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WHO WILL RULE THE WORLD????
GROUP F PREVIEW THANKS TO J-MO FOR THE STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES AND STAR MAN |
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MATCH SCHEDULE 12 JUNE 2006
MATCH 12: AUS vs JAP, Fritz-Walter Stadion, Kaiserslauten, 3:00PM
13 JUNE 2006
MATCH 11: BRA vs CRO, Olympiastadion, Berlin, 9:00PM 17 JUNE 2006
MATCH 27: BRA vs AUS, Allianz Arena, Munich, 6:00PM
MATCH 28: JAP vs CRO, Franken-Stadion, Nurenburg, 3:00PM
22 JUNE 2006
MATCH 43: JAP vs BRA, Westfallonstadion, Dortmund, 9:00PM
MATCH 42: CRO vs AUS, Gottleib-Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart, 9:00PM NOTE: All times local German Time, Matches correspond to FIFA World Cup Match Schedule
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AUSTRALIA
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 42 (As at April 2006) QUALIFICATION: Won Oceania playoff vs Solomon Islands, Beat Uruguay on penalties in playoff BEST RESULT: 1st Round 1974 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: Failed to Qualify for finals COACH: Guus HIDDINK (Dutch) SQUAD:
KEEPERS: (1) Mark SCHWARZER (Middlesbrough), (12) Ante COVIC (Hammarby, Sweden), (18) Zjelko KALAC (AC Milan, Italy)
DEFENDERS: (2) Lucas NEILL (Blackburn), (3) Craig MOORE (Newcastle), (6) Tony POPOVIC (Crystal Palace), (7) Brett EMERTON (Blackburn), (11) Stan LAZARIDIS (Unattached), (14) Scott CHIPPERFIELD (FC Basel, Switzerland), (16) Michael BEAUCHAMP (Central Coast Mariners, Australia), (22) Mark MILLIGAN (Sydney FC, Australia)
MIDFIELDERS: (4) Tim CAHILL (Everton), (5) Jason CULINA (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), (8) Josip SKOKO (Stoke City on loan from Wigan), (13) Vince GRELLA (Parma, Italy), (20) Luke WILKSHIRE (Bristol City), (23) Marco BRESCIANO (Parma, Italy)
FORWARDS: (9) Mark VIDUKA (Middlesbrough), (10) Harry KEWELL (Liverpool), (15) John ALOISI (Alaves, Spain), (17) Archie THOMPSON (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands on loan from Melbourne Victory, Australia), (19) Josh KENNEDY (Dinamo Dresden, Germany), (21) Mile STERJOVSKI (FC Basel, Switzerland)
PRESENT STAR MAN: Harry Kewell. The Liverpool winger showed in the second leg when he came on and tormented the Uruguayans he is one Aussie player capable of truly world-class displays.
STRENGTHS: Plenty of flair going forward and a host of options in the
middle of the park.
WEAKNESSES: A telling lack of pace and genuine quality at the back will be Hiddink's main concern going into a major tournament.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 5/6/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $81
GROUP: $13 |
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BRAZIL
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 1 (As at April 2006) QUALIFICATION: Won COMNEBOL Qualifying League BEST RESULT: Winners 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: WINNERS COACH: Carlos Alberto PERREIRA (Brazilian) SQUAD:
KEEPERS: (1) DIDA (AC Milan, Italy), (12) JULIO CESAR (Inter Milan, Italy), (22) ROGERIO CENI (Sao Paulo, Brazil) DEFENDERS: (2) CAFU (AC Milan, Italy), (3) LUCIO (Bayern Munich, Germany), (4) JUAN (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), (6) ROBERTO CARLOS (Real Madrid, Spain), (13) CICINHO (Real Madrid, Spain), (14) LUISAO (Benfica, Portugal), (15) CRIS (Lyon, France), (16) GILBERTO (Hertha Berlin, Germany) MIDFIELDERS: (5) EMERSON (Juventus, Italy), (8) KAKA (AC Milan, Italy), (11) ZE ROBERTO (Bayern Munich, Germany), (17) GILBERTO SILVA (Arsenal), (18) MINEIRO (Sao Paulo, Brazil), (19) JUNINHO PERNAMBUCANO (Lyon, France), (20) RICARDINHO (Corinthians, Brazil) FORWARDS: (7) ADRIANO (Inter Milan, Italy), (9) RONALDO (Real Madrid, Spain), (10) RONALDINHO (Barcelona, Spain), (21) FRED (Lyon, France), (23) ROBINHO (Real Madrid, Spain) PRESENT STAR MAN: Without a doubt it is Barcelona's Ronaldinho.
Two-time World Player of the Year, and is a handful for even the best defenders.
STRENGTHS: The unparalleled individual ability of their stars, all of
whom are used to the big occasion, plus their superb physical preparation that set them apart in 2002.
