France

France have drawn one and lost one so far, and so must beat hosts South Africa on Tuesday to stand any chance of making it into the last 16 at the World Cup.

Domenech’s team selection will be extremely interesting in Bloemfontein amid reports of a bust-up with Nicolas Anelka and the fact Thierry Henry has played just 20 minutes.

The France coach did restore Florent Malouda to his XI against Mexico but it did not go to plan, while Anelka was hauled off at half-time with the French media now claiming he was involved in an angry exchange with Domenech following criticism of the Chelsea striker’s recent performances.

But for now the outgoing France boss is just concerned with his side’s showdown with Bafana Bafana rather than worry about the outcome of the other group game which will kick off simultaneously.

He said: “I am not bothered about the others.

“We have to play and do our thing and the other match is not my problem.”

Domenech will leave his post when France exit the World Cup “whenever that may be”, with legendary defender Laurent Blanc already confirmed as his successor after six years in the hot seat.

Meanwhile, Uruguay defender Diego Godin insists La Celeste have every intention of beating Mexico which would be a massive help to the French cause (Uruguay 16/5 to win their last group game).

Ahead of the clash with El Tri, Villarreal star Godin claimed: “Our only thoughts are on Mexico and how to control possession, create goalscoring opportunities and finish them off.

“We have not conceded a goal so far and that is very important.

“If we do the same against Mexico, then we will have progressed to the next round and anything can happen from then on.”

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BET ON TH WORLD CUP – TOP SCORER “GOLDEN BOOT”

Both players will be selected as the main striker for their respective countries and if they carry their stunning form into the World Cup, each man is a good bet to win the competition Golden Boot.

Rooney and Drogba both play for teams that have every chance of having a strong competition- an essential to win the Golden Boot. England have one of the easiest groups and while the Ivory Coast are in a tough line up, they will feel it can’t be worse than the ‘Group of Death’ they endured in 2006.

This is the second successive World Cup for the Ivorians and the Elephants have been consistently one of the top African sides for the past decade. They have a group of players who have been together for some time and for the likes of Drogba- who takes huge pride in playing for the national squad- this is a final chance to make an impact in this tournament.

BET ON TH WORLD CUP – TOP SCORER “GOLDEN BOOT”

Rooney is currently second favourite to be top scorer at 12/1; only the peerless Lionel Messi stands above him. It reflects Rooney’s stellar form this season and England’s status as a team expected to go deep into the knockout rounds.

Drogba is an excellent each way value bet at 40/1. The long odds reflect the fact that the Ivorians have to come through a group that includes Brazil and Portugal. However, Drogba and his team mates are well capable of taking on a Portuguese squad that struggled all through qualifying.
If the Ivory Coast do come through it will probably be thanks to goals from their star man. Judged by his late form for Chelsea, Didier Drogba looks ready to give it everything and he’s likely to take all the free kicks and penalties too.

Wayne Rooney has added to his game this season and England will be set up to allow him to roam as he sees fit. Messi may head the odds but Argentina threaten to be a dysfunctional outfit under Diego Maradona, so the England talisman could follow in the footsteps of Gary Lineker in 1986.

Related posts:

1. Rooney Puts Birth of First Child Before Champion’s League
2. England going on, Scotland going home
3. Fabio Capello Tests His Defensive Reserves Against Egypt

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Carlos Alberto Parreira

The Brazilian manager has named a 29-man preliminary squad for the hosts, which includes 19 South African-based players and ten overseas members.

South Africa are seen as outsiders for the competition despite having the support of fanatical home support and have to face Mexico, Uruguay and France in the group stage.

Parreira is set to reduce his squad to 23 players before South Africa open the tournament with against Mexico on June 11th (South Africa 15/8 to win, Mexico 6/5. 11/5 draw on match bets)

He claims integrating local players with those who play in top leagues across Europe could be a real problem as they prepare for the World Cup as the ranging physical conditions could make things “rather difficult”.

“Some of them have played too many games – like Steven Pienaar who has played 27 games since November, some have played half of what Pienaar played while others started in one or two,” said Parreira.

“So they will come here in different fitness levels, which will give our physical trainer a lot of headaches to put them in good shape for the competition.”

The South Africans recently embarked on a training camp in Brazil and Germany, where Parreira named a predominantly home-based squad with only two overseas players.

These players managed only a 1-1 draw against world minnows Namibia and Bafana Bafana fans will be hoping for an improvement in performances when their side play World Cup warm-up games against Argentina and Denmark.

South Africa’s Group A rivals France (16/1 – World Cup Outright) were recently urged to leave their egos at home when they leave to join the World Cup squad by Raymond Domenech.

The French coach saw his side only scrape their way into the World Cup after a controversial win over Ireland in the play-offs.

He told French newspaper L’Equipe that his squad need to realise that “the only thing that matters is the team, not them” and he is expecting a struggle when he names his 23-man squad for the World Cup on May 11th.

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