Gyan: The repeat is sweet

Asamoah Gyan says qualifying for the FIFA World Cup™ the second time round has been even more pleasurable than the last. The Ghanaian striker, whose six goals for Stade Rennes in France’s Ligue 1 this season has sparked a new sense of life into his game, says the Black Stars are highly satisfied with their work in the 2010 qualifiers.
Ghana qualified for their first FIFA World Cup four years ago, coming from behind in a group that included South Africa to snatch top place. For the 2010 finals, they have sauntered through their qualifying programme, making sure of their place with two rounds of matches still left to play.
“We did great they second time round,” he smiled. “The first time was quite complicated but now we’ve reached the finals without losing a game [in the final round of qualifiers] so it’s been more satisfying for us, although it wasn’t easy. It’s a great achievement.” says the striker, who turns 24 at the end of the month.
Ghana finished top of their first round group with four wins and two defeats, edging ahead of Gabon and Libya in the standings. In their second group, they quickly saw off the threat of Mali and went on to win four in a row and qualify before defeat in their last match away at Benin, which was nothing more than an academic assignment.
“On paper Mali were one of the favourites because they have so many good players but we beat them 2-0 away with almost a second team because we had so many injuries,” continued Gyan

Greece, Ukraine prepare for tight clash

Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has urged his players to play "beyond their limits" if they want to claim a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup by defeating Ukraine in their two-legged play-off.
The 2004 European Champions host Alexei Mikhailichenko's team at the Olympic Stadium in Athens tomorrow before travelling to Donetsk for the return four days later with a place in South Africa at stake. "We have to be disciplined and be fully concentrated," said the 71-year-old German, who, despite some key absences, is happy with the mood in his camp.
"We don't have the luxury of being able to call on all of our players as we have some key men missing such as [Giourkas] Seitaridis and [Vasilis] Torosidis. But I have confidence in all my squad. I believe always that which I see and I'm glad my players are showing self-confidence. But we will see how we will play when the time comes. They have to go out on the pitch, show their skills and play beyond their limits."
Rehhagel, whose team earned their play-off spot by virtue of victories over Latvia and Luxembourg in their final two Group 2 qualifiers, is boosted by the return to fitness of striker Angelos Charisteas. The Nurnberg frontman is likely to team up with Theofanis Gekas, the top scorer in qualifying with 10 goals, and Celtic's Giorgos Samaras in Greece's attacking triumvirate.

Toulalan doubtful for play-off

Lyon utility man Jeremy Toulalan is unlikely to play for France in their crucial FIFA World Cup™ play-off against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, according to his club coach Claude Puel.
The midfielder, who has often operated as a makeshift defender for OL this season, has had adductor muscle trouble ever since Les Bleus' clash with Serbia on 9 September. Puel insists that had the club been in action this weekend, the 26-year-old would not have featured.
"He would have been left to rest," the coach told L'Equipe. "It is up to Les Bleus' medical staff to see if he is fit or not."
Toulalan recently insisted the injury "is not a worry," adding: "It comes, it goes. I can make do with it."
But club and country colleague Sidney Govou revealed: "He has not yet trained this week. Inevitably, there is a little concern."
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery misses both legs of the play-off due to a knee injury and Arsenal's Abou Diaby is also a doubt, but Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra has belatedly joined up with the squad after Copa del Rey duty.

Stalemate in Athens

Greece and Ukraine's 2010 World Cup qualifying play-off tie remains in the balance after the two teams shared a goalless draw in Athens.
Theofanis Gekas, the overall top scorer in qualifying with 10 goals, wasted Greece's best chance, while Ruslan Rotan was guilty of poor finishing for the visitors on a night when both sides cancelled each other out at the Olympic Stadium. Sotiris Kyrgiakos almost won the game for Otto Rehhagel's Greece in the dying seconds but the Liverpool defender headed wide.
Both teams began brightly but it was the visitors who threatened first and registered the first shot on target when Alexandros Tzorvas pulled off a comfortable save from Andriy Shevchenko's 25-yard free-kick. Giorgos Karagounis responded for the hosts with a shot from distance which was comfortably held by Andriy Piatov in the Ukraine goal.
Former Chelsea and AC Milan forward Shevchenko then tried his luck again from another free-kick in the 13th minute but his tame effort drifted wide. Greece had the ball in the net after 16 minutes when Gekas turned in Dimitris Salpigidis cross but the assistant referee had already raised his flag for offside.
Rotan wasted a golden opportunity three minutes later after a defensive mix-up from the home side when he dragged his shot wide of the left post from the edge of the box. The visitors continued to look the more dangerous, particularly on the counter attack and Tvorvas was called upon in the 36th minute to make a smart save from Oleg Gusiev's shot from an acute angle.
Greece threatened twice before half-time but striker Giorgos Samaras' control let him down when Salpigidis picked him out with a low centre before Gekas headed straight at Piatov from Karagounis' free-kick. Samaras, who was a peripheral figure in the first half, drew a save from Piatov with a speculative shot from distance as Greece began strongly after the break.