WEAKNESSES: The possibility that their stars might have a collective
off day, occasional defensive problems in the air - despite the height of their centre-backs - and a vulnerability in the space behind the full-backs.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 5/6/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $3
GROUP: $1.16 |
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CROATIA
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 23 (As at April 2006)
QUALIFICATION: WON UEFA Group 8 BEST RESULT: 3rd Place 1998 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: 1st Round COACH: Zlatko KRANJCAR (Croatian) SQUAD
KEEPERS: Tomislav BUTINA (Club Bruges, Belgium), Stipe PLETIKOSA (Hajduk Split, Croatia), Joey DIDULICA (Austria Vienna, Austria) DEFENDERS: Robert KOVAC (Juventus, Italy), Stjepan TOMAS (Galatasaray, Turkey), Dario SIMIC (AC Milan, Italy), Mario TOKIC (Austria Vienna, Austria), Josip SIMUNIC (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Igor TUDOR (Siena, Italy), Marijan BULJAT (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia)
MIDFIELDERS: Jerko LEKO (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine), Niko KRANJCAR (Hajduk Splik, Croatia), Niko KOVAC (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Marko BABIC (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Darijo SRNA (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine), Ivan LEKO (Club Bruges, Belgium), Luka MODRIC (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia), Jurica VRANJES (Werder Bremen, Germany), Anthony SERIC (Panathinaikos, Greece)
FORWARDS: Dado PRSO (Rangers), Ivan KLASNIC (Werder Bremen, Germany), Bosko BALABAN (Club Briges, Belgium), Ivica OLIC (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Ivan BOSNJAK (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia) PRESENT STAR MAN: Dado Prso. The Rangers striker has been the most consistent and influential Croatian forward over recent years and they will need him to hit form in Germany.
STRENGTHS: The Croatian team believe they have one of the best defences in the world. Their World Cup qualification campaign was based on clean sheets - they kept six in 10 games.
WEAKNESSES: Just as well that Croatia keep it tight at the back. Their two key victories over Sweden were both 1-0 wins, while a 0-0 draw in Hungary guaranteed their passage to Germany. If they were to concede early in the finals it could spell big trouble.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 27/5/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $81
GROUP: $7 |
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JAPAN
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 18 (As at April 2006) QUALIFICATION: Won Asia Stage 3 Group B BEST RESULT: 2nd Round 2002 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: 2nd Round COACH: ZICO (Brazilian) SQUAD:
KEEPERS: Yoshikatsu KAWAGUCHI (Jubilo Iwata, Japan), Yoichi DOI (Tokyo FC, Japan), Seigo NARAZAKI (Nagoya Grampus Eight, Japan)
DEFENDERS: Tsuneyasu MIYAMOTO (Gamba Osaka, Japan), ALEX (Urawa Reds, Japan), Yuji NAKAZAWA (Yokohama F-Marinos, Japan), Makoto TANAKA (Jubilo Iwata, Japan), Akira KAJI (Gamba Osaka, Japan), Keisuke TSUBOI (Urawa Reds, Japan), Yuichi KOMANO (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Japan)
MIDFIELDERS: Hidetoshi NAKATA (Bolton), Shunsuke NAKAMURA (Celtic), Shinji ONO (Urawa Reds, Japan), Junichi INAMOTO (West Brom), Koji NAKATA (FC Basel, Switzerland), Takahashi FUKUNISHI (Jubilo Iwata, Japan), Mitsuo OGASAWARA (Kashima Antlers, Japan), Yasuhito ENDO (Gamba Osaka, Japan)
FORWARDS: Atsushi YANASIGAWA (Kashima Antlers, Japan), Naohiro TAKAHARA (Hamburg, Germany), Masashi OGURO (Grenoble, France), Keiji TAMADA (Nagoya Grampus Eight, Japan), Seiichiro MAKI (JEF United Chiba, Japan)
PRESENT STAR MAN: Bolton's Hidetoshi Nakata remains the star
attraction, but it could be the turn of Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura to take centre stage if he can maintain the impressive form he has shown during his first season in Scottish football.
STRENGTHS: The Nakata-Nakamura-Ono triumvirate makes up Asia's best midfield and if you throw in West Brom's Junichi Inamoto things begin to look rosy...
WEAKNESSES: ...until we get to the strikers. Zico usually picks
Yanagisawa - when fit - and Eintracht Frankfurt-bound Naohiro Takahara, AKA "Der Sushi Bomber". Their respective club coaches usually don't.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 5/6/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $201
GROUP: $21 |
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OTHER GROUP PREVIEWS
GROUP A
GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D GROUP E |
SPECIAL THANKS goes to the team at The World Flag Database (http://www.flags.net) for the national flags that help make the images. |
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