From soccerway.com -- 27 and 28 March 2011
Italy vs. Ukraine: Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino will captain an experimental Italy team in their friendly against the Ukraine on Tuesday. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will make seven changes to the side that beat Slovenia 1-0 in Euro 2012 qualifying on Saturday.AC Milan's Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini of cross-city rivals Inter come out of attack, to be replaced by Gilardino and Giuseppe Rossi of Villarreal.Bologna's Emiliano Viviano will start ahead of regular captain Gianluigi Buffon, who will surrender the armband to Gilardino."It is a great reward that the national team gives me," Gilardino said. "It is an honour considering all those players that have captained the national team in the past, like Fabio Cannavaro." Only defenders Christian Maggio and Giorgio Chiellini and midfielders Roberto Aquilani and Riccardo Montolivo have been retained from the starting line-up against Slovenia.
Ukraine will also be without some of their big names for the match in Kiev. Dynamo Kiev striker Andriy Shevchenko is unavailable for personal reasons, while defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy and midfielder Yevhen Konoplyanka are both missing through injury.Defenders Taras Mikhalik and Igor Oshchypko and forward Artem Milevski will also be sidelined. Yuriy Kalytvyntsev's side will be aiming for the first win since September, when they defeated Chile 2-1 in a friendly." Italy are still difficult opponents even though they are going through a generational change," Ukraine midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk said."Our opponents will go on the attack, so it's important to take our chances."Ukraine have never beaten Italy and lost five of the six meetings between the two countries.
France vs Croatia: Laurent Blanc is expected to provide opportunities to several fringe players when France meet Croatia in a friendly on Tuesday. France laboured to an unconvincing 2-0 victory over Luxembourg in Euro 2012 qualifying on Saturday, but can now boast a run of six consecutive victories stretching back to September 2010. Blanc was unimpressed by his team's performance and is set to use the match against Croatia as a chance to test out some alternatives." There are several areas to improve on from the Luxembourg game but we must continue down our regular path and continue our winning streak," Blanc said. "We will have a different team, we have the opportunity to make six changes and we will look to ensure that virtually all the players in the squad have participated in one of the two games."
Bordeaux midfielder Alou Diarra is expected to captain the team, with Lyon's Hugo Lloris remaining in goal. Arsenal centre-back Laurent ***cielny is in contention for his international debut at the Stade de France. And World Cup rebels Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra could make their first home appearance on home soil after incurring the wrath of the French people with their training ground mutiny in South Africa. Croatia come into the game after finally surrendering a 14-match unbeaten run with a 1-0 defeat away to Georgia on Saturday. Coach Slaven Bilic has received fierce criticism in the Croatian press following the reverse, and the 42-year-old will expect an improvement from his players when they tackle France." I am looking for a response but we are still favourites," Bilic said, referring to the team's situation in qualifying Group F, in which the Croats trail leaders Greece by one point. "We knew what we would face in Tbilisi, 55,000 fanatical fans, a solid Georgian team which defended fantastically well." "I understand the anger and the rage ... It was not good but the situation in the group remains in our hands."
Germany vs. Australia: Germany will be missing several first-team players when they meet Australia in a rematch of their 2010 World Cup group-stage clash. Australia gifted Germany the perfect start to their tournament in South Africa last year, going down 4-0 in their Group D opener. The Socceroos never recovered from the blow and bowed out at the first hurdle. Germany went on to defeat England and Argentina, only coming unstuck in a narrow semi-final defeat to eventual champions Spain. But Germany coach Joachim Loew will be without several of his stars from that tournament for Tuesday's friendly at the Borussia-Park. Captain Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfield duo Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil will all be rested in Monchengladbach.
Jerome Boateng was expected to replace Lahm at fullback, but the Manchester City man has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury in the warm-up to Germany's 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Saturday. The injury to Boateng means Marcel Schmelzer receives his first start, while Dortmund defender Mats Hummels and Stuttgart's Christian Trasch both come in. There will also be a debut for young Mainz forward Andre Schuerrle.Bastian Schweinsteiger will captain the team in the absence of club t eammate Lahm. There are some local connections for Australia, with their German coach Holger Osieck selecting Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak in the squad for the first time. Robbie Kruse, a new recruit for 2nd Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf, could also be involved. But Australia will be without one of their star men in the form of Tim Cahill, who has been ruled out of the match with a foot injury.
