South Korea is still trying to find out their ideal lineup, as they weren't happy with their performances during the qualifiers nor by some of their other results in that period. They won their last match against Greece 2:0 and while from the highlights it seemed the Greeks were a bit unfortunate hitting the wood work a few times, that still is an impressive result even if S.Korea did beat Greece by the same scoreline in Wc2010. In any case, their lineup against Greece linked here might be close to what they will eventually field in the World Cup. Of course, none of the teams have a definite lineup for the World Cup right now. That applies even to those teams who might be more satisfied with their qualifying campaigns such as Russia, although Russia's results in the qualifiers weren't all that impressive in 2013 either and their best results were from 2012. In any case, I think you can put some weight on Russia's lineup against Armenia in their last friendly which they won. At least, as a starting point when it comes to what they might field for the World Cup.
thanks, I figured as much that those friendlies would be close to the starting line up. Same with Algeria's friendly. That was a good result against Greece but at the same time just watching the highlights I can't help but feel they lucked out from time to time with the amount of times Greece hit the post. I guess the main reason for bring up starting lineups is because a lot of people immediately dismiss Algeria as the weakest side but comparing the starting 11's between Russia and South Korea I don't think you can objectively say that Algeria is by any means the weakest side? Russia had a pretty good qualifiers so they have talent but even comparing it to Algeria I think one could argue that the Algerian NT has players playing in leagues better than the Russian one.. some of our players do very well in those leagues(in an ideal world Vahid will play those players). I'm essentially just saying that this group is far more open than people might expect.
@nyer @DzFooty ... will Algeria switch managers ahead of Brazil2014? ... hearing weird stories about Halilhodzic ... journos will do anything for a few more hits though ... I'm expecting that Gourcuff will have to wait a little bit longer before he takes over. Where did it go wrong with Halilhodzic?
As far as I know, Vahid has the option to extend by the end of this month (April). If he doesn't accept an extension, he won't be our coach after the World Cup. Algeria started looking for other options in advance in the event Vahid doesn't accept. I don't think anything went wrong with Vahid. He might just have different goals in his life. I believe he's a bit of an ego maniac so he may think that he deserves better.
I'm hearing that the relationship had been going downhill and now has completely soured ... reportedly Halilhodzic got really mad upon receiving the news that an agreement had been reached with Gourcuff. Don't really know what to make of it ... were there tensions in the past? ... does an agreement exist with Gourcuff? etc.
Well, like @DzFooty said, Vahid is a bit of an egomaniac and he without a doubt rubs some people the wrong way. I mean, he's alienated one of Algeria's "big prospects" Boudebouz(who has really dropped off within the past year so it's not that big of a deal). As well as refusing to try out other players in areas we really needed work in like fullbacks during qualifiers. A lot of those problems are now fixed up by him but he's still very stubborn and hard headed. As far as effecting his game for Algeria I don't think he'll treat the WC any different. Players want to do well and so does he. Especially now knowing that the Algerian Federation won't beg him to stay as they've made it perfectly clear they're ready to replace him. This might be cynical of me, but I do feel as though this is somewhat of a power play in the sense that the FAF is telling him "you better do well if you want job offers from other clubs" I think though that Vahid genuinely has fun with the team but he's made it clear that he wants to try a new project, specifically for club teams. Can't blame the guy though, I thought he made it clear in the beginning this wouldn't be a real long term agreement.
Bad news for Belgium. http://www.theguardian.com/football...achilles-injury-aston-villa-belgium-world-cup
Good news ... Januzaj wants to join Belgium ... 13 May around 12 CET, we'll know if he's on Wilmots' list (containing 30 players) ... maybe Michy too.
Wow, that's huge for Belgium. They are really putting together a stable of thoroughbreds. Probably won't get past the quarters in Brazil, but 2016 and 2018 should be something.
Lukaku is only 20yo (21 soon though) and Hazard is a Young Player of the Year nominee ... we'll have to wait & see if Januzaj makes the squad ... although it's a shame that Benteke has to miss out on Brazil, I'm hoping that Wilmots selects Januzaj to fill that spot.
