the world right now. I was never that much of a fan of him in the past, his attitude was pathetic but he's sorted himself out and is playing some unbeleivable football. Stick your house on Fabiano taking the Golden Shoe.
Player to watch: Nilmar
As if having Luis Fabiano leading the line wasn't enough, Brazil also have the young Nilmar who I expect will get some playing time. A classic striker, he's got a few years before he will be top drawer, but after making his move from the Brazilian league to Villarreal, hes on his way. Oh yeah and he scores goals like this:
Predictions: WINNERS.
CHILE
Maybe a surprise package for South Africa. Finishing second in the South American qualifying, and with wins over Argentina and Paraguay, they do give the impression of a pretty serious team. Haven't really impressed anyone since 1998, no longer having players of the quality of Salas and Zamorano. But now, with some skilful players like Suazo, Fernandez and Valdivia they look like they might be able to turn a few heads.
Star Man: Humberto Suazo
10 goals in the qualifying says it all. He's a proper goalscorer, and with service from the midfield, he should score a few in South Africa. One of those players that confuses me so much. He has scored 140 goals at club level in the last 4 seasons, he's 28, and he's never seeked a move away from South America.
Player to watch: Matias Fernandez
Mati has always been a player with a lot of potential. He gained several supporters in his time at Colo Colo and had a good start to his European football career at Villarreal. However in the seasons following he found some trouble getting a regular starting place and moved to Sporting Lisbon.
He's always looked good for the national team and if he can have a good season Mati could have a decent part to play in the finals.
Prediction: Second Round exit. Although I wouldn't be surprised if they left at the Group stage, or even progressed further with a nice draw.
OK readers, its been a long time coming, but here's my Scotland-Netherlands reaction post. I don't think I'll write as much as I first thought, because I do want to get on to talking about other things pretty soon. You all know the result, so I wont be going into any sort of match report or anything. Right first things first, we didn't qualify, but we did play well. We managed to muster quite a few good opportunities against a strong Holland team, and despite their obvious class, managed to keep them out for about 85 minutes. We gave quite a gutsy performance, really getting right in the Dutch players faces and trying not to give them any time to breathe in possession. To sum up, I think we played our tactics just right.
However, as pleased I was with our overall performance, there is one thing that really annoyed me from that game. Allow me to quote myself from Tuesday 8th September..... "All of our chances will have to be taken, if we get anything in front of goal it HAS to end up in the back of the net."
Not really a particularly insightful thing to remember, surely everyone in dark blue knew it, well everyone except our man Kenny Miller. I'm not saying Kenny played terrible, he had some good moments, but that miss was just embarassing. If you have a team like Scotland, trying to beat a team like Holland, and you are playing one man up front, HE HAS TO BE ABLE TO SCORE.
The Holland goal was a stupid lapse in concentration, but there was always the danger our defence would start to come apart as the game went on. Of course there is no shame in losing 1-0 to Holland, but that goal was a dagger through the heart after a spirited performance..
Discussing this game with my uncle at my sister's birthday party at the weekend, we came across a couple of talking points. First of all, we need a captain. Ferguson is gone, and Fletcher, McManus, Caldwell etc etc are not captains. We came to the conclusion that the only player in the squad with the potential and natural pedigree to be a great Scotland captain, is Scott Brown. He is still young just now, but with us needing to rebuild completely for the Euros in 2012, this could be a perfect time to just hand Broony the armband. Give him it right away, so he becomes familiar with his role, and by the time the qualifiers come around, he could easily be the captain we so sorely need.
Ok that's enough for now, I'll let us mourn our qualifying in peace. Until the next disappointing friendly folks!
Just a little bit to finish, Arsenal striker Eduardo scored the winning goal against Standard Liege in the Champions League tonight. In a game he was originally suspended for after a two-match ban for diving. Well, now we know UEFA's stance on cheating. If you play for a big team, cheat all you like, UEFA don't have the balls to punish you.
No real surprises there. I'm pleased about the inclusion of Hartley for Alexender, and I believe Naismith replacing Fletcher is due to the injury that Fletcher suffered.
