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Terry’s not all gold for Capello

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John Terry and Fabio CapelloEngland manager Fabio Capello believes John Terry made a “big mistake” when hinting to the media that all was not well in the England camp ahead of the Slovenia match (England 4/9 to beat Slovenia).

The Three Lions need to beat the Slovenians in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday to make sure of their passage into the knock-out phase of the tournament after two lacklustre draws with the USA and Algeria.

Terry hinted that some of the players were not happy with the manager’s selections and tactics and the fact that a player of Joe Cole’s talent has been sitting on the bench.

The Chelsea skipper also implied that the players planned to hold clear-the-air-talks with Capello about various issues, but a lack of player support meant that this did not materialise.

The Italian tactician is known as a disciplinarian and he has made it clear that he will not tolerate players such as Terry airing their grievances in public.

“When you speak you have to speak privately,” he told ITV. “This is the big mistake – a very big mistake. It’s not revolution. It’s the mistake of another player – no more.

“I spoke with some players and I think it’s only John Terry said this. No-one speak with me about the problems. My door is open always. If they want to speak with me they can speak with me.

“Every time we have a meeting I ask the captain, ‘Problems? You want to say something?’ Never. I read that John Terry said this. I don’t understand why he don’t speak with me every time.”

Many of the teams in South Africa have improved in their second matches but England went backwards with an appalling display against the north Africans last Friday and they are in real danger of not reaching the last 16 of the prestigious tournament (England 10/1 to win World Cup).

Capello has said that he will make changes for Wednesday’s encounter and has already stated that Matthew Upson will replace the suspended Jamie Carragher in central defence.

Emile Heskey’s place is under threat and there have been growing calls for Frank Lampard to be left out, after two innocuous displays to date.

But Capello is known to be stubborn when it comes to selection and he may try to get past Slovenia with more or less the same side and hope they can play to the level that saw them qualify for the finals with comparative ease.

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Capello ponders Slovenia options

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England coach Fabio Capello was unable to fully experiment with his midfield options on Monday after Michael Carrick joined centre-half Ledley King on the sidelines (England 10/1 – World Cup Outright).

King is struggling with a groin problem and has already been ruled out of the crunch World Cup Group C clash with Slovenia in Port Elizabeth where only a win will guarantee the Three Lions passage into the last 16 in South Africa (Slovenia 13/2, draw 16/5, England 4/9 – match betting).

Capello’s tactics have come under fire from all quarters, with his reluctance to use Joe Cole baffling to players and fans alike, and it seems certain he will change his midfield for the final group game following back-to-back draws with USA and Algeria.

And although Carrick can only be classed as an outside bet to come into England’s engine room, the fact an ankle knock picked up in training on Sunday kept him out of today?s session will be another irritant to perfectionist Capello.

The England coach is puzzled by his side’s Jekyll and Hyde character after claiming their performances in matches bear little resemblance to the work put in on the training ground (England 4/9 – To Qualify From Group C).

The Italian said: “It almost feels like all the work of the last two years has been for nothing. I am not happy because we have worked hard for 20 days.

“You see all the things during the training. Then on the pitch it is completely different. As a manager, when that happens it is no good.

“I don’t understand why during a game we don’t change the rhythm or the speed. We are really slow.

“At this World Cup if you don’t run or press or fight it is difficult to go forward.”

Capello’s more likely decision on Wednesday will be to recall Joe Cole which was alluded to by former captain John Terry when he faced the media on Sunday.

Terry is baffled at how far the former West Ham youngster and current free agent has fallen down the pecking order for both club and country.

The Chelsea skipper said: “Joe is one of the best players in our country. He and Wayne Rooney are the only two who can open up things up.

“It still amazes me how Chelsea have come to the conclusion of letting Joe go. But he can surely do things for England whether he starts or comes on.”

Nevertheless, Terry also took the chance to dismiss rumour of a split in the England squad over Capello’s strict regime.

He insisted: “I have seen a few reports myself. There is no unrest in the camp at all.

“I’m here on behalf of all the players to say we are all fully behind the manager. Everyone is positive.”

England will be forced into one change against Slovenia after Jamie Carragher picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Algeria. Either Matthew Upson or the uncapped Michael Dawson will stand-in for the Liverpool man.

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Upson gets Slovenia nod

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Fabio Capello has revealed Matthew Upson will play in central defence when England take on Slovenia in Wednesday’s must-win clash.
(England 4/9 to win).

Capello has been heavily criticised after reports claimed that he only named his side to face Algeria a couple of hours before kick off, but now he has made it clear well in advance that Upson will play.

