Tag Archives: start

James sweating on USA start

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David James has played down the fact he has been handed the number one shirt by England coach Fabio Capello for England’s 2010 World Cup campaign (20/1, All 3 English goalkeepers to play during the tournament).

The veteran is fighting it out with West Ham’s Robert Green and Manchester City’s Joe Hart for the honour, with the battle the closest in years as Capello keeps his cards close to his chest.

James, Green and Hart have all been given game time by the Italian ahead of the Group C opener against USA in Rustenburg on Saturday as he keeps everyone guessing and on their toes (England 4/9 to win – 90 Minutes).

And James insists he is paying little attention to the fact he has been handed the number one jersey with Green set to wear 12 and Hart 23.

The former Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester City man said: “I genuinely believe England are going to be successful, I want that above everything else. I want to be part of that success so I want to be number one.”

James added in the Daily Mirror: “A long time ago I stopped trying to second-guess people. I get stressed about Portsmouth losing and so I haven’t burdened myself with the extra stress of wondering what’s in the mind of Fabio Capello.

“I don’t think about the numerical position in the squad. It may be that the number one is the fittest and plays, but the idea is that all three are out there, trying their best to be the number one.”

Capello has included Joe Cole, Peter Crouch and Aaron Lennon in his ‘first XI’ in terms of numbers and it remains to be seen if the 63-year-old has shown his hand or not.

Cole, who will leave Chelsea this summer, admits he is desperate to start the tournament in England’s side.

He said: “It’s a great feeling being at a World Cup. I love coming away for these tournaments.

“I remember how excited I was for my first World Cup (in 2002). It was new and amazing. I still have that hunger and it would mean the world to me to play against America.

The main thing is that we get the result because the first game of the tournament is so important.”

Ahead of the game, USA coach Bob Bradley insists he has not formulated any rough-house tactics for Wayne Rooney whose temperament was again questioned following his yellow card against the Platinum Stars on Monday in the Three Lions’ final warm-up game (7/2 – Rooney to receive a red card during the tournament).

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Burdisso demands winning start

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Argentina defender Nicolas Burdisso has called on his team-mates to secure a win against Nigeria (13/2 to beat Argentina) in their World Cup opener – by any mean necessary.

The South American nation are one of the favourites to win this summer’s tournament, despite a disappointing qualifying campaign which saw them scrape through by the skin of their teeth.

While little is known about how the Albiceleste will perform due to their unpredictable coach Diego Maradona they will certainly expect to make it to the knockout stages of the competition having been drawn alongside Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.

They start their World Cup campaign against possibly their toughest opponents in the first round of the tournament, with Nigeria the second favourites to win the group.

The Super Eagles (18/5 top African nation) reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations and topped their group in qualifying ahead of Tunisia, Mozambique and Kenya.

However, Nigeria have lost one of their star players to injury since then in the form of midfielder John Obi Mikel and haven’t enjoyed the best build-up to the World Cup, failing to beat Saudi Arabia in one of their warm-up matches.

While Nigeria did beat North Korea (1/8 to finish bottom of Group G) 3-1 in their last friendly match, Argentina will certainly fancy their chances of overcoming their Group B rivals and getting their World Cup off to a flying start.

Burdisso says Argentina need to get off to a winning start and believes it doesn’t matter how they get the victory, just as long as they take all three points.

“I give more value to starting the tournament with a win than to playing well,” he said.

“There is a lot of anxiety and to start with a win would mean a lot to us.

“We must win our first game and although it will be difficult, we have to know that a good result is all that matters.”

In the 2006 World Cup Argentina got their campaign off to a winning start, beating the Ivory Coast 2-1 as they made it out of the ‘group of death’.

The Albiceleste were looking good four years ago until they were knocked on penalties by Germany.

Burdisso says this time around the team won’t get carried away with any media hype surrounding their performances and promises they will be taking it one game at a time.

“There is no question we are candidates to win the tournament,” he added.

“We have very strong players in the team but that doesn’t mean anything.

