Argentina

There had been much speculation that the Barcelona 22-year-old would be rested for the match amid concerns about keeping him fresh for the latter stages of the tournament.

But Maradona said it would be a “sin” to deprive the public of Messi’s talents against Greece, even though Argentina are virtually assured of qualifying for the next phase.

Maradona insisted that the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year would feature in the match in Polokwane.

“Lionel Messi always wants to play and I thought I should give him a break (in training), but if you have a player as good as Leo, who is the best player in the world, I think it would be a sin not to give Messi to the people, to the team, and leave out the player who can certainly make the difference in a match,” said Maradona.

“We of course wanted to give Lionel Messi a break (in training). He will play.”

Maradona also played down Messi’s lack of success in front of goal. The striker has not yet scored in Argentina’s two games.

“If Messi is having a bad run then let him continue with that bad run, because I’m extremely pleased with Messi’s performances,” said Maradona.

“He goes out to play and help his team-mates. Leo helps define the match and creates things for the other players.”

Meanwhile, Maradona, whose infamous “Hand of God” is one of the most controversial incidents in World Cup history, believes more emphasis should be placed on fair play in the tournament.

Maradona appealed to FIFA prior to the start of the tournament to highlight their Fair Play campaign during the competition.

He then repeated the call for referees to protect flair players ahead of Argentina’s second group match against South Korea.

“We all want fair play, I understand that the referee may make a mistake but when (Argentina captain Javier) Mascherano, for instance, gets a card and the Korean player kicks out and gets nothing, no card, then sometimes as a coach you have doubts,” he said.

“This is football and not kung-fu fighting. So I don’t think yet we’ve seen the fair play we want to see.”

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England play their final warm-up game before the World Cup against Japan in Graz on Sunday. After the mixed performance in Monday’s game with Mexico, the speculation is that the Italian will send out his preferred eleven.

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At least one will be missing though because Gareth Barry has not recovered from his ankle injury- and may not make it to South Africa at all. The absence of the Manchester City man- and the long-term problems of Owen Hargreaves- has left a midfield conundrum.

Very few teams have success at the highest level without a defensively-minded central midfielder. As a former defender, Barry converted to the role with England when Hargreaves fell out of contention. Without either man, Capello has a big problem.

Michael Carrick is out of form and Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker are both very inexperienced at international level. James Milner looked uncomfortable there against a slick Mexico and the Steven Gerrard- Frank Lampard pairing has never really gelled.

There are cases of players suddenly propelled into a major tournament from nowhere and Parker might just get a chance to play himself in on Sunday alongside Lampard, with Gerrard retaining his roving role.

Outside central midfield, fans will be eager to see if Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon starts on the right. Ashley Cole and John Terry should return to the defence and the other questions are who supports Wayne Rooney up front and who gets the nod in goal.

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Robert Green did himself no harm against Mexico but David James and the youthful Joe Hart both have greater presence in the nets.

Japan are unlikely to be as testing as Mexico, although they are always well-organised and play at a formidably high tempo. They have made it to the World Cup Finals again and soccer continues to improve in Asia. Japan have twice played in England in friendlies and managed a 1-1 result in 2004.
England will go into the match as hot favourites but much depends on the side that the manager selects. It is still possible that experimentation will be the order of the day, offering an opportunity to Japan.

Their last two outings have been none too impressive though, losing to Serbia by three goals and going down 2-0 to South Korea. England should be able to post a victory but it will be the manner of the performance that really matters.

Related posts:

1. Fabio Capello Tests His Defensive Reserves Against Egypt
2. Still Plenty to Play for after the First Leg World Cup Playoffs
3. Play Off Final Prediction: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?

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The clubs contesting this season’s Championship play-off final reached this stage by contrasting routes; one was in the hunt for promotion all season and nearly always in the top six, while the other slipped in on the final day of the campaign.

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Ian Holloway’s Blackpool are the team that sneaked into the play-off picture at the death. Late momentum counts for a great deal and the Tangerines were able to eliminate Nottingham Forest- generally considered to be the third-best team in the division- in the semi-finals.

Like Forest, Cardiff City have always been near the top after just missing out on the play-offs last season. Dave Jones’ side were able to prevail over Leicester City in the semi-finals which meant the final will be contested by two clubs who have never been in the Premiership.

