Germans lead qualifying hopefuls

A host of European countries, including giants Germany, could secure their passages to the World Cup on the penultimate round of qualifying matches on Friday.

Joachim Loew's men need only beat Republic of Ireland at home to join the likes of Italy and Netherlands, who have also already booked their plane tickets, in Brazil.

Group C leaders Germany could even afford to draw or lose and still qualify, depending on Sweden's result against Austria.

Yet that has not stopped them from peddling a cautious line ahead of their meeting in Cologne.

Germany may have romped to a 6-1 success in Dublin in October but holding midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is still expecting a battle against the usually tenacious Irish.

"It won't be easy, the Irish fight non-stop for their country," said the Bayern Munich player.

"They're maybe not as good as Argentina or Spain in a footballing sense, but they have an enormous heart and always give their all."

Belgium and Switzerland can also qualify without depending on other teams' results, although for the former to do so they will need to avoid defeat against Croatia in Zagreb.

Belgium lead Group A by five points but a defeat would mean their battle with Croatia going down to the final round of games Tuesday, when they host Wales and Croatia travel to Scotland.

The Belgians may have dominated the group so far, winning seven and drawing one of their eight games, but they come into this clash after suffering a pair of blows.

Captain and Manchester City star Vincent Kompany has been ruled out with a thigh strain while teenage Manchester United sensation Adnan Januzaj has once again turned down overtures from coach Marc Wilmots to join up with the national team squad, opting instead to leave his international options open.

Switzerland need to win in Albania to ensure their progress but, just like Germany, with a four-point cushion on Iceland they could even draw or lose and qualify depending on the Group E result when Cyprus visit Reykjavik.

Russia, who travel to Luxembourg, are the other team that could qualify Friday but that would depend on the unlikely event of Portugal losing at home to Israel.

Perhaps the most intriguing battle for a World Cup spot takes place in Group H where the top four play each other.

Leaders England host Montenegro knowing they could knock out the Balkan nation with a victory.

But with Ukraine entertaining Poland, and the top four sides separated by just three points, nothing will be decided until Tuesday.

England may lead by a point from Ukraine and Montenegro, and have a much better goal difference, but while those two face minnows San Marino and Moldova in their final games, Roy Hodgson's team host Poland at Wembley.

England have not missed out on World Cup qualification since 1994 but they did fail to make it to Euro 2008 in similar circumstances to these when defeats to Russia and at home to Croatia in their last two qualifiers saw them miss out on the finals in Austria and Switzerland.

The nightmare of that failure still haunts England's players and captain Steven Gerrard has been forced this week to defend the team against accusations that representing their country simply doesn't mean enough to the highly-paid Premier League stars.

"The pain and the agony – how long that lasted after we didn't qualify for Euro 2008 – I wish you could bottle that and show it to people who say those things and doubt how much we care," he said.

"We care. Trust me, we care. No one cares more than the players. We understand the fans and media are passionate, but that's certainly the case in the dressing room.

"It's a shame the supporters and certain people can't go into the dressing room and see how we prepare and how much we want this. The word I use when people bring it up is just 'nonsense'.

Emeteole wants clean sheet in Addis

Former Beach Eagles coach, Kelechi Emeteole has charged the Super Eagles not to concede goals to the Ethiopian opponents, the Walya Antelopes in Addis Ababa.

The Eagles will square up against the East Africans in Sunday’s first fixture of the 2014 World Cup play-off at the Addis Ababa National Stadium.

Emeteole said the Eagles must avoid defeat in Addis Ababa if they cannot come back with an outright victory in the encounter.

“The Eagles must go into the game with a consciousness to attack but with caution and must strive to avoid defeat if they couldn’t win the match, in fact, they must avoid conceding to the Ethiopians.

“A draw won’t be totally a bad result so that they will come back to a finer weather in Nigeria to wrap up the game,” said the former Nigerian strongman to supersport.com.

Emeteole warns the 2013 Afcon champions against any form of complacency in the crucial match.

“The Eagles must be alert for the duration of the game and must not take anything for granted but exhibit hunger to fight for the ball once they’re dispossessed as well as play the time and space tactics,” said the former Heartland coach.

The former El-Kanemi Warriors handler said nobody should be blamed for the non-acclimatisation of the players prior to the all important game.

“The foreign-based professionals are not readily available for the team to go for days of acclimatisation so the question of acclimatisation is academic.

“The expected harsh weather in Ethiopia will surely be a factor but no matter how challenging it turns out to be I’m confident the Eagles will come out of the encounter unscathed.

“I know the present crop of Eagles are hungry after the exit of the superstars, they want to carve a niche for themselves and write their names in gold.

“We don’t have to put them under undue pressure, I know for sure they’ll deliver the goods safely,” Emeteole said.

The decisive fixture is expected to hold in Nigeria on November 16 which will see the aggregate winners qualify for the global football showpiece in Brazil.