England vs. Ghana: England meet World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana in a friendly at Wembley with another new captain and seven changes to the team. Fabio Capello has released six players who started England's 2-0 Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Wales on Saturday. With reinstated skipper John Terry among those to return to their clubs, Gareth Barry becomes the next man to inherit the armband, despite being left out of the team at the Millennium Stadium. Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Dawson has also been released, meaning Gary Cahill will be rewarded for his excellent form at Bolton Wanderers with a place in the centre of the defence. Cahill will partner Everton's Phil Jagielka in Tuesday's match. Another Goodison Park man, Leighton Baines, will take over from Ashley Cole at left-back. West Ham United captain Scott Parker is a doubt with a slight niggle, while Spurs midfielder Aaron Lennon has withdrawn due to a hamstring injury. If passed fit, he is expected to remain in midfield, alongside Arsenal's Jack Wilshere. In attack, Wayne Rooney will not be involved, leaving room for Liverpool striker Andy Carroll to make his second full international appearance.
England will already be familiar with some of the Ghana squad, a number of whom play their trade in the Premier League. Captain John Mensah, striker Asamoah Gyan and attacking midfielder Sulley Muntari all play for Sunderland, John Paintsil is at Fulham and Richard Kingson keeps goal at Blackpool. "I have never played at Wembley so it is like a dream come true," Gyan said. "This is a huge game for us Ghanaians. "One Ghanaian star of the Premier League who will not be involved is Chelsea's Michael Essien. The midfielder has suffered two serious injuries on international duty in the past two years and is reluctant make himself available again. "I will definitely return to the team at some point in the future however it won't be for the upcoming games," Essien said in February. The 28-year-old's decision has not been well received back home. "Essien ... has shown little commitment to the cause of the Black Stars, and it is high time we forgot about him," former Ghana FA president Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe said earlier this month.
Italy vs. Ukraine: Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino will captain an experimental Italy team in their friendly against the Ukraine on Tuesday. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will make seven changes to the side that beat Slovenia 1-0 in Euro 2012 qualifying on Saturday.AC Milan's Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini of cross-city rivals Inter come out of attack, to be replaced by Gilardino and Giuseppe Rossi of Villarreal.Bologna's Emiliano Viviano will start ahead of regular captain Gianluigi Buffon, who will surrender the armband to Gilardino."It is a great reward that the national team gives me," Gilardino said. "It is an honour considering all those players that have captained the national team in the past, like Fabio Cannavaro." Only defenders Christian Maggio and Giorgio Chiellini and midfielders Roberto Aquilani and Riccardo Montolivo have been retained from the starting line-up against Slovenia.
Ukraine will also be without some of their big names for the match in Kiev. Dynamo Kiev striker Andriy Shevchenko is unavailable for personal reasons, while defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy and midfielder Yevhen Konoplyanka are both missing through injury.Defenders Taras Mikhalik and Igor Oshchypko and forward Artem Milevski will also be sidelined. Yuriy Kalytvyntsev's side will be aiming for the first win since September, when they defeated Chile 2-1 in a friendly." Italy are still difficult opponents even though they are going through a generational change," Ukraine midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk said."Our opponents will go on the attack, so it's important to take our chances."Ukraine have never beaten Italy and lost five of the six meetings between the two countries.
France vs Croatia: Laurent Blanc is expected to provide opportunities to several fringe players when France meet Croatia in a friendly on Tuesday. France laboured to an unconvincing 2-0 victory over Luxembourg in Euro 2012 qualifying on Saturday, but can now boast a run of six consecutive victories stretching back to September 2010. Blanc was unimpressed by his team's performance and is set to use the match against Croatia as a chance to test out some alternatives." There are several areas to improve on from the Luxembourg game but we must continue down our regular path and continue our winning streak," Blanc said. "We will have a different team, we have the opportunity to make six changes and we will look to ensure that virtually all the players in the squad have participated in one of the two games."
