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WHO WILL RULE THE WORLD????
GROUP B PREVIEW THANKS TO J-MO FOR THE STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES AND STAR MAN |
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MATCH SCHEDULE
10 JUNE 2006
MATCH 3: ENG vs PAR, Walstadion, Frankfurt, 3:00PM
MATCH 4: TRI vs SWE, Westfallonstadion, Dortmund, 5:00PM
15 JUNE 2006
MATCH 19: ENG vs TRI, FrankenStadion, Nuremburg, 6:00PM
MATCH 20: SWE vs PAR, Olympiastadion, Berlin, 9:00PM
20 JUNE 2006
MATCH 35: SWE vs ENG, Stadium Cologne, Cologne, 4:00PM
MATCH 36: PAR vs TRI, Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslauten, 4:00PM
NOTE: All times local German Tiime, Matches correspond to FIFA World Cup Match Schedule
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ENGLAND
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 10 (As at April 2006) QUALIFICATION: Won UEFA Group 6 BEST RESULT: WINNERS 1966 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: Quarter Finals
COACH: Sven Goran ERIKSSON (Swedish)
SQUAD:
KEEPERS: Paul ROBINSON (Tottenham), David JAMES (Manchester City), Robert GREEN (Norwich)
DEFENDERS: Gary NEVILE (Manchester United), Rio FERDINAND (Manchester United), Sol CAMPBELL (Arsenal), John TERRY (Chelsea), Jamie CARRAGHER (Liverpool), Ashley COLE (Arsenal), Wayne BRIDGE (Fulham on loan from Chelsea)
MIDFIELDERS: David BECKHAM (Real Madrid, Spain), Steven GERRARD (Liverpool), Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea), Owen HARGREAVES (Bayern Munich, Germany), Jermaine JENAS (Tottenham), Stewart DOWNING (Middlesbrough), Joe COLE (Chelsea), Aaron LENNON (Tottenham)
FORWARDS: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester United), Michael OWEN (Newcastle), Peter CROUCH (Liverpool), Theo WALCOTT (Arsenal)
PRESENT STAR MAN: Wayne Rooney. At just 20 years old he already has a huge influence on England's performance. Sven will be hoping he will be able to play at least some part this summer
STRENGTHS: The undoubted quality in all areas of the team. A balanced attack on offense and a very sound defensive unit.
WEAKNESSES: Despite the talent, the team all too often fails to gel and Eriksson faces a World Cup conundrum as to whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play in the same team.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 9/5/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $7
GROUP: $1.50 |
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PARAGUAY
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 33 (As at April 2006) QUALIFICATION: 4th in COMNEBOL Qualifying BEST RESULT: 2nd Round 1998, 2002
JAPAN/KOREA 2002: 2nd Round
COACH: Anibal RUIZ (Uruguayan)
SQUAD: TO BE NAMED
PRESENT STAR MAN: Roque Santa Cruz was leading his country's attack at the age of 17. Frequent injuries have interrupted his career and he is facing a struggle to recover from his latest breakdown in time for Germany - but when fit he gives the team a threat in the air and pace and skill on the ground.
STRENGTHS: Resilient team spirit and a blend between veterans of the last two World Cups and a new generation of talent which has been given its chance in recent months. There will be plenty of aerial strength in the opponent's penalty area.
WEAKNESSES: The defence is not quite the force it was. Gamarra will be 35 in Germany and he lacks a commanding stopper alongside him or a keeper who takes charge in the way that Chilavert used to.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 9/5/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $201
GROUP: $8 |
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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 47 (As at April 2006)
QUALIFICATION: 4th in CONCACAF Stage 3 qualifying, Beat Bahrain in AFC/CONCACAF playoff BEST RESULT: 1st appearance at the Finals in 2006 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: Failed to Qualify COACH: Leo BEENHAKKER (Dutch) SQUAD: TO BE NAMED PRESENT STAR MAN: Can only be Yorke. The 33-year-old ended his career in England with a whimper but he has genuine top-level experience and when his heart is in it is still a class performer.
STRENGTHS: The tactically astute Beenhakker gets the best out of a limited group of players and Yorke and Stern John both know where the back of the net is.
WEAKNESSES: Most of the players play at a low standard for their clubs and the leap to performing on the biggest stage of all could prove difficult to bridge.
ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 2/5/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $751
GROUP: $34 |
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SWEDEN
FIFA WORLD RANKING: 16 (As at April 2006) QUALIFICATION: 2nd in UEFA Group 8, advanced as a best 2nd placed team BEST RESULT: Runners Up 1958 JAPAN/KOREA 2002: 2nd Round COACH: Lars LAGERBACK (Swedish) SQUAD:
KEEPERS: Andreas ISAKSSON (Stade Rennes, France), John ALVBAGE (Viborg, Denmark), Rami SHAABAN (Frederikstaad, Norway)
DEFENDERS: Erik EDMAN (Stade Rennes, France), Petter HANSSON (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Teddy LUCIC (BK Hacken, Sweden), Olof MELLBERG (Aston Villa), Karl SVENSSON (IFK Gothenburg, Sweden), Mikael NILSSON (Panathinaikos, Greece), Frederik STENMAN (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)
MIDFIELDERS: Daniel ANDERSSON (Malmo, Sweden), Niclas ALEXANDERSSON (IFK Gothenburg, Sweden), Kim KALLSTROM (Stade Rennes, France), Tobias LINDEROTH (FC Copenhagen, Switzerland), Anders SVENSSON (Elfsborg, Sweden), Fredrik LJUNGBERG (Arsenal)
FORWARDS: Marcus ALLBACK (FC Copenhagen, Switzerland), Johan ELMANDER (Brondby, Denmark), Zlatan IBRAHIMOVICH (Juventus, Italy), Mattias JONSON (Djurgarden, Sweden), Henrik LARSSON (Barcelona, Spain), Markus ROSENBURG (Ajax, Netherlands) PRESENT STAR MAN: Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is powerful yet skilful. He also possesses a combustible temper. Ibrahimovic scored a 91st-minute goal in Sweden's crunch qualifying win over Hungary in Budapest.
STRENGTHS: Sweden have plenty going forward. In addition to Ibrahimovic they have Barcelona's Helsingborg-bound striker Henrik Larsson and Arsenal's Freddie Ljungberg, who is never short of goals from midfield.
WEAKNESSES: They might have only conceded four goals in qualifying but the right-back position remains up for grabs, while the central partnership of Mellberg and Teddy Lucic is not of the vintage of Joachim Bjorkland and Patrik Anderson. ODDS TO WIN (All prices courtesy of TAB Sportsbet Australia, current as of 2/5/2006):
TOURNAMENT: $51
GROUP: $3.25 |
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OTHER GROUP PREVIEWS
GROUP A
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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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