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.

Confederations Cup Round-up

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The African Champions League took place this week but we're going to focus instead on the 'little brother' of African continental competitions, the Confederations Cup.

Here's a quick re-cap of this weekend's African Confederations Cup action, thanks to our friends at the BBC.

A Nigerian club coach had to be rescued by police and another quit on a disastrous weekend for the country in the Confederation Cup.

Police smuggled Kwara United coach Kafaru Alabi away from the Township Stadium in the central town of Ilorin as supporters vented their anger at a 1-1 Group B draw with Ismailia of Egypt.

Dolphin were humiliated 6-1 in the same pool away to Al-Merreikh of Sudan, prompting coach Ifeanyi Onyedika to resign while travelling to the team hotel in Khartoum.

CS Sfaxien of Tunisia appear the team to beat in Group A after whipping Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa 4-0 with Ivorian striker Blaise Kouassi scoring twice.

And the deadliest finisher in African club football, Mbuti Mapi from TP Mazembe of the DR Congo, raised his goal tally to 15 by scoring twice in a 2-1 home win over Astres Douala of Cameroon.

Merreikh lead Group B with four points followed by Dolphin (three), Ismailia (two) and Kwara (one) while it is even closer in Group A with Sfaxien (four) just ahead of Mazembe and Sundowns (three each) and Astres have one.

Group winners after the six-round mini-leagues advance to the final and early form suggests Merreikh and Sfaxien could contest the US$300,000 first prize over two legs in November.

Edward Weng gave Kwara a first-half lead only for Mohamed Fadl to level 15 minutes from full-time and although the visitors lacked sacked French coach Patrice Neveu they came close to securing maximum points in a frenetic finish.

When the final whistle sounded police raced to protect Alabi and took him away in a heavily guarded truck as Ilorin once again witnessed the ugly side of African football.

Kwara defeated Mouloudia Alger of Algeria and Union Douala of Cameroon in ill-tempered qualifiers at the Township Stadium with match officials attacked by visiting players.

Former Dolphin stars Endurance Idahor and Efosa Eguakun sparkled as a multi-national Merreikh team guided by Togo 2006 World Cup coach Otto Pfister ran riot in the second half to score three times within five minutes.

After cutting the deficit to 2-1 via a Victor Ezeji header two minutes after half-time, Dolphin had leading scorer Bola Bello sent off for elbowing an opponent.

Merreikh captain and Sudan international Faisal Ajab led the goal charge with two and Mujahid Mohamed, Musa al-Tayeb, Idahor and Mohamed Ali were also on target.

Sundowns did not know what hit them in the Mediterranean city of Sfax with Kouassi scoring after 90 seconds and Blaise Mbele from the DR of Congo adding a second in the eighth minute.

Kouassi took advantage of slack marking to head a third Sfaxien goal with 29 minutes gone and second-half pressure Sundowns was thwarted by goalkeeper Lotfi Saidi before Naby Soumah added the fourth in stoppage time.

Mabi gave Mazembe a first-minute lead in Kinshasa, Amia Ekanga levelled midway thorugh the first half and the prolific Congolese scorer hit the 61st-minute winner.

And I Thought the Super Bowl Was a Big Deal: More Ghana-Nigeria

The Super Bowl was an amazing game for gridiron fans.
Drama.
Intensity.
A story line of good vs. evil that couldn't be believed.

Still, this pales in comparison to the match-up that took place in Ghana on Sunday between Ghana and Nigeria.

Here, a taste from Jeff Klein of the New York Times' Goal blog about the fall out from Ghana's 2-1 victory over Nigeria.

There were two Super Bowls happening in the world on Sunday — the one in America with the Giants of gridiron football, and the one in Africa with the two giants of African football: Ghana vs. Nigeria. Both games were amazing.

