Costa Rica advances at U-20 World Cup despite loss to Czechs
October 4, 2009
Costa Rica qualified for the second round of the Under-20 World Cup despite allowing two goals in the final 13 minutes and losing 3-2 to the Czech Republic on Saturday.
The Ticos finished with three points and in third place in Group E with a minus-3 goal difference, advancing at the expense of the United States having scored one more goal the Americans, who finished third in Group C.
Costa Rica was the only team of CONCACAF’s four entrants to advance out of the group stage. Honduras was beaten 2-0 on Saturday and returned home along with the United States and Trinidad & Tobago.
The Ticos will face host Egypt on Tuesday in Cairo, with the winner to play the victor between Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates for a quarterfinal berth.
Jan Voshalik equalized in the 77th minute and Jan Chramosta scored his second of the game with four minutes remaining to rally the Czech Republic past Honduras.
After Chramosta put the Czechs ahead in the 11th minute, Diego Estrada converted a penalty in the 49th and Josue Martinez added a goal in the 61st to give Honduras a 2-1 lead.
The Czech Republic’s rally finished it second in Group E with seven points, just behind Brazil on goal difference.
It will face Hungary on Tuesday in Alexandria.
In Port Said, South Africa outshot Honduras 28-7 and, despite playing the last 12 minutes with 10 men, eliminated the Catrachos, sending Honduras home with one victory in three games. Andile Jali, who would be sent off in the 78th with his second yellow card, gave South Africa the lead in the third minute and Sibusiso Khumalo doubled the advantage in the opening minute of the second half.
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt
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Lack of goals makes Bayern´s Schweinsteiger ´sick´
October 4, 2009
Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger admitted he felt ’sick’ about the German giants’ lack of goals after his side were held to a 0-0 draw by Cologne on Saturday.
Following Wednesday’s goalless draw with Juventus in the Champions League and last Saturday’s 1-0 German league defeat at Hamburg, Bayern have now gone three games without scoring and Germany star Schweinsteiger says the lack of goals is sickening.
“You simply have to score at home,” said Schweini’, with Bayern seventh in the table after the clash at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
“As we say in Bavaria, it’s enough to make you sick – and that’s how it is.
“We had so many chances, but we’ve failed to score.
“We hit the bar, or we hit our own players.
“We were unlucky on occasion, but sometimes we weren’t ruthless or smart enough.
“It’s a bit depressing frankly. It’s a real shame we?ve only taken a point.”
An uninspired display against defence-minded Cologne cost Bayern two points with the Bundesliga now breaking for two weeks due to next weekend’s international matches.
Bayern coach Louis van Gaal admitted it was far from an impressive result against a limited Cologne side.
“Not winning is disappointing,” said the Dutchman after Bayern fans expressed their frustration at the lack of goals.
“The players worked hard, but it’s difficult against a team which only comes to defend.
“They pulled 10 men back like a wall.
“You need a little luck in that situation.
“We didn’t make our own luck, but that’s what you have to do.
“We stopped making chances after half-time, we had a few crosses, but they were poor.
“The first man in the box headed every single one clear.
“I always try and find a solution from the bench, but there wasn’t one today.
“We played good, controlled football, but the crowd doesn’t see that.
“The fans want goals – and they’re right. The title race is far from over. The prizes are handed out in April, May, not now.”
Bayer Leverkusen took over at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 4-0 mauling of struggling Nuremberg.
With Hamburg playing bottom side Hertha Berlin – who have announced Friedhelm Funkel as their new coach – on Sunday, Leverkusen blitzed Nuremberg with three first-half goals.
Bayer enjoyed a dream start when midfielder Toni Kroos netted from a direct free-kick after just two minutes with Germany midfielder Simon Rolfes adding the second from a spot-kick on 28 minutes.
Leverkusen striker Eren Derdiyok added to Nuremberg’s misery when he scored in the 34th minute before his partner up front Steffan Kiessling headed home the fourth goal on 68 minutes to give Bayer’s goal difference a boost.
“Toni Kroos’ early goal helped us take control and we played some outstanding football,” said Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes.
“The most important thing for me was that we didn’t take our foot off the gas after going 3-0 up.
“It is very pleasing that the team came out in a solid and stable performance in defence, that gives us confidence for the future.”
BERLIN (AFP)
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Capello won´t rest England stars for last qualifiers
October 4, 2009
Fabio Capello insists he will not rest Wayne Rooney or any of England’s star players for his side’s final two World Cup qualifiers against the Ukraine and Belarus.
