The British Connection

The British Isles provide only one team in this year’s World Cup finals – England – but the British clubs will be well represented in Germany. Of the 736 players representing the 32 finalists, no less than 116 are with British clubs, 105 of them from England and 11 from Scotland. Of the England based players, 88 are from clubs that played in the English Premier League last season, while 17 are with lower division clubs.

Chelsea provide the most players – 16. Arsenal (15), Manchester United (12) and Liverpool (10) are the other well represented English clubs. Here is the full list:

Chelsea – 16
Arsenal – 15
Manchester United – 12
Liverpool – 10
Tottenham Hotspur – 5
Aston Villa – 3
Bolton Wanderers – 3
Fulham – 3
Middlesbrough – 3
Newcastle United – 3
Birmingham City – 2
Blackburn Rovers – 2
Everton – 2
Manchester City – 2
West Bromwich Albion – 2
West Ham United – 2
Wigan Athletic – 2
Portsmouth – 1

Of the Premier League clubs, only Charlton Athletic and relegated Sunderland are not represented.
The list of lower division clubs represented are as follows:

Southampton – 3
Coventry City – 2
Gillingham – 2
Reading – 2
Bristol City – 1
Crystal Palace – 1
Hull City – 1
Leeds United – 1
Luton Town – 1
Port Vale – 1
Wolverhampton Wanderers – 1
Wrexham – 1

The six Scottish clubs represented are:

Glasgow Celtic – 3
Glasgow Rangers – 3
Falkirk – 2
Dundee – 1
Dundee United – 1
St. Johnstone – 1

Of course there are many more players from clubs in other countries who have played with British clubs before.

Country wise, England has the most number of British based players, naturally. 21 of their 23 players play in England. Trinidad & Tobago has 15 British based players, 9 from England and 6 from Scotland. Australia has 11 England based players. Here is the full list (E=England, S=Scotland):

England – 21 (E)
Trinidad & Tobago – 15 (E-9, S-6)
Australia – 11 (E)
France – 8 (E)
United States – 7 (E)
Portugal – 6 (E)
Spain – 6 (E)
Netherlands – 5 (E)
Poland – 5 (E-3, S-2)
Argentina – 3 (E)
Ivory Coast – 3 (E)
Japan – 3 (E-2, S-1)
South Korea – 3 (E)
Tunisia – 3 (E-2, S-1)
Czech Republic – 2 (E)
Germany – 2 (E)
Serbia & Montenegro – 2 (E)
Sweden – 2 (E)
Switzerland – 2 (E)
Angola – 1 (E)
Brazil – 1 (E)
Croatia – 1 (S)
Ecuador – 1 (E)
Ghana – 1 (E)
Mexico – 1 (E)
Togo – 1 (E)

Of the 32 teams, only 6, Costa Rica, Iran, Italy, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia & Ukraine, have no British based players.

Official Squads

The best place to keep track of the official squads of all the 32 teams is http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060518/1/6ttk.html where you'll get all the updates from time to time.


You might also try http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/woildcup2006/files/wc2006.xls though I'm not sure if this link works - I'm internetically challanged, you see.

Revised Rankings

The May 2006 FIFA Rankings are out, and these are the rankings that the teams will carry to the World Cup

For a ready reference, here is the May 2006 FIFA Ranking for all the 32 qualified teams: [R = May 2006 FIFA Ranking, S = Seeding for World Cup; seedings were based on FIFA Rankings as well as performance in the last two cups, 2002 & 1998.]

