All articles by: Jools Jordan-Probert

Germany U21’s vs Czech Republic U21’s – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Germany U21’s vs Czech Republic U21’s – Match Preview

UEFA U21 European Championships,  Stadion Miesjski, Poland 4pm

Germany U21’s vs Czech Republic U21’s – Match Preview – Tournament second-favourites Germany begin their tournament by facing underdogs Czech Republic in an intriguing game in Tychy.

The Germans will, as always, be strong favourites for this match and most matches but the Czech Republic have history in this tournament as they were victorious in 2002 with a certain Petr Cech picking up the Golden Player award for his outstanding performances.

Despite the Germany squad being depleted due to Joachim Low’s decision to include a large amount of youth players for the Confederations Cup, Stefan Kuntz still has a strong pool of player to choose from.
Such talented names include Borussia Dortmund’s new acquisition – the highly-rated Mahmoud Dahoud, potential Liverpool target Max Meyer from Schalke and Mitchell Weiser the versatile midfielder from Hertha.

Despite the senior team’s consistent and vast success, the German U21 side have only won this tournament once – in 2009, although a large part of that squad went on to become World Cup winners in 2014. Just the one solitary victory leaves Germany behind teams such as Soviet Union and England in the tournament winning table and they will want to rectify that immediately.

Team News
Towering Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah has removed himself from the squad with injury but aside from that Kuntz has a full squad to choose from.
The Czech Republic have no injury concerns and also able to choose any player.

Gnabry could be heading to Bayern this summer Photo Credit: express.co.uk

Players to Watch
Serge Gnarby is a name which has recently come back onto the European radar after a brilliant season with Werder Bremen, scoring 11 goals in 27 appearances in the Bundesliga. Such form prompted Carlo Ancelotti to purchase him for the powerful Bayern Munich and the ex-Arsenal attacking midfielder will be hoping to show Arsene Wenger what he has missed out on and retain that level of performance for his country this summer. Damage can be caused by Gnarby’s direct dribbling and lightning pace so the Czech backline will have to be vigilant for that constant threat.

Patrik Schik has been attracting interest from some of Europe’s top teams Photo Credit: uefa.com

Patrik Schick has burst onto the scene this campaign with an excellent return of 11 goals in just 14 starts for Sampdoria this season and as such is strongly rumoured to be one of the first name of Max Allegri’s wish-list for Juventus summer transfers. The 6ft2 forward has also earned a senior national team call up as a reward this season and has celebrated his first goal for the Czech Republic with a strike in a friendly against Malta. For his size, Schick is deceptively quick and loves to play on the shoulder of the last defender – any lapses in German concentration and the striker could well put them to the sword.

Portugal vs Mexico – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Portugal vs Mexico – Match Preview
Confederations Cup, Group A
Kazan Arena, Russia 4pm

Portugal vs Mexico – Match Preview – European Champions Portugal begin their Confederations Cup by facing 2015 CONCACAF Cup victors Mexico in what promises to be an enticing match-up in Kazan.

Portugal have not been in the greatest of form performance wise since claiming the European crown in France last summer; stumbling over the line against weaker sides such as Andorra, Cyprus, Faroe Island and Gibraltar whilst suffering defeat against Switzerland in their opening World Cup qualifier and in a friendly against Sweden.

Mexico, on the other hand have only tasted defeat once in their last 13 outings – in a friendly against Croatia – and with the CONCACAF Gold Cup to defend in July, Juan Carlos Osorio’s side will be hoping to garner some momentum from this tournament to storm the next. El Tri are always difficult to beat and are deserved dark horses in any competition.

The two sides have only twice previously faced each other, both resulting in a victory for The Selecao – most recently in 2014 where a last minute Bruno Alves goal won the friendly.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been in scintillating form this season Photo Credit: skysports.com

Players to Watch 
Cristiano Ronaldo is a born winner. The 32-year-old wants to emerge victorious in every single competition he plays in and the Confederations Cup will be no different. On an unprecedented high following the magnificent success in France 2016; Portugal’s talismatic captain will be eager to prove it was no stand-alone fluke. The global superstar has also just retained the European Cup for the first time in the Champions League era with Real Madrid, and it would take a brave man to back against the current World Player of the Year to continue that form onto the international stage once again – adding to his already wonderful record of 73 goals in 139 caps for Portugal.