England will be without Jamie Carragher through suspension against Slovenia while Ledley King will miss out with a groin injury so Capello is forced to turn to Upson.

There had been suggestions that Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, who was called up as a late replacement for Rio Ferdinand, could step in but the Italian is going with the tried and tested Upson.

The West Ham stopper, who has been dogged by injury problems, has played alongside John Terry in the qualifiers and Capello will go with him again rather than take a risk on Dawson, who has yet to win a cap.

“Upson will play because he always played with John Terry and I probably will change some others,” Capello confirmed.

What other changes Capello makes will probably be kept under wraps but it comes as no surprise following the dismal performance against Algeria in the 0-0 draw on Friday.

Something has to be done to get Wayne Rooney more into the game and it would certainly help if Steven Gerrard was playing in the right position.

It looks as though Emile Heskey will make way which would allow Gerrard to slot in just behind Rooney with Joe Cole expected to come in down the left flank.

Other than that you cannot imagine the Italian will tinker too much and the majority of England’s under-performing stars should get a chance to put matters right on Wednesday afternoon.

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Barca will land Cesc – Laporta

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Arsenal are a 6/1 chance to win the Premier League title – but they will have to do it without Cesc Fabregas, according to outgoing Barcelona president Juan Laporta.

The Gunners are hanging on to the Spain midfielder with their fingernails as Barca step up their pursuit of the player and Laporta says it is only a matter of time before they land their man.

The words of Laporta are sure to infuriate Gunners officials but you cannot help but agree with him because Fabregas has made his mind up that he wants to return to his former club and player power usually wins day.

No matter how hard Arsenal fight to keep hold if Fabregas sticks by his guns and asks to leave a deal is more than likely to go through if the price is right.

Agreeing a fee could be easier said than done. Barca are already thought to have failed with one bid in the region of £29million and Arsenal will probably want closer to double that if they are to sell.

They will say Cristiano Ronaldo went to Real Madrid for £80million last summer and Fabregas is worth £60million, but Barca will argue they are completely different players and are unlikely to go that high.

Fabregas has always maintained how happy he is at the Emirates Stadium and it is hard to see him kicking up a fuss but if Arsenal block the move over the fee they could have an unhappy player on their hands which will no good to anybody.

Either way Laporta says it is only a matter of time before they land their man and believes it will happen this summer, eventually.

“Arsenal will end up giving in, but I don’t know when that will be. We will have to wait and let the professionals who are taking care of it do their work,” he revealed.

Laporta is set to leave office at the end of the month but if he cannot wrap up a deal in that time, he believes his replacement Sandro Rosell will.

“If it’s not us, it will be up to the new board, if they consider if appropriate, to carry on along this road,” he added.

Arsenal now have some tough decisions to make but nothing will be sorted until after the World Cup. However the time Fabregas is spending with Spain will not help matters as the Barcelona players will no doubt be in his ear everyday urging him to return to the Nou Camp and that looks the most likely outcome.

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Premier League tempts Silva

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Valencia and Spain winger David Silva has revealed that he could be moving to the Premier League with champions Chelsea (13/8 to win the Premier League)  in the front running to sign the player.

Silva could be sold by his Spanish club who are currently strapped for cash and look likely to sell the creative midfielder.

Valencia have already cashed in on David Villa who moved to La Liga champions Barcelona and Silva could be on the move the Premier League’s top team.

The 24-year old has been linked with both Manchester City and United but has revealed that he would be keen on a move to West London.

He said: “Chelsea have established themselves as one of the best clubs in Europe over the last five years.

“They might not have the history of Real Madrid or AC Milan but they are creating their own history now. There is no reason why in the future Chelsea can’t be as decorated as Real Madrid.

“Chelsea probably have, along with Barcelona, the best squad in football and if any player joins Chelsea he knows he is going to win things,” he added.

Silva is currently with the Spain (9/2 to win the World Cup) squad ahead of their second game of the World Cup against Honduras on Monday.

The pre-tournament favourites suffered a shock defeat to Switzerland in Group H and will be looking to bounce back in their next match.

Silva featured in the defeat against the Swiss in a match the 2008 European champions dominated.

However, the player seems to have one eye on his club future after the tournament in South Africa and Chelsea seems a likely employer for the Spaniard.

He said: “In players like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba they have players who would get into any team in the world and it would be a pleasure to play with them.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Chelsea would be a great club to play for – and a club where I could fulfil my ambition of league titles and the European Cup.

The Blues had a successful season after they won the Premier League and FA Cup to complete their first domestic double in their 105 year history.

