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It’s South Africa in 2010 baby...
It’s now just a year to the next World Cup final but the places are still up for grabs, which means that even though it should be summer time for players, the major players remain focused on the task ahead and will be doing everything they can to ensure they are busy next summer.
Group One Looking Tight
Only one team in Group 1 has a double header of matches in this international and for Sweden, the stakes couldn’t be higher. A home tie versus current group leaders Denmark and then another home game against bottom of the table Malta gives the Scandinavians a perfect opportunity to propel themselves into serious contention for the 2010 World Cup.
Two victories will take them to within a point of the group leaders and will give them a serious boost ahead of the matches to be held at the start of the new season. Sweden has been a credit in the last few major tournaments and although the legs of Henrik Larsson may be nearing their final days, very few would begrudge the striker one final shot at the big time. A man who has lit up European football and dominated various leagues around Europe deserves a final appearance at a major tournament and if Larsson can be assisted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a great player when he is in the mood, Sweden may just be able to overturn the current table and find themselves occupied once again next summer.
Group 2 nations have no involvement at all in this set of international fixtures so these players will be off enjoying their holidays already. Greece and Switzerland are involved in a tight tussle at the top but Latvia and Israel are not too far off the pace so none of these countries will be ruling themselves out for the next World Cup.
All To Play For - Group 3.
Northern Ireland may be cocky at their lucky run having taken them top of their qualifying group but with the second placed team Slovakia playing at home on Saturday to San Marino, the Irish should be knocked off the top spot.
If the form book is any guide to this match, Slovakia will go two points clear of their rivals from the North of Ireland and importantly, will have a game in hand on them. This will then place the Irish into a fight with Poland for second spot in the group knowing full well that the Poles have a home tie, and a game in hand against them to come.
Whilst there is no doubt that Ireland fully merited their victory in their home tie versus Poland, things will be very different abroad and a Slovakia win on Saturday may just knock some of the stuffing out of the momentum that has been built up. Either way, there isn’t much action in Group 3 this month but what does take place can be very important in the overall shakeup of the group.
Group 4 leaders Germany are not involved in this current run of international round of fixtures. Their closest rivals Russia have the opportunity to play their game in hand in the midweek games when they have a trip to third placed Finland but if an away win can be achieved, they will find themselves one point off the top of the table. With Guus Hiddink now free from his duties at Chelsea, he will be able to focus fully on the task of guiding Russia to South Africa where he will probably surpass all expectations once again, much like he did whilst managing South Korea and Australia.
The FA Cup triumph at Chelsea gave him another club trophy to savour but it is the international arena where Hiddink is most at home these days and few would doubt the chances of him becoming a success again on the World Cup stage.
Spain Can Put Feet Up
There is no football in Group 5 but with Spain sitting with maximum points after six games, it would take a major disaster for the current European Champion holders to miss out on the next World Cup.
Football in Spain is currently on a massive high with the Catalonian club being the Champions League holders as well as clinching the domestic double, something which their bitter rivals Real Madrid have never managed.
Mind you, with Real Madrid threatening to splash the cash in a bid to reclaim the top spot , there is a lot of excitement in Spain at the moment, even if there are no matches during this break.
Group 7 is extremely close with a few nations having a serious opportunity to take the top spot and although France are not involved, Serbia, Lithuania and Austria will have an opportunity to move past the French and make the task of Raymond Domenech even harder. The knives have been out for the French manager after their dismal showing at Euro 2008 and there was surprise when he was not replaced during the summer. However, the French kept their faith in their manager but this will surely be his final opportunity to excel at a major tournament and if France fail to qualify, they will undoubtedly be looking for a new man to lead the nation for their tilt at Euro 2012.
Ireland Must Avoid Defeat
Group 8 has a monumental match on Saturday as Ireland travel to Bulgaria looking to move closer to Italy and extinguish the hope of Bulgaria sitting behind them. The match in Ireland between the two ended in a draw although Ireland dominated but there is no doubt that the blistering heat of Bulgaria may cause Ireland some problems. Their new boss Trappatoni has excelled so far and given new hope to Irish fans everywhere, avoiding defeat in Bulgaria would go a long way to giving Ireland the opportunity to get back onto the world’s biggest stage and allow their fantastic travelling support to have another party.
Norway Could Bring Selves Back Into Contention
Group 9 leaders Holland have a 100% record so far and their games during this break sees them travelling to Iceland and then playing at home to Norway, in a match that will actually be of greater consequence to Norway than to the Dutch.
Norway have a double header and as they are currently bottom of the group and desperately need the points. They currently have two games in hand over the teams in second and third place, so a healthy number of points in these games could see the Norwegians back into contention and will resuscitate their hopes of making the World Cup in South Africa.
It may have been a long, hard season there is no doubt that the players need to give it one or two final pushes and a positive return of points in June could make all the difference to where the players are spending their summer next season.
by Andrew Reilly
for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk
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Dear Greg,
I've been a member since July 2003, maybe one of the first to join the Silver Circle.
2004 was a good year but I really enjoyed the long run we had in, I think, July 2005. It was exhilarating! 2006-2007 was not as exciting although still quite profitable and so far 2007-2008 looks quite good. I'm wondering if we're going to hit a long one again soon. Anyway, it's been a pleasure as always with your service, Greg. Armstrong and you are one of the few people I trust on the internet. You have made my retirement so much more fun and financially happy!
Best Wishes, Trent Wrayford, Sidney