Not completely sure about Naismith, but hopefully he can give us a strong performance as he can be very tenacious. He is a bit lightweight though, so will have to really go for it if he's going to get the better of the Dutch defence.
Alright readers, just a quick preview of the big game tomorrow night, seeing as I will be at work during it (by the way I would appreciate text updates if anyone could help me there?). If you havent guessed already the game in question is the one in the south side of Glasgow, Scotland-Netherlands.
As we know, Netherlands are already assured qualification for the 2010 World Cup with a 100% qualifying record so far. And it looks like Scotland will need to get 3 points (at very least 1 point) to have any chance of making the play-offs.
Apparently (according to the BBC), if we manage to win the game tomorrow evening, and in Group 3, Slovakia beat Northern Ireland and Slovenia-Poland finishes at a draw, we will secure a play-off spot without an agonising wait until October for every other group to finish. This would obviously be lovely and not too improbable, but the main ask is the result against Holland.
As far as our team goes, we all know we are without James McFadden thanks to that yellow card, also Calum Davidson is injured, and Craig Gordon, Scott Brown and Steven Fletcher have various injuries or problems but are expected to be involved. I've got to expect a 4-5-1 tomorrow night from us, with Miller playing solo up front, Steven Fletcher and Shaun Maloney playing as wingers/midfielders. Whittaker should replace Davidson, and as long as Brown plays, the rest of the midfield should be Brown, Fletcher and Alexander. Gary Caldwell is now also available after suspension, and I couldnt say whether he will start ahead of either McManus or David Weir. For the Oranje, star midfielder Wesley Sneijder is fit, despite what we heard after their friendly against Japan, though Afellay and keeper Maarten Stekelenburg are out with injury. I don't expect Holland to rest many (if any at all) of their big stars, as they are only one win away from a completely 100% qualifying campaign, but their only "weakness" comes in the form of the goalkeeper position. As mentioned, Stekelenburg is injured, that means they will have to go with either Michael Vorm of Utrecht, or Piet Velthuizen of Vitesse Arnhem, neither of which have yet to record any competitive caps for the national team as of yet. That could be a slight cause for hope, but honestly I'm not expecting much from it.
It should be an interesting game, I really can't say what I think the score will be, as I don't really know, and I dont want to jinx anything. But what I will say is that it is absolutely imperative that we score first. If it ends 0-0, I'd take that, but if there is any goals, we have to get the first one. Holland will probably play a 4-3-3 (I'd imagine) so whenever they are in possession, we have to stick to a rigid 4-5-1 formation, to try to outnumber them in the middle and stifle creative players like Sneijder. All of our chances will have to be taken, if we get anything in front of goal it HAS to end up in the back of the net.
Anyway I think that's all I wanted to say, so I'll see you after the game. MON!
OK continuing on from last time, two more games to talk about. Cyprus-Republic of Ireland in Group 8 and then the big game in Rosario, Argentina-Brasil.
Cyprus-Eire was a pretty decent game, both teams went for the result right from the start, Kevin Doyle scored early on, Cyprus got one back on the half hour mark through centre-half Marios Elia, and Ireland eventually got the winner through captain Robbie Keane in the last ten minutes.
If I'm honest I didnt expect Ireland to win it in the end, recently they just haven't seemed like a team who can pull a result out of the bag when they really need it, underlined by the fact their last three qualifiers ended in 1-1 draws. However, in this game they showed good spirit and determination, and to be honest, that's what they need if they are going to make it to South Africa. The introduction of Aiden McGeady was key, also the influence of Robbie Keane really helped them find the winning goal.
OK well it's the other side I wanted to talk about. Cypriot football has advanced so much in the past few years, with Anorthosis reaching the Champions League group stages last year, and APOEL Nicosia doing the same this year. With their league currently thriving, I have high hopes for their national team. All but one of the Cypriot starting 11 on Saturday night, play for teams in the Cypriot league. Although to be fair, Cyprus don't yet have the squad to compete with teams like the Republic of Ireland, but hopefully as the quality of their league improves, they can gather some proper talent and move forward from there. One of the star performers in the Cyprus squad was left winger Efstathios Aloneftis (pictured). Playing for Omonia Nicosia, the 26 year-old possesses some mean dribbling skills, and a really good cross. He's no spring chicken, but still young enough to do a job for the national side and he could be a useful player for most decent club sides.