01. Brazil: R – 1, S – 1
02. Czech Republic: R – 2, S – 16
03. Netherlands: R – 3, S – 10
04. Mexico: R – 4, S – 5
05. Spain: R – 5, S – 3
06. United States: R – 5, S – 9
07. Portugal: R – 7, S – 17
08. France: R – 8, S – 6
09. Argentina: R – 9, S – 7
10. England: R – 10, S – 2
11. Italy: R – 13, S – 8
12. Sweden: R – 16, S – 13
13. Japan: R – 18, S – 12
14. Germany: R – 19, S – 4
15. Tunisia: R – 21, S – 22
16. Croatia: R – 23, S – 14
17. Iran: R – 23, S – 21
18. Costa Rica: R – 26, S – 18
19. South Korea: R – 29, S – 11
20. Poland: R – 29, S – 20
21. Ivory Coast: R – 32, S – 27
22. Paraguay: R – 33, S – 15
23. Saudi Arabia: R – 34, S – 19
24. Switzerland: R – 35, S – 25
25. Ecuador: R – 39, S – 23
26. Australia: R – 42, S – 28
27. Serbia & Montenegro: R – 44, S – 24
28. Ukraine: R – 45, S – 26
29. Trinidad & Tobago: R – 47, S – 29
30. Ghana: R – 48, S – 30
31. Angola: R – 57, S – 31
32. Togo: R – 61, S – 32

Note: All the top 10 FIFA ranked countries are playing, but from the next 10 ranked teams, 6 are missing! They are # 11 Denmark, # 11 Nigeria, # 14 Turkey, # 15 Cameroon, # 17 Egypt and # 20 Greece. Egypt and Greece are current continental champions.

The Soca Warriors - Adding Calypso to Samba

Trinidad & Tobago are the lowest ranked team (outside Africa) among the 32 Finalists in the 2006 World Cup. By qualifying for their first ever finals, this little West Indian nation have already achieved their best ever result in world football. Yet they are looking forward to creating further history in the event proper.

Qualifying for the Finals was a long, arduous business for the Soca Warriors, as the team is fondly known. They played more matches (20) than any other team to qualify for this event. They lost 7 of these 20 matches, thrice to Mexico, twice to USA and once each to Guatemala and Costa Rica. No other team has ever lost so many matches and still qualified. However, they won 11 of their remaining games, including a famous 2-1 win over Mexico in their last zonal match, thereby gaining a place in the inter-zonal play-off with Bahrain. There they only managed a 1-1 draw at home, but won 1-0 away in Bahrain to create history. Striker Stern John played a major role by scoring 12 goals (out of a total of 30), but several other players contributed.

In the Finals, T&T find themselves grouped with England, Sweden and Paraguay, and have already been designated the ‘whipping boys’ of Group B. But managed by the experienced Dutchman Leo Beenhakker (who managed the Netherlands in the 1990 finals), T&T are ready to give a fair account of themselves and to trouble their fancied opponents.

Their most famous player is of course Dwight Yorke, who has played with distinction with clubs like Aston Villa and Manchester United. Now aged 36, and playing his football in Sydney, Australia, he has taken over the role of team leader and midfield play-maker with elan, and has been the key factor in qualification.

The rest of the squad, too, has strong British connections. There are 5 players who play in Scotland, one of them aptly named Jason Scotland! Marvin Andrews of Glasgow Rangers is the tower in defence, while Goalkeeper Kelvin Jack of Dundee and midfielder Russell Latapy of Falkirk are immensely experienced in top-flight football. Latapy, at 37, is the oldest player in the side, but he remains a most skilful and creative player. There are 9 players from English clubs, including Stern John of Coventry City, the star striker. Forward Kenwyne Jones of Southampton is a young and exciting prospect.

Leo Beenhakker provides the managerial acumen to mould this gifted bunch of players into a team in the real sense of the word. He has brought with him, among other things, a sense of self-belief that has served the team well. It can all add up to some embarrassment to the three other teams in Group B, once the games start. Their supporters will add a great deal of colour to the proceedings, and will be bolstered by a lot of Scots, especially in the match against England. The sound of Calypso is already reverberating in a game traditionally dominated by the rhythm of Samba.

Ghana, the Black Stars

When Greece won the European Championship in 2004, all minnows in world football were given fresh hopes that in today’s international competitions, anything is possible. 50th ranked Ghana is one such team who are now dreaming of World Cup glory.