Ethiopia Nigeria-anology of a rivalry

Coach Sewnet Bishaw was smiling after Ethiopia’s workout yesterday. Despite reducing the team’s workload in fear of over training them, he must have been still happy at what he saw from his sweating foals.

Happy as well as confident because the normally reserved helmsman, now issued his sternest of warnings to the African champion when he told supersport.com "We don't only want to beat them in Addis but we want to give them a football lesson and kill them off."

It’s as if there exists bad blood between the two nations and to some it actually does. Let’s go down Memory lane.

Ethiopia costing Nigeria two valuable points in Addis the last time the two teams met there - to many an expert - is the real reason Nigeria did not make it to the Equatorial Guinea/Gabon Afcon. That draw put the Eagles in the precarious position of not just beating Guinea, but doing so by a certain number of goals in her last game. She failed and for the first time in three decades was not invited to Africa’s biggest party. To return the favour, two late penalties by Victor Moses now saw Nigeria expel Ethiopia at the last Afcon in South Africa herself, leaving many an Antelope fan furious and bitter.

But even before then there was commotion. This brings us to the notorious “bread game” that involved Paul Hamilton's Flying Eagles, who eliminated their Ethiopian counterparts en route USSR '85 U-19 World Cup finals.

The story is that during pre-match formalities before the first leg of this African qualification tournament semi-final kicked off in Lagos, the Ethiopian lads offered The Flying Eagles a live chicken each. While it was a gesture of open warmth as we now know, fearing black magic then, the hosts turned the offer down flatly and proceeded to hammer the East Africans 3-0. The Ethiopians were embittered by the rejection and returned home with tales of wicked Nigeria fans taunting them with loaves of bread throughout the match - in cruel reference to the ongoing famine in the rebellious Oromo and Tigre regions of Ethiopia which the Dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam's scorched earth policies had created. The incident is yet to be substantiated locally and till today is denied vehemently by the NFF.

What can be substantiated is that the Addis Ababa crowd exacted vengeance on Paul Hamilton's team during the return leg when they not only entered the stadium with loaves of bread themselves, but also assaulted the players after the match, which ended 1-1. Monday Odiaka and Mark Anunobi talked about having crouched into fetal positions while being beaten. In fact Nigeria was trapped in the dressing room for several hours and had to barricade the dressing room doors against attempts at forcible entry, and were unable to leave until the crowd had dispersed.

And that is how things have been left smoldering till now.

Nigeria and Ethiopia lock horns on Sunday at 3.00 PM (CAT) and the game can be see LIVE on SS9

With Gbenga Aina

Nigeria must respect Ethiopia

Nigeria head coach, Stephen Keshi, has deflected attention away from his African champions to claim that the Ethiopians have earned themselves respect.

The African champions will face Ethiopia's Walya Antelopes in the first leg of the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualification playoff in Addis Ababa this Sunday.

Keshi has acknowledged that the East Africans will not be easy opponents for his men.

The Nigeria manager is also wary of underrating the Ethiopians, who football enthusiasts believe are a much favourable opponent for the Super Eagles compared to the like of Egypt or Senegal.

"For them to have reached the last 10 for the World Cup playoff is no mean feat and we have huge respect for their achievement. It only shows that their game at international level has continued to grow and you don't want to take such a team for a ride. But we will play to our strength to earn a result from this game," Keshi told supersport.com.

The former Mali and Togo coach pointed out that the gap between the big football-playing nations and the small ones on the continent is being bridged by the day.

He added that it is on that premise the Super Eagles will give all of their attention to Ethiopia as "this is the most important match right now."

"In football today, every country is growing and they are being represented well by their national teams. It's not going to be business as usual as the game has evolved and other nations we never thought of are now competing well and up there with the big footballing nations especially in Africa these days.

"We won't take our eyes off this game until we're done with it because we feel it will not be same Ethiopia that we defeated at the Africa Cup of Nations. The truth is that Ethiopia will be different this time because they've grown in confidence since the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

"I know and the team knows that there are no easy games any longer. But for us this is the most important match right now and we will give it our best attention," said Keshi.

Keshi has not lost a competitive match to an African team since he became Nigeria head coach in November 2011.

Pressure on Ethiopia according to Joseph

Former Nigerian goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph has said the dreaded high altitude in Ethiopia will not stop the Super Eagles from running away with a good result in the battle of Addis Ababa.

The Eagles will clash with their Ethiopian opponents, the Walya Antelopes, in the first fixture of the 2014 Fifa World Cup play-offs on Sunday at the Addis Ababa National Stadium.

Dosu said Nigerians are not supposed to lose sleep over the anticipated harsh weather in the East African state as the Eagles are well-equipped to cope with the situation as well as achieve good result.

"I don't see the weather becoming a major problem, our players are core professionals and they know what to do at any given time and situation.

"The pressure will be on the Ethiopians not on us, so we'll have enough room to be natural. At least, try as much as possible to conserve strength while they cash in on our versed experience to run out the opponents.