Cardiff haven’t been in the top flight since way back in 1962; Blackpool had their last tilt at the big boys in 1970/71 but finished rock bottom, winning just four league games.

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Though Blackpool have a more recent history of top division football it is the Welsh club who have been considered the team more ready for the Premier League. Blackpool are one of the smallest clubs in the Championship in terms of resources and Ian Holloway has got them this far on a relative shoestring.

While the Tangerines have stayed within modest means, Cardiff desperately need the financial boost that reaching the Premier League would provide. The Bluebirds have faced winding-up orders in the High Court on several occasions this season.

Over the 46-game Championship marathon, Cardiff accumulated six more points than Blackpool. Jones’s team were better on the road but Blackpool scored goals for fun at Bloomfield Road.

Cardiff had two double figure scorers (Whittingham and Chopra) to Blackpool’s one (Adam). They also had two players (Whittingham and Bothroyd) on double figures for assists. Adam again was Blackpool’s top man in this area on eight.

Jones has the bigger names to call on but Holloway can point to a formidable team ethos with Charlie Adam proving to be an absolute steal from Rangers for only £500,000.

Blackpool have less to lose from this game as the seaside club were never expected to get this far. If they triumph, it would be an even greater feat than Burnley’s promotion a year ago.

But Cardiff have more players who have experienced big games at a higher level, including six who played in the 2008 FA Cup Final. This should make the difference and see the Welsh club become the 41st side to appear in the Premier League.

Related posts:

1. Will Liverpool play with Shankly mentality again?
2. Newcastle United v Cardiff City- A Heavyweight Championship Clash
3. Champions League Prediction: Chelsea To End Mourinho’s Dream

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The clubs contesting this season’s Championship play-off final reached this stage by contrasting routes; one was in the hunt for promotion all season and nearly always in the top six, while the other slipped in on the final day of the campaign.

You Can Bet on this: Play-off Final: Cardiff v Blackpool

Ian Holloway’s Blackpool are the team that sneaked into the play-off picture at the death. Late momentum counts for a great deal and the Tangerines were able to eliminate Nottingham Forest- generally considered to be the third-best team in the division- in the semi-finals.

Like Forest, Cardiff City have always been near the top after just missing out on the play-offs last season. Dave Jones’ side were able to prevail over Leicester City in the semi-finals which meant the final will be contested by two clubs who have never been in the Premiership.

Cardiff haven’t been in the top flight since way back in 1962; Blackpool had their last tilt at the big boys in 1970/71 but finished rock bottom, winning just four league games.

You Can Bet on this: Play-off Final: Cardiff v Blackpool

Though Blackpool have a more recent history of top division football it is the Welsh club who have been considered the team more ready for the Premier League. Blackpool are one of the smallest clubs in the Championship in terms of resources and Ian Holloway has got them this far on a relative shoestring.

While the Tangerines have stayed within modest means, Cardiff desperately need the financial boost that reaching the Premier League would provide. The Bluebirds have faced winding-up orders in the High Court on several occasions this season.

Over the 46-game Championship marathon, Cardiff accumulated six more points than Blackpool. Jones’s team were better on the road but Blackpool scored goals for fun at Bloomfield Road.

Cardiff had two double figure scorers (Whittingham and Chopra) to Blackpool’s one (Adam). They also had two players (Whittingham and Bothroyd) on double figures for assists. Adam again was Blackpool’s top man in this area on eight.

Jones has the bigger names to call on but Holloway can point to a formidable team ethos with Charlie Adam proving to be an absolute steal from Rangers for only £500,000.

Blackpool have less to lose from this game as the seaside club were never expected to get this far. If they triumph, it would be an even greater feat than Burnley’s promotion a year ago.

But Cardiff have more players who have experienced big games at a higher level, including six who played in the 2008 FA Cup Final. This should make the difference and see the Welsh club become the 41st side to appear in the Premier League.

Related posts:

1. Newcastle United v Cardiff City- A Heavyweight Championship Clash
2. Will Liverpool play with Shankly mentality again?
3. Champion’s League Final is sure to live up to expectations.

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