However they will be looking to make a few more signings as they look to push for that elusive Champions League title.

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Koren warns England

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Slovenia star Robert KorenSlovenia captain Robert Koren has warned England his side will be focused for their Group C showdown in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday (Slovenia 4/6 to qualify from Group C).

England beat Slovenia 2-1 at Wembley last September, after Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson had awarded a dubious penalty as Wayne Rooney and Bostjan Cesar tugged each other’s shirts in the box.

England’s second goal also owed much to fortune as a Jermain Defoe shot took a heavy deflection off Slovenia midfielder Aleksandar Radosavljevic before finding the net.

Koren, whose side only need a point from the game to qualify, says this meeting will be a very different affair.

He said: “We didn’t really prepare for that game and we still gave them a really good game. They were lucky in that game to get a result, the referee was up and down when we played them at Wembley.

“It will not be about revenge for us on Wednesday, it was a while ago since we played them. It was completely different, because we were just preparing for a game in the qualification group, we didn’t think too much about the England game.

“But we’re not thinking about that game, it is already behind us. This is a new opportunity for us and we will be up for it.”

Former West Brom midfielder Koren was pleased with his side’s performance in the 2-2 draw against the USA.

He said: “In the first half we played really well, we got two goals and the game looked easy for us. Still in the second half we were in control and I think we were disappointed in the USA, they didn’t show too much good football – it was lucky for them to score two goals.

“The England game is a different story, but we will go through the (USA) game and see where we were not good enough and try to do better against England.

“Like all the games at the World Cup it will be a hard game but we are full of confidence to get the three points.”

Koren expects his side to be able to match England in every area and would not single out any individuals who they will need to pay special attention to.

“Of course, you expect every game to be hard,” he said.

“It was a hard game against the US, they tried to play aggressive and strong football but we coped with this really well and I think we deserved the three points more than them.

“There is nobody in particular we will have to watch out for when we play England; we will play team against team, 11 against 11, the game starts at zero. We are full of confidence because we have four points so far, we are not worried.”

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Van Marwijk pleased with Dutch result

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Netherlands coach Bert van MarwijkNetherlands coach Bert van Marwijk was pleased with the result as Holland beat Japan 1-0, and was happy that his defence had performed well (Netherlands 7/1 Outright).

Van Marwijk, whose team have now progressed to the next phase of the World Cup, says he is not bothered if his team have to fall back on defensive steel.

“I would love to win playing beautiful football but you have to deal with a rival that also wants to win,” said Van Marwijk.

“I think we played a match that was perhaps not as attractive as our previous games but it’s not easy to play matches here and I think we deserved the win.

“Of course, we want to win playing great football but the important thing is that we learn to win ugly games.

“Japan were very confident heading into this match and I knew beforehand that this was going to be a hard game.”

He added: “We came here to win a prize, to become world champions, now that’s far from straightforward and easy.

“If we can continue to show stability, and if we maintain confidence in really winning something, we might get far. So the target is to go for the prize.”

Two wins from two matches delighted the coach, particularly with other fancied teams having struggled.

“At this level, you see that no match is straightforward as has also been the case for other teams like England and Spain.

“In the first half, we went for depth but we didn’t get the ball to our forwards.

“At half-time I told my players they had to be careful. We needed to speed up our game and be opportunistic.

“I believe we did that in the second half.”

Japan coach Takeshi Okada was pleased with his side’s efforts.

“We played against a strong team and we wanted to have taken at least a point in this game.

“But my players did the best they could and we feel sorry for our fans.

“During the first half we frustrated Holland and I told my players to be courageous and aggressive when we have the ball.

“That is what they did, but we weren’t able to deliver the finishing touch.”

Wesley Sneijder scored the only goal of the game, the playmaker slamming his shot into the net off the keeper.

“What you need is a bit of luck,” said Sneijder. “And we ended up at 1-0 and I think, at the end of the match, we should have ended up with 2-0 or 3-0.”

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Ivanovic urges Serb caution

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Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has warned his Serbia (5/1 to win Group D) team mates not to get carried away with their impressive win over Germany (4/6) on Friday.

The Serbs’ hopes of qualifying for the last 16 were hanging in the balance before the start of Friday’s match after their 1-0 defeat to Ghana in their opening game.

With Germany having blown Australia away in their first match it looked ominous for Serbia, who, before the start of the tournament, had been tipped as potential dark horses after an impressive qualifying campaign.

However, after their slow start the Serbs bounced back with a controversial victory over Germany.