"I don't know what the scoreline will be but I'm certain the Eagles will comeback with a draw. A draw will be ideal so that the Eagles will come home to wrap the game," said the former Nigeria goalkeeper to supersport.com.

Dosu said the side's stand-in captain, Vincent Enyeama and Austin Ejide will make the goalkeeping position a no-go-area for the opposition.

"Enyeama and Ejide have done excellently well in the goalkeeping area same as Godfrey Oboabona, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Efe Ambrose, among others have done in defence.

"Without mentioning the departments one after the other I think the entire team is in perfect shape. There is no cause for alarm," said the former Julius Berger FC goaltender.

The winners of the two-legged play-offs will qualify for the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.

Drogba calls for support

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba on Thursday called for support from local supporters ahead of his side’s match against Senegal in the 2014 World Cup qualifying.

The 35-year-old Galatasaray forward urged not only football lovers but the entire population to pray and bless the team ahead of Saturday’s cracker holding at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.

“No matter the opposing team, no matter the number of victories you have recorded over them, anytime you step onto the pitch it’s always a new match and therefore you must work hard,” Drogba said.

“I understand the general fear within the population now, but I want to stress that there is also an equal desire to fight hard for a win in order to qualify to the 2014 World Cup.

“I hereby call on all Ivorians, be you football lover or not, to pray sincerely for the team so we can together make this dream come true. I call on fans to troop to the stadium to throw their support behind us,” he said.

About 1700 police and gendarmes have been mobilised by the authorities for the encounter, which Fifa has classified as risky, following last year’s stadium riots in Dakar when the two sides met in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying return leg, won by the Ivorians on a 6-2 aggregate.

Stallions put faith in home leg

Burkina Faso host Algeria in a 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier first leg playoff on Saturday in Ouagadougou.

It has been a very colourful year in football for Burkina Faso after finishing runners up at the 2013 Africa Cup.

And now, The Stallions are 180 minutes away from capping it with a World Cup debut should the results over the two legs go their way.

Burkina Faso coach Paul Put believes the home leg match this weekend is highly likely to decide the direction of their destiny ahead of next month’s return leg.

“This is a very crucial stage and winning comfortably at home will be very important for us before we go to Algeria,” said Put.

“We shall need the support of the 12th man who are the fans because getting a comfortable win will be one step in the World Cup before we go for the return leg.”

Burkina Faso remains without the services of the hotshot striker Alain Traore who has not seen any action since January at the Africa Cup of Nations due to a long-term injury.

However, Jonathan Pitriopa has ably stepped into that leadership role in his absence and was instrumental in their push to finishing top of Group E in which he also scored two goals.

Striker Aristide Bance of who has also got two goals in the qualifiers is available and continues to be a Stallions favourite despite being a peripheral figure at 2.Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Meanwhile, three-time Fifa World Cup finalists Algeria are upbeat despite playing away as they chase a second successive tournament appearance.

"We're confident, but this is a team that will be hard to handle at home since they will have their home fans behind them," Algeria captain Madjid Bougherra said.

"There are many individuals in the like Charles Kabore, Bancé and especially Pitroipa. This will be a player to watch.

Eto’o-boosted Cameroon geared for Tunisia

Cameroon have been boosted by the return of influential striker Samuel Eto’o for their 2014 World Cup final round qualifier first leg encounter against Tunisia in Rades on Sunday.

The now Chelsea striker announced his retirement from football after helping the Indomitable Lions qualify for the final round of qualification last month.

But after meeting up with government officials the forward went back on his decision and is ready to lead Cameroon to next year’s World Cup.

The Indomitable Lions have underachieved to say the least in recent years despite reaching this stage in the competition and it is fair to say that if Eto’o were to have been ruled out it would have been another huge blow to their chances.

Eto’o has now joined up with the rest of his teammates at a training camp in France as Cameroon gear up for arguably their biggest game since the 2010 World Cup.

Stephane Mbia and Cedric Raoul Loe, though, who are both based in Spain have been ruled out of the clash against the Carthage Eagles. Mbia who is on-loan at Sevilla from Queens Park Rangers picked up a toe injury in a La-Liga encounter.

Also out is Bordeux’s Landry Nguemo after a very light cardiac scare in his teams Europa League clash against Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Coach Volker Finke has called up Barcelona B young defender Macky Franck Bagnack to fill the defensive gap, while Kaiserslautern’s Mohamadou Idrissou who has been in superb form in the Bundesliga 2 has been recalled.

Tunisia caretaker coach Ruud Krol is in a race against time to prepare his squad for the vital clash.

Krol has included Marseille forward Saber Khalifa who was suspended for the last match against Cape Verde while attacking midfielder Maher Hannachi and striker Fakhreddine Ben Youssef were included from Tunisian outfit CS Sfaxien, who are incidentally also coached by the former Orlando Pirates mentor.

Karim Hagui and Aymen Abdennour, though, won’t take any part as they are suspended.

