Koreas Collide in Politically-Charged Match

The two Koreas meet here Wednesday in a crunch World Cup qualifier as tensions between the countries mount ahead of a planned rocket launch by the communist North.

The North says it will fire a rocket to launch a satellite for peaceful space research sometime between April 4-8, but the United States, Japan and South Korea insist this is a pretext for testing its Taepodong-2 missile.

It is under this cloud that the neighbouring states collide on the football field in only the second FIFA-sanctioned match between them on South Korean soil.

The first was in June last year, with two subsequent World Cup qualifiers scheduled for Pyongyang moved to Shanghai after the North refused to play the South Korean anthem and display its national flag.

The players will attempt to put the politics aside as they battle for the top spot in Asian Group B.

The North, who last made the World Cup finals in 1966, currently have 10 points from five games and lead the group after a gritty 2-0 home win over the United Arab Emirates at home on Saturday.

The victory puts pressure on their southern neighbours who are second on eight points but with a game in hand.

Saudi Arabia have seven points, Iran six and UAE one with only the top two teams automatically booking their place in South Africa next year.

The South are again led by their Europe-based veterans, including Manchester United winger Park Ji-Sung and defensive back Lee Young-Pyo, who now plys his trade with Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund.

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Lee and his fellow defenders will be tasked with blanking dynamic North Korean forward Jong Tae-Se and his speedy sidekick Hong Yong-Jo while Park will look to orchestrate scoring chances from midfield.

The Manchester United star insisted the team was not thinking about reclaiming top place in the group, and instead said his side must focus on their own game.

"Everyone just has to show what he has and play with organization but not worry about the fact that North Koreans are the leaders now," the South Korea captain said.

South Korea edged Iraq 2-1 in a nervy friendly on Saturday but while coach Huh Jung-Moo said it was "a fairly good prep before the North Korean match", he lamented a series of missed scoring chances.

"Our ability to penetrate the opposing defense and our two-on-one passing was working well in the later stages of the game. It was a good preparation match for the game against North Korea," said Huh.

"But we should have scored more goals. We have to do a better job of converting our opportunities."

The South, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists, have bagged eight goals in their four qualifying matches, but half of them came against the UAE.

( AFP )

Rooney can be England's Answer to Raul

Fabio Capello believes Wayne Rooney can emulate Real Madrid icon Raul by becoming England's figurehead for the next decade.

Few players in Real's illustrious history have ever been more closely associated with the famous white shirt than Raul.

The Spain forward has scored over 200 goals and made more than 500 appearances for Real since his debut in 1994, as well as helping the club win six La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues.

Raul's leadership and eye for goal make him the quintessential Real player, while he is also Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals.

Capello has first-hand experience of Raul's influence after coaching him during two spell as Real manager and he believes Rooney has the ability to have a similiar inspirational effect on England.

The Italian jokingly called Rooney a "crazy man" after his sending off for Manchester United against Fulham earlier this month. But that remark hid Capello's huge admiration for a player who has rediscovered his appetite for international football under his new coach.

Rooney's relatively barren goal-scoring run in the latter days of Sven Goran Eriksson's reign continued under Steve McClaren, but he has scored seven times in his last four matches, including two against Slovakia on Saturday.

That impressive form earned Rooney the England fans' Player of the Year award and moved Capello to wax lyrical about the 23-year-old.

"For the movement, for the passion and the leadership on the pitch, he is very similar to Raul," Capello said.

"When I started the first time at Madrid, Raul was 19. He was very young but he was already a leader on the pitch."

Rooney's fiery temperament has landed him in trouble several times, but Capello believes, properly harnessed, that fierce will to win could make him, like Raul, an ideal captain later in his career.

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"Can Rooney be England captain? Why not? But you have to wait. Now we have a good captain in John Terry."

Capello hasn't just had a positive impact on Rooney's form. Under his regime, England's underachieving stars are finally showing signs of fulfiling their potential at international level.

Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand both paid glowing tribute to his management style ahead of the Ukraine match, but Capello believes his players are simply responding to the respect he shows them.

"I think I respect the players, I respect the shirt, I respect the fans, and I respect all the people who work with us. Only this," Capello said.

"After that the quality of the players is very high. I said when I started they need the confidence. But the respect is very important.

"This is what players normally say when they are doing well. I respect the players and the most important thing is wanting to win.

"When you win you are the best, when you lose you are nothing. The future can say whether Fabio Capello was a good England manager or not."

Injuries to Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and Darren Bent going into Wednesday's clash tested the depth of Capello's resources, but he is convinced there is enough English talent to cover for all eventualities on the road to next year's World Cup in South Africa.