Ghana qualified with some comfort from the African Group 2, finishing 5 points clear of their nearest rivals Congo (Zaire) and South Africa. Others in the group were Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Uganda. After losing their opening group match 0-1 in Burkina Faso, Ghana stepped up a gear and romped through the remaining matches, winning 6 and drawing 3. Earlier they had brushed aside Somalia in the preliminary round with ease.

In the finals, Ghana, or the Black Stars, have been drawn with Italy, USA and the Czech Republic, making their task of qualifying for the next round extremely difficult in theory. However, Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic, who took over as coach midway into the qualification campaign, has brought an element of discipline into this hugely talented squad of players. The usual West African flair and flamboyance, coupled with European codes of work ethics could be most dangerous for Ghana’s opponents. Moreover, of all the debutants in this World Cup, Ghana have the best credentials, having already won the African Nations’ Cup 4 times, and the FIFA Under 17 World Championship twice.

Chelsea’s Michael Essien is Ghana’s most well known player, but Ghana is far from a one-man team. Captain Stephen Appiah of Turkish side Fenerbahce adds weight to the midfield, along with Essien and Suley Muntari of Udinese. He has a lot of experience in Italian Serie A. In attack Asamoah Gyan of Moscow Dinamo and Matthew Amoah of Dortmund have top class European experience. The tower in defence is veteran Samuel Kuffour of Roma. In Sammy Adjei, they have one of Africa’s best goalkeepers. However, there are several other players of immense potential who are blossoming under Dujkovic to make Ghana the most formidable African team in this year’s Cup.

Perhaps the Black Stars of Ghana will carry on the traditions of other West African Cup heroes like Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal. Whatever the results, they could well become one of the most entertaining teams of this World Cup.

Angola - The Professor's Wards

Angola is another low-ranked team to make it to the 2006 World Cup finals. At 58, they are at present ranked only above Togo among the 32 finalists. Like Togo, this will be their first ever World Cup. Like Togo, Angola lost their first match of the qualifying competition. On October 12, 2003, Chad beat them 3-1 in Chad. At that stage, Angola were ranked 85th by FIFA. Angola won the return leg at home in Luanda 2-0 to scrape through to the group stage on away goals.

In the group stage Angola were placed in Group 4, along with Nigeria, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Gabon. Nigeria were the obvious favourites to win this group, but Angola beat them in Luanda in their second match, after a most creditable away draw in Algeria. They won 3 of their first 5 matches, with 2 draws, until losing to Zimbabwe 0-2 away. However, a goalless draw in Nigeria strengthened their position considerably. 2 wins in their last 2 matches, 3-0 against Gabon and 1-0 in Rwanda confirmed their qualification to the Finals for the first time ever.

Angola is ably managed by the Portugal born Luis Oliveira Goncalves, known as the ‘Professor’ in African football. Inevitably, Angola’s opening match in the World Cup shall be against Portugal. The other teams in this group are Mexico and Iran, so qualification to the next round will not be easy. But with players like captain Fabrice Akwa in attack, they can certainly provide some shivers to the more fancied teams. The former Benfica star scored 5 of their 15 goals in qualification, including the crucial one against Rwanda in Kigali. Pedro Mantorras of Benfica is another potent striker. Ze Kalanga and Figuiredo provide the flair in midfield, while the defence is manned by the redoubtable Carlos Kali.

So Angola seems to be well prepared for their World Cup adventures. They are set to prove to the world that "Angola is not just about oil, war and poverty," as Akwa has famously stated recently.

Cup of Glory

(With due apologies to Rudyard Kipling - and to Bill Shankly)

Oh, East is East, and West is West,
And never the twain shall meet,
Unless it is the World Cup time,
When men kick balls with feet.
There is neither East nor West,
Nor border, breed or birth,
When two teams kick-off face to face,
From different ends of earth.

Twenty-two men, all fit and strong,
And mostly slim and tall,
Go helter skelter o’er the field,
Chasing a single ball.
They push and strive and sweat and toil,
They collapse on the mat;
‘Tis not about just life or death,
But so much more than that.