Tunisia will feel fortunate that they qualified for the final round after finishing second in their group following a defeat to Cape Verde in their last group game. The Blue Sharks, though, were docked three points for fielding an ineligible player allowing Tunisia to take over top spot and subsequently keep their world cup dreams alive.

Cameroon, on the other hand, beat Libya 1-0 in their final group encounter to seal their spot in the final 10.

The Indomitable Lions head into the encounter the odds on favourites having assembled a good record against their North African counterparts over the years.

In the 14 previous meetings between the two sides, Cameroon has won eight, Tunisia two while four games ended all square.

The last meeting between the pair was a 2-2 draw in the first round of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Hodgson backs England to get it right

England will show their true colours and put behind them an unconvincing World Cup qualifying campaign by winning their final two games to secure a place in next year's finals, manager Roy Hodgson said on Thursday.

Victories over Montenegro at Wembley on Friday and Poland four days later would guarantee automatic qualification for Brazil.

Unbeaten England, who top Group H by a point from Ukraine and Montenegro with Poland two points further back, have so far only beaten whipping boys San Marino and Moldova in 2014 qualifying.

A confident Hodgson said he was "convinced", a word he used more than once, that England would get it right when it mattered.

England last missed out on the global showpiece in 1994.

"We've never discussed not qualifying, within the camp we are convinced we are a good team, we are convinced we are good enough to qualify and with two home games to come we are convinced that we will do the job," he told a news conference.

"Words like fear, anxiety or concern haven't crossed our minds or lips and I've been very impressed this week by the quality of training.

"I know they will deliver and tomorrow night you will see a very good England team. Hopefully, Montenegro won't be a very good Montenegro team and that will make our task a bit easier."

England have failed to beat Montenegro in their three meetings, including a 0-0 draw at Wembley when the two sides met in European Championship qualifying in October 2010.

Montenegro have been hit by a string of injuries, with captain Mirko Vucinic among those doubtful, but Hodgson said it would be foolish if England went for broke.

"It will a more difficult task for us if we adopt a gung-ho approach and suddenly find ourselves a goal to nil down.

"That will complicate the task enormously. I'm very confident that the team I have will strike the right balance between attacking and defending and that we'll cause Montenegro plenty of problems with our attacking play but at the same time be as difficult to score against as we were in the Ukraine (a 0-0 draw last month).

A second-placed finish in the group would result in a two-legged playoff in November and Hodgson predicted there would be big teams who would miss out on the finals.

"Lots of good teams won't get to Brazil next year but I'm convinced it won't be us," said the manager, pointing out England's good recent record at Wembley, with one defeat in their last 13 in the capital (to the Netherlands in a frienldy last year).

"That's quite a nice statistic. I'm fortunate not to have tasted defeat there yet.

"I trust in the team and I'm excited tomorrow night we can show what we can do and I'm convinced we'll put on a very good performance.

England 'must forget about winning WCup

Glenn Hoddle has said England should set aside any thoughts of winning next year's World Cup in Brazil.

Former England manager Hoddle was unveiled on Wednesday as a member of a Football Association commission designed to improve the fortunes of the national side.

"It is unrealistic for England to think they can go and win the World Cup in Brazil," Hoddle told BBC Sport.

"Let's first qualify, then get the youngsters experiencing a tournament in Brazil so that in two years' time we can have a real go at the Euros," added the 55-year-old, himself a former England midfielder.

Only around 30 percent of the players currently playing in the English top flight are eligible for selection by England coach Roy Hodgson.

Since winning the 1966 World Cup as hosts, England have only reached the semifinals of two major tournaments and the commission will investigate the reasons for their recent failings.

England have yet to book their place at the 2014 finals in Brazil although they will assure themselves of a spot if they win their final two qualifiers, both at Wembley, against Montenegro on Friday and Poland on Tuesday.

Hoddle was in charge of England from 1996 to 1999 and took them to the second phase of the 1998 World Cup in France before the team lost on penalties to Argentina in a match where David Beckham was sent off.

However, he was sacked as England manager after giving a newspaper interview in which he was quoted as saying disabled people were "being punished for sins in a former life

Sturridge can be England sharpshooter

Fit-again striker Daniel Sturridge can fire England into the World Cup finals if he replicates his blistering domestic form at international level, England captain and Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard said.

Sturridge missed last month's qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine with a thigh injury but is expected to start alongside Wayne Rooney, who is also available again after injury, when England face Montenegro at Wembley on Friday.

Wins over Montenegro and at home to Poland on Tuesday would guarantee England, who top Group H by one point, a ticket to next year's finals in Brazil.

Sturridge's six Premier League goals have helped Liverpool share top spot with Arsenal after seven games.

He has only scored once - against San Marino in March - in six international appearances but Gerrard has seen first hand what the 24-year-old is capable of.

"He's razor sharp, he's got great a technique - he can score any kind of goal, like against Crystal Palace last weekend which was some finish from a tight angle," Gerrard told a news conference on Thursday.

