Spain is looking good with six points in European Group 5 as they lead Turkey and Belgium by two points. Spain has not lost in 25 games and will look to continue their unbeaten streak at Estonia and Belgium.

England has started World Cup qualifying strong and could remain unbeaten with wins against Kazakhstan and Belarus. Coach Fabio Capello has left Michael Owen off the squad for those two matches while recalling Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Manchester City manager Mark Hughes was happy that Wright-Phillips was rewarded. “It is just reward for an outstanding start he has made to the resumption of his City career,” Hughes said, “He came back to a club he knows well, he is playing with a smile on his face and both Shaun and the club are benefiting from that. He came back here as a much better player with more experience and he understands what it takes to affect the game in a positive manner. He’s been able to do that, but he’s a great guy who works extremely hard for his teammates and his work ethic is without question. Mr. Capello has recognized those qualities and that’s why he is back in.” With wins over Kazakhstan on Saturday and in Belarus next Wednesday the England team would be in good shape to qualify for the World Cup.

Defending champion Italy is dealing with injuries as Gianluigi Buffon, Mauro Camoranesi, Andrea Pirlo, Fabio Grosso and Marco Materazzi have all missed matches. Italy has called up Giuseppe Ross from Villarreal. “He’s ready. I would have called him up before,” Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. “He’s 21 but he has a lot of maturity and international experience.”

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Portugal is looking to Ronaldo to get them going in Group 1. They lost at home 3-2 to Denmark and now really need to defeat Sweden and group leader Albania.

World Cup contender Germany will be trying for victories against Russia and Wales this week while France is in desperate need of a win at Romania if they want to make it to South Africa.

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The match was completely dominated by England. Terry headed in David Beckham’s free kick in the 38th minute to give England the lead. Gerrard made it 2-0 taking a Gareth Barry pass in the 59th minute. The match was attended by only 71,233 fans, the smallest England crowd since the stadium was rebuilt and reopened a year ago.

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England had a very experienced team that kept control of the match from the beginning. England nearly scored in the 11th minute but referee Kyros Vassaras blew the whistle forcing a second free kick after England would have scored on the first one. Beckham proved that he still has a lot left as he set up a number of good chances for England in the first half. He did not play the second half.

England could easily have scored more goals. Jermaine Defoe was stopped in the second half but minutes later he found Barry who got the ball through the American defense to Gerrard who easily put it past goalkeeper Brad Guzan who replaced Tim Howard at the half.

The 2-0 win over the U.S. was the best that England has looked under new coach Fabio Capello. The English squad had a 2-1 win over Switzerland and a 1-0 defeat to France in Capello’s other games at the helm. It will be a tough summer for England since they will not be part of Euro 2008.

England next faces Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain on Sunday evening while the U.S. team takes on Spain on June 4th.

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The interesting friendlies on Wednesday have Spain facing Italy, France vs. England; Poland vs. the United States and Sweden vs. Brazil. The United State roster was announced and includes Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson. Landon Donovan will be making his 99th international appearance for the United States. Defender Jonathan Spector also is on the roster after starting for the U.S. under-23 team. The coach’s son, Heerenveen midfielder Michael Bradley is also on the team. The U.S. is 3-14-3 in Europe since April 1999. The U.S. team beat Sweden 2-0 and tied Mexico 2-2 in its first two games this year. The United States opens World Cup qualifying against Barbados or Dominica on June 15 at Carson, Calif. Poland is part of the Euro Championship in a group with Austria, Germany and Croatia. Poland and the U.S. last played in March 2006 with the U.S. winning 1-0 in a match played in Germany.

Spain is trying to get their roster organized as coach Luis Aragones called up Getafe midfielder Ruben De La Red and dropped FC Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic. Barcelona defender Carles Puyol returns from injury but Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez is still out. Gonzalez is Spain’s all-time leading scorer with 44 goals in 102 games. He has not played for Spain since 2006. Italy will have Marco Borriello and Luca Toni. Borriello leads the scoring in Italy’s Serie A with 17 goals. Italy and Spain last met in 2004 and played to a 1-1 draw.

