Team news
Giovanni Trapattoni will have a horrendous task at hand to field an Irish team which is depleted by injuries to a number of players. West Bromwich Albion striker Shane Long heads the injury list and is joined by other Premier League stars including Stoke trio Marc Wilson, Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters, Wes Hoolahan, Aiden McGeady and Richard Dunne have also been also ruled out of the squad. Whereas Sunderland centre half John O’Shea pulled out of the squad for personal reasons.
Spain on the other hand have no injury concerns apart from Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso who withdrew from the squad after suffering a groin injury.
Team news
England vs Ireland represents Ashley Cole’s 102nd game for the Three Lions. However, it will offer him the opportunity to celebrate his 100th England national team cap by assuming captaincy throughout the game. Such is the decision of coach Roy Hodgson who affirmed that Ashley Cole’s Chelsea mate, Frank Lampard, was happy to lend the armband.
Daniel Sturridge has been a success at Liverpool with 10 goals in 14 appearances. Now that the season is over and that Roy Hodgson has several absences to deal with, the 23-year-old striker is set to receive a First XI spot at Wembley.
Miami Beach, Florida (February 5, 2013) – LiveSoccerTV.com has ensured its users with top quality information on live and repeat television broadcast listings in over 80 countries worldwide ahead of tomorrow’s international friendly matches across the globe.
Soccer fans have been treated with intense club football action since the beginning of the year. On February 6, players will don their country’s colours as a host of national teams keep building plans ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Big guns from South America and Europe are set to engage in thrilling friendly matches. Seven of the most gigantic clashes are Spain vs Uruguay, Netherlands vs Italy, Sweden vs Argentina, England vs Brazil, France vs Germany, Portugal vs Ecuador and Ireland Republic vs Poland.
The news surrounding this match has had more to do with injuries than with the match itself. Ireland has a longer list of injuries than does Germany. Sean St Ledger, Glenn Whelan, James McClean and Kevin Doyle have joined inspirational defender Richard Dunne on the sidelines. To cover for their absences, coach Giovanni Trapattoni has called up Ciaran Clark of Aston Villa, David Meyler of Sunderland and Robbie Brady of Manchester United.
Spain vs Italy
Italy are in the spotlight due to match fixing scandals but beating Spain on Sunday would positively switch the public’s attention from matters in the court room to issues on the pitch. Defeating the European champions is certainly not an easy task but this is what the Azzurri must do to ease their pain.
They have won only 2 of their last 9 UEFA Euro matches so where will Cesare Prandelli’s men find inspiration to succeed at the PGE Arena on Sunday?