Germany coach Joachim Low is adamant that his squad has
the necessary strength and depth to see off the Czech Republic when the
top two sides in UEFA EURO 2008T qualifying Group D meet in Prague this
weekend. Despite having a question mark against the fitness of three key
players in Bastian Schweinsteiger (bruised foot), Torsten Frings (thigh)
and Christoph Metzelder (eye), Low has confidence in his pool of players.
"We are not pessimistic about going to Prague with or without certain
players," he said. "We know our strengths and we have played
well both during and since the FIFA World Cup." Striker Lukas Podolski
sounded an equally upbeat note, saying: "We respect the Czechs but
we are going there to win." Both teams have ten points from four
games in the group.
France coach Raymond Domenech has warned against complacency in Saturday's
Group B assignment in Lithuania, with the aim being to secure more points
in Kaunas than fellow joint-leaders Scotland gain at home to Georgia on
the same day. "We have lost two of our last four games and have possibly
been too relaxed. We must rediscover our warrior spirit, it's what we
need in Lithuania," Domenech stressed.
FC Spartak Moskva captain Yegor Titov has added to Russia coach Guus Hiddink's
problems by withdrawing from the squad to visit Estonia for personal reasons.
Hiddink has called up FC Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov
to deputise, as well as drafting in FC Torpedo Moskva No1 Dmitri Borodin
and 19-year-old FC Lokomotiv Moskva defender Sergei Yefimov as doubts
persist about other squad members.
UEFA EURO 2008T co-hosts Austria will be missing FK Austria Wien midfielder
Markus Kiesenebner with a knee injury for their 24 and 28 March friendlies
against Ghana (in Graz) and France (Paris). The man expected to replace
him, Jurgen Saumel of SK Sturm Graz, has damaged ankle ligaments so no
other player will be summoned.
Centre-back Danny Gabbidon will play no part when Wales tackle the Republic
of Ireland in the first football international to be staged at Dublin's
Croke Park stadium on Saturday. The 27-year-old West Ham United FC player
has been sidelined for the last two months following groin surgery and
failed a fitness test today. Club-mate James Collins is available, however,
for the Group D encounter in Ireland as well as the visit of San Marino
four days later.
Belarus will be without defensive linchpin Sergei Omelyanchuk for the
Group G qualifier in Luxembourg on Saturday. The 26-year-old from Russian
club FC Rostov has hurt ankle ligaments. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, will allow
playmaker Dzeykhun Sultanov to sit out their weekend trip to Poland in
Group A following the death of his brother. The 27-year-old could return
for next Wednesday's visit of Finland.
,
20 March 2007.
Russian ladies dream about happy marriage.
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¿ Russian National Football Team - RussiaTeam.com
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