France is dealing with a lot of injuries. Strikers Karim Benzema, Thierry Henry and Louis Saha are out. France coach Raymond Domenech has called up midfielders Mathieu Bodmer and Mathieu Valbuena and defenders Mathieu Delpierre and Adil Rami. “I wanted to broaden (the squad) completely,” Domenech said. “I wanted the maximum number of players to keep my options open and to cover potential injuries.” England may have David Beckham for the match. Beckham is looking to make his 100th international appearance.

Sweden will be missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has a knee injury. The Inter Milan striker will be replaced by Sunderland’s Rade Prica. “We agreed that it’s best for him to take the chance to get some rehab,” Sweden coach Lars Lagerback said, “He’s played a number of matches now on pain killers.” Brazil will be missing Kaka who will be replaced by Manchester United midfielder Anderson. Sweden and Brazil have met 13 times, including seven in the World Cup. Brazil has won eight of those thirteen matches with three draws.

Other matches that involve teams that are playing in the European Championships have Switzerland vs. Germany; Austria vs. Netherlands; Romania vs. Russia; and Portugal vs. Greece. Other friendlies on Wednesday have the Czech Republic at Denmark, Croatia at Scotland, Turkey at Belarus, Ukraine vs. Serbia; Bulgaria vs. Finland; Montenegro vs. Norway; Hungary vs. Slovenia; Estonia vs. Canada; and Slovakia vs. Iceland.

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Fabio Capello replaces Steve McLaren, who was dismissed from his post as head coach when England failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals which will be held in Austria and Switzerland. Fabio Capello, a 61 year-old Italian, becomes England’s second foreign manager. Prior to Fabio Capello, Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson once coached England.

Fabio Capello’s latest achievement includes leading Real Madrid to the 2006-2007 Spanish La Liga championship. However, Capello was sacked despite the achievement. Apart from that, Fabio Capello once led AC Milan to four Italian Serie A championships and a UEFA Champions League title. He also won an Italian Serie A championship with AS Roma in 2001. Cappello also helped Juventus capture two Italian Serie A championships before the club was stripped from their titles following the 2006 match-fixing scandal.

Capello hasn’t had any employment since then, but certainly his successful career is something that England fans hope will rub off on their national team. Fabio Capello’s first test as the new coach of the England national football team will be a friendly against Switzerland this coming February 2008 at the Wembley Stadium in London. The first real competitive action for England though will be for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which will kick off on September 2008.

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, England will be in the European Qualifying Group 6 along with Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. Odds that England will top the European Qualifying Group 6 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup have been put as:

England 4/5

Odds on who will win the 2010 FIFA World Cup are as follows:

Brazil 4/1

Argentina 5/1

Italy 9/1

England 11/1

Germany 11/1

To find out more about 2010 FIFA World Cup futures betting odds, then click here.

England: David Beckham of LA Galaxy, Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, Frank Lampard of Chelsea, Wayne Rooney of Manchester United, Micah Ricahrds of Manchester City, Ashley Cole of Chelsea, Michael Owen of Newcastle United.

Croatia: Eduardo of Arsenal FC, Bosko Balaban of Dinamo Zagreb, Darijo Srna of Shakhtar Donetsk, Mladen Petric of Borussia Dortmund, Jerko Leko of AS Monaco, Niko Kranjcar of Portsmouth FC, Niko Kovac of Red Bull Salzburg.

Ukraine: Andriy Schevchenko of Chelsea, Andriy Voronin of Liverpool, Ruslan Rotan of Dynamo Kyiv, Maksym Kalynychenko of Spartak Moscow, Serhiy Rebrov of Dynamo Kyiv, Andriy Vorobei of Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Odds to Qualify to 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa from Group 6:

Croatia 7/4

England 4/5

Ukraine 6/1

Belarus 100/1

Kazakhstan 500/1

Andorra 2500/1

Croatia opened the scoring as early as the 8th minute when Croatia’s Niko Kranjcar unleashed a shot to beat England goal keeper Scott Carson, who replaced England’s regular starting keeper Paul Robinson. On the 14th minute, Croatia doubled their lead through Croatia’s Ivica Olic who finished a clinical counterattack to make the score 2-0 entering the end of the first half.