Capello, whose team have already qualified for South Africa 2010 with eight victories in their opening eight fixtures, had previously hinted that Rooney and Steven Gerrard in particular could be omitted in order to protect them from inury and to give other players an opportunity to press their case.
But now the Italian, who expects to call up Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor to replace injured Jermain Defoe when he names his squad on Sunday, says he will put out full-strength sides in Dnipropetrovsk on October 10 and at Wembley four days later.
“I want to play with the best players in the first half always,” Capello said. “The best eleven of that moment. After, in the second half, it is possible I will make some substitutions.
“But for me, it is not a friendly game and not for experiments. It’s to confirm what we made during the World Cup qualification.
“I think it will be important to stay together, to train together and speak about the silly mistakes we have made in previous games.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that places are not still available in England’s World Cup squad and Capello says he is currently looking at a pool of between 35 and 37 players.
But with limited opportunities to shine in international football between now and next May he has warned players they will have to make an impact quickly.
He said: “For this reason, the next games are important for me. We play only 12 games a year and before the World Cup squad is announced we play only four games – these two and the other against Brazil (in Qatar in November) and another we have to choose which country.
“It is possible that some new players will play one of these next two games. I don’t know if it will be the first or the second match. But I want to see the team improve because we have to play really well in the games before the World Cup.”
Aston Villa’s Agbonlahor, is in pole position to be the first player to be handed an opportunity after scoring five goals for his club this campaign and putting last season?s dip in form behind him.
Manchester United’s Michael Carrick has strengthened his case with an impressive performance against Wolfsburg in the Champions League.
Capello said: “With young players sometimes they play well and sometimes not well. We have to wait always for them to be more confident with the national team and their own team.
“I was a young player once and know the problems you can find. But now we follow Agbonlahor and he is in a really good moment.
“As for Carrick I saw him for Manchester United in the Champions League and he played very well. It possible he will play one of the next two games.”
Meanwhile Capelllo is set to invite every player who has been involved in England’s World Cup campaign to join the party for the final game against Belarus.
Capello has asked the FA to send out an invitation to anyone who has been selected during the campaign, even those who didn’t make it on the pitch.
“We will invite everyone, all the players to come and join us for Belarus. We want everybody to come,” Capello said.
Capello believes it is a good way of building team spirit and emphasizing that every English player still has an opporutnity to earn a place in his World Cup squad.
That includes Chelsea’s Joe Cole who is back from a nine-month injury lay-off but not regarded as fit enough for an international call-up.
It also includes Manchester United star Michael Owen who will once again miss out this time because of a groin injury.
“The door is still open for all players,” insisted Capello. “I have to follow all of England?s best players. I am selecting from more or less 35 or 37 players.
“That includes Owen – I went to watch him in Manchester but he was injured and if he does not play he cannot be here.”
LONDON (AFP)
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Hart predicts new investment soon as Pompey win at last
October 4, 2009
Portsmouth manager Paul Hart believes his crisis-hit club can finally look forward to a brighter future with substantial new investment set to follow their first win of the season.
Hart’s team had made the worst start to an English top-flight season for 79 years after losing their opening seven matches, but they ended that woeful run with a 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton on Saturday.
Hassan Yebda’s first half strike couldn’t lift Portsmouth off the bottom of the Premier League, but it did banish some of the gloom around Fratton Park at the end of a traumatic week.
Hart confirmed the outstanding wages owed to certain players and staff will be paid on Monday after the club was forced to reveal last Wednesday that they had been unable to meet all their salary obligations.
New owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim, who is recovering from an operation in Dubai, is already planning a 150 million pounds injection into the club.
But Hart is expecting more investment on top of that into the south coast club.
“The wages will be paid on Monday. I would expect the wages problem not to be happening again on the basis of the new investment,” Hart said.
“I think what is best said is over the next few days we will have new investment and this club will have some good news instead of bad stuff.
“Will there be new investment? Yes.”
Hart was full of praise for the character his players showed when they could have been forgiven for having their minds elsewhere.
He said: “It was a great win. We have played better over the past month. We played well in the first half and defended tremendously in the second half.
“The whole group have been tremendous. Everyone knows our problems and what we have been through the last six months.
“These players have had everything thrown at them but they have stayed strong.
“They are a great bunch of lads, they show great spirit and they have never wavered.
“Yes, we got a few breaks today. We have earned it and some of the defending was excellent.”
Wolves had strong claims for a penalty denied when Marc Wilson appeared to handle a cross from Michael Kightly.
But Wolves boss Mick McCarthy was more concerned about his side’s defending when Yebda snatched the only goal of the game after 20 minutes.
He said: “I am getting a bit tired about saying, ‘we should have had a penalty’ because it sounds like I am bemoaning my luck.
“But if we defend a corner properly or a second ball that comes in, then we might be talking about that (the penalty claim) to win the game rather than to save it.
“That is more my grief. But if it is a penalty, he should have given it. There is no point in me speculating on it anymore.”
WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AFP)
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Coyle rates Birmingham defeat above United shock
October 4, 2009
Owen Coyle has hailed Burnley’s 2-1 win over Birmingham as a more important result than his side’s shock 1-0 defeat of Manchester United.
The Premier League newcomers made it four wins out of four at Turf Moor thanks to goals from Steven Fletcher and Andre Bikey, with Sebastian Larsson’s consolation effort for Birmingham coming right at the death.
Coyle said the encounter with Alex McLeish’s side was exactly the kind of match Burnley had to win if they are to preserve their hard-won top flight status.
“Birmingham are one of the teams who are going to be in our group,” Coyle said. “We are not getting carried away, we know exactly where we are and where we expect to be.
“That is why, for me, it was the biggest result of the season. If we can pick up points from the teams round about us that will serve us well for the duration.
“The result against United was fantastic but I really believed we had to answer up after a heavy defeat at Spurs last week. By retaining our 100 percent record at home, hopefully it sends out a message to people that Turf Moor is not an easy place to come.”
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish lambasted his players for giving up once they had fallen behind.
“It was a second half to forget after they scored,” the former Scotland boss complained. “Up to then I thought it was anyone’s game and the first goal was going to be important.
“We didn’t react to the goal, we lost the way we have reacted in previous games and that was disappointing. After that it was a poor performance.”
Lee Bowyer missed a great chance to put Blues ahead six minutes from the break when he failed to finish in front of an open net after Roger Johnson had dragged a shot across the goalmouth.
Fletcher made Birmingham pay for that miss just before the hour mark with a shot that on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart should have saved.
Cameroon defender Bikey then added a second after playing a one-two with David Nugent and Larsson’s stoppage-time freekick came too late to offer any chance of a comeback.
BURNLEY, England (AFP)
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Estudiantes suffer first defeat at Argentinos
October 4, 2009
Estudiantes suffer first defeat at Argentinos. Banfield were held to a goalless draw at Colon and dropped to third place.Argentinos Juniors closed the gap with Estudiantes, beating the current Primera Division leaders 1-0 on Saturday. Banfield were held to a goalless draw at Colon and dropped to third place.
Estudiantes could have extended their lead in the Argentinian league, but instead crashed to their first defeat of the season. The only goal in the match, played at Buenos Aires’ Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, was scored by Matias Caruzzo in the 27th minute.
Although Estudiantes remain in first place, the gap with Argentinos is now only one point. Velez Sarsfield could reconquer the top spot after their top clash with Boca Juniors on Sunday.
Banfield failed to take advantage of Estudiantes’ slip-up and only managed a 0-0 draw with Colon. As a result, Banfield are surpassed by Argentinos based on the amount of goals scored.
Jonathan Roorda
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Portugal: Seven in a row for Sporting Braga
October 4, 2009
Sporting Braga won their seventh league match in a row to keep their perfect record in the Portuguese competition. Vitoria Setubal failed to end Braga’s impressive streak.
No goals were scored in the first hour at Estadio AXA, but it was in the 60th minute that Paulo Cesar broke the deadlock in Braga’s favor.
Former Sporting Lisbon, Newcastle and Valencia midfielder Hugo Viana ended all doubts with his goal for 2-0 in the 90th minute.
Braga remain in first place and put additional pressure on Benfica, who will need a win over Paços de Ferreira on Monday in order to restore the original two-point gap.
Jonathan Roorda
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Beckham close to Milan return
October 4, 2009
David Beckham admitted on Saturday he is close to agreeing a return to AC Milan as he steps up his bid to feature in Fabio Capello’s England World Cup squad.
Beckham is hoping to repeat his switch from Los Angeles Galaxy to the San Siro when the transfer window reopens in January.
“There are other options available, but none that will stop me going to Milan,” Beckham told the Mail on Sunday newspaper. “It is close to being finalised.”
LONDON (AFP)
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