"For me now, it's all about Daniel being available and fit and if he is he'll do a lot of damage for club and country.

"He's confident but not arrogant or flash. He's got a lot of belief in his own ability and I don't blame him for that because he's got bundles of it."

Sturridge is flourishing at Liverpool after joining in the January transfer window having failed to win a regular starting place at Chelsea.

Gerrard said he was aware that despite his undoubted talent, the player had somewhat of a negative reputation. But Sturridge had quickly proved him wrong since arriving at Anfield.

"To be honest when he came to Liverpool I was surprised because a lot of the things I'd read, and what I thought about him, he's been absolutely no problem at Liverpool," Gerrard said.

"He's needed a manager who is prepared to build a team around him, put him as the main striker. We've seen nothing but quality from Daniel in training and in the games.

"He's better than I thought he was. I'd seen him obviously at Chelsea and at Manchester City...bits and flashes but his consistency has been brilliant at Liverpool. He's fired us to the top of the league.

Don't castigate Wilshere - Hodgson

Footballers who speak their mind should be welcomed, not frowned upon, England manager Roy Hodgson said on Thursday in backing under-fire midfielder Jack Wilshere.

The Arsenal and England player caused a furore when he waded into the debate over Manchester United teenager Adnan Januzaj's future eligibility for the England team by stating only English people should be selected.

Januzaj was born in Belgium to Kosovan-Albanian parents and has Turkish grandparents but could qualify for England under Fifa rules if he is resident in the country continuously for five years.

Wilshere's comments prompted a row over non-English-born players representing the country with England's South African-born cricketer Kevin Pietersen asking Wilshere on Twitter: "Interested to know how you define foreigner  ? Would that include me, Strauss, Trott, Prior, Justin Rose, Froome, Mo Farah?"

Hodgson said the subject matter was worthy of debate.

"We are consistently complaining that players don't ever have an opinion, when they are asked questions they never come out with anything worth listening to," Hodgson told a news conference ahead of England's World Cup qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley on Friday.

"It's quite wrong to criticise someone for having an opinion in the first place and, secondly, the subject matter is worthy of debate.

"At the end of the day it's (Januzaj's eligibility) going to be a result of a policy decision which will be taken by the (English) FA."

Wilshere also found himself in hot water last week, earning a rebuke from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after being photographed smoking on a night out.

England captain Steven Gerrard took a contrasting stance to Wilshere when asked about the Januzaj debate, saying: "If players become available through Fifa rules it's only right that the FA look into it. We need to try and gain every advantage we can to try and make the England team as string as possible."

But he supported Wilshere's right to comment and said the 21-year-old would become a stronger person.

"To be fair to Jack, he's tried to give a very patriotic answer. He loves England and I don't think he's meant to intentionally disrespect anyone in any other sport. Credit to him... he was very strong in his opinion," Gerrard told reporters.

"I think when you've had a couple of weeks that Jack's had they make you a better person. They make you stronger and improve you as a player - all the experience he's getting now as a young lad will help him to become a better person and a better player.

Fifa confident of WCup security

Football's world governing body Fifa is confident Brazil can ensure security during next year's World Cup, its secretary general said Thursday.

"There is no additional demand on the part of Fifa" in terms of security, Jerome Valcke told a Rio press conference.

In the wake of massive street protests in June as Brazil hosted the Confederations Cup, Valcke said authorities "reacted well and gave us all, teams, trade partners, confidence in their capacity to control these situations".

The protests, which brought more than one million people onto the streets of major cities, were against the high cost of hosting the World Cup and also to demand better public services and an end to endemic corruption.

During Valcke's visit to Cuiaba, capital of the central-western state of Mato Grosso, last week, some 50 people, most of them public employees, held a protest.

"They have the right to protest and we have the right to organise the World Cup," the Fifa secretary-general commented.

Ronaldo backs Neymar to be best

Young Brazil playmaker Neymar has improved since leaving Santos for Barcelona in June and could go on to become the best player in the world, according to compatriot Ronaldo.

"He has evolved and I am sure he will evolve even more," former Brazil and Barcelona striker Ronaldo told reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

"If he keeps getting better he will be the best player in the world."

Ronaldo said Neymar could be firing on all cylinders by the time he returns to his home country for the 2014 World Cup.

"I am sure he'll be coming to Brazil an even better player," he added.

Ronaldo, whose sports marketing company has Neymar on its books, has good reason to talk up the 21-year-old and told the former Santos player that he needed to go to Europe to fulfil his potential.

While the young playmaker has been criticised for diving, he has shown in his first few months in Spain that he can shine alongside the best in the world like Barca teammate Lionel Messi and Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I am delighted with Neymar's start, he's playing well and scoring and creating goals," said the Brazilian Ronaldo who also had spells with Real, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

"He has Messi alongside him, who is out of this world. In every game he is brilliant and scores two or three goals," he added of the Argentine forward.

Ronaldo is on the World Cup organising committee but is now spending most of his time in London where he is studying business and marketing.