Anyway this result kept the status quo in group 8, with Ireland still in second place, one point behind Italy and five ahead of third-placed Bulgaria.
Now onto the big one, Argentina-Brasil. A win in this game would cement a place in South Africa for Brasil and put pressure on Argentina, with Columbia and Ecuador creeping up only two points behind them. Brasil eventually came out to win 3-1, a Luisao header and two from Luis Fabiano, with Argentina replying with a wondergoal from Napoli midfielder Jesus Datolo.
A few things about this game, for those who watched it, HOW BAD WERE ARGENTINA'S DEFENCE?? Jesus I have honestly seen Partick Thistle defend more securely. The first goal saw Luisao offered a free header (to say it was a free header was an understatement actually, his marker was in a different timezone), the second had Maicon's shot spilled and then finished by Luis Fabiano, the only person to react at all, and the third saw the whole defence ripped apart by a Kaka pass, playing through Fabiano who finished well.
Why did they defend so bad? There are several explanations. Maybe Maradona doesn't know the first thing about defence, but possibly he just picked the wrong players. The centre-back pairing of Otamendi and Dominguez do play together for Velez Sarsfield, but they have only 4 international caps between them, compare this to the centre-back pairing for Brasil, Lucio and Luisao, who have amassed 120 international appearences. Easily could be the problem.
Argentina have some of the best attackers in the world with Messi, Aguero and Tevez, but without a proper spine they will struggle to have any success on the big stage, they may even struggle to make the World Cup in 2010. Brasil on the other hand, were very impressive. Dunga has them playing some very nice football just now, with a great variety of strength and skill and a system that could beat anyone in the world, proven by their 100% record in their 15 games so far in this qualifying campaign. I am very sure by the time South Africa comes around, Dunga will have built a squad that will have a very very very good chance of winning the World Cup.
Ok well that's me for now. Might post a quick review of all of the qualifying groups soon... I might just wait until after Wednesday though.
Right, first proper entry then. Saturday 5th September, plenty Internationals played all over the world. Obviously my attention was focussed on Scotland-Macedonia, but there was also some other interesting matches available for me on the tube.
ESPN provided me with Denmark-Portugal in Group 1, but Sky Sports had plenty. Not only did they show Scotland-Macedonia and Cyprus-Republic of Ireland, but also some South American games, with Peru-Uruguay, Paraguay-Bolivia, and undoubtedly the biggest game in the world that night, Argentina-Brasil.
First up, Scotland-Macedonia. Ok, most of you will know the situation going into this game, if not, I'll quickly post up the table as it stood before this one.
Ok as you can see from that (or not, it is a little small), Macedonia, Scotland and Norway each have two games to battle it out for second place. Macedonia finish with two away games, Scotland and then Norway on Wednesday. Scotland have the opposite and play their last two games at Hampden against Macedonia and group winners Holland. Norway go away to Reykjavik to play Iceland, and then as mentioned, finish at home to Macedonia. So essentially, Scotland-Macedonia was a must-win for us, as we wouldnt want to go in to the final game knowing we have to beat the Netherlands.
Ok, phew, that's the background out of the way, now to the game. We lined up with what I think is near enough my favourite formation for Scotland, the 4-4-2. Sky had it down as a 4-3-3 with Fletcher and McFadden playing wingers to Miller as a centre forward, but in the game it seemed more of a 4-4-2, with Faddy on the left of midfield with the combination of Fletcher, Alexander and Brown making up the rest of the midfield, and Fletcher and Miller playing as the two forwards. Perhaps the only change I would have made was to stick Maloney or Commons on the right wing, to let Brown play in centre midfield with Darren Fletcher and abandon Alexander's position (we were at home after all).
Macedonia looked like they were fielding a 4-3-3 for sure, Pandev playing centre forward with Stojkov and Naumoski on the wings. For me, Macedonia are still quite an unknown quantity, I missed the away game in Skopje that we lost 1-0 (didn't have Setanta at the time), and the only players I know in the squad are Goran Pandev (seen him plenty times for Lazio), Mitreski (saw him a few times when he was at Cottbus), and the right back Noveski.
