And the final 23s are....

Xavi6

Plenty of squad news breaking this morning already.

Benni McCarthy has been dumped from the South Africa party.

Follow it all here -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8715254.stm

Mushy

Thought until they had June 4th to name squads?

mike65

David Sullivan will be most dissapointed by that news.

Benni McCarthy's body-fat measurement is 24.2 per cent. Mine is 25.4 per cent. Benni McCarthy is nearly as fat as me. I try to do aerobics in the morning but I'm 61 years old. 'He's the one West Ham player I want to go to the World Cup because he might come back fitter.

Xavi6

Mushy wrote: »

Thought until they had June 4th to name squads?

Nope all gotta be in today.

Trouble in the Mexico camp -

1141: It's all kicking off in the Mexican camp. They left out Barca youngster Jonathan (no relation) from their 23-man squad, much to the disgust of big brother Giovani, who is on the plane. Here's the duo's dad, former Brazilian footballer Zizinho: "Gio is very hurt and he wants to be at home with us. We don't know if he will play in the World Cup or not."

Xavi6

France have also confirmed their 23

http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1494104.html?cid=PULSE_TW

Frisbee

Xavi6 wrote: »

Nope all gotta be in today.

Trouble in the Mexico camp -

Was just gonna comment on that. Fair enough your a bit annoyed your bro didn't make it but to consider not playing is a bit much..

Xavi6 wrote: »

France have also confirmed their 23

http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1494104.html?cid=PULSE_TW

Suprised Clichy made it tbh, they're essentially bringing three left backs..

mike65

BBC are reporting Garry Barry is on the plane.

Lukker-

Would Diaby have made the cut if Lass was fit?

Vokes

Frisbee wrote: »

Suprised Clichy made it tbh, they're essentially bringing three left backs..

I think they'll be playing Abidal at CB mainly, so makes sense to have Evra and Clichy as his second.

greendom

Lukker- wrote: »

Would Diaby have made the cut if Lass was fit?

Not sure but the French media have been impressed with his "power" when coming on as sub in the friendlies

Adamcp898

Lukker- wrote: »

Would Diaby have made the cut if Lass was fit?

Yes. Sure Domenech only named a 24 man development squad and once Lass was declared out he said he wasn't going to call up another replacement

Degag

Adamcp898 wrote: »

Yes. Sure Domenech only named a 24 man development squad and once Lass was declared out he said he wasn't going to call up another replacement

Yes, but the question was if Diarra made it, would Diaby be the one who missed out?

IvySlayer

I loved the picture the BBC had when they announced Theo Walcott was dropped from the squad

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport

everdead.ie

The dos Santos bros dad is doing a lot of talking be intresring to see what happens

mayordenis

a 20 year old with less than 10 first team appearances for club and country - and his whole family is up in arms?
The dad should shut his mouth, Giovani should get on with his job, be happy to of made the squad himself and look forward to a long and successful future with his brother most likely in tow for the next 2/3 world cups after this.

everdead.ie

Yes I wonder about the dad though is he really speaking for the two of them or was johnaton dos Santos told he'd make the squad?
Otherwise they must be loopers.

greendom

Mushy wrote: »

Thought until they had June 4th to name squads?

Just as well you're not managing one of the WC finalists. What would you have said to you're FA.

Mr. Presentable

Goalkeepers -
Gianluigi Buffon
Juventus
Morgan De Sanctis Napoli
Federico Marchetti Cagliari
Defenders -
Fabio Cannavaro Juventus
Giorgio Chiellini Juventus
Gianluca Zambrotta
Milan

Domenico Criscito Genoa
Christian Maggio Napoli
Salvatore Bocchetti Genoa
Leonardi Bonucci Bari

Midfielders
-
Gennaro Gattuso AC Milan
Andrea Pirlo AC Milan
Mauro Camoranesi Juventus
Daniele De Rossi Roma
Angelo Palombo Sampdoria
Simone Pepe Udinese
Riccardo Montolivo Fiorentina
Claudio Marchisio Juventus
Forwards -

Alberto Gilardino Fiorentina
Vincenzo Iaquinta Juventus
Antonio Di Natale Udinese
Fabio Quagliarella Napoli
Giampaolo Pazzini Sampdoria

JerryHandbag

No Fabio Grosso? Scorer of semi final winner and final shootout penalty in 06.
Boo urns.