"In the last match Rio was injured and (Matthew) Upson played very well. Then (Theo) Walcott was out and (Aaron) Lennon and David (Beckham) came in. We have a lot of good players now," Capello said.

"Also the Under-21s are playing a lot of very interesting young English players. There are no problems for the future.

"There are some players who you don't want to lose but the level of these players is very high."

( AFP )

Shearer given Eight Games to Save Newcastle

Alan Shearer is to become Newcastle's fourth manager this season after agreeing to take on the challenge of saving the club he used to captain from relegation.

Shearer, 38, a hero to the Magpies' fans for his exploits on the pitch, had long been tipped as a future manager of the club but he could never have envisaged taking over in such difficult circumstances.

Newcastle are currently third from bottom of the Premier League, two points adrift of Blackburn, the club currently occupying the last survival spot.

Shearer, who has no coaching experience, has just eight games to save the club from the financially calamitous consequences of relegation and Chelsea's visit on Saturday means he could hardly have a tougher start to his rein.

Newcastle turned to Shearer as it became clear that, under the temporary management of caretaker boss Chris Hughton, the club was drifting towards disaster after a run which has seen them win only one of their last 12 league matches.

Hughton had taken charge of the first-team in February after Joe Kinnear, who was only appointed as an interim boss following the departure of Kevin Keegan in September, underwent a heart bypass.

Kinnear has been unable to return to work and Newcastle owner Mike Ashley decided he had to act to stop the rot.

That meant sending out an SOS to Shearer, despite the fact that Ashley has passed on previous opportunities to install the club's greatest ever goalscorer in the manager's office.

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Shearer, who has mostly worked as a television pundit since hanging up his boots three years ago, had made it clear he wanted the job in January 2008, when Sam Allardyce was sacked. He had also signalled that, subject to certain conditions, he would be prepared to take over when Keegan's second spell as manager ended in acrimony in September.

Despite reservations in some quarters about Shearer's lack of coaching experience, the news of his appointment was greeted with delight by the vast majority of Newcastle fans.

Sir John Hall, the former chairman who was responsible for bringing Shearer to Newcastle in his playing days, backed the former England striker to succeed and said he should be appointed on a long-term basis.

"I would have preferred him to come back as long-term manager because I've always felt he was the only man at this moment in time who could manage Newcastle," Hall said.

"He's the most dedicated professional I've ever known in my time in the game. Desperate measures, desperate times. There's a gap opening up at the bottom of the table and he'll galvanise all the fans - let's hope he galvanises the players.

"It's got to happen on the park. If it doesn't happen on the park we'll go down."

Hall believes Newcastle's fervent supporters will remain behind Shearer even if he fails to stave off relegation.

"They have too high regard for Alan Shearer and they know he's coming in in very, very difficult circumstances," he said. "I'm certain no one would judge him on these eight games.

( AFP )

Europe's Fight for World Cup Places Hots Up

Europe's fight for 13 World Cup places hots up on Wednesday with seven months to go before the end of qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Nine group winners and four runners up from a two-leg play-off slot into place at the momentous, 32-nation football jamboree from June 11 to July 11 next year, the first finals to be held in Africa.

Reigning world champions Italy have a top-of-the-table clash with Republic of Ireland in Bari, 1998 winners France complete a double-header at home to Lithuania and European champions Spain meet Turkey in Istanbul.

England, fresh from their 4-0 friendly thrashing of Slovakia at the weekend, return to World Cup action with another Wembley date against Ukraine. Holland, who impressed on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Scotland in Amsterdam, host Macedonia.

Italian coaching legends Marcello Lippi and Giovanni Trappatoni will be on opposite benches as Italy host Ireland.

Italy lead group eight by two points from Ireland following Saturday's matches in which the world champions won 2-0 in Montenegro and a late own goal from Kevin Kilbane cost the Irish a home win against Bulgaria.

Lippi led the country to the 2006 World Cup title in Germany though Trappatoni has won everything there is to win in club football during a glorious 35-year coaching career in which he has sat on the bench at giants such as AC Milan, Inter MIlan, Juventus, Benfica and Bayern Munich.

He won titles in four different countries, including seven in Italy, and all three European competitions, including the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup.

France can take a significant step towards reaching next year's World Cup with success against Lithuania for the second time inside a week.

Franck Ribery's stylish contribution on a bumpy pitch in Kaunas on Saturday has helped smooth France's path to South Africa 2010.

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If they do the double on this 'return' leg against Lithuania coach Raymond Domnenech's side can leapfrog the over-achieving 52nd ranked team in the world and move into second in Group Seven.