No rivalry anywhere on the continent is as intense as the one between the Black Stars of Ghana and the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and when they met Sunday at a packed Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, a berth in the African Cup semifinals was on the line. Nigeria went ahead 1-0, but Ghana rallied on goals from Chelsea’s Michael Essien and, while down a man, from Nottingham Forest’s Junior Agogo to beat the Super Eagles for only the second time in tournament history, 2-1. Highlights are here:

The victory was not only huge for Ghana in the tournament, it was huge in the Ghanaian imagination. As the Accra Daily Mail put it, “Wow!“, and within hours of the Black Stars’ triumph over their West African rivals, this song was cooked up (“These Nigerian suckas think they can come here and score, so we discipline them”). That was a response to this Nigerian joint, which was recorded before the game and told how “When Nigeria catch Ghana we go hammer them”.

As it turns out, it was the Super Eagles who got hammered, or, as The Guardian of Lagos put it, the Super Chickens.

Meanwhile back in Ghana the celebrations went on unabated. In Tamale, according to Ghana News Agency, citizens “of all ages went into joyful celebration with the noise pervading the air as though the people of Dagbon were celebrating their annual fire festival“, even as, elsewhere in the country, “Fans go gay in Sekondi”. Finally, if you think Ghanaian news organization are above gloating over knocking off Nigeria, have a look at this page and think again.

I tell you, I am falling in love with the majesty of the African game. It's intense on so many different levels than the European or even South American game is.

From my uneducated perspective, African football is on the verge of making a MAJOR breakthrough. I'm not saying a 2010 World Cup victory. But more fans will be more aware of the quality of this continent's football. It's right around the corner.

I hope I can shed even a small light on the beauty that is African soccer.

Beckham and Ghana's Us

2010 World Cup, football, soccer, USA, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Uruguay, Paraguay, Italy, Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Ghana, Brazil, Germany, France, England, Slovenia, Korea Republic, Mexico, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Korea DPR, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Portugal, USA, Uruguay, Switzerland, Honduras, Greece, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria

'Tomorrow in Los Angeles, the U.S. mainstream world is going to be introduced to the biggest soccer star to come to America since Pele in the 1970s when David Beckham is announced as a new member of the Galaxy in Major League Soccer.'

So says Orlando Sentinel journalist Brant Parsons concerning the move of football's most recognizable player to the United States.

This blog doesn't deal with American issues too often, but this story is huge and deals specifically with the burgeoning football market in the United States.

Beckham's move is huge and I've dealt with the issues and complications of it in previous posts.

What's intriguing to me as far as this blog goes is the mainstream coverage of soccer in the States.

You don't see anything about the sport most days. 'Copa America semifinals? What's that? Champions League? Who?'

But Beckham's arrival is front-page news. It could be the shove America needs to make football a mainstream sport as this article suggests.

Let's hope so. The article makes some valid points and is an interesting read.
The only thing we can do is wait and see. The American sporting public is quite fickle. Once they figure out Beckham is not a scoring machine, the backlash to 'that boring sport' could be brutal.
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The first African representative to play in the Under-20 World Cup has crashed out. Gambia's 'Young Scorpions' were beaten by Austria 2-1 last night in Edmonton.

Substitute Erwin Hoffer scored the late match-winner to put the Europeans through to the quarter-finals.

Gambia's fortunes in its debut tournament took a blow when midfielder Tijan Jaiteh was sent off for a second yellow card in the 43rd minute.

Two minutes later, Austria scored when the free kick was headed in by Sebastian Proedl.

Austria will now go on to meet the United States, who beat Uruguay 2-1 in extra time to progress to the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

The Czech Republic and Spain have also qualified for the quarter-finals.

Africa's hopes now lie with Zambia, Nigeria and Congo.

Zambia play Nigeria this afternoon while Congo meets Mexico tonight.

African Champions League Update

The African Champions League resumed this weekend with some group action around the continent.

Al Ahly stayed on track for a record third consecutive African Champions League title with a 1-0 victory over Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan on Sunday.

Ace midfielder Mohamed Aboutraika (pictured) scored after 40 minutes in the Group B second-round clash to lift the 'Red Devils' of Egypt five points clear of Asec and Tunisian side Esperance.

Success was particularly sweet for Ahly, who were lucky to lose only 2-1 at Asec in the semi-finals last year having established a two-goal first-leg lead at home.