Bordeaux midfielder Alou Diarra is expected to captain the team, with Lyon's Hugo Lloris remaining in goal. Arsenal centre-back Laurent ***cielny is in contention for his international debut at the Stade de France. And World Cup rebels Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra could make their first home appearance on home soil after incurring the wrath of the French people with their training ground mutiny in South Africa. Croatia come into the game after finally surrendering a 14-match unbeaten run with a 1-0 defeat away to Georgia on Saturday. Coach Slaven Bilic has received fierce criticism in the Croatian press following the reverse, and the 42-year-old will expect an improvement from his players when they tackle France." I am looking for a response but we are still favourites," Bilic said, referring to the team's situation in qualifying Group F, in which the Croats trail leaders Greece by one point. "We knew what we would face in Tbilisi, 55,000 fanatical fans, a solid Georgian team which defended fantastically well." "I understand the anger and the rage ... It was not good but the situation in the group remains in our hands."
Germany vs. Australia: Germany will be missing several first-team players when they meet Australia in a rematch of their 2010 World Cup group-stage clash. Australia gifted Germany the perfect start to their tournament in South Africa last year, going down 4-0 in their Group D opener. The Socceroos never recovered from the blow and bowed out at the first hurdle. Germany went on to defeat England and Argentina, only coming unstuck in a narrow semi-final defeat to eventual champions Spain. But Germany coach Joachim Loew will be without several of his stars from that tournament for Tuesday's friendly at the Borussia-Park. Captain Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfield duo Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil will all be rested in Monchengladbach.
Jerome Boateng was expected to replace Lahm at fullback, but the Manchester City man has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury in the warm-up to Germany's 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Saturday. The injury to Boateng means Marcel Schmelzer receives his first start, while Dortmund defender Mats Hummels and Stuttgart's Christian Trasch both come in. There will also be a debut for young Mainz forward Andre Schuerrle.Bastian Schweinsteiger will captain the team in the absence of club t eammate Lahm. There are some local connections for Australia, with their German coach Holger Osieck selecting Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak in the squad for the first time. Robbie Kruse, a new recruit for 2nd Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf, could also be involved. But Australia will be without one of their star men in the form of Tim Cahill, who has been ruled out of the match with a foot injury.
England vs. Ghana: England meet World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana in a friendly at Wembley with another new captain and seven changes to the team. Fabio Capello has released six players who started England's 2-0 Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Wales on Saturday. With reinstated skipper John Terry among those to return to their clubs, Gareth Barry becomes the next man to inherit the armband, despite being left out of the team at the Millennium Stadium. Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Dawson has also been released, meaning Gary Cahill will be rewarded for his excellent form at Bolton Wanderers with a place in the centre of the defence. Cahill will partner Everton's Phil Jagielka in Tuesday's match. Another Goodison Park man, Leighton Baines, will take over from Ashley Cole at left-back. West Ham United captain Scott Parker is a doubt with a slight niggle, while Spurs midfielder Aaron Lennon has withdrawn due to a hamstring injury. If passed fit, he is expected to remain in midfield, alongside Arsenal's Jack Wilshere. In attack, Wayne Rooney will not be involved, leaving room for Liverpool striker Andy Carroll to make his second full international appearance.
England will already be familiar with some of the Ghana squad, a number of whom play their trade in the Premier League. Captain John Mensah, striker Asamoah Gyan and attacking midfielder Sulley Muntari all play for Sunderland, John Paintsil is at Fulham and Richard Kingson keeps goal at Blackpool. "I have never played at Wembley so it is like a dream come true," Gyan said. "This is a huge game for us Ghanaians. "One Ghanaian star of the Premier League who will not be involved is Chelsea's Michael Essien. The midfielder has suffered two serious injuries on international duty in the past two years and is reluctant make himself available again. "I will definitely return to the team at some point in the future however it won't be for the upcoming games," Essien said in February. The 28-year-old's decision has not been well received back home. "Essien ... has shown little commitment to the cause of the Black Stars, and it is high time we forgot about him," former Ghana FA president Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe said earlier this month.
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