TOGO - The Sparrow Hawks

The World Cup is just over a month away, and people are talking about the teams likely to be successful. Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Spain, France, England, Portugal and the Netherlands are the teams most experts are tipping to do well. However, the Finals are also about the so-called ‘also-rans’, teams for whom the mere appearance in the Finals is something of a fairy story. Togo, from Africa, is one such team.

Togo, at 59, is the lowest ranked side to have qualified for the 2006 Finals. This will be their first ever World Cup proper, and the whole country is excited, to say the least. When they started the long journey towards Germany, on October 11, 2003, they were ranked 89th. In their first match at Bata in Equatorial Guinea, they lost 0-1, and had to win the return leg at home in Lome 2-0 to qualify for the group stage. Emmanuel Adebayor and Moustapha Salifou scored the goals, either side of half time.

In the group stage they were placed in Group 1 of the African section, along with the 2002 World Cup quarter finalists Senegal, Zambia, Congo, Liberia and Mali. Few would have given Togo a chance to qualify from this strong group, more so when they lost their first group match to Zambia away. But under the astute management of Nigerian World Cup 1994 star, Stephen Keshi, Togo went from strength to strength in their remaining nine matches, winning seven and drawing the other two. They beat Congo and Mali twice each, and Senegal, Liberia and Zambia at home. They drew with Liberia and Senegal away to finish with 23 points in the group, 2 clear of Senegal. In their last match, in Brazaville, Congo, they needed a win to ensure qualification, and were trailing 1-2 at the hour until Coubadja’s brace took them through. In all, they scored 20 goals in their ten group matches, conceding only 8. Emmanuel Adebayor alone scored 10 goals to add to his one in the preliminary round.

Now in Germany, Togo has been drawn in Group G, with France, South Korea and Switzerland. Again, few would expect them to go through to the pre-quarter finals. Meanwhile, Keshi has been replaced by the experienced Otto Pfister of Germany as head coach. Pfister was appointed after the 2006 African Cup of nations in Egypt, some 100 days before the World Cup finals. Some would question the wisdom of dismissing a coach who took an unfancied team to the World Cup finals, but nobody would question Pfister’s credentials. With his in-depth knowledge and experience of African football, not to mention his vast success and his fondness for open, attacking football, he looks to be an interesting choice for the Togo job. At the age of 68, and with the chance to prove his worth in the country of his birth, this summer’s tournament may well prove to be the crowning moment of Pfister’s long and colourful career.

Nicknamed Sparrow Hawks, Togo’s main strength in Germany would perhaps be an element of surprise. Not much is known about their strategy and tactics under Pfister. Very few of their players are known to their prospective opponents. The key player for Togo in Germany is likely to be the young striker Emmanuel Adebayor who now plays for Arsenal in England. In defence, the experienced Jean-Paul Abalo of Apoel Nicosia, Cyprus, is the team leader, along with goalkeeper Kossi Agassa of Metz, France. In midfield another young player Junior Senaya of Juventus Zurich, Switzerland leads the way. There are also a few naturalised Brazilian players like Alaixis Romao to bring the Samba into the African rhythms. All in all, there is much to look forward to about Togo in the 2006 World Cup.

World Cup Schedule

Group Matches

Local Time (IST)

01. 9-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Costa Rica v Germany (A) Munich

02. 9-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Ecuador v Poland (A) Gelsenkirchen

03. 10-Jun 15:00 (18:30) England v Paraguay (B) Frankfurt

04. 10-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Sweden v Trinidad & Tobago (B) Dortmund

05. 10-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Argentina v Ivory Coast (C) Hamburg

06. 11-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Netherlands v Serbia & Montenegro (C) Leipzig

07. 11-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Iran v Mexico (D) Nuremburg

08. 11-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Angola v Portugal (D) Cologne

09. 12-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Australia v Japan (F) Kaiserslautern

10. 12-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Czech Republic v United States (E) Gelsenkirchen

11. 12-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Ghana v Italy (E) Hanover

