Turkish giants Galatasaray are expected to take a major step towards qualifying for the Europa League group stages when they face Karpaty Lviv in the play-off tie on Thursday.
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Galatasaray handed out a sound beating to Serbian side OFK Beograd in the previous round, winning 7-3 on aggregate. It appeared to be going the wrong way for the home side in Istanbul when Galatasaray surrendered a two goal lead with ten minutes to go to draw 2-2 with the visitors. However, Gala fans were able to let out a sigh of relief when their side ran out emphatic 5-1 winners in Belgrade to cruise through safely.

Much maligned Australian attacking midfielder Harry Kewell scored twice in that away win while Mustafa Sarp, Arda Turan and Mehmet Batdal also netted for Galatasaray. The Turkish giants will be expecting much more from Albanian captain Lorik Cana who was signed from Sunderland earlier this summer.

Karpaty are little known outisde their own country and have their chance to upset the Turkish giants after beating Zestaponi 2-0 on aggregate in the previous round. The club have been involved in the qualifying stage from the second round where they also emerged 6-2 winners on aggregate over Icelandic side KR Reykjavík.

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Veteran Italy star Gianluca Zambrotta insists that growing criticism of the World Champions will only help bind the team together. Azurri have been in poor form in recent times and have found themselves under pressure in the media ahead of their Group F opener against Paraguay in Cape Town. But the AC Milan full-back says that the situation is something they are well used to.

“We’re used to the criticism,” he said from Italy’s Casa Azzurri base, south of Pretoria. “It was the same in 2006, we were unfancied and people didn’t even think we’d make the quarter-finals. There are 1,000 critics but we’ve always performed under criticism, it’s not a problem. It brings us closer together and builds our spirit. It’s not new, we’ve always been unfancied at the start and that’s fine with us, we’ll see what happens. But I’m not thinking about that, I’m thinking only about our first game against Paraguay.”
There are 1,000 critics but we’ve always performed under criticism, it’s not a problem. It brings us closer together.
Gianluca Zambrotta, Italy defender

Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo, who could be in line to stand in for injured playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who is due to miss the first two group matches with a calf strain, believes that not everyone has written off Italy’s chances. “There is scepticism but the fans were very enthusiastic when we left (our training base in) Sestriere and (the airport in) Milan,” he said. “This scepticism will help motivate us. We want to transform this lack of faith, we’ve got even more desire to perform.”

Despite the players’ claims, the Italian press is concerned about their country’s chances and are worried that coach Marcello Lippi has yet to even decide what system he will play, let alone who will play where. Zambrotta claimed that isn’t a problem, but did admit that even the players don’t know what system they will play.

“There’s no confusion in the squad, all 23 players are here and ready for the coach, there’s no problems with positions or adapting to new ones,” he said. But when asked about the formation he added: “We don’t yet know anything, we haven’t tried anything yet, we just arrived yesterday (Wednesday). But I’m sure the gaffer knows how the team will play on Monday. It’s not a question about the system because we have many players who can play in different systems. It’s all about the preparation.”

Following their opening clash against Paraguay, Italy will play New Zealand in Nelspruit on 20 June and then Slovakia on 24 June in Johannesburg.

FIFA World Cup™ winner Patrick Vieira believes France could spring a surprise in South Africa, saying the pressure on the squad would bring them together. France go into their opener against Uruguay tomorrow knowing nothing but victory will restore faith in their ability to make an impact after a string of underwhelming performances in friendlies including a defeat to China PR.

But Vieira, who failed to make the squad, is confident the French can put their troubles behind them. “France have always been criticised before big tournaments like the World Cup. It was like that in 1998, it was like that in 2002, it was like that in 2006 and it’s nothing new, I’m not surprised,” said the Manchester City player. “I really strongly believe that France are good enough to win the World Cup even if they haven’t played well in the first few games, the friendlies they’ve had.”
I really strongly believe that France are good enough to win the World Cup.
Patrick Vieira, France World Cup winner

Speaking about under-pressure Domenech, Vieira said: “The manager has been criticised for a long time and there’s nothing new about that but I think what’s important is for them to get focused on the game.”

Vieira said France’s strength was that they had so many players who could make a difference and turn games, adding: “That’s why they have to believe they can go and win it because they’ve got the quality there.”

The former Arsenal and Inter Milan star picked out Franck Ribery as a key man and said Thierry Henry, the sole survivor from the 1998 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, still had a crucial role to play despite falling out of favour at Barcelona.

“It’s hard to pick out one player who’ll be really important for the team. I would say Franck Ribery because in 2006 he was fantastic and I think he will be important for the French team,” he said. “Henry is still Henry. He’s got the talent, he’s got the experience and Thierry is one of the players who can win games by himself.”

Sulley Muntari has his hopes for Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and is eyeing a place in the final four of the tournament.

The Inter Milan midfielder believes that Ghana, who open their Group D campaign against Serbia on Sunday, before taking on Australia on 19 June and Germany on 23 June, can better their Round of 16 finish of four years ago in Germany on their FIFA World Cup finals debut.
We want to get out of our group and get to the semi-finals or even further.
Sulley Muntari, Ghana midfielder

“After what we did in 2006, expectations are sky high,” said Muntari, who has been struggling with a left thigh injury. “We want to get out of our group and get to the semi-finals or even further.

“Germany are the group favourites and so it will doubtless come down to Serbia – we don’t know quite what to expect against them, but we know they are a good team. Our goal is to produce good football.”

D-day has arrived for host nation South Africa, who hope months of intense preparation can be translated into victory over Mexico on Friday in the opening 2010 FIFA World Cup™ match.

Training camps in Brazil, Germany and South Africa under Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira have reaped reward as the previously underperforming side have gone 12 matches unbeaten. We are ready, says the 67-year-old of a team built around Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar and containing more local-based footballers than originally expected with unfit West Ham striker Benni McCarthy among the casualties.

Mexico look stronger and are more experienced than Bafana Bafana (The Boys) with a potentially potent cocktail of youth and experience captained by occasional Barcelona first-team utility player Rafael Marquez. It adds up to an intriguing opening match at the first FIFA World Cup in Africa with international political icon Nelson Mandela expected to be among a sell-out 90,000 crowd at Soccer City stadium in Soweto.

Parreira, a FIFA World Cup-winning coach with Brazil 16 years ago, needs to get a monkey off his back by winning a match at the tournament with a country other than his own. He took Middle East nations Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to the tournament between 1982 and 1998 without managing to celebrate even one victory.

No host nation has failed to reach the second round since the FIFA World Cup began 80 years ago and three points for Bafana would set them up for a top-two finish and a place among the 16 survivors. After being told for eight months by South Africans to make them proud, Parreira believes he can deliver a second-round place although other group rivals France and Uruguay are also ranked among the leading 20 nations.

“I believe if you want to qualify for the second round you have to do something special and for us that would mean in the technical and skills aspects of the game,” says Parreira. “We cannot beat France, Mexico or Uruguay in a physical struggle. My boys have to play well against them with the ball on the ground. This is our big strength. That is what I want the South African team to believe in.”

On 1 January 2010, South African President, Jacob Zuma, released his New Year’s message to the country. In his statement he marked the beginning of 2010 as the most important year for the nation since 1994. Arguably the most iconic date in South African history, 1994 was the year of South Africa’s first democratic elections. It was in these elections that Nelson Mandela won a resounding victory to become the first unanimously elected president by the people of South Africa. In his New Year address, Zuma focussed on how far the country had come since those first democratic elections. “Together as a nation …