Walker, Stockdale set for England debuts

Defender Kyle Walker is a surprise inclusion in Fabio Capello’s 25-man England squad for Wednesday’s friendly against Denmark.
The 20-year-old Spurs right-back has impressed in recent months in loan stints at Queens Park Rangers and now Aston Villa, and with concerns over the fitness of Micah Richards and Phil Jagielka, has been rewarded with an international call-up.
Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale’s fine performances while deputising for Mark Schwarzer – who was on Asian Cup duty with Australia – have seen him also chosen for this first senior international involvement.
Front men Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent have all been recalled after missing England’s 2-1 November loss to France with injury, as has Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.
Steven Gerrard has been named as captain, after Rio Ferdinand suffered a calf-strain in the warm up before Manchester United’s 2-1 loss to Wolves at Molineux on Saturday.
Capello said Bent, who turns 27 on Sunday, was a walk-up start in his side after impressing in recent matches.
“Bent was not as good before the World Cup as he is at this moment,” the England coach said of the Villa man. “He was not the same player.”
“I went to see Aston Villa twice. It is completely different.”
“Before he was only playing for the box. Now, he is a player who can play for the team.”
“At Sunderland before, it was important for them to go straight for the goal. I told him he had to change. He had to work a lot, press a lot.”
“He has probably changed something in his mind, not only in his style.”
Capello said 19-year-old Jack Wilshere would also play a crucial role in the match.
“He has always been good at short passes and winning back the ball. Now he is playing with confidence,” Capello said.
“He is a really important player for Arsenal and I hope he will be for us too.”
The England squad: Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Man City), David Stockdale (Fulham); Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Bolton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Joleon Lescott (Man City), John Terry (Chelsea), Kyle Walker (Aston Villa); Gareth Barry (Man City), Stewart Downing (Aston Villa), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Man City), Scott Parker (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa); Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

Ferguson beaten but proud

Sir Alex Ferguson lamented some poor defending from set pieces on Saturday as his side’s 2-1 loss to Wolves ended a 29-game unbeaten streak.
Wolves responded well after going a goal down to a Nani strike early on, and goals from George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle handed them a memorable victory, although they remain at the bottom of the English Premier League on goal difference.
Ferguson said that while he was disappointed to see his men suffer their first league loss of the season, he was proud of the way his side had been playing.
“I’m disappointed obviously, it’s been a long run for us,” Ferguson told ESPN.
“The players have done us all proud; we can be pleased with that part, but today in the second half we didn’t really get going.”
“The consistency that we’ve shown over the past two months has been terrific so today was a big disappointment.”
“I’ve said that before the game, and it stands strong again after the game. They are a handful on set-pieces as they proved today, and it’s cost us the game.”
Ferguson also revealed that central defender Rio Ferguson had strained a calf during the warm-up for the game and will be sidelined for ‘a couple of weeks’.
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy, meanwhile, was delighted to have picked up three points and is hoping to use the shock result as a springboard to lift his side out of the drop zone, targeting greater consistency in the final third of the season.
“We are in this position because whilst we have beaten some of the top teams, we have been bobbins against those around us. West Ham, Wigan, Blackpool – they have all taken points from us,” McCarthy said.
“It is all right lounging around and basking in the sunny day of beating Manchester United, we have to do it against other teams and do damage to them to make sure we preserve our Premier League status.”

Football Fouls

Hello guys i am here to tell you about fouls in soccer game........
Fouls are so problematic rules nowadays.

Referee can easily misjudge or interpreted and these mistakes cause arguments on and off the pitch.


A foul is whistled and direct or indirect kick is given when a player Trips, Kicks, Pushes, Punches, Charges or Hold an Opponent.

Eredivisie wrap: PSV, AZ suffer shock losses

Eredivisie league leaders PSV Eindhoven gave the chasing pack something to cheer about on Saturday, slipping to a 1-0 home defeat to ADO Den Haag.
Substitute Charlton Vicento’s cross found Wesley Verhoek unmarked at the far post in the second minute of injury time and his cool finish helped lift ADO into fifth place in the Eredivisie.
The result means reigning champions Twente trail PSV by just a single point and can overhaul the leaders if they beat Utrecht on Sunday.
Elsewhere on Saturday, relegation battlers Excelsior shocked AZ Alkmaar after coming from behind to post a 2-1 home win.
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson gave the visitors the lead after 10 minutes but Tom Vincken equalised with a penalty on 65 minutes before a freakish free-kick from Jordy Clasie sealed the three points.
Clasie’s floating free-kick from long-range deceived everyone, including Alkmaar goalkeeper Sergio Romero, and bounced inside the penalty area before crossing the line.
VVV Venlo remain entrenched in the relegation zone despite cruising to a 3-0 win over 10th-placed NAC Breda, while Heerenveen and NEC Nijmegen played out a goalless draw at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.