12. 13-Jun 15:00 (18:30) South Korea v Togo (G) Frankfurt

13. 13-Jun 18:00 (21:30) France v Switzerland (G) Stuttgart

14. 13-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Brazil v Croatia (F) Berlin

15. 14-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Spain v Ukraine (H) Leipzig

16. 14-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Saudi Arabia v Tunisia (H) Munich

17. 14-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Germany v Poland (A) Dortmund

18. 15-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Costa Rica v Ecuador (A) Hamburg

19. 15-Jun 18:00 (21:30) England v Trinidad & Tobago (B) Nuremburg

20. 15-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Paraguay v Sweden (B) Berlin

21. 16-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Argentina v Serbia & Montenegro (C) Gelsenkirchen

22. 16-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Ivory Coast v Netherlands (C) Stuttgart

23. 16-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Angola v Mexico (D) Hanover

24. 17-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Iran v Portugal (D) Frankfurt

25. 17-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Czech Republic v Ghana (E) Cologne

26. 17-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Italy v United States (E) Kaiserslautern

27. 18-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Croatia v Japan (F) Nuremburg

28. 18-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Australia v Brazil (F) Munich

29. 18-Jun 21:00 (00:30) France v South Korea (G) Leipzig

30. 19-Jun 15:00 (18:30) Switzerland v Togo (G) Dortmund

31. 19-Jun 18:00 (21:30) Saudi Arabia v Ukraine (H) Hamburg

32. 19-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Spain v Tunisia (H) Stuttgart

33. 20-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Costa Rica v Poland (A) Hanover

34. 20-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Ecuador v Germany (A) Berlin

35. 20-Jun 21:00 (00:30) England v Sweden (B) Cologne

36. 20-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Paraguay v Trinidad & Tobago (B) Kaiserslautern

37. 21-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Angola v Iran (D) Leipzig

38. 21-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Mexico v Portugal (D) Gelsenkirchen

39. 21-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Argentina v Netherlands (C) Frankfurt

40. 21-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Ivory Coast v Serbia & Montenegro (C) Munich

41. 22-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Czech Republic v Italy (E) Hamburg

42. 22-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Ghana v United States (E) Nuremburg

43. 22-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Australia v Croatia (F) Stuttgart

44. 22-Jun 21:00 (00:30) Brazil v Japan (F) Dortmund

45. 23-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Saudi Arabia v Spain (H) Kaiserslautern

46. 23-Jun 16:00 (19:30) Tunisia v Ukraine (H) Berlin

47. 23-Jun 21:00 (00:30) France v Togo (G) Cologne

48. 23-Jun 21:00 (00:30) South Korea v Switzerland (G) Hanover

Pre Quarter Finals

49. 24-Jun 17:00 (20:30) A1 v B2 Munich

50. 24-Jun 21:00 (00:30) C1 v D2 Leipzig

51. 25-Jun 17:00 (20:30) B1 v A2 Stuttgart

52. 25-Jun 21:00 (00:30) D1 v C2 Nuremburg

53. 26-Jun 17:00 (20:30) E1 v F2 Kaiserslautern

54. 26-Jun 21:00 (00:30) G1 v H2 Cologne

55. 27-Jun 17:00 (20:30) F1 v E2 Dortmund

56. 27-Jun 21:00 (00:30) H1 v G2 Hanover

Quarter Finals

57. 30-Jun 17:00 (20:30) W49 v W50 Berlin

58. 30-Jun 21:00 (00:30) W53 v W54 Hamburg

59. 1-Jul 17:00 (20:30) W51 v W52 Gelsenkirchen

60. 1-Jul 21:00 (00:30) W55 v W56 Frankfurt

Semi Finals

61. 4-Jul 21:00 (00:30) W57 v W58 Dortmund

62. 5-Jul 21:00 (00:30) W59 v W60 Munich

Third Place Play-Off

63. 8-Jul 21:00 (00:30) L61 v L62 Stuttgart

FINAL

64. 9-Jul 20:00 (23:30) W61 v W62 Berlin