Africa’s top footballers head wearily back from a demanding club season in Europe for an intensive month of World Cup qualifiers starting this weekend. Players like Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o, Frederic Kanoute, Nwankwo Kanu and Emmanuel Adebayor go from the cauldron of top club competition into an equally demanding round of qualifiers for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
Now is the time for budding Bafana Bafana stars to stand up and be counted as South Africa take on Nigeria in a tough 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier in Abuja on Sunday. Kick-off is at 5pm South African time. There is no Benni McCarthy, and three midfield aces in Teko Modise, Delron Buckley and Lerato Chabangu are all nursing an assortment of injuries.
Portsmouth reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 69 years on Saturday when a 54th-minute goal from Nwankwo Kanu gave them a 1-0 semifinal win over West Bromwich Albion at Wembley Stadium. Portsmouth will now play either Cardiff City or Barnsley, who meet in an all-Championship semifinal on Sunday, in the final at Wembley on May 17.
Football folk make the kind of throwaway remarks that would be alarming coming from anyone else. ”Some people think football is a matter of life and death,” Bill Shankly, the late Liverpool coach, once said. ”I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.”
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/ 15 February 2008
First things first: the best team won. Many, including myself, dismissed Egypt’s chances of defending their crown because of a ropey qualifying campaign and because they lost a number of important players from their 2006 squad. But the Pharaohs showed that their domestic league continues to cultivate quality footballers.
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/ 1 November 2007
Frank Lampard’s hat-trick helped League Cup holders Chelsea snatch a dramatic 4-3 win over Leicester on Wednesday. Avram Grant’s side were slipping towards an embarrassing fourth-round defeat against the managerless Championship side — who lost Gary Megson after just six weeks to Premiership strugglers Bolton — until Andriy Shevchenko equalised with three minutes to play.
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/ 16 September 2007
Arsenal pulled clear at the top of the English Premier League after coming from behind to beat north London rivals Tottenham 3-1 on Saturday. The victory at White Hart Lane left Arsene Wenger’s unbeaten side two points clear of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United as the upper end of the table took on a predictable look after a month of the new season.