England vs Belarus- October 14th Saturday, at Wembley ( 20.00 UK Time)-
Football returns to television this Wednesday ( after the internet only stream of the weekend qualifier against Ukraine) as England host Belarus in their final Group 6 qualifier. Fabio Capello’s men have already booked thier spot at the 2010 World Cup finals, but will be keen to preserve their unbeaten home record in European qualifying.
England were beaten 1-0 by Ukraine on Saturday, thereby giving coach Fabio Capello his first competitive defeat as manager of the Three Lions. But England are yet to be defeated at home in qualifying, and Capello will want the side to end their campaign in style at Wembley.
Who is injured :- Wayne Rooney
Who is suspended :- Robert Green
A calamitous piece of defending from Rio Ferdinand saw Robert Green become the first ever England goalkeeper to be sent off at senior international level. Rooney, England’s standout player on Saturday, has been ruled out of this clash with a calf injury. Rooney is also England’s highest scorer in qualifying with nine goals to his name.
Gareth Barry could return in midfield in place of Michael Carrick, who did not really stamp his authority in Ukraine. Matthew Upson or Gary Cahill could also get a start ahead of Rio Ferdinand, who has looked rusty and out of form in recent times. With Rooney injured, Capello may choose to start with Agbonlahor and Heskey upfront, or bring in either Carlton Cole or Peter the “Robot” Crouch.
Steven Gerrard left the pitch at half time in Ukraine with a groin injury, and although medics have given him the all clear, Capello will wait till the end before deciding whether to start with him or replace him on the left with James Milner.
Belarus will be without their skipper Alexander Hleb. They cannot qualify for the World Cup, with Ukraine and Croatia battling it out for second spot in the group.
You can have a look at Puntersrealm-Online Betting for some good betting tips on the game.
Bernd Stange’s men beat Kazakhstan 4-0 on Saturday in the city of Brest. Timofei Kalachev scored a brace, with Maxsim Bardachov and Leonid Kovel also scoring.
Last match between the two sides:-
Belarus 1-3 England ( 15th October 2008)
( Pavel Sitko/ Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney*2)
Related posts:
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
Looks like being the dead rubber it always looked like being.
The “Perfect Ten” campaign went out of the window and now the big name players are slipping out via the physio door.
Capello might as well use this game to test all those weird and wacky ideas he has probably entertained in the bath but would never dare to use in a real game!
The result does not directly affect either team’s chances of making it to the World Cup, but I’m sure England would not want to go into the World Cup having lost their last two qualifiers.
I see Capello making one or two changes- something like the Carrick for Barry thing he did against Ukraine, but nothing too radical.
England 1:2 Belarus
Bold prediction if there was one.
Just a few minutes left for kickoff though