Trapattoni Faces Defensive Temptation in Italy

ROME - Coach Giovanni Trapattoni may be tempted to live up to his fame for defensive football when his Ireland side seek to stop Italy running away with their World Cup qualifying group on his return to his homeland on Wednesday.

Trapattoni's reputation for catenaccio was cemented during his stint as Italy coach, one of the few failures of a glittering career, when early exits from the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 were blamed on his negative tactics.

He denied there was any truth in the claims before the Group Eight qualifier in Bari.

"Go and look at the goals my teams have scored and the ones they have conceded and work it out," Trapattoni, who celebrated his 70th birthday on March 17, St. Patrick's Day, told Rai television.

"If your team score more goals than the others and concede fewer, there must be something of value, mustn't there?"

But he looks unlikely to seek to belie his reputation with a bold attacking display against the world champions, especially after Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw with Bulgaria in Dublin.

Italy took advantage to pull two points clear at the top of the group by beating Montenegro 2-0 away and have the chance of extending the lead to five by winning on Wednesday.

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LITTLE AMBITION

What may have worried Trapattoni more than the result and the group standings is the lack of ambition and creativity exposed at the weekend.

Winger Damien Duff, out with a thigh injury, was badly missed as the good football that had put Ireland in the position of being Italy's only real rivals in the group evaporated.

Trapattoni will be expected to play for a draw that would consolidate his team's hold on second place and a playoff berth with Bulgaria seven points behind the Irish in third.

This strategy also has its risks though, as the Irish do not have the technical ability needed to shut out opponents by hiding possession.

This was shown on Saturday, when Trapattoni put men behind the ball after taking a first-minute lead only for Bulgaria to find a deserved equaliser with a late Kevin Kilbane own goal.

But Italy coach Marcello Lippi remains wary.

"Ireland should not be judged on the draw with Bulgaria but on the good things they have managed to do so far in these World Cup qualifiers," he told reporters.

"If I know Trapattoni he'll be able to create the right level of tension and do everything to play a nasty joke on us."

Victory in Montenegro came at a price for Italy, as forward Antonio Di Natale suffered a knee injury early on and faces a long spell on the sidelines.

Probable teams:

Italy: Gianluigi Buffon; Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Fabio Grosso; Angelo Palombo, Andrea Pirlo, 6-Daniele De Rossi; 7-Fabio Quagliarella, 9-Vincenzo Iaquinta, Giuseppe Rossi

Ireland: Shay Given; Paul McShane, Richard Dunne, John O'Shea, Kevin Kilbane; Aidan McGeady, Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews, Stephen Hunt; Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle

( Paul Virgo / Reuters )

Keeper Julio Cesar earns Brazil a Draw

QUITO - Brazil drew 1-1 away to Ecuador in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday thanks to an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Ecuador outplayed the five-times world champions but were repeatedly foiled by the Inter Milan goalkeeper and then fell behind when substitute Julio Baptista scored in the 74th minute.

Another substitute, Cristian Noboa, restored some justice by equalising in the 89th minute, although a home win would have been the fairest result after a pulsating game at the Atahualpa at 2,800 metres above sea level.

Brazil have 18 points from 11 games in the 10-team South American qualifying group, five behind leaders Paraguay, while Ecuador have 13.

Brazil, who drew for the sixth time in the campaign, were short on ambition and the ever-grinning Ronaldinho made a negligible contribution before being replaced by Baptista.

"We knew it would be difficult and we didn't play our best football," Julio Cesar told Brazilian television.

"Their players didn't stop running for one minute, we stood up well until the end and the goal was a punishment for us all."

The first half ended scoreless thanks to Ecuador's poor finishing as well as Julio Cesar.

The highlight was a double save when he blocked Edison Mendez's free kick and then saved Joffre Guerron's point-blank shot with his feet from the rebound.

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Julio Cesar also parried a Cristian Benitez shot and got his fingertips to a vicious, swerving Walter Ayovi effort to turn the ball around the post.

Benitez twice headed wide while Antonio Valencia thumped a 20-metre shot against the post from 20 metres from other chances.

The game followed the same pattern after halftime.