Meteab late show saves Egypt

Emad Meteab scored five minutes into stoppage time to earn Egypt a 2-0 victory over Algeria on Saturday 14 November and a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ lifeline.
The result left the fierce North African rivals level on points and goal difference at the top of Group C so they will meet again next Wednesday in Sudan to decide which country goes to South Africa.
Reigning African champions Egypt could not have wished for a better start, with Amr Zaki giving them a second-minute lead before a sell-out 75,000 crowd in Cairo.
But the Pharaohs failed to build on their early fortune and Algeria missed several good chances to equalise in a clash between two of the fiercest African football rivals.
Meteab replaced Zaki after 65 minutes and, when all seemed lost, he rose highest to head the ball into the far corner of the net past Algerian goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui.

Semak left with mixed feelings

Russia midfielder Sergei Semak admitted Slovenia's late goal in their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying first leg play-off left him uneasy ahead of the return clash.
Russia dominated the match throughout and led comfortably through Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's brace. However, substitute Nejc Pecnik's header two minutes from time left the tie in the balance at 2-1, and they could even have levelled as Marko Suler forced a superb stoppage-time save from Igor Akinfeev.
"The match left me with mixed feelings," Semak told RIA Novosti. "On the one hand, I'm pleased we won, but on the other hand, the way the game ended doesn't leave you at ease in the run-up for the next match."

Alonso-inspired Spain edge Argentina

Xabi Alonso struck twice to fire Spain to a 2-1 win over Argentina in a star-studded international friendly.
The Real Madrid midfielder put the reigning European champions into a 16th minute lead, the midfielder stabbing home a rebound after Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero could only parry away a shot from David Silva. Spain underlined their status as one of the favourites to take next year's FIFA World Cup™ with an array of sparkling attacking moves which had Diego Maradona's Argentina on the back foot for much of the first half.
On 30 minutes, only Fabricio Coloccini's goalmouth clearance kept Argentina from slipping further behind after David Villa got in a shot after Romero struggled to contain Andres Inesta's charge. Seconds later, Barcelona star Xavi Hernandez set up Villa with a sweet through ball with Villa's shot trickling wide.
Argentina had their own chances to level, notably on 39 minutes when, with only Iker Casillas to beat, Benfica winger Angel Di Maria clipped his shot over the crossbar. Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque introduced Raul Albiol for Barcelona's Carles Puyol at the start of the second half as Argentina came out with all guns blazing.
In the 53rd minute, Lionel Messi lobbed over the Spanish defence to find Gonzalo Higuain but the Real Madrid forward was adjudged to be offside by Irish referee Allan Kelly. Argentina, who grabbed the fourth and final automatic qualifying place in South American qualifiyng, were hitting top gear and deservedly levelled on the hour mark. The equaliser came after Atletico Madrid winger Maxi Rodriquez, playing at his home ground, was felled in the box by Albiol, with Messi sending Casillas the wrong way from the spot.
Arsenal playmaker Cesc Fabregas came on to replace Xavi shortly after as Del Bosque looked to regain the upper hand. After a flurry of late substitutions Spain secured the bragging rights against the South American giants when Xabi converted an 85th minute penalty. Kelly awarded the spotkick, which was smashed into the top right-hand corner, after a handball by an Argentine defender.

Deadlock for Italy, Netherlands

Giampaolo Pazzini had a late 'goal' disallowed as Italy and the Netherlands fought out a stalemate in Pescara.
Substitute Pazzini was judged to have used his arm to bundle the ball home with seven minutes remaining, while at the other end Gianluigi Buffon made a fine save from Rafael van der Vaart to mark his 100th cap with a clean sheet. There was bad news for Holland and Arsenal, though, with Dutch striker Robin van Persie leaving the pitch nursing an injury just 16 minutes in.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi has grown weary of answering questions about his policy of not selecting the enigmatic Antonio Cassano in his squad but was again given a very public reminder of the player's committed fan-base early on. After just six minutes a fan ran onto the pitch wearing an Italy shirt with the message 'Cassano in the national team', causing a brief delay.
When play resumed, the Dutch dominated possession but were unable to turn that into goals. The visitors suffered a setback when Arsenal striker Robin van Persie limped off and was replaced by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt had the first opportunity of the game in the 20th minute with his right-footed strike from the edge of the area going wide of the far post. Gli Azzurri reacted with Raffaele Palladino firing a shot from 30-yards that forced Holland goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg to dive to his right to clear.
Italy goalkeeper Buffon, who celebrated a century of appearances for Gli Azzurri tonight, made a stunning save to deflect Van der Vaart's free-kick that had taken a deflection off Palladino's head. On the stroke of half-time, Stekelenburg did well to come off his line, anticipating the run of Candreva, who was ready to head home from Andrea Pirlo's cross.
Lippi made his first substitution early in the second half with Giuseppe Rossi taking Palladino's place in attack. Italy showed more determination up front and on the hour mark, Mauro Camoranesi did well to get past his marker before crossing into the area only for the Dutch defence to clear away the danger.
Shortly afterwards, Fabio Grosso's cross found Camoranesi on the edge of the area but his strike was blocked by a defender. With 10 minutes remaining, substitute Davide Biondini, who was making his senior debut for the world champions, teed up Rossi inside the area but mistimed his shot.
The Italians thought they had broken the deadlock with seven minutes remaining when substitute Pazzini got behind Fabio Cannavaro's