Javier Hernandez holds the current top scorer record for Mexico Photo Credit: skysports.com

Javier Hernandez is an extremely popular figure in Britain after his stellar spell at Manchester United, although many feel he was underutilised for a man of his abilities before he was shipped off to Bayer Leverkusen. Since then the recently-turned 29-year-old has rebuilt his reputation by scoring 39 goals in just 76 games for the German side whilst also becoming his nation’s highest-ever goal-scorer with a massive 47 goals by netting against Croatia in May and surpassing Jared Borgetti’s record. Chicharito always has the potential to turn a half-chance into a goal and will be a constant danger to the usually resilient Portuguese defence.

Team News 
Fernando Santos is are blessed with a full-strength squad to choose from and are likely to line up with all the big hitters starting.

Rafael Marquez is the only injry concern for Mexico, a back-problem potentially keeping the experienced centre-back out of the side.

 

Suggested Tips:

Serbia vs Wales – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Serbia vs Wales – Match Preview

World Cup Qualifiers, Group D, Rajko Mitic stadium, Serbia 7.45pm

Serbia vs Wales – Match Preview – Wales’ depleted side travel to Serbia desperately looking for a win to give themselves a fighting chance of qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

Four successive draws against Austria, Georgia, Serbia and The Republic of Ireland have left Wales languishing on 7 points in 3rd in Group D, a far cry from the euphoric highs of Euro 2016 where The Dragons defied multiple odds to surprisingly reach the semi-finals. Also 4 points behind today’s opponents and The R.O.I in 1st and 2nd respectively with 5 games of the campaign to go; a first ever victory over Serbia (or formerly Serbia and Montenegro or Yugoslavia) is essential to keep qualification hopes alive for Chris Coleman’s men.
Another rousing aspect will be to seek revenge for the humiliation garnered after a 6-1 demolishing in this fixture in 2012 in what was seen as the flagship result of Coleman’s early reign and the turning point in recent Welsh football.

Serbia are in a strong position at the summit of the table. Slavoljub Bobek’s team are undefeated after 5 matches and have already secured victory over Georgia, Austria and Moldova. An impressive late draw (courtesy of an 88th minute Aleksandar Mitrovic equaliser) at The Principality Stadium in the reverse fixture of this match further highlighted the threat possessed by The Eagles as they seek to consolidate a place in Russia.

Team News
Champions League winner Gareth Bale heads a list of players unable to make the trip; the Real Madrid forward is unavailable due to receiving a suspension after a yellow card in Wales’ last qualifying match against Ireland. Neil Taylor is also suspended after his leg-breaking challenge with Everton full-back Seamus Coleman. Hal Robson-Kanu, James Collins, Andy King and Ben Woodburn are all additionally ruled out with injuries.

For the hosts; the only withdrawals are squad players Nemanja Radoja and Ljubomir Fejsa.

Serbia captain Ivanovic could have his last chance at reaching a World Cup this campaign Photo Credit: skysports.com

Players to Watch 
Serbia Captain Branislav Ivanovic is a name well-known across British football having enjoyed an extremely successful 9 years with Chelsea, collecting 3 Premier Leagues, 3 FA Cups, the 2012 Champions League, the 2013 Europa League and the 2015 League Cup. His influence waned towards the end of that spell but is still one of the finest players Serbia have ever produced. If the destructive full-back can channel his past attacking qualities and score in this clash in what would be his 94th cap, he will become the joint second-highest goal-scorer in his country’s history on 13 goals (currently on 12).

Wales will look to Aaron Ramsey to provide a spark to their side this evening Photo Credit: skysports.com

Aaron Ramsey entertains his fair share of critics in a deeply scrutinised Arsenal side but there is no doubting that the central midfielder possesses vast amounts of ability. Recently having scored his second FA Cup Final winning goal with a fine header against Chelsea; Ramsey will be energised and motivated to continue that form onto the international stage. Taking to the pitch against Serbia will result in his 47th cap and the age of just 26 and his contribution to his country’s fortunes is always positive; proven with his inclusion in the Euro 2016 team of the tournament. The circumstances are now different, however, and Ramsey will have to be at his best to inspire a struggling Wales side to victory in what promises to be an incredibly difficult task.

 

Suggested Tips: