4 matches in Asian zone
On August 17 there are 4 matches played in the Asian zone:
Update, August 18:
Seoul: Korea Republic - Saudi Arabia 0:1
Manama: Bahrain - Korea 2:3
Yokohama: Japan - Iran 2:1
Taskhet: Uzbekistan - Kuwait 3:2
Archive for August, 2005
Costa Rica look to shock Mexico
Costa Rica will try to make history repeat itself when they visit Mexico for a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, four years after a historic win at the Azteca stadium.
Mexico, fresh from beating Brazil at the Confederations Cup, lead the final stage of the marathon CONCACAF qualifying competition with 13 points from five games and look certain to qualify for next year’s finals with matches to spare.
They have already beaten the Costa Ricans away, winning 2-1 in San Jose in February.
17 friendly matches
Beside the official matches there will also be some great friendly soccer played today (17 matches). Among them, including Netherlands-Germany, Sweden-Czech Republic, Denmark-England, Croatia-Brazil and Spain-Uruguay.
Six European qualifying matches today
Of this week’s six European qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, it is the fixture between Latvia and Russia that stands out.
Elsewhere in Group 3, Slovakia will be looking for maximum points when they face Liechtenstein in Vaduz, where the Portuguese were previously held to a famous 2-2 draw.
In Group 4, the Faroe Islands meet Cyprus in a mini-competition to avoid last place, with both teams on a single point as things stand.
Injured Keane out of Republic of Ireland squad
Tottenham striker Robbie Keane has withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad to face Italy on Wednesday with an ankle injury.
Keane picked up the injury in training on Friday and missed Spurs’ 2-0 win over Portsmouth on Saturday.
Eriksson sticks to tried and tested
Sven-Goran Eriksson resisted the temptation to make sweeping changes to his England squad giving his favoured line-up the chance to cement their FIFA World Cup™ credentials in Wednesday’s friendly against Denmark.
The final round of qualifying matches in the Asian Zone
Wednesday brings the the final round of Germany 2006 qualifying matches in the Asian Zone with the focus on the Group A showdown between Uzbekistan and Kuwait.
With four teams qualified already (Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Korea), the match in Tashkent is the only one with something at stake – namely third place in the group and the right to advance to a play-off against Bahrain, the third-placed side in Group B, the winners of which will then meet the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF in a concluding play-off.
Zidane returns to France squad
Via Reuters - Zinedine Zidane’s return to international duty along with Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele will give France something extra when they play Ivory Coast in a friendly next Wednesday, said coach Raymond Domenech.
Real Madrid playmaker Zidane, Juventus defender Thuram and Chelsea midfielder Makelele were included in Domenech’s squad for the game in Montpellier.
‘I’m happy they’re back. No more discussions, no more second thoughts,’ Domenech told reporters on Thursday.
‘They will bring a maturity we needed, their technical skills in difficult moments.’
Zidane and Thuram called it a day shortly after France suffered a quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners Greece at Euro 2004.
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Welcome to World Cup Corner - a blog about Soccer World Cup.
Shortly we will start blogging about Soccer World Cup 2006. In the mean time visit the official site for the 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany.
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