BPL promises to work with commission

The Barclays Premier League insisted on Thursday it did have a role as part of a Football Association commission set up to look at improving the performance of the England team.

FA chairman Greg Dyke unveiled a commission, including former England manager Glenn Hoddle, on Wednesday when he said it was "a shame" Premier League chairman Anthony Fry had turned down his invitation.

But Premier League director of communications Dan Johnson said on Thursday: "The Premier League is part of Greg Dyke's commission.

"We and the clubs agreed last month with the FA that it would be better to engage with it as a collective rather than have one individual attend the meetings. Greg Dyke agreed at the time that this was the best way forward."

Dyke has been careful not to pick a fight with Premier League club, who are seen by some as a stumbling block to future England success given the large numbers of foreign players they employ – only 30 percent of those appearing in the English top flight are eligible for selection by England manager Roy Hodgson.

However, Johnson was adamant the Premier League did want to assist England.

"We will take a full part in the processes and outputs of the commission and have put the considerable knowledge, experience, research and data at the commission's disposal, whether that is drawn from the Premier League board, executive or member clubs and their staff," he said.

"There is a huge amount of expertise at our clubs. It has been made absolutely clear that Greg and his team can speak to or gather evidence from Premier League club directors, first team managers, academy managers and any other league representatives they feel would benefit the process.

"As our chairman, Anthony Fry, said back in September: 'There is no doubt around the Premier League table as to the benefits of a national set-up that is thriving and performing well.

"'That is why the Premier League clubs, board and executive all signed up to contributing to the process of debate initiated by Greg and helping to identify any appropriate outcomes that will serve to improve standards and delivery in respect of player development.'"

Johnson stressed: "This position remains wholly unchanged.

"One thing that will make it much easier for the Premier League to define our precise involvement in the commission is when we receive the terms of reference, details of the secretariat and a timetable."

England haven't won a major tournament since lifting the World Cup on home soil back in 1966.

They've still to qualify for next year's edition, although home at Wembley wins over Montenegro on Friday and Poland on Tuesday will assure England of a place at the 2014 finals in Brazil.

Mou return gives chairman easy life

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck says he is relieved that Jose Mourinho has returned to the club as manager, because he no longer has to explain himself to disgruntled fans.

Buck has worked with nine different managers since joining the club in 2003, not including caretaker coaches.

The appointment of former Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez last season sparked angry protests from some fans and Buck says that Stamford Bridge is a calmer place now that Mourinho has returned.

"Surely, having a manager for a longer rather than a shorter period of time is better, but you have to have that stability with the right manager," he told the Leaders in Football conference in London.

"We've had a lot of managers over the last 10 years and fortunately for us it has worked out and we've been successful on the pitch.

"The biggest problem it creates is the reaction from fans when we change managers. We go about our business as best we can. Sometimes it wins the fans' approval, sometimes it doesn't.

"This has been a very, very relaxed season for me because we hired Jose back, which our fans wanted.

"I don't have to explain to fans that might come up to me on the Fulham Road (near Chelsea's ground in west London) why this player is not playing and this one is. We have the manager they wanted."

Mourinho spent three years at Chelsea between 2004 and 2007, notably winning two Premier League titles, and returned to the club in June after spells at Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Chelsea boss bemoans financial curbs

Rules forcing European soccer clubs to cut their financial losses will make it harder for smaller teams to challenge the game's elite, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said on Thursday.

Chelsea have won the English Premier League three times in the past decade after billionaire Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought the club and funded heavy spending on players.

Buck said Chelsea would comply with Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules designed to curb losses but felt the measures went further than necessary to stabilise club finances.

"We had a broken finger and we cut off the arm," Buck told the Leaders in Football conference at the club's Stamford Bridge stadium in London.

Buck said the system would make it harder for someone like Abramovich to come in and transform a club.

"It (FFP) goes a long way towards preserving the status quo," he added, noting that it risked killing the dreams that clubs at the bottom of the game had of reaching the top.

"That is difficult if not impossible now," Buck said.

Critics of clubs like Chelsea and Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City argue that their spending on players and salaries has driven up costs for teams to dangerous levels.

There are various forms of financial control being applied across all four divisions of the English professional game after former Premier League clubs, including Portsmouth and Coventry, City went into administration in recent seasons.

Top clubs risk exclusion from Uefa competitions from next season if they fail to make sufficient progress towards breaking even. However, the rules are complex and there is uncertainty about how strictly they will be enforced at first.

Uefa will be expected to look closely at big sponsorship deals agreed by clubs including Manchester City and Paris St Germain to ensure they are not hidden subsidies from groups with ties to team owners.

"We're all hopeful that Uefa will apply these rules in a fair and equitable manner," Buck said.

Chelsea moved into profit last year for the first time in the Abramovich era after winning the Champions League and enjoying a windfall from a share deal.

