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World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group G

World Cup favorites Brazil headline the “group of death” as dubbed by a number of observers, thanks to the inclusion of Portugal and Ivory Coast — however, North Korea’s presence strips some of the luster off those claims.

Brazil

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (AS Roma), Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham Hotspur).

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Michel Bastos (Olympique Lyon), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (AS Roma), Luisao (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina), Ramires (Benfica), Elano (Galatasaray), Kaka (Real Madrid), Julio Baptista (Roma), Kleberson (Flamengo), Josue (VfL Wolfsburg).

Forwards: Robinho (Santos), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Grafite (VfL Wolfsburg). Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group G’

World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group F

Defending champions Italy set up shop in group F, facing a less-than-daunting slate of New Zealand, Slovakia and Paraguay. Here’s a look:

Italy

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo).

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Fabio Grosso (Juventus), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Antonio Candreva (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan).

Forwards: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal, Spain). Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group F’

World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group E

A strong Cameroon side led by the inconsistent Samuel Eto’o has a tough group consisting of Denmark, Japan and the Netherlands.

Cameroon

Goalkeepers: Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor), Carlos Kameni (Espanyol), Guy Roland Ndy Assembe (Valenciennes), Amour Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic).

Defenders: Jean Patrick Abouna Ndzana (Astres de Douala), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham), Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham), Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes), Aurelien Chedjou (Lille), Geremi Njitap (Ankaragucu), Stephane Mbia (Marseille), Makadji Boukar (Al Nahdha), Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco), Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor).

Midfielders: Marcel Ndjeng (Augsburg), Eyong Enoh (Ajax), Jean II Makoun (Lyon), Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern), Joel Matip (Schalke), Patrick Mevoungou (Canon Sportif de Yaounde), Landry Nguemo (Celtic), Alexandre Song (Arsenal).

Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Coton Sport), Eric Choupo-Moting (Nuremberg), Achille Emana (Betis), Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan), Mohamadou Idrissou (Freiburg), Dorge Kouemaha (Club Brugges), Achille Webo (Mallorca), Jacques Zoua (FC Basel). Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group E’

World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group D

Can Australia sneak past a tough group consisting of Germany, Ghana and Serbia? Not sure if the Socceroos have it in them. Pim Verbeek with his squad below, then the rest of Group D.

Australia

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough, Adam Federici (Reading).

Defenders: Craig Moore (No Team), Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel), David Carney (FC Twente), Mark Milligan (JEF United), Jade North (Tromso), Michael Beauchamp (Al-Jazira), Shane Lowry (Aston Villa), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough).

Midfielders: Jason Culina (Gold Coast), Tim Cahill (Everton), Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Vince Grella (Blackburn), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Carl Valeri (Sassuolo), Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor), Richard Garcia (Hull), Nicky Carle (Crystal Palace), Tommy Oar (FC Utrecht), James Holland (AZ Alkmaar).

Forwards: Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus), Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough), Dario Vidosic (FC Nuremberg), Nikita Rukavytsya (FC Twente). Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group D’

World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group C

Group C is where it all happens for U.S. soccer fans, with June 12 circled on many calenders. But first, Algeria.

Algeria

Goalkeepers: Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO Chlef), Fawzi Chaouchi (ES Setif), Mohamed Liamine Zemamouche (MC Alger), M’bohi Rais Ouhed (Slava Sofia).

Defenders: Abdelkader Laifaoui (ES Setif), Madjid Bougherra (Rangers), Carl Medjani (Ajaccio), Rafik Halliche (Nacional Madeira), Anther Yahia (Bochum), Habib Belaid (Boulogne), Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth), Djamel Mesbah (Lecce).

Midfielders: Hassen Yebda (Portsmouth), Medhi Lacen (Racing Santander), Yazid Mansouri (Lorient), Adlane Guedioura (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Riad Boudebouz (Sochaux), Djamel Abdoun (Nantes), Fouad Kadir (Valenciennes), Mourad Meghni (Lazio), Karim Ziani (Wolfsburg), Karim Matmour (Moenchengladbach).

Forwards: Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena), Rafik Djebbour (AEK), Rafik Saifi (Istres). Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group C’

World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group B

Who will Diego Maradona bring with him to South Africa? And will the egomaniacal manager spoil what could be Messi’s finest hour? Group B below.

Argentina

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero, Mariano Andújar, Diego Pozo.

Defenders: Nicolás Otamendi, Martín Demichelis, Walter Samuel, Gabriel Heinze, Nicolás Burdisso, Clemente Rodríguez, Fabricio Coloccini, Juan Manuel Insaurralde, Ariel Garcé.

Midfielders: Jonás Gutiérrez, Javier Mascherano, Juan Sebastián Verón, Angel Di María, Juan Mercier, Javier Pastore, Mario Bolatti, José Sosa, Jesús Dátolo, Sebastián Blanco.

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuaín, Martín Palermo, Sergio Agüero, Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Ezequiel Lavezzi. Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group B’

World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group A

One stop shopping for World Cup rosters? Look no further than here. Going through, group by group.

South Africa

Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Shu-Aib Walters (Maritzburg United), Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany) and Moeneeb Joseph (Orlando Pirates).

Defenders: Matthew Booth, Siboniso Gaxa, Innocent Mdledle (all Mamelodi Sundowns), Bongani Khumalo (Supersport United), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, England), Bryce Moon (PAOK, Greece), Anele Ngcongca (Racing Genk, Belgium), Siyabonga Sangweni (Golden Arrows), Lucas Thwala (Orlando Pirates).

Midfielders: Surprise Moriri, Franklin Cale (both Mamelodi Sundowns), Lance Davids (Ajax Cape Town), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham, England), Andile Jali, Teko Modise (both Orlando Pirates), Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala (both Kaizer Chiefs), Thanduyise Khuboni (Golden Arrows), (Steven Pienaar (Everton, England), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia).

Forwards: Benni McCarthy (West Ham United, England), Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siyabonga Nomvete (Moroka Swallows), Bernard Parker (FC Twente, Holland). Continue reading ‘World Cup Preliminary Rosters: Group A’

Montreal joins the party

In a move that was a long time coming, Montreal officially joined up as the 19th team in MLS, and will materialize in 2012. Here’s a video with a little soccer history for you:

Sad that will be their only MLS season, since the Mayans have concluded the world ends in 2012.

Best USMNT Moments

A nice montage of some of the USMNT’s finer moments.

On Gomez, Buddle, Davies and forward thinking

The days, hours, and minutes are ticking down until June 11. Footy fans around the world will congregate for a month, as all eyes turn south. South Africa will stage one of the greatest cups of all time, and fans in the United States will see questions answered.

On the tip of everyone’s tongue’s is the great forward debate. For a lack of better things to talk about, Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez have thrust themselves into discussions with hot streaks, while Charlie Davies resumed full training with his French club Sochaux this week.

It’s an unlikely trio, and predicting Bob Bradley is something of a challenge. All three have to be considered long shots, but how much does this debate even matter? Continue reading ‘On Gomez, Buddle, Davies and forward thinking’

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