2010 Football / Soccer World Cup - South Africa information dedicated to England and all football fans worldwide
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WORLD CUP 2010 SOUTH AFRICA LATEST NEWS
15/11/08 England squad named for Germany friendly - And there is no place for David Beckham or Michael Owen in the group of 23 for the crunch clash in Berlin on Wednesday. England will be travelling light to the German capital with Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand ruled out through injury and John Terry struggling with a knock.
Micah Richards returns for his first call up under Cappello as Manchester City players outnumber United players 3-1. Aston Villa trio Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies come in while Darren Bent's recent hot streak wins the Tottenham striker a recall.
Full Squad: Goalkeepers - David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (West Brom), Joe Hart (Man City)
Defenders: John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Cutis Davies (Aston Villa), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea - On Loan at Wolves), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Micah Richards (Man City)
Midfielders: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Michael Carrick (Man Utd)
Forwards: Darren Bent (Spurs), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Jermaine Defoe (Portsmouth), Peter Crouch (Portsmouth), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
22/10/08 Third round qualifying draw made for African zone - The twenty remaining teams in Africa have been split into 5 groups of four for the final round of qualifiers. The winners of each group will qualify for the World Cup finals.
Third and final qualifying round draw:
Group A: Togo, Cameroon, Morocco, Gabon, Group B: Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, Group C: Rwanda, Algeria, Egypt, Zambia, Group D: Ghana, Benin, Sudan, Mali, Group E: Ivory Coast, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Guinea.
16/10/08 Paraguay six points clear in South America - The latest round of South America qualifiers saw disappointment for Brazil - who were only able to draw 0-0 at home with Colombia - and Argentina who were beaten 1-0 by Chile. Paraguay capitalised on the failure of the big two by beating bottom side Peru 1-0 to take a major step towards South Africa. Latest results and table
In North and Central America and the Caribbean third round qualifying is almost complete. The top two from each of the three groups will make up a final group of six for the fourth round group phase. Latest results and tables: Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
15/10/08 Belarus 1 England 3 - England capped their best ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign with a solid performance in Minsk. After four games you can't ask for anything more than twelve points and the table looks pretty sweet tonight:
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS |
| ENGLAND | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 12 |
| Croatia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Belarus | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Kazakhstan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| Andorra | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
Bring on the Germans - November 19th in Berlin.
The fourth round of Asian qualifiers continues as Australia hammer Qatar and Japan draw with Uzbekistan in Group A. Four nations are on four points in Group B after the latest fixtures.
Asia Fourth Qualifying round fixtures and tables: Group A Group B
12/10/08 Second qualifying round in Africa completed - Twenty nations have qualified for the third round of Africa 2010 world cup qualifying. The successful teams are Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Zambia, Kenya, Benin, Rwanda, Togo, Mozambique, Sudan and Malawi.
The draw for the third round group phase will be made on 22nd October in Zurich. The twenty nations will be split into five groups of four. The winners of each group will qualify for the finals in South Africa.
11/10/08 England 5 Kazakhstan 1 - England maintained their 100% record in Group 6 as Kazakhstan were brushed aside at Wembley - but the scoreline doesn't tell the whole story of a strange evening under the arch.
Fabio Cappello had admitted before the game that he didn't know a lot about a much changed Kazakhstan outfit - and it showed as England toiled against the minnows, going in goalless at half-time without chalking up a shot on target.
Stand in skipper Rio Ferdinand settled England's nerves after the break, heading in Frank Lampard's corner, but England still couldn't find their rhythm - even after an Alexandr Kuchma own goal had gifted England a second.
What happened next is embarrassing for every England fan and makes you wonder if the throngs of supporters that filled Wembley tonight have any knowledge - or any class.
On 68 minutes, and under no pressure on the left touchline, Ashley Cole lazily lobbed the ball into the heart of his own defence. In a flash, Kazakhstan striker Zhambyl Kukeyev raced on to the ball and struck it into the corner. It was poor work from Cole - a player who has looked out of sorts in an England shirt for some time - and the idiots in the stands were not shy in showing their disappointment.
Cole's next touch was greeted with loud boos from thousands of so called England supporters - and continued for most of the game. England looked for all the world as if they were wilting as Kazakhstan pressed for an equaliser. It was only a Wayne Rooney header that steadied the ship and following the introduction of Beckham on 79 minutes, showing that he still has a right foot like a nine iron, England ended up winning easily. But there is a sour taste in the mouth tonight.
Ashley Cole may not be a likeable man. If you believe everything you read in the tabloids and/or are an Arsenal fan, then he is a thoroughly unlikeable man. But how can football fans boo their own players after a mistake?. Everybody makes mistakes. How do these fans think this behaviour is going to effect 19 year old Theo Walcott? Or any of the other players come to think of it.
There is a section of the England support that is a disgrace. England MUST play their next home game away from Wembley to weed these people out. Hopefully, the hugely embarrassing, incessant, and let's face it, just plain cheesy England band could also be weeded out.
5/10/08 England squad to face Kazakhstan and Belarus - Fabio Cappello tonight named his second competitive England squad and there is still no place for Michael Owen. Peter Crouch returns in place of Joe Cole who limped out of Chelsea's win over Aston Villa on Sunday. Scott Carson also wins a recall in place of injured Paul Robinson.
Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (West Brom), Robert Green (West Ham)
Defenders: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Matthew Upson (West Ham)
Midfielders: David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham)
Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Emile Heskey (Wigan), Peter Crouch (Portsmouth).
10/09/08 Theo Walcott hat-trick sinks Croatia - England sensationally moved top of group 6 tonight with a stunning 4-1 win in Zagreb. Table, fixtures and results
Group 6 Results - Croatia 1 England 4, Kazakhstan 1 Ukraine 3, Andorra 1 Belarus 3
For all World Cup qualifying groups in Europe with results and tables click here
Asia World Cup qualifying info fixtures and results
2010 World Cup qualifiers news archive
The 2010 World Cup will be held in South Africa after FIFA decided to host the competition on the African continent for the first time. South Africa won the nomination from unlucky bidders Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.
9 cities will host the games. Johannesburg, which will have two venues, will stage matches along with Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Polokwane and Rustenburg.
2010 World Cup Qualifying begins in 2008. The Qualification process involves six FIFA continental zones - Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, North America and Oceania.
32 teams will qualify for the final stages of the competition.
South Africa World Cup 2010 Host Cities
Follow England's progress in the Euro 2008 qualifiers at england2008.co.uk. All the latest Euro 2008 news and group tables as well as host city travel and tourist information and a full Euro 2008 timetable. click here
Additional information provided by Kevin Wilyman