Torres bemoans Chelsea's overreaction

Fernando Torres knows he needs to do more to justify his British record transfer fee although he feels there has been an exaggerated reaction to the bad moments he has endured since joining Chelsea in January 2011.

The Spain striker has scored 37 goals in 139 appearances for the west London club since leaving Liverpool for £50 million but believes he is unfairly treated when things go wrong.

"There has been an overreaction about everything," Torres told Chelsea Television. "Overreact when I did a miss or if I have a red card or I hit the crossbar instead of scoring a goal.

"It was a good season (last year), a good number of goals (23) that gave us a chance to fight for trophies but if you ask the people, they will say he can do better, should do better.

"It's like I said, with me good things are looking so-so and bad things are looking really bad. For me, it (the fee) has never been a problem," said Torres.

"When I joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid they paid €36 million and it was the same situation and never affected me. Everyone is talking about that but it's not true."

Torres, however, admits he needs to replicate the consistency that helped him notch 81 goals in 142 appearances at Liverpool.

"The people are looking at me thinking I should do much better and it's true," he said. "The reason you pay that money for someone is that he has shown in the past he is worth that.

"Now what you have to show is you can have the same value or even more value for things you have done at Chelsea.

"I know I have many things to do at this club to give the confidence back to the owner. The amount of goals I scored last season should be the minimum," said the 29-year-old who is currently sidelined with a knee injury.

"I want to ask that of myself but I have enough time. I signed a five-and-a-half year contract and I'm sure the future can only be better."

Torres, who is expected to be fit again in two weeks, has won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup in his time at Stamford Bridge and has no regrets about leaving Liverpool.

"I'm so happy to have made that hard decision in my career to come to Chelsea," he said. "Over time you can see all the success that we've had as a team so everything was worth it.

Ferguson 'couldn't coach' - Barton

Outspoken English footballer Joey Barton claimed former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson "couldn't coach" as he called for improvements in coaching standards in the English game.

Barton was discussing how to increase the number of English players playing in the Premier League after Football Association chairman Greg Dyke set up a commission to look into the matter.

Only around 30 percent of the players currently competing in the English top flight are eligible for selection by the national team – the worst ratio among Europe's five top leagues.

"We're giving good players to mediocre coaches, because we're not developing coaches," Barton told the Leaders in Football conference in London on Thursday.

"We don't honour coaches. We honour managers, we love managers –everyone loves Alex Ferguson.

"I'm not here to disrespect Fergie – great manager, the icon, the pinnacle of British managers – but he couldn't put on a coaching session to save his life.

"I've spoken to people about it. He could barely lay out cones. This is not a coach, this is a manager. This is the difference. There's a big, big difference between a coach and a manager."

The Queens Park Rangers midfielder added: "Fergie's a great, great manager. But he's always had good coaches (alongside him), because he can't coach."

Ferguson retired as United manager in May after a record-breaking 26-and-a-half-year spell in which he won 38 competitions, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns.

In an interview with the Harvard Business Review published last month, he admitted that he delegated responsibility for training sessions to his support staff in order to observe his players more closely.

"My presence and ability to supervise were always there, and what you can pick up by watching is incredibly valuable," Ferguson said.

"Once I stepped out of the bubble, I became more aware of a range of details, and my performance level jumped.

Stars get extra incentive to beat Egypt

The President of Ghana, John Mahama, announces a 50% increase in bonuses for the Black Stars players ahead of their crucial World Cup play off against Egypt.

The players originally receive $10,000 as winning bonus and now will receive $15,000 if they beat the Egyptians.

The President said: “Whatever we should do to support you to win this match, we shall do and that is why you’ve been informed already that your bonuses have been topped up already, everything is under control and so we will do our bit.”

The Black Stars are seeking to make their third successive appearance at the World Cup having excelled at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Speaking to the team at their final training session in Accra before leaving for Kumasi on Wednesday, President Mahama challenged the players to remain focused and win the game.

“We’ve come a very long way to this point. All the matches we’ve played have finally come down to one match and that match is the last hurdle we have to cross to be in Brazil so this match is more important than all the other matches we’ve played.”

He encouraged the players to do their maximum best and “focus on this match, Egypt and let’s defeat them. I was told that this is your last training session in Accra before you leave this afternoon for Kumasi.”

The President stated that he took time off to visit the players “as the chief supporter of your team, as the leader of this country to tell you that the whole country is solidly behind you.”

Meanwhile, the captain of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan has also assured the nation of victory in the much anticipated play off.

He also expressed appreciation on behalf of his colleague for the increase in bonuses.

“Training has been successful. We started our training yesterday and after this morning, we will be having our flight to Kumasi to continue our training session…we are waiting for Tuesday…we will make sure we make everybody proud.

LMC threatens Heartland

The League Management Company (LMC) has said in an unmistakable term that Heartland risk a ban from NPFL in event of failing to honour contractual agreement with the players.

The LMC equally advised the players to follow due processes enshrined in relevant sections of the league regulations in declaring industrial dispute.