Seaneh

JerryHandbag wrote: »

No Fabio Grosso? Scorer of semi final winner and final shootout penalty in 06.
Boo urns.

was axed from the squad about a week ago. had a crap year too.

Qua will probably play on the wings and not up front. Same for Di Natale, leaving Iaq, Gila and Pazzo fighting for the number 9 shirt, I expect Gila to get the nod.

I'd hope to see a 4-2-3-1 with Pepe and Di Natale on the wings supporting gila with pirlo playing in the hole and Di Rossi and Gattauso behind him.

I fully expect Criscito to start on the left with Canna and Chie in the middle and Luca on the right.

no brainer for the number 1 shirt.

missingtime

nipplenuts wrote: »

Goalkeepers -
Gianluigi Buffon
Juventus
Morgan De Sanctis Napoli
Federico Marchetti Cagliari
Defenders -
Fabio Cannavaro Juventus
Giorgio Chiellini Juventus
Gianluca Zambrotta
Milan

Domenico Criscito Genoa
Christian Maggio Napoli
Salvatore Bocchetti Genoa
Leonardi Bonucci Bari

Midfielders
-
Gennaro Gattuso AC Milan
Andrea Pirlo AC Milan
Mauro Camoranesi Juventus
Daniele De Rossi Roma
Angelo Palombo Sampdoria
Simone Pepe Udinese
Riccardo Montolivo Fiorentina
Claudio Marchisio Juventus
Forwards -

Alberto Gilardino Fiorentina
Vincenzo Iaquinta Juventus
Antonio Di Natale Udinese
Fabio Quagliarella Napoli
Giampaolo Pazzini Sampdoria

Every player taken from teams in the Italian league.

Mr. Presentable

missingtime wrote: »

Every player taken from teams in the Italian league.

One of their biggest strengths imo

Mr. Presentable

I think it looks a better group than I expected. I am pleased to see the two Genoa defenders, and hope Pazzini gets selected to play ahead of Gilardino. With Gigi and Marchetti they are really blessed in goal.

Last WC they only conceded two goals - a penalty (dubiously awarded) and an OG. If Cannavaro can up his game again they will be very difficult to score against, and that's the basis for success.

Gillington

Germany's final 23-man SA2010 squad:

Goalkeepers:

Manuel Neuer,Schalke
Tim Wiese,Werder Bremen
Hans-Jorg Butt,Bayern Munich

Defenders:

Dennis Aogo,Hamburg
Holger Badstuber,Bayern Munich
Jerome Boateng,Hamburg
Arne Friedrich,Hertha Berlin
Marcell Jansen,Hamburg
Philipp Lahm,Bayern Munich
Per Mertesacker,Werder Bremen
Serdar Tasci,Stuttgart

Midfielders:

Sami Khedira,Stuttgart
Toni Kroos,Bayer Leverkusen
Marko Marin,Werder Bremen
Mesut Ozil,Werder Bremen
Bastian Schweinsteiger,Bayern Munich
Piotr Trochowski,Hamburg

Forwards:

Cacau,Stuttgart
Mario Gomez,Bayern Munich
Stefan Kiessling,Bayer Leverkusen
Miroslav Klose,Bayern Munich
Thomas Muller,Bayern Munich
Lukas Podolski,Cologne

FatherTed

nipplenuts wrote: »

Goalkeepers -
Gianluigi Buffon
Juventus
Morgan De Sanctis Napoli
Federico Marchetti Cagliari
Defenders -
Fabio Cannavaro Juventus
Giorgio Chiellini Juventus
Gianluca Zambrotta
Milan

Domenico Criscito Genoa
Christian Maggio Napoli
Salvatore Bocchetti Genoa
Leonardi Bonucci Bari

Midfielders
-
Gennaro Gattuso AC Milan
Andrea Pirlo AC Milan
Mauro Camoranesi Juventus
Daniele De Rossi Roma
Angelo Palombo Sampdoria
Simone Pepe Udinese
Riccardo Montolivo Fiorentina
Claudio Marchisio Juventus
Forwards -