The Germans will count themselves a little unfortunate not to have got anything out of the Group D match, the three time champions having been reduced to ten men after Miroslav Klose was shown a second yellow card in the first half.

Milan Jovanovic then gave the Serbs the lead just a minute later and Radomir Antic’s side were good enough to hold on for a much needed win.

While Ivanovic insists he was over the moon about the win he says their heroics in Port Elizabeth will count for nothing if they don’t finish the job against Australia.

“It’s given us back the respect that we lost in the first game. But we have not finished. We must perform, we must stay compact, we must stay strong in our third game. We must now start thinking of the third game against Australia,” said the Chelsea defender.

“In this game, we showed character and we will just try to do our best on the pitch.

“Everyone is happy now at the moment and there’s a great feeling – but we are not qualified. We just have three points and we need to keep the same focus for the third game.”

Serbia will be full of confidence going into the game with Australia who looked a shadow of the side that reached the last-16 four years ago in their 4-0 defeat to Germany.

However, despite the Socceroos (17/2 to qualify from Group D) poor performance against Germany (2/7) Serbia centre half Nemanja Vidic is reluctant to talk up his team’s chances.

“I have played against a few of their players in England – Lucas Neill, Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton – and I have a big respect for their team. Physically, it will be a difficult game,” said Vidic.

“Our people will be satisfied after we won this game, and that’s the most important thing. If we get to the second round, they will be very, very happy.”

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James hits back at Fab fear claims

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David James has dismissed Fabio Capello’s claim that England played with fear against Algeria and says they will bounce back by beating Slovenia. (England 1/2 to win).

England put in an awful display during the 0-0 draw against Algeria on Friday night to leave many fans wondering what has happened to the team that qualified for the finals with ease.

Hopes and expectations were raised after the Three Lions qualified in style, but they looked a shadow of that side as they struggled to break down a resolute Algerian side.

Once again England’s top players who perform week in week out in the Premier and Champions League against the top players in Europe failed to show up.

They are supposed to be world class but they did not show that last night. It looked like they were playing with fear and with the weight of the nation on their shoulders and that would be a viable explanation.

Capello hinted as much after the game, but goalkeeper James is having none of it and says they just struggled to break down a side that set their stall out for the draw.

Well Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney come up against teams like that every week in the Premier League and do not seem to have a problem then.

“Did he?” retorted James when told Capello said they played with fear. “Arguably it is more frustration than fear. You are usually playing matches when the opposition wants to win. It is very difficult when you are up against a side who seem not to want to lose.

“You are trying to work out the way to unlock a defence. They did what they needed to do. It was very frustrating.”

It was also very frustrating to watch and the England fans who have spent their hard earned cash to travel out to South Africa will demand more against Slovenia or the boos will be ringing out again.

However James is confident there will be no repeat and says a win is on the cards.

“We are tight enough to recover and win this game,” he added. “I don’t have any doubts about that at all. The reality is if we get a good win on Wednesday we finish top of the group.

“Regardless of whether we win one and draw two or win all three, you are top, which is what our aim was. I have the utmost confidence in our squad.”

At this moment in time the fans don’t and it will take a big performance on Wednesday to get them back on side.

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Golden Gonzalo may miss Greece clash

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Gonzalo Higuain (15/8 World Cup 2010 Top Goalscorer (Golden Boot)) could be rested from Argentina’s last Group B game against Greece as Diego Maradona ponders changes after his team secured qualification.

The Real Madrid hitman leads the race for the Golden Boot after hitting a hat-trick against South Korea on Thursday, but he could be confined to bench duty Tuesday.

Argentina’s coach Maradona, who famously tinkered with his line-ups in qualifying to the extent that he used 78 different players, may now opt to give Sergio Aguero and Diego Milito a chance with Higuain and Carlos Tevez set to rest.

Lionel Messi, yet to score in the tournament, is another who could be taken out of the starting line-up for a match against the fired-up Greeks (5/1 to win in 90 Minutes, Argentina 4/7), who have the chance to reach the second phase after grabbing a 2-1 win over Nigeria.

After the South Korea match, Maradona spoke of his happiness at the strength of his 23-man squad, insisting that they were all great footballers.

“I have 23 beasts in this squad, I have 23 starters,” he said.

Spain’s David Villa is Totesport’s second favourite in the market at 11/1 alongside Diego Forlan, who is on two goals after his brace against South Africa.

Spain, who drew a blank against Switzerland in their opening game 1-0 defeat, take on Honduras next and will be keen to turn their overwhelming dominance of possession into goals against Reinaldo Rueda’s side.

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