In the second half, England head coach Steve McLaren brought in $250 Million Dollar man David Beckham in the hopes of gaining a comeback. Shortly after, England were able to get on the score board when Frank Lampard converted a penalty kick on a foul committed by Croatia’s Josip Simunic on England’s Jermain Defoe. On the 65th minute, England’s Peter Crouch drew the score level at 2-2 when Crouch collected a cross from David Beckham and volleyed it into the corner of the net.

England looked to gain the momentum with the help of the home crowd support just enough to hold a draw and collect enough points to steal the last qualifying spot from Russia. However, on the 77th minute, it was Croatia who were able to break the tie when Croatia’s substitutes combined to score a goal. Croatia substitutes Danijel Pranjic slipped a pass to teammate Mladen Petric, who fired a 25-meter shot to beat England keeper Scott Carson and make the score 3-2.

England pressed forward in the last 10 minutes, but weren’t able to find the equaliser despite the efforts of David Beckham, Peter Crouch and Frank Lampard.

After the match, then end results for Group E showed Croatia as leaders with 29 points. Russia obtain the second qualification spot with 24 points while England only have 23 points.

Croatia are being given 20-to-1 odds to win the 2008 European Championship. To place a bet on Croatia 20/1 to win the 2008 European Championship, then click here.

The standings in Group E of the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers have Croatia leading the group with 26 points, followed by England with 23 points and Russia with 21 points.

England’s qualification is out of their hands. Their best hope is to finish ahead of Russia. But if the Russians win in Israel on Saturday, they will be one point ahead of England with one match to play – and that match is away to rock-bottom Andorra. England will not expect any favours from Andorra, who are on a run of 28 consecutive Euro qualifying defeats.

If Russia lose in Israel in their upcoming group E qualifying match for the UEFA Euro 2008, then England need only to draw (or win) against Croatia in their final match at Wembley to guarantee qualification. If Russia draw in Israel, then England will need to beat Croatia in their final match to go through, given that Russia will certainly win over Andorra.
There is one other glimmer of hope for England. If Croatia lose in Macedonia, then an England win over the Croats by a three-goal margin will put them above their rivals. A 2-0 win would also be enough, but a two-goal margin in which England have conceded a goal (e.g. 3-1) will not be enough – as Croatia’s away goal will mean they lead the head-to-head standings between the teams. Of course, should Russia have dropped points against Israel then any win over Croatia will be enough for England to enter the UEFA Euro 2008 Finals in Austria and Switzerland.

England head coach Steve McClaren will be looking to its stars like David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Theo Walcott to qualify them into the UEFA Euro 2008 Finals. England will have an international friendly versus Austria on November 16, just a few days before their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Group E leaders Croatia.

Russia will be looking to its top football players like Konstantin Zyrianov, Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Roman Pavyluchenko and

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Russia were struggling to get an equaliser, and Russia’s head coach Guus Hiddink made some adjustments with key substitutions, bringing in midfielder Dmitri Torbinskiy to replace defender Vasili Berezutski in the 46th minute, and then brining in forward Roman Pavlyuchenko to replace a tired Aleksandr Kerzhakov in the 58th minute.

10 minutes after the substitution, England striker Wayne Rooney gets yellow-carded for a foul in the penalty area against Russia’s Konstantin Zyrianov. Russia’s substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko took the penalty kick and beat England keeper Paul Robinson to put the game level at 1-1.

4 minutes after, on the 73rd minute, Russia’s Roman Pavlyuchenko was able to poke in a rebound from an initial shot made by teammate Aleksei Berezutski. England keeper Paul Robinson did well to parry the first shot, but Roman Pavlyunchenko was the first to get to the ball and poke it in the unguarded England goal to give Russia a 2-1 advantage and send the Russian home fans to a frenzy.

England coach Steve McLaren made last minute gambles by bringing in Frank Lampard, Stuart Downing and Peter Crouch from the bench, but Russia was able to hold off the England offensive to book the win and collect all 3 points. Russia’s win over England improves their point standings in Group E to 21 points, just 2 points behind England who maintain the number 2 spot with 23 points. Croatia lead Group E with 26 points, and look to be assured of a spot in the Euro 2008 Finals in Austria and Switzerland this June 2008.