Benitez was left with a free shot on goal after Lucio misjudged a long ball forward but the Mexican-based striker fired wildly over.

Brazil were then caught out playing the offside trip as a long ball found Guerron on the right but his close-range volley was brilliantly saved by Julio Cesar.

Brazil stunned the crowd when Baptista scored with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, which hit the post, struck goalkeeper Jose Cevallos on the back and rebounded into the goal.

Ecuador levelled with one minute left when Mendez broke down the right, crossed and Noboa scored from the rebound after Benitez's first effort was blocked.

There was still time for Julio Cesar to make another save on the line from a Benitez header.

( Reuters )

Sanchez Inspires Chile to 3-1 Win in Peru

LIMA - Alexis Sanchez scored the first goal and contributed to the other two as he inspired Chile to a 3-1 win away to arch-rivals Peru in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Udinese forward also suffered the foul which led to Peru's Juan Vargas being given a red card in the 53rd minute for a second bookable offence.

The win lifted Chile into third place in the 10-team South American group with 19 points from 11 games, behind Argentina on goal difference and one ahead of Brazil who drew 1-1 with Ecuador. Paraguay lead with 23 points.

Peru, lucky not to have more players dismissed for some wild tackling and incapable of stringing more than a couple of passes together, stayed bottom of the group with seven points after another dire performance.

The top four teams qualify for South Africa in 2010 and the fifth plays off against the fourth side from the CONCACAF zone for another place.

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Chile ignored a hostile reception at the Monumental stadium as Sanchez volleyed them ahead from Mark Gonzalez's cross after two minutes.

In the 32nd minute, Sanchez was upended by Vargas and Humberto Suazo fired home the resulting penalty.

Johan Fano pulled one back two minutes later but Vargas's dismissal ended any remaining hopes of a Peruvian fightback.

Chile continued to attack in numbers, a hallmark of their enigmatic Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa, and settled the game in the 72nd minute.

Suazo found Sanchez on the right and he pulled the ball back for Matias Fernandez to score into an empty net after a swift counter-attack.

Peru, who last qualified for the World Cup in 1982 when they were a dominant force in South America, are almost certain to miss out again and were left contemplating a four-year wait before they can have another try.

( Reuters )

England face Striker Shortage for Qualifier

LONDON - Striker Emile Heskey has been ruled out of England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Wednesday after injuring himself in the 4-0 friendly victory over Slovakia at Wembley on Saturday.

"Emile Heskey has been withdrawn from the squad because of a hamstring injury and has been sent back to his club," an FA spokesman confirmed on Sunday.

The Aston Villa frontman's withdrawal means England coach Fabio Capello is short of strikers for Wednesday's Group Six clash after Carlton Cole, who came on to replace Heskey on Saturday before also hobbling off, suffered a groin injury.

Heskey, who scored his first England goal for six years against Slovakia, underwent a scan on Sunday. Fellow striker Peter Crouch, who also went off with a knock against Slovakia, will be fit.

"He was taken off as a precaution," the spokesman said of the Portsmouth player. "He is okay for Wednesday."

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Tottenham Hotspur's Darren Bent has been added to the squad for the visit of Ukraine but coach Fabio Capello resisted any temptation to call on Newcastle United's Michael Owen despite his record of 40 goals in his 89 England appearances.

"No, he only played 20 minutes of his last match and is not in the best form," Capello said of Owen. Kevin Davies of Bolton Wanderers, who has scored 11 goals in the Premier League this season, has also been overlooked.

Better news for England, who lead Group Six with four wins out of four, is that Wayne Rooney appears to have re-discovered his best form for England. The Manchester United player scored twice against Slovakia to make it seven goals in his last four appearances for England.

"He is the joker in the pack, he can play in any position," Capello said of Rooney who may even play as a lone striker against Ukraine.

( Martyn Herman / Reuters )

Loew to keep Faith with Gomez against Sorry Wales

LONDON, March 30 - Forward Mario Gomez has not scored in his last 13 appearances for Germany so a match against a Wales side who appear to have surrendered all hope of reaching the World Cup finals could be just what he needs.