The official belgian squad has just been anounced only Christian Benteke is injured - no other major injuries for players that would have been selected otherwise Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Atlético Madrid, SPA) Simon Mignolet (Liverpool FC, ENG) Koen Casteels (Hoffenheim TSV, GER) * Silvio Proto (RSC Anderlecht, BEL) gets selected in case Casteels does not get fit in time, decision is made next week. Defenders: Laurent Ciman (Standard de Liège, BEL) Vincent Kompany (Man City, ENG) Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern München, GER) Toby Alderweireld (Atlético Madrid, SPA) Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal FC, ENG) Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit, RUS) Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham, ENG) Anthony Vanden Borre (Anderlecht, BEL) Midfielders: Moussa Dembélé (Tottenham, ENG) Marouane Fellaini (Man United, ENG) Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg, GER) Nacer Chadli (Tottenham, ENG) Axel Witsel (Zenit, RUS) Steven Defour (FC Porto, POR). Attackers: Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC, ENG) Romelu Lukaku (Everton FC, ENG) Dries Mertens (SSC Napoli, ITA) Kevin Mirallas (Everton FC, ENG) Adnan Januzaj (Man United, ENG) Divock Origi (Lille OSC, FRA). Standby in case someone gets injured: Radja Nainggolan (AS Roma, ITA) Sébastien Pocognoli (Hannover 96, GER) Thorgan Hazard (Zulte Waregem, BEL) Guillaume Gillet (RSC Anderlecht, BEL) Michy Batshuayi (Standard de Liège, BEL) Jelle Van Damme (Standard de Liège, BEL). == starting 11 will be probably this == 4-3-3 courtois alderweireld - kompany - van buyten (or lombaerts/vermaelen) - vertongen witsel - defour (or dembele/fellaini) - de bruyne hazard - lukaku - mertens/mirallas mertens/mirallas will probably be dropped for dembele/chadli/fellaini if the coach wants a bit more defensive setup.
Nah, I saw the whole game. Korea was the better team by a mile. I think greece matches up horribly aganst stronger asian teams
fun article on Belgium from grantland Link: http://grantland.com/features/world...incent-kompany-eden-hazard-marouane-fellaini/
you need to back up from your comment. I just don't see anyone in this group will end up with 9 points.
Won't happen until the friendly against Armenia on May 31st is played. There are 3-4 spots up for grab and 7 extra players.
OK ... so the final 23 will probably be announced on June 2nd. Belgium's 3rd stringer GK, Casteels, is in a race to get fit ... his replacement if he doesn't make it, Proto, broke his arm and will be replaced in turn by Bossut.
Korea Republic 23-man squad GK JUNG Sung Ryong (29, Suwon Bluewings-KOR) LEE Beom Young (25, Busan I'Park-KOR) KIM Seung Kyu (23, Ulsan Hyundai-KOR) DF HWANG Seok Ho (24, Sanfrecce Hiroshima-JPN) HONG Jeong Ho (24, FC Augsburg-GER) LEE Yong (27, Ulsan Hyundai-KOR) YUN Su Kyoung (24, Queen's Park Rangers-ENG) KIM Chang Soo (28, Kashiwa Reysol-JPN) KIM Jin Su (22, Albirex Niigata-JPN) KIM Young Kwon (24, Guangzhou Evergrande-CHN) KWAK Tae Hwi (32, Al Hilal-KSA) MF HAN Kook Young (24, Kashiwa Reysol-JPN) HA Dae Sung (29, Beijing Guoan-CHN) JI Dong Won (23, FC Augsburg-GER) LEE Chung Yong (25, Bolton-ENG) SON Heung Min (21, Bayer Leverkusen-GER) PARK Jong Woo (25, Guangzhou R&F-CHN) KIM Bo Kyung (24, Cardiff City-WAL) KI Sung Yueng (25, Sunderland-ENG) FW LEE Keun Ho (29, Sangju Sangmu Pheonix-KOR) PARK Chu Young (29, Watford FC-ENG) KIM Shin Wook (26, Ulsan Hyundai-KOR) KOO Ja Cheol (25, FSV Mainz 05-GER)
ALGERIA FINAL 23: GOALKEEPERS: Mohamed Zemmamouche (USM Alger), Rais Mbolhi (CSKA Sofia), Cédric Si Mohamed (CS Constantine) DEFENDERS: Carl Medjani (Valenciennes), Aïssa Mandi (Reims), Madjid Bougherra (Lekhwiya), Faouzi Ghoulam (Naples), Rafik Halliche (Académica Coimbra), Essaïd Belkalem (Watford), Liassine Cadamuro (Majorque), Djamel Mesbah (Livourne) MIDFIELDERS: Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio), Saphir Taider (Inter), Medhi Lacen (Getafe), Hassen Yebda (Udinese), Sofiane Feghouli (Valence), Abdelmoumen Djabou (Club Africain), Yacine Brahimi (Grenade), Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester) FORWARDS: Islam Slimani (Sporting Portugal), Hilal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb), Nabil Ghilas (FC Porto)
Russia's final XXIII Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Lodygin (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan). Defenders: Vasili Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eshchenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Sergey Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexey Kozlov (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny), Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow). Midfielders: Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Zhirkov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexey Ionov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Victor Faizulin (Zenit St Petersburg), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Krasnodar). Forwards: Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexander Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow)
So if Belgium drops any points or Russia doesn't win two matches during the group play, we won't be seeing any more posts from you cause you will be dead?