England must win their last Euro 2008 qualifying match at home against Group E leaders Croatia on November 21 if they hope to make it to the Euro 2008 finals. Meanwhile, Russia have two away matches for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying stages against Israel on November 17 and against Andorra on November 21. Russia still has the opportunity to collect 6 points if they win both matches, and those 6 points could indeed earn them a trip to the Euro 2008 Finals. Russia drew with Israel at home 1-1 back in October 2006, and they crushed Andorra at home 4-0 back in June 2007.

England lost to Croatia 2-0 when they were visitors at Croatia back in October 2006. Come November 2007, England will be hoping that the home pitch advantage and the home crowd support at the New Wembley Stadium can help them get a win against the Group E leaders Croatia in order to ascertain a spot for the Euro 2008 Finals.

In the 11th minute, England midfielder Shaun-Wright Phillips put England 1-0 up against Estonia when he drilled a shot between the legs of Estonia’s keeper Mart Poom. In the 32nd minute, England striker Wayne Rooney of English Premier League champions Manchester United made it 2-0, grabbing his first international goal in eleven months. One minute after that, Ashley Cole sent in a deep cross that was headed by Estonia defender Taavi Rahn into his own net. Rahn’s own goal gave the English home side a 3-0 advantage, which they maintained throughout the match.

It was the 5th successive 3-0 victory of England, who collected 3 points for the win against Estonia to improve their standings in Group E of the UEFA Euro 2008 to 2nd place with 23 points. Croatia leads Group E with 26 points, collecting 3 more points following a 10 home victory against Israel. Russia are in 3rd place in Group E with 18 points, and must perform well in their last 3 matches. Russia will go up against England on October 17, against Israel on November 17 and against Andorra on November 21. Russia must win against England if they still hope to make it to the Euro 2008 Finals. Otherwise, a win by England will certainly stretch their lead over 3rd place Russia.

The last time England met Russia was just last September 2007 when Russia were visitors at the New Wembley Stadium. England defeated the Russian side 3-0. Russia will be looking to capitalize on their home pitch advantage when England visit them on October 17. Russian soccer stars hoping to provide that much needed spark include Aleksandr Kerzhakov of Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Cup champions Sevilla FC.

England, of course, has an impressive lineup that includes Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, Frank Lampard of Chelsea and Michael Owen of Newcastle United. However, England will not have the services of Ashley Cole, who suffered a serious ankle injury in the match against Estonia.

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Arsenal’s Robin van Persie scored on the 80th minute to give Arsenal a one goal lead, and the full three points in order to regain their position at the top of the English Premier League standings. Robin van Persie was also responsible for opening the scoring of the match with a scorching free kick in the 7th minute that left Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon helpless, and putting up Arsenal 1-0. In the 14th minute, Arsenal’s Philippe Senderos was able to pick up a loose ball from a corner, and put it in the back of the Sunderland net to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead.

However, Sunderland coach Roy Keane made adjustments and eventually Sunderland was able to find two goals through the efforts of Ross Wallace who rebounded an attempt from Kenwye Jones on the 25th minute to make it 2-1. On the 40th minute, Sunderland’s Kenwye Jones found a header that Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia couldn’t push out to draw the score at 2-2.

It wasn’t until the 80th minute when Robin van Persie found the breakthrough goal following a wonderful move by 18-year old Arsenal substitute Theo Walcott, who avoided the Sunderland defenders and was able to pass the ball right in front of the Sunderland goal with Robin van Persie blasting it past Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon to give the Arsenal Gunners a 3-2 lead.

The win is Arsenal’s 10th successive victory in all competitions this season, which include the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the English Cup.

Arsenal leads the standings of the 2007-08 English Premier League with 22 points, followed by Manchester United with 20. Manchester City is third with 19 points and Liverpool is fourth with 16.

Arsenal’s next English Premier League match will be on October 20 when they host the Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium. Three days after, on the 23rd, Arsenal will be hosting last season’s Gambrinus Liga runner up SK Slavia Prague for a group stage UEFA Champions League Match.

Meanwhile, some Arsenal players are also expected to participate in the UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifiers on October 13 and 14 as representatives for their home countries. Among those expected to see action are Cesc Fabregas for Portugal and Robin van Persie for the Netherlands.

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