Collecting maximum points from arguably the toughest of their six group fixtures completed a wonderful week for five-time Champions League title holders Ahly.

Last Monday they came from behind three times to pip fierce Cairo rivals Zamalek 4-3 after extra time in the Egyptian Cup final and complete a second consecutive domestic double.

Ahly made six changes from the team that left it late before overcoming Al-Hilal of Sudan 2-0 in Cairo two weeks ago in the opening round of Group B action.

Among those introduced by Portuguese coach Manuel Jose was cultured Angolan midfielder Felisberto 'Gilberto' Amaral after an 18-month injury layoff that threatened to end his football career.

Gilberto fitted neatly into an Ahly team that soaked up first-half pressure before going ahead when Aboutraika pounced on a headed pass and goalkeeper Vincent Angban stood motionless as a low shot hit the net.

French coach Patrick Liewig rang the second-half Asec changes, sending on Marc Dion, Nigerian Mutiu Adegoke and Serge Deble to bolster the attack, but veteran Ahly goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary was rarely troubled.

"We played well, there is no shame in losing to Ahly," Liewig said.

"They have much more experience than us, that is the difference. I don't want to disrepect my team, they played very well."

In Sunday's other Group B match, Al Hilal of Sudan beat Tunisia's Esperance 2-0 in Omdurman, with Nigerian import Ndubuisi Eze scoring twice.

His first was set up by compatriot Kelechi Osunwa whose dribbling outfoxed the Esperance defence before he crossed for Eze to finish on 29 minutes.

The second saw Eze burst clear of the Tunisian defenders, pushing forward in added time for an equaliser, and beat Esperance goalkeeper Hamdi Kasraoui to a loose ball.

Esperance had few chances in their first outing under new coach Faouzi Benzarti, who replaced Frenchman Jacky Dugueperoux.

He was fired after the Tunis club was held at home in the opening group match by Asec last month.

(Thanks to the BBC for this information.)

I Finally Saw a Match: Ghana-Nigeria

So after all this time writing about African football and my journey to the 2010 World Cup final, I finally got to see an African football match. And it didn't dissapoint.

Ghana-Nigeria was as good as it gets. Drama. Something on the line. Genuine antagonism. A boiling cauldron of a crowd. All the elements were there for a great football match. I can honestly say it was one of the better ones I've seen in some time.

I arrived early to grab a seat at my local football bar, Nevada Smith's. I figured many people wouldn't be there to watch the match, the bar being Irish and all. But I was wrong. By kickoff time, the place was jam-packed with Nigerians, Ghanaians and other fans curious to see the action. The place was hot and sweaty with anticipation.

The screen shots were poor. It was as if the game was being funneled to us from someone's iPhone. But the sound was excellent and we could hear the crowd pulsate with every neat ball flick and every near goal.

Here are some thoughts I jotted down from my first African football experience:

- There's loads of talent on both sides. This Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie is quite good! Where does he play?

- Yakubu is not a good finisher. He had two good opportunities in the first half and fluffed them both.

- In the first half, Nigeria had opportunities but no real penetration. They played long-ball style, which to my untrained eye means they lack confidence in their midfield.

- A penalty! The throng at the bar exploded, so I didn't catch what he called. Was it a hand-ball? Yakubu finished that one, though. 1-0 to the Super Eagles.

- Ghana has loads of possession but no real shots to show for it.

- Strike my words! Goal by Essien! Beautiful header!

- It's a scrappy game, lots of hard fouls. It's clear these teams do not like each other.

- The Ghana goalie comes off his line to head a ball out of the offensive zone only to leave his net unattended. The ball comes in, the goalie runs back and *just* flicks the ball over the net. Great save!

- The 2nd half was much quicker, fast-paced and dramatic than the 1st half. They turned the engines on.

- Red card! A mental lapse or what some may call a 'professional foul' by Ghana captain Mensah. Ghana will need all their resolve to hold off Nigeria being down to 10 men.

- I can't say Ghana is playing for a draw. 10-man Ghana is still attacking with poise. They're being given loads of space by the Nigerian defense.