A win would set them up nicely for their September encounter with group leaders Serbia, who are on 12 points compared to France's seven with the 1998 winners and 2006 finalists enjoying a game in hand.

Striker Fernando Torres on Monday warned European champions Spain to beware of a Turkish backlash in the return fixture.

Spain squeaked past the Turks 1-0 last Saturday with a goal from defender Gerard Pique but the Turks gave their hosts a tough time of it before succumbing.

With Bosnia-Herzegovina managing a surprise win in Belgium to go provisionally second in the group, Turkey, a point further back in third, now have to make up lost ground.

Spain lead with a perfect 15 points - but Torres says this is no time for complacency.

"We must be humble in taking on any rival and all the more so with Turkey as they have a great team," said the Liverpool striker.

"They made things tough for us last Saturday and they will do all the more so on Wednesday," he predicted.

Frank Lampard believes Fabio Capello's refusal to pander to the egos of England's pampered superstars has played a key role in putting the team on course for the World Cup finals.

It hasn't taken long for Capello's regime to play off. Four successive wins have fired England to the top of Group Six and another victory over Ukraine would give them one foot in the finals already.

Chelsea midfielder Lampard admits it was about time England's underachievers were given a reality check.

"We needed a very strong leader who had his own mind," he said. "With Capello you can see that. The best managers I've worked with have a fear element, but it's not a fear where you can't speak to them. It's about the decisions he makes for the good of the team."

( AFP )

Kaka may come to the Rescue of Brazil

Former world player of the year Kaka may come to the rescue for Brazil on Wednesday as the five-time champions seek to galvanise their World Cup qualifying campaign against Peru.

Although in no apparent danger of missing out on one of the four qualifying slots for next year's finals in South Africa the 'auriverde' have only won four of their 11 qualifiers to date and have not been firing on all cylinders - as witnessed by Sunday's fortuitous draw in Ecuador.

That result left Dunga's side a point behind both Argentina and Chile and five adrift of group leaders Paraguay.

Having felt moved to excuse the lethargic showing of Ronaldinho, who gave way to goalscorer Julio Baptista on Sunday, given the Ecuador match was played at altitude in Quito, Dunga is clearly banking on AC Milan clubmate Kaka to raise the standard Wednesday in Porto Alegre against group tailenders Peru.

Dunga said late Monday that Kaka was "in a fit state to play" and that suggested that Ronaldinho could well be benched for the match in his home city.

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Kaka "is fit, though I don't know how much of the game he will manage," Dunga told reporters.

The 26-year-old has been undergoing a special training programme with physios following the foot injury he suffered in Serie A in February and he said late Monday he was feeling much better if not 100 percent.

"I would like to be able to play and after this latest training session I saw I was pretty much ready to play - but I don't know how long for," said the star in echoing Dunga's own assessment.

"I am much better and I am available for Dunga," he added following an energetic training session against youngsters from Brazilian side Gremio.

"If I am in a fit state to do so I'd like to get through the 90 minutes," he said.

"I want to help all those who were with me in this exercise (of recuperating). After so many days without playing I have got back my fitness and now am ready to help the Brazilian team," he concluded.

( AFP )

France Draft Mavuba for Injured Diaby

France on Tuesday drafted Rio Mavuba of Lille to replace Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby, who withdrew with a hip problem ahead of Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Stade de France.

France are out to do the double over the Baltic side after their 1-0 win in Kaunus last Saturday to smooth their path to South Africa 2010.

A win will see Raymond Domenech's side can leapfrog the over-achieving 52nd ranked team in the world and move into second place in Group Seven.

That would set up Les Bleus nicely for their September encounter with group leaders Serbia, who are on 12 points compared to France's seven with the 1998 winners and 2006 finalists enjoying a game in hand.

The absence of Diaby is a headache for Domenech, already missing Jeremy Toulalan as the Lyon midfielder is suspended after picking up his second yellow card in Kaunas following the one he received in last October's 2-2 draw with Romania.

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As well as the inexperienced Mavuba, France could also call on Bordeaux's Alou Diarra to work alongside Lassana Diarra with Toulalan unavailable.

Mavuba has won six caps but last appeared two years ago in a friendly win over Austria.

Revised France squad

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Toulouse)

Defenders: Gael Clichy (Arsenal/ENG), Rod Fanni (Rennes), William Gallas (Arsenal/ENG), Philippe Mexes (Roma/ITA), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla/ESP), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG), Adil Rami (Lille)

Midfielders: Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid/ESP), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Samir Nasri (Arsenal/ENG), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER)

Forwards: Guillaume Hoarau (PSG), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Jimmy Briand (Rennes), Thierry Henry (Barcelona/ESP), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse)

( AFP )