England win World Cup tie on penalties shock

That’s right, some England players do know how to take a penalty… at the Homeless World Cup in Italy.

People who are homeless and socially excluded are enjoying a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever.

This annual international football tournament was first held in Graz in 2003. 18 national teams took part. Just six years later and 48 nations have come together for Milan 2009.

The event now supports grass roots football projects in over 60 nations and works with over 25,000 homeless and socially excluded people throughout the year.

Teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are squaring up against the likes of Argentina, Germany, South Africa and Spain.

They play Street Soccer on courts 22m long by 16m wide. The maximum number of players on a team at any one time is four (three outfield and one goalkeeper). Halves last 14 minutes and winning teams receive three points. Drawn matches are decided by a sudden-death penalty shoot out.

In this year’s tournament England advanced through the Preliminary stage after winning four games and scoring 37 goals in Group D.

Yesterday the Secondary group stage saw England draw 3 – 3 with Rumania before winning a thrilling penalty shoot out. Earlier in the day the team had lost 4 – 2 against Portugal. Matches against Hungary and the Ukraine take place today.

After the Secondary stage, the teams are split into six groups of eight according to their results. England will be hoping to become one of the top eight ranking sides to play for the official Homeless World Cup trophy.

Let’s hope the players involved in a penalty shoot in South Africa can cope just as well.

For more on the Homeless World Cup visit http://www.homelessworldcup.org/

Looking ahead to World Cup qualifiers in September – Part 1

For the next twelve days World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010 takes an occasionally wry look at World Cup qualifying fixtures in early September. Well, I say “wry”; on Day 9 I might just have a belly laugh at the expense of our Scottish neighbours if the mood takes me.

Europe: Group One

Albania and Malta only have one game each left to play, so we can forget about them. Substitute nine for one in that sentence and you’d sum up how most pundits felt about the chances of either qualifying – ever.

This group is of course a four-horse race between Denmark, Hungary, Portugal and Sweden. All that could change when the next set of games take place on September 5th.

With 16 points now, the unbeaten Danes take on Portugal in Copenhagen knowing a win will leave Ronaldo’s mob ten points behind.

If Hungary beat Sweden on the same night they will go to 16 points, with the Swedes staying on nine. Portugal will probably then have to beat Hungary twice and hope the Magyars also lose against Denmark. Sweden, on the other hand, face the whipping boys in two of their remaining three games. Beat Hungary in Budapest and they might be in with a chance.

Forthcoming fixtures:

September 5th

Denmark – Portugal

Hungary – Sweden

September 9th

Malta – Sweden

Albania – Denmark

Hungary – Portugal

Early qualifiers for next year Pt 2

North Korea

The weird Stalinist one-party one-family state even bastions of democracy and free speech such as China worry about is back. We can only hope the team’s success on the football field postpones their Great Leader’s plans for nuclear suicide to beyond 2010.

Of course the competition went ballistic the last time they put in an appearance. Italy took an early flight home after losing to a Pak Doo Ik bombshell goal at Ayresome Park, Portugal needed Eusebio’s guided missile boots to rescue them in the quarters, Charlton rocketed in a long-range winner during a tense semi, and Geoff Hurst’s tactical strikes saw off West Germany.

Chances of winning? Zero. Chances of sending millions of South Korean and Japanese citizens to underground bunkers. Quite high.