Desperate England face striker woes
With Wayne Rooney sidelined by a nasty-looking head injury, England will dip into its pool of reserve strikers to get the goals against Moldova on Friday in World Cup qualifying. Daniel Sturridge, arguably the hottest forward in the Premier League at the moment, is likely to replace Rooney up front if the Liverpool player shrugs off a thigh problem that has affected him this past week.
If Sturridge doesn’t come through, England coach Roy Hodgson will have to turn to the likes of Danny Welbeck, Jermain Defoe and Rickie Lambert - a scorer on debut last month - at Wembley Stadium.
Whoever starts in attack, England will expect to rack up the goals against a team it beat 5-0 away a year ago ahead of a much tougher qualifier in Ukraine on Tuesday. Just three points separates Group H leader Montenegro, second-place England and the Ukrainians, who are third with four matches left in qualifying.
England’s players come into the game amid fears of a crisis in English football because of a lack of home-grown players in the domestic game. New FA chairman Greg Dyke said Wednesday that ‘English football is a tanker which needs turning.’ It should give Hodgson’s side an added incentive against 123rd-ranked Moldova to show that all is not so bad, although England’s situation in a group many would expect the team to sail through underlines the problem. A loss in Ukraine next week could even leave England in danger of missing out on second place and a spot in the playoffs. ‘This is the crunch time. We have to get results,’ England defender Gary Cahill said.
Also on Friday, Montenegro plays at fourth-place Poland, which needs a win to stand a chance of a top-two finish, and Ukraine will expect three points and a big victory at home against San Marino.
Pranselli expects tough Bulgaria test
MILAN: Four-time champions Italy will hope forced personnel changes do not disrupt their aim of edging closer towards 2014 World Cup qualification when they host Bulgaria in Palermo on Friday. Italy, who last won the trophy in 2006, top qualifying Group B with a four and five-point cushion over Bulgaria and the Czech Republic respectively with four games remaining in the campaign.
However the absence of five key players, including AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, has forced coach Cesare Prandelli into changes that could make the first of two qualifiers within a week tougher than anticipated. Italy struggled to a 2-2 draw against Bulgaria in Sofia this time last year and Prandelli is taking nothing for granted. ‘On Friday we’re expecting a difficult match against a tough opponent and since we want to win we’re counting on the quality of our midfield and our wingers,’ said Prandelli.
Loew's Germany to attack Austria
MUNICH: Germany coach Joachim Loew has promised more attacking football in Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Austria in Munich, despite recent defensive frailties. Loew’s Germany are five-points clear at the top of Group C, with Austria second on goal difference, but Austria coach Marcel Koller will be hoping to exploit the Germans’ defensive weaknesses of late.
‘I’m not prepared to see us fall back and only push forward on the counter-attack,’ said Loew. ‘We are not going to hide in our half of the field and let the opposition attack.’