Coach Joachim Loew has remained loyal to Gomez despite his lack of goals and looks set to retain him alongside Lukas Podolski in Cardiff on Wednesday in Group Four in the continued absence of injured striker Miroslav Klose.

Stuttgart's Gomez could even benefit from the match being away after he was jeered by home fans in Leipzig on Saturday when he missed several chances in the 4-0 defeat of Leichtenstein which maintained Germany's four-point lead.

"Of course, the whistles hurt," Gomez said in an interview on Eurosport. "It is obvious that it wasn't good, and if they are whistling me personally, then that isn't nice.

"I know how it is and it would be different had I scored. I just need to start putting the ball over the line."

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WHIPPING BOYS

Euro 2008 runners-up Germany are clear favourites to win the group although with second-placed Russia, who have a game in hand, up against whipping boys Liechtenstein on Wednesday, Loew will be wary of the unpredictable Welsh.

"They need to open up more if they want to have a chance to qualify," Loew said of Wales although the mood in the Welsh camp after a 2-0 home defeat by Finland on Saturday suggests they have already given up.

Skipper Craig Bellamy summed up the mood after a third defeat in their five groups games so far.

"You've probably seen two poor sides trying to contest this group and none have a glimmer of hope of qualifying," he told the BBC. "Where do we go from here? God knows."

Coach John Toshack admitted his side's hopes of qualifying for a first major finals since the 1958 World Cup finals are over.

"We've got five games left and realistically if we won all five we still wouldn't have enough points."

Germany are likely to be unchanged from the side that beat Liechtenstein with Hamburg's Marcell Jansen retaining his place on the left and defender Serdar Tasci also getting another chance after a positive display on Saturday.

Probable teams:

Wales: Wayne Hennessey; Chris Gunter, James Collins, Lewin Nyatanga, Gareth Bale; Simon Davies, Carl Fletcher, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Ledley, Jason Koumas; Craig Bellamy.

Germany: Robert Enke, Andreas Beck, Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Serdar Tasci; Marcell Jansen, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Michael Ballack; Lukas Podolski, Mario Gomez.

( Martyn Herman / Reuters )

Maradona Unleashes the "Shorties"

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's trio of "shorties" have a bright future, coach Diego Maradona said after his three-pronged attack of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi led the 4-0 rout of Venezuela.

All three players, average height 1.70 metres, scored in Saturday's World Cup qualifier which marked Maradona's home and competitive debut since his surprise appointment last year.

"It was the perfect game, we kept the ball, we broke down the flanks and we had lots of scoring chances created by the shorties," he told reporters after the game.

"I want to hear the response of those who want us to play with big strikers and pump high balls at them.

"The boys knew when to wait for their moment and we scored the goals at exactly the right time. Venezuela have improved and it wasn't easy to score four goals.

"These players like to perforate defences," added Maradona, a shorty himself at 1.65 metres. "This is my ideal team."

Messi had one of his best games for Argentina scoring the first goal, setting up the second and nearly adding another with a brilliant run through the Venezuela defence late in the game.

"If Messi plays like that every time it will be excellent. If that last chance had gone in, we would all have had to leave the stadium, pay for another ticket and come back in again," said Maradona.

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Maradona opted for a 3-4-3 formation, giving Messi the prestigious number 10 shirt, after enigmatic playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme announced his international retirement earlier this month.

Furious that Maradona had made comments on his playing style in a television interview, Riquelme said the two could not work together and the coach had broken a code of ethics.

Riquelme generally controlled the midfield when he played and Messi appeared to enjoy more freedom without him.

The Monumental crowd, which gave Maradona a rousing reception, aimed a few jibes at the mercurial Boca Juniors playmaker with chants of "Riquelme's watching on the telly."

Maradona said that the only sour note were some jeers for midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron when he replaced Tevez midway through the second half.

Many blamed Veron, making only his second appearance since the 2007 Copa America, for Argentina's shock first-round exit at the 2002 World Cup in Asia and some have not forgiven him.

"Veron took painkillers because I asked him to and the people who jeered him will regret it," said Maradona.

( Brian Homewood / Reuters )