The first round sees 11 preliminary matches between the lowest ranked nations, with qualifying beginning early in 2008. Stages One, Two and Three will be drawn at the Preliminary Draw in Durban, South Africa.

(Read full article…)

Grupo 1:
PORTUGAL, Suécia, Dinamarca, Hungria, Albânia e Malta.

Grupo 2:
Grécia, Israel, Suíça, Moldávia, Letónia e Luxemburgo.

Grupo 3:
República Checa, Polónia, Irlanda do Norte, Eslováquia, Eslovénia e San Marino.

Grupo 4:
Alemanha, Rússia, Finlândia, País de Gales, Azerbaijão e Liechteinstein.

Grupo 5:
Espanha, Turquia, Bélgica, Bósnia, Arménia e Estónia.

Grupo 6:
Croácia, Inglaterra, Ucrânia, Bielorrússia, Cazaquistão e Andorra.

Grupo 7:
França, Roménia, Sérvia, Lituânia, Áustria e Ilhas Féroe.

Grupo 8:
Itália, Bulgária, República Irlanda, Chipre Geórgia e Montenegro.

Grupo 9:
Holanda, Escócia, Noruega, Macedónia e Islândia.

Comment and analysis round up

Its day three in the search for a new England boss, but the likely candidates are all dropping like flies.

Martin O’Neill has ruled himself out of the running, saying “It is a straightforward decision for me to make. I want to be at Villa. I love the job and this is where I want to be. I have spoken to Randy Lerner. He wanted to clear up what he thought he had said last time about a hypothetical situation. But he can look after himself. He is a more intelligent man than me and he knows what he said. I have got a contract. They are not meaningless. The commitment is there. The moment I lose a game, Aston Villa people will be asking if I am committed, and I am committed to the cause. The last time I was not in that situation and I was flattered to be asked for an interview. Obviously I did not do very well. I was not expecting the same again this time around.”

Momentum seems to be building for Fabio Capello to take over the reins. Sid Lowe explains why this marriage of convenience could benefit both sides. “Capello does not speak English and, at 61, is not going to learn, his football lacks flowing style, and he dislikes the press. But he admires English football, believes that he can achieve something with the current squad and has nowhere else to go. He contemplated the USA job but remains unconvinced and has a dreadful relationship with Inter, the one big Italian club he is yet to manage. Calderon’s decision was one for which the FA, desperately seeking its own iron surgeon, could yet be grateful.”

Neil Ashston also speaks up for Capello. “The Italian is a football man through and through. He is not the type to sit in his office at Soho Square shuffling scouting reports, analysing ProZone statistics and casting half an eye up the secretary’s skirt. Who says? His right-hand man Franco Baldini, that’s who. ‘I have never understood why the England manager only watches matches in England,’ said Baldini yesterday. ‘He must see those players all the time — why don’t they travel to Europe to watch the best players playing for the best teams? It would help them build up a profile of the way teams are playing in Europe. International football is an extension of club football. It is very introspective.’”

(Read full article…)

Croatia rose to the occasion in their crucial Euro 2008 defeat of England - after an apparent X-rated gaffe by an English opera singer at Wembley.

Tony Henry belted out a version of the Croat anthem before the 80,000 crowd, but made a blunder at the end.

He should have sung ‘Mila kuda si planina’ (which roughly means ‘You know my dear how we love your mountains’).

But he instead sang ‘Mila kura si planina’ which can be interpreted as ‘My dear, my penis is a mountain’.

(Read full article…)

The 16 countries that will compete at Euro 2008 were finalised on Wednesday as four sides ensured qualification. Russia, Turkey, Sweden and Portugal secured the results that earned them a place in the finals and the teams will be placed into four groups of four.

Joint-hosts Austria and Switzerland are both top seeds for the draw and they will be joined by Euro 2004 winners Greece and Marco van Basten’s Holland.

The draw will take place on Sunday 2 December in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Pot One: Switzerland Austria Greece Holland

Pot Two: Croatia Italy Czech Republic Sweden

Pot Three: Germany Romania Portugal Spain

Pot Four: Poland France Turkey Russia

Alot has been said about Steven Mclaren’s ability to take England through the qualification stage of the Euro 2008 Championship. The day of reckoning has arrived, and it wasn’t without a dramatic turn of fate when Hiddink’s Russia went to Israel in total pole position to qualify, only to suffer the setback of all setbacks; suffering a goal in the final minute and lose to Israel. With Russia’s 3 dropped points, England could not believe their luck. A lifeline. Truly a sign from the heavens that England must participate in the Euro 2008.

As a rampant soccer fan and Premier League supporter, I do want to see England participate in this tournament. Without them, it would be similar to having an Olympics without the USA, or fries without ketchup.  It will do the game good and raise the profile of soccer globally to see England not only qualify but to be successful in the tournament.

From a personal point of view, I’d also like to see England justify the price tag of British football talent. On paper England’s squad probably exceeds a value of 500 million Euros (if you factor in Beckham’s current Galaxy contract). They have been given the chance to prove their worth on various global competitions and have yet to show anything for their efforts.

With Sven gone, I do not believe England have improved under new coach Mclaren. Their performances have been somewhat inconsistent, and regardless of today’s result, I do not think Mclaren will stay as coach.

Croatia has qualified already. Russia’s 2-1 defeat in Israel ensured England only need a draw tonight to qualify, while Croatia’s 2-0 loss in Macedonia means a two-goal win would take McClaren’s men through to the finals as section winners.

I believe England will show their worth today. The fans will be behind them, the stage is set for an amazing qualifying match that will be played as a final.

Good luck England.

For England Match details visit the England Match page:

WG.

Watch the South American World Cup 2010 Qualifiers on JumpTV.com

Don’t miss any action where you are, as long as you have a broadband connection. JumpTV.com will stream the game in high quality.

JumpTV ofrece dos velocidades para los suscriptores. Al momento de la compra del juego, las dos velocidades están disponibles para usted.

• 450k es la velocidad standard de las transmisiones de JumpTV y ofrece una buena calidad a 320×240.
• 1200 k (1.2megabits) : Transmisiones de Ultra-alta velocidad , que le ofrecerán la mejor calidad de video, pantalla completa en su computador. Asi mismo, si usted tiene un cable de s-video o algún otro que le facilite conectar su computador al TV , obtendrá una señal perfecta. Nota: algunos suscriptores posiblemente no tienen el suficiente ancho de banda en su hogar para recibir esta señal de Ultra-alta velocidad.

Dont’ miss Euro 2008 qualification action. It all comes down to the next few matches for most teams as they all fight for vital points to enter Europe’s prestigious Soccer Competition.

Watch the matches with high quality un-interupted streaming.
If your bandwidth is 512 kbps, you should visualize the streams at 450 kbps. - if your bandwidth is 1 Mbps or more, you can visualize the stream at an amazing 750 kbps.

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