Being a Scotland fan, I thought the first half was crap. Scotland didn't look smart in possession, with Macedonia actually looking quite good. They had a really nice style when on the ball, some nice sharp passes and good movement, basically the first 20 minutes was a big reminder to Scotland that these guys know how to play football. Pandev looked a level above our defence, drawing a few fouls out of Davie Weir in good positions, and playing some lovely passes and also came close with a shot on goal that Gordon parried away nicely. Scotland started to gain a wee bit of momentum in the rest of the first half, Scott Brown most definately the best player in dark blue. And the wee man was involved in by far the most interesting moment of the first half, when he "unsportingly" challenged for a bounce ball and thumped it off Mitreski and out for a Scotland corner. Ok, here's my view on this: I know what Broony did wasnt exactly sportsmanlike, but people that know him as a player know he often employs some tactics designed purely to piss off his opponents, and this one worked. Just by hitting the ball against Mitreski, he rattled near enough the whole Macedonia squad, which really showed in the second half, and in my opinion, went some way in helping us win the match. I'm sure you've watched many a cup final or crunch game where someone is down on the ground injured, and you've willed the player with the ball to just play on instead of booting the ball out so it can go back to the keeper. Also it showed Broony's motivation for this particular game, as in truth this was as important as a cup final. So, I hope people realise Scott didnt do that because he is an unsportsmanlike arsehole, but because he has a competitive nature. Although admittedly I don't want to see that every week, Fair Play "rules" should be respected, but in this situation I feel Brown didnt do anything wrong.
Another thing that came from the Brown incident was the bookings of McFadden and Despotovski. I haven't looked back on the little bit of shoving and things that happened post-Broonygate, but I don't remember seeing Faddy involved. When both players were shown yellow cards, they both seemed completely bemused, asking why they were given the bookings. Couldn't comment really, but from what I saw it didnt look like either player deserved a yellow card, and yellow cards that will keep both players out of their final qualifying games unfortunately.
Now then, the second half. The first talking point for myself was when the teams came back out, they were seperated in the tunnel by security because of Scott Brown annoying everyone in the Macedonia team. Sorry but that is hilarious. Moving on... If I was a neutral I would have loved the start of the second half of this game. Both defences looked terrible, for Macedonia, Mitreski looked rocked by Brown's behaviour earlier on, and his partner Sedloski just looked like a poor player. For us, the fact that Mick McManus was lacking game time and Davie Weir's arthritis was setting in, was starting to show. Combine this with two teams searching for a goal and you get a very end-to-end match.
McFadden missed an excellent chance roughly 5 minutes into the second half, shaping up with his left foot, coming back inside onto his weaker right foot, and subsequently booting the ball out of the stadium. The game then went right up the other end, where Pandev (having a great game) made a rare mistake of judgement by choosing not to pass to Stojkov who had an open goal, and instead hitting the ball straight at Craig Gordon.
Scotland took the lead a few minutes later, a lovely ball from Steven Fletcher and an even better glancing header from (yes you guessed it) Scott Brown. Naturally I went crazy, as we all did I'm sure, but in such an open game like that, to get the first goal was so so important. And yes, such a great goal it was.
Thankfully after the goal went in, Weir and McManus started to sharpen up, while Mitreski and Sedloski still looked second-rate. Shaun Maloney and Paul Hartley later replaced the two involved in the first goal, Steven Fletcher and Scott Brown. Scotland kept up the pressure and eventually sealed the game after 80 minutes with another memorable goal. This time it was the turn of James McFadden to get the goal, after dribbling from the centre spot, past a couple of Macedonia defenders, Faddy rounded the keeper and put the ball into the empty net. A really really good goal, here's a video if you missed it.
Anyway, at that point it was game over, and with that three points we find ourselves in second spot with 10 points, after Norway could only draw 1-1 with Iceland later in the evening (YESSSS!). It looks nice, but in truth it still means we may need to take something from the game on Wednesday against the Netherlands... Unfortunately I'm in work on Wednesday. Maybe I could ask to finish at 5.