Alberto Gilardino Fiorentina
Vincenzo Iaquinta Juventus
Antonio Di Natale Udinese
Fabio Quagliarella Napoli
Giampaolo Pazzini Sampdoria

As a partial USA fan, I'm delighted the turncoat Rossi from New Jersey didn't make it. Serves him right

mayordenis

Just had a look through some of the top nations squads and the average ages and appearances of their players

Spain
596 years old (25.91 average age) - 847 Caps (36.82 Average Caps)

England
659 years old (28.65 average age) - 860 Caps (37.39 Average Caps)

Brazil
658 years old (28.61 average age) - 856 Caps (37.21 Average Caps)

Argentina
622 years Old (28.85 average age) - 557 Caps (24.21 Average Caps)

Holland
635 years Old (27.61 average age) - 853 Caps (37.08 Average Caps)

Italy
649 years Old (28.21 average age) - 784 Caps (34.08 Average Caps)

France
632 years Old (27.47 average age) - 696 Caps (30.26 Average Caps)

Germany
572 years Old (24.86 average age) - 595 Caps (25.86 Average Caps)


Does it mean anything? Probably not a huge amount - but if you look at say Spain pretty young squad pretty high amount of average appearances you can see a recipe for a well oiled machine that has played together but is also still blooding youth, and blending it with experience to give a foundation for years to come.
Whereas if miracle of miracles were to happen with Argentina and they actually won the world cup they wouldn't be able to continue with the current squad and wouldn't necessarily be set up for future.

mayordenis

FatherTed wrote: »

As a partial USA fan, I'm delighted the turncoat Rossi from New Jersey didn't make it. Serves him right

kinda stupid - if the guy considers himself Italian has Italian parents etc. what makes him a turncoat?

m@cc@

JerryHandbag wrote: »

No Fabio Grosso? Scorer of semi final winner and final shootout penalty in 06.
Boo urns.

And dived for their injury-time penalty against the Aussies.

Seaneh

m@cc@ wrote: »

And dived for their injury-time penalty against the Aussies.

Ìf you call a clear penalty a dive, sure he did.

Pinturicchio

JerryHandbag wrote: »

No Fabio Grosso? Scorer of semi final winner and final shootout penalty in 06.
Boo urns.

He's an awful player.

Hasn't played well since 2006. Was an average player before that summer, went back to being an average player after that summer, and became a really bad player as he got older.

Edit: same could be said for Materazzi. :P

m@cc@

Seaneh wrote: »

Ìf you call a clear penalty a dive, sure he did.

I guess if you're an Italian football fan, it's par for the courses. Even Grosso has hinted that he 'accentuated a little bit'.

aidan24326

That German squad looks pretty ordinary. Be amazed if they can get to another final with that bunch. Still, given their record you'd never know.

m@cc@

aidan24326 wrote: »

That German squad looks pretty ordinary. Be amazed if they can get to another final with that bunch. Still, given their record you'd never know.

That's been said of the Germans in the last 2 World Cups.

Liam O

aidan24326 wrote: »

That German squad looks pretty ordinary. Be amazed if they can get to another final with that bunch. Still, given their record you'd never know.

Lot of young talent in their midfield. If Marin, Kroos and Ozil get in the team and play well they will surprise a lot of people. Marin I predict may be the surprise player of the WC if he gets the gametime as he is very talented.

Mr. Presentable

Pinturicchio wrote: »

He's an awful player.

Hasn't played well since 2006. Was an average player before that summer, went back to being an average player after that summer, and became a really bad player as he got older.

Edit: same could be said for Materazzi. :P

Completely agree. Grosso has been poor this past year - no positioning sense.

simonw

missingtime wrote: »

Every player taken from teams in the Italian league.

The England and Germany squads are both entirely based on their national leagues too?

FatherTed

mayordenis wrote: »

kinda stupid - if the guy considers himself Italian has Italian parents etc. what makes him a turncoat?

Because he considers himself to be American. Just that he prefers the Italian team better.

GLaDOS

aidan24326 wrote: »

That German squad looks pretty ordinary. Be amazed if they can get to another final with that bunch. Still, given their record you'd never know.

Never rule out the Germans

Bounty Hunter

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Never rule out the Germans

they have no chance at all Bill

Frisbee

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Never rule out the Germans

Always there or thereabouts.