“We must win our first game and then draw some conclusions.”

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McGovern urges flying start

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Swindon midfielder Jon-Paul McGovern believes it is vital that the Robins start Saturday’s League One play-off final with Millwall in the right frame of mind and play their own game (Swindon 5/4 – to be promoted).

The Wiltshire club face the Lions (4/7 – to gain promotion) at Wembley in a winner-takes-all encounter for a place in the Championship with their 3-2 defeat to the Londoners in the final match of the season still fresh in their minds.

Swindon took an early lead in that encounter only for Millwall to net three times before Billy Paynter’s 85th-minute goal got them back to within touching distance.

Danny Wilson’s men are known for their passing ability and stylish football but McGovern feels they did not play their own game in the season finale – something he has urged his team-mates to put right this time around.

“Maybe at their place we played into their hands a little bit,” he told the Advertiser. “We never got on the ball and we didn’t do the things which we are good at.

“It’s important that we stamp our authority on the game early doors on Saturday and show everybody what a good passing side we are.”

Paynter has scored 29 goals prior to the final with strike partner Charlie Austin netting 20 times this term and Swindon will look to those two for the goals that could secure a place in the second tier of English football by Saturday evening.

McGovern is aware of the importance of the strike duo but was quick to praise Wilson for the way he has guided the side to the brink of glory this season.

He added: “Everyone talks about Billy and Charlie and the goals they have scored, but as a team it has been fantastic and a lot of that is down to the manager and his assistant.”

There are plenty of betting opportunities for Saturday’s final with first goal-scorer always a popular bet.

Austin and Paynter are both on offer at 6/1 to score first wit the same price available for either of the pair to be the last goal-scorer as well.

Millwall’s Steve Morison is the 4/1 favourite to score first at Wembley, with team-mates Neil Harris and Gary Alexander trading at 5/1 and 6/1 respectively.

Both clubs know the rewards on offer for promotion to the Championship, having seen how a small club like Blackpool can defy the odds and reach the promised land of the Premiership.

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Will Torres feature when Liverpool fixtures start in July?

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fernando torres liverpool 300x225 Will Torres feature when Liverpool fixtures start in July?The three teams to represent England in next season’s Europa League have been decided and Liverpool will be back in the competition from which they were eliminated in the semi-finals last month.

The other two Premier League clubs joining them are Manchester City and Aston Villa. All three clubs might have mixed feelings about taking part after seeing what Tottenham Hotspur achieved this season.

Spurs weren’t in Europe at all this year and it was noticeable that their players were fresh and sharp as the campaign came to a close. By not being in the Europa League, the London club played less matches but also avoided the many long journeys across the Continent.

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Harry Redknapp’s team were able to grab fourth place and achieve a first attempt at the lucrative Champions League- they pipped Manchester City, who also had a season fre of European trips.

By contrast, Aston Villa and Everton who finished eighth (a drop from fifth last year), both took part in the Europa League.

In 2010/11 Everton will not play in the Europa League which may help their challenge to break into the top four. Manchester City will have to pick themselves up from the bitter disappointment of finishing fifth.

Liverpool only squeezed into European competition for next season at all because Chelsea won the FA Cup. The three English qualifying spots go to the Cup winners and the 5th and 6th placed teams in the league. As Chelsea are safely in the Champions League their place came to seventh-placed Liverpool, because Cup runners-up Portsmouth have no licence to play in Europe.

The Premiership held out some hopes of gaining a fourth berth by being high enough in UEFA’s Fair Play League but eventually these places went to Scandinavian clubs. If England had received one of these berths, relegated Burnley would have got it.

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Fulham’s great effort this year showed what can be done if teams take a positive approach to the Europa League. Manchester City and Aston Villa go through to the play-off round direct but Liverpool have the indignity- for a club with their European record -of appearing in the Third Qualifying Round.

It means that the Reds start their season in late July just a few short weeks after many of their players will have been involved in the World Cup Finals in South Africa.

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