World Cup 2014 Qualification - INFOS

Netherlands - Turkey

Netherlands do not have too many injury worries ahead of Friday’s game, but will still be without a number of regulars.

Louis van Gaal already dropped Mark van Bommel and Khalid Boulahrouz after Euro 2012, and has now opted to leave out Gregory van der Wiel, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart and Ibrahim Afellay as well as he feels they lack match practice and have been too busy with transfers in the past few weeks.

Therefore, Ajax youngster Ricardo van Rhijn is expected to start at right-back, while Twente star Leroy Fer is likely to take De Jong’s place in midfield.

Robin van Persie will probably have to settle for a spot on the bench once more as Van Gaal prefers Schalke hitman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as his No.9.Turkey boss Abdullah Avci will have to make do without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel due to injury, while back-up shot stopper Sinan Bolat is being plagued by physical problems as well.
Utility man Sabri Sarioglu is unavailable, too, and Besiktas striker Mustafa Pektemek recently sustained a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for a while.

Galatasaray midfielder Selcuk Inan will be hoping to get the chance to prove his worth against the Dutch, but it seems as if the 27-year-old might miss out on a starting berth.

Slovenia – Switzerland dnb 2 @ 1,83

Switzerland impresed me in last game with Croatia (tre, there is also guilty on other side, speciall new coach Stimac but..) and they have very good, young and perspective squad. Players like Shaqiri and Xaka are future and there are also Dzemaili, Behrami, barnetta..Quality side..on the other side i dont belive in Slovenia team

With first choice keeper Samir Handanovic the only notable missing, Slovenia go into this game in great spirits

Experienced keeper Jasmin Handanovic is likely to replace his cousin in goal, while Zlatan Dedic and Tim Matavz are expected to form the attacking partnership.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): J. Handanovic – Brecko, Suler, Cesar, Jokic – Kirm, Vrsic, Radosavljevic, Birsa – Dedic, Matavz.

The Swiss are an up and coming side with tremendous amount of potential and attacking prowess, as witnessed by the 5-3 victory over Germany and 4-2 triumph over Croatia.

Ottmar Hitzfeld has done well to get rid of senior strikers Alexander Frei and Streller, who were doing the team more harm than good, with Mario Gavranovic and Eren Derdiyok now given a chance to impress.

With the likes of Behrami, Inler, Dzemaili and Shaqiri in the centre of the park and some very experienced players at the back, the Swiss look a good bet

The visitors arrive to Slovenia at full strength and they are expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Benaglio – Lichtsteiner, Von Bergen, Djourou, Rodriguez – Inler, Xhaka – Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Barnetta – Derdiyok.

Moldova - England

Johnson adds to Hodgson´s injury woes

Left-back Ashley Cole has joined the growing list of absentees for England’s first World Cup qualifier in Moldova on Friday.

Johnson and Cole joins Wayne Rooney, Andy Carroll, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jack Wilshere in missing the start of England’s World Cup qualification campaign.

The injuries will give some of the lesser known players in the squad the chance to shine, with Leighton Baines, Jermain Defoe and Danny Welbeck all likely to feature.

Also need to mention that striker Defoe had two family tragedy this year (father and cousain) and his mentas state is questionable

Russia – Northern Ireland

In team news, O’Neill will have to do without defender Shane Ferguson (groin) and striker Martin Paterson (hamstring), while Celtic midfielder Paddy McCourt is set to miss both this weekend’s match and next Tuesday’s clash against Luxembourg with a groin strain.

Meanwhile, new Russia boss Fabio Capello, who took over from Dick Advocaat in July, has named several changes in his squad, with Lokomotiv Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin both left out.

Reading hitman Pavel Pogrebnyak has also been overlooked, while Yuri Zhirkov and Sergei Semak both miss out through injury.

Also need to mention there are big fights in country between catholics and protestants

Bulgaria – Italy

As for Bulgaria, Dimitar Berbatov has decided against coming out of international retirement for his country’s qualifying campaign, meaning national team boss Lubo Penev must decide between Ivelin Popov and Iliyan Mitsanski, who netted the only goal of the game in last month’s friendly win over Cyprus, for the lone striking role.

Finland – France

Didier Deschamps has a lengthy injury list to contend with ahead of his first competitive game in charge of his country, with the likes of Mathieu Debuchy and Bacary Sagna yet to maintain full fitness in the 2012-13 season.

The former Marseille boss confirmed on Thursday that Olivier Giroud will not play any part in Friday’s encouter, with the possibility deemed too risky by the 43-year-old. Instead, France are likely to revert to a 4-3-3 with Karim Benzema flanked by Jeremy Menez and Franck Ribery.

Deschamps also revealed that his centre-back pairing would be Mamadou Sakho and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, with Laurent Koscielny still yet to start a game since the Euro 2012 exit to Spain in June.

Germany – Faroe Islands

Joachim Low will be able to welcome back several familiar faces after naming a much-changed side for their recent friendly loss to Argentina. Philipp Lahm returns, but will play at right-back as opposed to left-back, with Marcel Schmelzer keeping his place on the left-hand side of defence and Jerome Boateng dropping to the bench.

Manuel Neuer will certainly come in for Ron-Robert Zieler in goal, while Lukas Podolski is likely to reclaim his spot on the left wing, but another returning player, Per Mertesacker, will find his path to a centre-back berth blocked by Holger Badstuber and Mats Hummels, whose partnership continues to blossom.

However, there is no return for the unfit Bastian Schweinsteiger, leaving Toni Kroos to continue alongside Sami Khedira in the deep-lying midfield positions, while Miroslav Klose will retain his place up front in light of Mario Gomez’s ankle injury.

Faroe Islands, meanwhile, are expected to make a couple of changes to the side that lost 2-0 to Nordic rivals Iceland in a friendly in August..

Kazakhstan – Republic of Ireland

Berenek will be without the experienced midfielder Andrei Karpovich, while the Russia-based Aleksei Popov and Kazbek Geteriev are unavailable.

Ireland are without the familiar faces of Shay Given and Damien Duff, who have both taken the decision to retire from international football, while Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne is injured for the fixture.Giovanni Trapattoni hinted earlier this week that Stoke City striker Jonathan Walters would partner Robbie Keane in attack, while Simon Cox is set to start at left wing instead of Sunderland winger James McClean, who is suffering from a sore throat.

Ecuador v Bolivia

Usually this would be hendicep for away side when coming in Quito (Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa on 2800 meters) but Bolivians will not have problems with it (la Paz is on 3600, Potosi on 3934, oruro on 3700..)..but Bolivia will miss some players (cardozo, Campos, Escobar..)