_blank_

Here's a weird one

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/03/north-korea-world-cup-goalkeeper-gamble

North Korea have been told by Fifa that Kim Myong-won will only be able to play as a goalkeeper in the World Cup and not in his usual role as a striker.

The North Korean coach, Kim Jong-hun decided to name only two regular goalkeepers in his squad with Kim, who plays for Amrokgang, as the back-up.

It was seen as an attempt to boost the nation's attacking options as they prepare to face Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal in Group G.

However, the move has backfired spectacularly after Fifa confirmed that Kim will only be allowed to play as a goalkeeper, not as an outfield player. Unless there is an injury, no changes will be permitted to their final squad.

In a statement, world football's governing body said: "The squad lists that the teams had provided to Fifa by 1 June 2010 are final and can no longer be changed. On the final lists must be no more than 23 players, three of whom shall be goalkeepers.

"The only exception is in the case of a serious injury of a player in the list of 23, who could be replaced up until 24 hours before the first match of the team in the competition.

"The three players listed as goalkeepers can only play as goalkeepers during the World Cup and cannot play outfield. This will be communicated to the teams in the team arrival meetings and will be enforced on match days."

The statement added: "Kim Myong-won will not be allowed to play as an outfield player if he has been put on the list as a goalkeeper."

wtf?

Is this fair?

Frisbee

Des wrote: »

Here's a weird one

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/03/north-korea-world-cup-goalkeeper-gamble



wtf?

Is this fair?

Lol, and if it is allowed, why are FIFA allowed to decide which one of them has to be a goalie?

_blank_

Frisbee wrote: »

Lol, and if it is allowed, why are FIFA allowed to decide which one of them has to be a goalie?

from reading it, it seems the player was named as one of the three goalkeepers that must be named in the 23.

I'd love to see the NK press reports about this.

Frisbee

Des wrote: »

from reading it, it seems the player was named as one of the three goalkeepers that must be named in the 23.

Ah ok, brilliant. G'wan the Kim!

The Volt

Haha, that's hilarious

Vokes

There looks to be only the one midfielder (Schweinsteiger) in Germany's squad with big tournament experience. I think they'll struggle massively to get beyond the 2nd round.

I know Frings doesn't really get on with the manager but he surely would've been an essential asset in SA for the team, now that Ballack is out?

Mr. Presentable

Des wrote: »

from reading it, it seems the player was named as one of the three goalkeepers that must be named in the 23.

I'd love to see the NK press reports about this.

So now we know how WWIII wil start.......

eagle eye

I was just looking at the Spain squad and I was shocked to find out that Carlos Cuellar is not in it.
Imo he is at worst the 3 best Spanish centre back, he can also play right full to a very high level. They only have one right back in the squad.

~Rebel~

eagle eye wrote: »

I was just looking at the Spain squad and I was shocked to find out that Carlos Cuellar is not in it.
Imo he is at worst the 3 best Spanish centre back, he can also play right full to a very high level. They only have one right back in the squad.

Are Ramos and Arbeloa not both in the squad? Puyol can comfortably play there too if needed, fairly well covered for the spot imo.

Boskowski

Vokes wrote: »

There looks to be only the one midfielder (Schweinsteiger) in Germany's squad with big tournament experience. I think they'll struggle massively to get beyond the 2nd round.

Don't agree at all although I'm obviously biased.
For starters Im actually delighted with the talent were bringing this time - especially in midfield. I can only assume you never saw Marin, Özil or Kroos and base your opininon like most people on 'ah well if they were any good sure Eamon would have told us about them'.
Also did you see our side of the draw? There's nothing really that would make me shake in my boots before the semis tbh. That's not saying we couldn't just as easily not reach the semis - but we could just as easily do.

eagle eye

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Are Ramos and Arbeloa not both in the squad? Puyol can comfortably play there too if needed, fairly well covered for the spot imo.

Well I presume that Arbeloa will be the starting left back ahead of Capdevilla.

Anyways I'd still have Cuellar in the squad ahead of Albiol and Marchena as a centreback, I'd put him in front of Pique too as a player. That doesn't mean of course that he would start as Puyol and Pique know each others game so well.