- The referee isn't very good. His personality is taking over the game.

- Ghana striker Agogo missed a sitter!

- Strike my words again! He scores a fabulous goal! The crowd goes wild in Ghana and at the bar! I am being doused with beer and hugged by strangers!!

- Who is down to 10 men here? Ghana look the better of the two.

- 89th minute and Nigeria is furiously battling for the equaliser. They're coming close!

- And it's over! Ghana are through!

What a game! What an atmosphere ... I really enjoyed my first-ever African football experience ... can't wait to see more!!

Super Sunday: Ghana v. Nigeria

This weekend sees the traditional American holiday known as 'Super Sunday'.

It's not a true holiday, but in every sense of the word, the Super Bowl has become a veritable celebration in American culture. The American football championship is amplified even more for me personally, as I'm in New York City and the New York Giants (who actually play in the neighboring state, New Jersey ... don't ask) are in the game.

Huge game. Big celebration. Lots at stake.

But if you're a soccer fan, there's another monster fixture on the schedule: Ghana v. Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations.

Being an African football amateur, I'm not sure of the history and drama behind this game.

To better explain the significance, I hand the reigns of this blog over to the BBC's Farayi Mungazi, who has a much wider perspective on this tie.

Should be a spicy sports day for us football fans, both soccer and gridiron aficionados. Can't wait!

African football has over the years served up its fair share of compelling rivalries, but Ghana versus Nigeria outshines them all.

These two nations just love to knock the living daylights out of each other (in anything), but more so on a football pitch.

In my opinion, their rivalry is the one by which all others are measured and the Africa Cup of Nations will heat up on Sunday when they collide in a quarter-final tie in Accra.

As one Ghanaian journalist put it on TV the other day, "this is the only game that matters to every Ghanaian".

There is, indeed, something tasty about a confrontation between these two West African neighbours - particularly at the Nations Cup – where more than bragging rights is at stake.

“We Nigerians just love to beat Ghana even though they taught us the game in the first place,” said Segun Odegbami, a member of Nigeria’s 1980 Nations Cup winning side.

We can argue endlessly about the football pedigrees of these two arch-rivals but there can be no question about the interest and passion this fixture invokes in both countries.

So, come Sunday, fans in both countries will decorate their faces, put on their national colours and perform whatever rituals needed to spur their teams to victory.

There is no bad blood between Ghanaians and Nigerians – just a deep-rooted desire to be regarded as both the regional and continental top dogs.

There is an element of respect to this rivalry, though, with Nigeria envying Ghana’s four Nations Cup titles and Ghana envying the success of Nigerian players abroad.

Sunday will not be the first time these two teams have met at the Nations Cup – they have confronted each other five times at African football’s flagship tournament.

Their last meeting was as recent as the 2006 finals in Egypt where the Super Eagles won 1-0 in the group stage, to add to their previous victories in 1984 and 2002.

Ghana’s only win came at the 1992 finals, courtesy of a magical goal from Abedi Pele, but the Black Stars have not beaten their rivals in a competitive fixture since.

Not surprisingly, I have lost count of the number of Nigerians who gleefully point out that “history is against Ghana” going into Sunday’s showdown at the Ohene Djan stadium.

Overall, the two teams have met 59 times. Ghana lead with 24 wins to Nigeria’s 16, with the other 19 matches ending in draws.

That said, there is no point in denying the fact that the 60th confrontation sees the Black Stars take on a Nigerian side that looked extremely vulnerable in their group campaign.

But one cannot help having the impression that despite their woeful form thus far, the Super Eagles are still capable of turning this Nations Cup on its head.

A Key Test for South Africa Nigeria Advances

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Football stars past and present will be on hand in Cape Town, South Africa next Wednesday for the "90 Minutes for Mandela" match to be played in honor of the great Nelson Mandela's 89th birthday.

The match will feature an African XI tackling a World XI and feature the likes of former South African captain Lucas Radebe, three-time African footballer of the year Samuel Eto'o, former European player of the year Ruud Gullit, and former Spanish star Emilio Butragueno (also known as "The Vulture"). Also on hand will be quite possibly the greatest player of all time, Pele.