Allegri: Milan still have work to do

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri insists his side must maintain their focus if they are to claim their firstSerie A title since 2004.
Allegri’s side head to Genoa on Sunday five points clear of second-placed Napoli and seven ahead of bitter rivals Inter Milan, who have a game in hand, and the coach has no doubts it will be a tough road trip for his squad.
“We are all concentrating as we know that tomorrow (Sunday) we’ll be facing an aggressive team, who will try to stop us playing,” Allegri said.
“They’re very good at doing this at home, therefore we should concentrate and put in a good performance from a technical point of view.”
Allegri insisted the form of Milan’s fellow title contenders meant his side could not relax for a second in the run home.
“The championship is starting its most important phase. We know that the championship won’t be ending on Tuesday, Wednesday or Sunday,” he said.
“There are still 15 matches and we have to win most of them in order to win the championship. We should be able to keep the balance as we have done so far.”
“We were aware that Inter Milan would be able to compete for the championship, as well as Roma and Napoli, who remains one of the competitors even if they lost against Chievo.”
“We should be focused on what we’re doing without thinking about other teams, since the points we have now are not enough to win the championship.”
And the coach defended out-of-form striker Alexandre Pato, who has endured speculation in recent days over his future at the San Siro.
“I have Pato, I’m happy to have Pato and I want to keep Pato. There are no doubts on this. In the end I think he’ll get back to full fitness and prove to be an important player AC Milan,” he said.

Napoli aim to bounce back

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri hopes his side can bounce back from their surprise 2-0 defeat to Chievo Verona when they host Cesena on Sunday.
Mazzarri’s side have surprised many this season after finishing sixth place in the Serie A last year, sitting in second spot on the table with 15 games remaining – just five points behind league leaders AC Milan.
But despite having the chance to close the gap between themselves and Milan to just two points on Wednesday, Mazzarri’s men were outplayed and eventually beaten in Chievo to break a four-match unbeaten run.
The coach insists the Chievo game is a performance his side is desperate to atone for against Cesena.
“The display against Chievo was a bad performance, this is what I’ve tried to make my players understand,” the 49-year-old said.
“We have gone over the game and when we play it in the right way we always create difficulties to all our opposition.”
Mazzarri said being able to eke out good results when not playing well was the hallmark of a championship side.
“AC Milan, Inter Milan or Roma are able to do this, they can find ways of achieving good results even if they’re not playing at their best,” he said.
“We’re not able to do this, we can only play our best and give a performance. If we want to compete against teams which are superior than us, we should be humble and try and find something that maybe they don’t have.”
“Maybe I should have made some more substitutions against Chievo as well. There will certainly be more substitutions next time.”

Kharja quality no surprise, says Leonardo

Inter Milan coach Leonardo has hailed the influence of new loan signing Houssine Kharja, who scored in his side’s 3-1 win over Bari on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Moroccan international midfielder joined Inter on loan from Genoa during the January transfer window and Leonardo said the Paris St Germain product had already made a positive impression at the club.
“I’ve known him for a long time, he has been in Italy for long time – he was born in Paris,” Leonardo said.
“What has been really positive is his response; you may know what a player is able to do and to give so much, but there is usually a period of assessment, whereas he has entered the pitch and given the right answer – this has been really extraordinary.”
“The team is now offering many possibilities. This is something good and this is what we wanted. We’ll decide match by match.”
With Inter – who trail Serie A leaders AC Milan by five points with a game in hand – facing a crunch game against fellow title contenders Roma on Sunday, Leonardo said this season was one of the toughest in recent years.
“I think this is one of the most difficult championships of the last few years, since all teams are holding very close positions in the rankings and it’s very difficult to achieve results,” he said.
“I’m very satisfied with the team since we have achieved a series of positive results which have allowed us to be part of the teams battling to win the championship.”
“But the battle is not between two teams, but among four or five teams and everything can still happen.”

Campeonato Paulista wrap: Santos held, Carlos fires Noroeste

Santos missed the chance to go to the top of the Campeonato Paulista on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Santo Andre.
Adilson Batista’s side could have gone ahead of leaders Palmeiras, who are not in action until Sunday, but they faced a spirited outfit who entered the game with five draws from six matches.
Defender Marcelo Godri gave Santo Andre the lead after just five minutes, delighting the Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho crowd in Sao Paulo.
But with their talented side, Santos always possessed a threat in front of goal and managed an equaliser on the stroke of half-time thanks to former Manchester United midfielder Rodrigo Possebon.
Neither side could manage a winner in a tight second half, with Santos ruing their missed opportunity to go top.
In other matches, Noroeste came from behind to thump Mogi Mirim 4-1, thanks to a Jose Carlos double.
Ze Roberto gave Mogi Mirim a 21st-minute lead but Carlos’ brace and goals to Aleilson and Diego capped a memorable victory.
Anselmo Ramon’s 94th-minute equaliser saw Oeste claim a point in their 1-1 draw away at Americana.

Guardiola: Messi makes us great

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola has sung the praises of Lionel Messi after he led his side to a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
The Argentine struck a hat-trick in the win, which was Barca’s 16th La Liga victory in succession.
The win saw Barcelona break the record of 15 league wins in a row, set by the Real Madrid side of 1960-1961.
“We wouldn’t be what we are without Messi,” Guardiola said after the match.
“Without him we would be a good team, but he makes the difference.”
“All of the great teams in history have a player who is different and Messi is one of those – he makes the difference.”
Messi was typically modest after the match, despite the fact his hat-trick saw him move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the La Liga scoring charts, with the striker having now netted 24 goals this season.
“It’s what least concerns me,” Messi said.
“The important thing is to keep our run going and keep working hard because Madrid will always be close.”
But even if Messi was unwilling to talk himself up, Atletico Madrid boss Quique Sanchez Flores was in no doubt who the best player in Spain is.
“He is the number one,” Sanchez Flores said.
“He plays how he wants to and where he wants to – I haven’t seen anything like it.”
“Out of everything he did tonight, what most impressed me was the tackle he made in front of the benches, when he ran back (to dispossess Sergio Aguero) and won the ball.”
“He even does that; he has everything.”
Barcelona are now 10 points in front of title rivals Real Madrid, who face Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu.