All-Injury Team

3 days to go and can Friday come any sooner?
I'm tired of waiting! Let's start the 2010 World Cup already!

No idea where I'm watching the first match between South Africa and Mexico.
I'll have more on that tomorrow.

For now, 3 posts today. So make sure to come back and check out the other material after reading this entertaining, enlightening post.

Today's big news concerns Portugal winger Nani, who's been ruled out of the 2010 World Cup with a collar bone injury.

Nani, who plays for English side Manchester United, suffered the injury in a training session with his national side in Portugal, before leaving for the tournament.

Bad news all around, as Nani is a wonderful talent.

But this tidbit got me to thinking: How many star players are going to miss the World Cup?

Take a look at this list of the injured and the doubtful ... You could field a nice team with all these guys. Also, lots of Germans and Chelsea players on this list, eh?

MICHAEL BALLACK, Germany

The German captain was ruled out of the Cup with an ankle injury after a late challenge during Chelsea's FA Cup final win over Portsmouth in May.

RIO FERDINAND, England

The England captain will miss the finals after injuring his knee in his country's first major training session in South Africa on Friday.

MICHAEL ESSIEN, Ghana

The Ghana midfielder suffered a knee injury at the African Cup of Nations in January and has failed to recover in time.

JOHN OBI MIKEL, Nigeria

The midfielder was forced out of the tournament with a badly bruised ankle suffered in Nigeria's first full contact training session in South Africa on Friday.

LASSANA DIARRA, France

The holding midfielder will not play in South Africa after being told he needed an extended rest because of persistent stomach pains which began during France's week-long training camp in the French Alps last month.

DAVID BECKHAM, England

England's most capped player ruptured his Achilles tendon playing for AC Milan in March.

RENE ADLER, Germany

Germany's first-choice goalkeeper underwent surgery on a rib injury in May and will play no part in the finals.

SIMON ROLFES, Germany

The midfielder ruled himself out of the World Cup after saying he was short of match fitness following knee surgery in January.

CHRISTIAN TRAESCH, Germany

The midfielder, who was considered a possible replacement for captain Michael Ballack, is out after injuring his ankle in a friendly at the squad's training camp in Italy.

HEIKO WESTERMANN, Germany

The defender will miss the tournament after fracturing a bone in his foot during a warm-up win over Hungary last week.

MIROSLAV KARHAN, Slovakia

Slovakia's most capped player has a hamstring injury and will miss his country's first World Cup appearance.

Doubtful


DIDIER DROGBA, Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast's fearsome striker underwent successful surgery on an injured elbow on Saturday but remains a doubt for the finals. Drogba picked up the injury in a World Cup warm-up against Japan on Friday.

ARJEN ROBBEN, Netherlands

The Dutch winger needs a scan to determine the extent of a hamstring injury he suffered in a 6-1 friendly thrashing of Hungary on Saturday.

ANDREA PIRLO, Italy

The Italian midfielder will miss the defending champions' opening game of the tournament against Paraguay, and possibly the whole tournament, after injuring his calf in Thursday's 2-1 friendly defeat by Mexico.

HARRY KEWELL, Australia

The Australian winger has hardly played since December because of a troublesome groin injury.

TIM BROWN, New Zealand

It is unknown if the New Zealand vice-captain will recover in time from surgery on a fractured shoulder suffered in the friendly defeat to Australia last month.

HUMBERTO SUAZO, Chile

Chile's leading striker will reportedly miss their opening World Cup match against Honduras and possibly the second game with Switzerland because of a hamstring injury.

LEE DONG-GUK, South Korea

The South Korean striker was named in the final 23-man squad despite concerns over a thigh problem which is expected to keep him out of their opening game against Greece on June 12.

The Importance of the Game

Two stories today give us a glimpse at the importance people place on football in Africa.

First comes this emotional story from the Sudan (pic, left), whose national problems have become an international cause.

Hundreds of screaming and dancing Sudanese fans welcomed their national team home after qualifying for their first African Nations Cup finals in 32 years.

Sudan beat Seychelles 2-0 in an away match on Saturday and even if these lose their last qualifying match against Group Four leaders Tunisia, they are effectively through to the finals in Ghana next year as one of the top three group runners up.

Thousands of supporters of the Nile Crocodiles met the team on arrival at Khartoum airport.

"This is not just a win for the team, but for all of the people of Sudan," defender Khalid Hassan Ali said, as the players emerged one by one to be engulfed by drumming, singing fans.

"I'm so happy I want to scream out "I am Sudanese" and die for my country," said student Abdel Salaam el-Sir.

"Normally the media talk about politics, but now this is a different side to Sudan, and we are proud," said al-Rashid al-Tayyib.

Sudan were champions in 1970 and the Confederation of African Football was founded in Khartoum in 1957.

Riot police fought off fans to allow players, who were carried aloft by dozens of people, to get into waiting cars.

"I was so happy I broke the television," screamed one labourer, draped in the Sudanese flag and shaking his shoulders in a triumphant traditional dance.

"There are no words to describe this feeling."

It's a beautiful story that illustrates the compassionate side of the game. Football allows people to feel diversion and pride in a place they call home, even though that place is going through divisive strife.

The next story comes from the BBC and involves Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who has pledged to assist Uganda unearth a new generation of African football stars.

The Manchester United ace has completed a three-day tour of the country at the invitation of Proline Soccer Academy.

Ferdinand had the rare chance of meeting Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni at the State House in Nakasero.

He vowed to help promote the activities of the academy to European clubs and also help in developing local talent.

"I am certainly going to help develop the Ugandan kids because they have the talent. I will help the academy," Ferdinand said.

"I would like to see Uganda produce players like Ivorian Didier Drogba and Ghana's Michael Essien in the future.

"I have come here to help the kids. That's the most important, to give them skills and inspiration of becoming important people and not only in football but in life as well."

President Museveni promised to help the Proline Soccer Academy by offering land to expand the facilities of the school.

He also vowed to waive taxes on goods being importing for purposes of developing football in Uganda.

Proline Soccer Academy is managed by former Ugandan international Mujib Kasule.

This is an important story on two fronts.
1 - It's wonderful that Ferdinand and his counterparts recognize the abilities of the African players. More and more, the Africans are being respected for their vast footballing knowledge. Ferdinand's star power will only help shed more light and more exposure on the continent's riches.

2 - President Museveni is waiving taxes on goods imported for the purpose of developing the game in his country. Can you imagine that happening in the United States? Bush waiving taxes for the development of baseball, for example? Or soccer even? It's an amazing move and another example of the sway the sport holds over some nations.

Amazing things happening in the world of soccer ...