2010 World Cup Chief Organizer Danny Jordaan said next week's match in Cape Town is a 'key test' for the city ahead of the World Cup.

Jordaan was addressing the media regarding the match. ‘As we move towards preparing for and hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we celebrate Madiba's (Mandela's nickname) birthday in recognition of his personal contribution and sacrifices to help South Africa and the African continent host its first World Cup.'

Let's hope the game goes off without a hitch. According to reports, only 10,000 tickets out of 50,000 have been sold. If you're in Cape Town, get to the stadium!! It's for a good cause (proceeds from the game will go to programs which use soccer to develop educational, health and social programmes among the young), it's in honor of one of humanity's greatest gifts (Nelson Mandela) and Pele will be there!

Just look at these lineups, courtesy of the BBC:

Africa XI

Coaches: Jean Manga (CMR) Jomo Sono (RSA)

Goalkeepers: Badou Zaki (MOR) Jacques Songo'o (CMR)

Defenders: Austin Eguavoen (NGA) Mark Fish (RSA) Stephen Keshi (NGA) Doctor Khumalo (RSA) David Obua (UGA) Stephen Tataw (CMR) Okechukwu Uche (NGA)

Midfielders/Attackers: Abedi Pele (GHA) Daniel Amokachi (NGA) Kalusha Bwalya (ZAM) Samuel Eto'o (CMR) Hossam Hassan (EGY) Lomana LuaLua (DRC) Rabah Madjer (ALG) Pedro Mantorras (ANG) Phil Masinga (RSA) François Oman Biyik (CMR) Dennis Oliech (KEN) Samson Siasia (NGA) George Weah (LBR)

Team colours: White/White/White

Rest of the World XI

Coaches: Roy Hodgson (ENG) (current Finland coach) Claude Le Roy (FRA) (current Ghana coach)

Goalkeeper: Andoni Zubizaretta (ESP)

Defenders: Zoubaier Baya (TUN) Christian Karembeu (FRA) Gary Mabbutt (ENG) Patrick M'Boma (CMR) Santos Muntubile (DRC) Lucas Radebe (RSA)

Midfielders/Attackers: Ali Daei (IRN) Emilio Butragueno (ESP) Stéphane Chapuisat (SUI) Youssouf Fofana (FRA/CIV) Julen Guerrero (ESP) Ruud Gullit (NED) Joo Sung Kim (KOR) Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo (BRA) Pele (BRA) Fernando Redondo (ARG) Wynton Rufer (NZL) Iván Zamorano (CHI)

Team colours: Black/Black/Black
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Kudos to the Nigerian U-20's, who successfully made their way to the quarterfinals of the Under-20 World Cup by defeating fellow continent mates Zambia, 2-1.
The eagerly-anticipated all-African showdown in Ottawa, Canada did not take long to get going.

Nigeria, runners-up at Netherlands 2005, struck the first blow after just three minutes, a powerful header from Uwa Echiejile doing the damage.

Zambia, meanwhile, appeared somewhat out of their depth, keeper Jacob Banda having to be at his agile best to prevent the Flying Eagles extending their lead.

However, a moment's indecision in the Nigerian backline let in Emmanuel Mayuka, who crossed for Rodgers Kola to level the game on the 33-minute mark.

The stormy conditions that had plagued the first half eased after the interval, the sun finally emerging from behind the clouds.

And with it came the decisive goal, Chukwuma Akabueze powering home a strike on 57 minutes worthy of winning any game. 'I'm very happy to have scored. I'm always trying to catch keepers out from distance, but it hadn't worked for me until now. We want to win the title,' said Akabueze, pictured celebrating.

The scoreline would stay that way, despite the host of clear-cut chances that fell to both sides before the 90 minutes were up.

Next up for the Flying Eagles is a trip to Montreal, where they will face Chile in the quarter-finals.

The Copper Bullets, for their part, can make the long journey back to Lusaka with their heads held high.

Meanwhile, Congo are also heading home following their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico in the other game on Thursday.

Nigeria is the lone African representative. Go on, lads!