Next game I watched (don't worry I wont go on about it as much) was Denmark-Portugal. Going into the game Denmark sat on top of Group 1, with 16 points in 6 matches, unlike Portugal who found themselves third with only 9 points from 6 games. Admittedly I hadn't seen terribly much of either of these teams for a while, but both sides have quite a few recognisable players.
There was a bit of pretext to this game, with Portugal including Brazilian-born Liedson in their squad due to the fact that he has a Portuguese passport. For most people who are in the know about Scottish football, this is the same situation as the talk about Nacho Novo playing a game for Scotland. It's a discussion for another day, but when nations like Portugal (who we may well have ended up competing for a play off place with) are fielding "foreign" players like Liedson, Pepe and Deco, then maybe we should make use of what we have and start bringing in the uncapped talent we have here in the SPL.
Passports aside, this was an important game for both sides, with a win for Denmark all but confirming their place in the 2010 World Cup, and anything but a win for Portugal putting them in real trouble of missing out on the trip to South Africa. The first half was pretty cagey, with an excellent finish by Arsenal boy Nicklas Bendtner separating the two teams at the break. However with the 'man-about-town' Liedson coming off the bench at half time to get his first cap for his adopted homeland, Portugal started to gain a bit more direction about their football.
Sure enough Portugal nicked a late equaliser through a Liedson header, and the game finished 1-1. A decent game, neither of the sides played particularly well, but I mean a few years ago, you would have expected Portugal to win this match comfortably.
Times have changed for the Portuguese, the first Golden Generation have moved on (Figo, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes) and now the new Golden Generation are upon us, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Simao, Deco, Quaresma et al plying their trade for the national team. There's only one problem: the new Golden Generation havent got the slightest idea how to play together. This is probably due to the fact they now have super-duper-mega-egos in Ronaldo, Quaresma and Nani, players that would rather skin a few more defenders and chip the keeper than just play an easy pass to their strike partner for an easy finish.
Ronaldo and Nani are (were in Ronaldo's case) successful at Man Utd because of Alex Ferguson. Quaresma could be successful under Jose Mourinho. This is because these managers just dont accept that one player is bigger than the team, in the case of the Portuguese national team, you get the feeling every player thinks they are bigger than the team. They need a good boss ASAP, as Quieroz is failing.
Ok well this was much longer than I thought. Ill try to write "Part two" tomorrow with some thoughts on Cyprus-Ireland and of course, the big one, Argentina-Brasil which I'm watching as I speak.
Hello there, I'm Euan, 18, from Glasgow, and I watch a lot of football.
Most people that read this (if anyone) will know me, and know I'm an avid Celtic fan, and I also go and watch Partick Thistle every now and again, but that doesnt usually get in the way of me watching an above average amount of football from around the world and knowing admittedly useless things about players and teams from leagues no-one ever cares about.
Anyway, I've seen a few football blogs like this around, and I like the idea of just typing views on football games and news when I have the time. I always see a lot of crap written and typed by football "experts" so I'll see if I can do a bit better. Also it might give me a chance to vent my frustrations if Celtic get beat.
I can't promise I'll update this regularly, as I have a full-time job and things that I do like this often go to pot after a few months. I'll post each new entry to my Facebook page, but I think you can also follow through this site... I'm really not sure how it works. Anyway I'll kick off (heh see what I did there?) with a wee piece on the International games this weekend, expect it soon.
Hope you enjoy reading this if you ever do, and leave comments or whatever if you like. I really dont know how it all works.
I'm Euan, 19, born in Glasgow, and I like football.
Here I'll be writing about all sorts of different football topics, home and abroad, club and country, if there's a ball and two sets of goalposts chances are I'll write about it.
So I urge you to have a look around, read some articles, get involved and leave a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you.
If you like what you are reading, I invite you to follow my personal feed on Twitter, subscribe to this blog, or just bookmark the page and pop in every now and again.
There's also a Contact link above where you can send me an email, whether it be a question, a suggestion on my upcoming content, or feedback on the blog. Anything at all, please do not hesitate to drop me a line.