The LMC issued the two-pronged caution at the end of its meeting in Abuja as it condemned the club's management that cannot keep to contractual obligations with the players.

"The LMC takes the issue of players welfare very serious and we’re appealing to relevant authorities concerned in the reported Heartland case to act appropriately as reports such as strike by the players undermines the values we’re building for the league,” said the LMC chief operating officer, Salihu Abubakar.

The LMC said that should the players strike lead to the abortion of the Week 36 fixture between Heartland and El-Kanemi Warriors and the Week 37 match against Enugu Rangers, the club will be expelled from the league in line with Article 4.2(3).

"We’ll apply the full weight of the sanctions stated in Article 4.2(3) and will go a step further to enlist the support of the Nigeria Football Federation to extend the sanction to a prohibition of teams from the state participating in any national football competitions at all levels,” said Abubakar.

Abubakar however admonished the players to comply with the relevant rules dealing with steps to be taken by players who are owed salaries and other entitlement by their managements.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the LMC is not at this moment in receipt of any formal notification by Heartland players to their management as is required in the rules and we’ll therefore view the reported strike action as contravening our rules.

“Players who embark on strike contrary to the rules will be punished in line with the rules which are suspension from the league for two seasons and no club in the league or in any other league in the country will be permitted to hire them,” the LMC chief said.

However, supersport.com can confirm that the striking players have temporarily agreed to sheath their swords to allow the club management time to meet their demands.

“The chairman assured us we’ll get our money, we’ve decided to give him the benefit of doubt and have agreed to call off the strike albeit temporarily.

“We’ve given him days up to the week to the encounter against Enugu Rangers to pay up or we resume a full scale strike.

“We’ve resumed training for the Week 37 match against El-Kanemi Warriors on Saturday in Owerri.

“We’ll fight hard to ensure we grab the three points at stake and shore up our position on the log,” said one of the players who pleaded not to be named to supersport.com.

Heartland are 15th on the 20-team elite league log on 46 points.

Tornadoes recruiting for top flight

The management of Nigeria National League (NNL) side, Niger Tornadoes has assured merit will be the watchword of the side's ongoing recruitment exercise for the 2013/2014 season.

The Minna-based side are currently conducting a screening exercise at the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna with a huge turn out of players preparatory for the new NNL season billed to kick off on November 6.

Tornadoes chairman, Dattijo Aliyu, said the management will not interfere in the exercise nor determine, who eventually gets the nod to campaign for the side in prosecuting the 2013/14 NNL season aimed at returning the team to the Premier League.

"The management has vowed to allow the coaches free-hands in the selection of players for the upcoming season as we won't want complaints at the end of the season.

"We'll provide enabling environment for the coaches and players to meet the mandate of qualifying the team to the elite league next season.

"Renovation work has started at the team's camp as equipment and kits will be provided to further boost the team on the task ahead.

"We've witnessed huge turn out of players at the screening exercise, surely not everyone will be taken. Those who won't make the list should kindly take their rejection in good faith.

"It will be a huge challenge for the successful ones as the burden and mandate to return the team to the elite league will fall on their shoulders.

"We want the players to be disciplined, dedicated and committed towards the club aspirations. I want to use this occasion to call on the citizens to massively support the team as they go about their daunting task," Aliyu said to supersport.com.

Tornadoes technical adviser, Bala Nkiyu assured the end product of the screening will assist the team towards returning to the elite league.

"Players are to be selected based on merit as we won't compromise on players' fitness," said the former Super Falcons assistant coach to supersport.com.

Captain of the side, Mustapha Aliko assured the players will do their best to see to the return of the side to the Premier League.

Tornadoes missed promotion narrowly to the top flight in the 2012/13 NNL season.

In the shadow of Mount Patti

For 90 minutes, Lokoja took centre stage in the Glo Premier League when the much-talked about rescheduled match between champions, Kano Pillars and Enyimba was decided in Lokoja.

Tuesday's match was special for many reasons.

It was the first time a top flight match would be played in Lokoja, capital of Kogi State.

Call it the perfect time to showcase the newly constructed Lokoja Confluence Stadium, located at the foot of Mount Patti and you won’t be wrong.

Interestingly, Mount Patti provides amazing scenery similar only to a few stadia across the world.

Like the Stade de Geneve, home ground of Swiss side, Servette, which has the magnificent Alps overlooking the stadium, the Lokoja Confluence Stadium boosts the spectacular view of Mount Patti.

The artificial turf at the Lokoja Confluence Stadium provided a good platform for the gladiators to confirm their top four position on the 20-team log.

Both coaches had worked together before as Kano Pillars' Baba Ganaru was assistant to Enyimba's Salisu Yusuf at the Kano side.

In fact, Ganaru's assistant, Abdul Maikaba equally left Enyimba for Pillars, on the eve of the current season.

Placed third (Kano Pillars, 57 points) and fourth (Enyimba, 56 points) before the match, both sides wanted the points to boost their quest for the 2012/13 title.

Anti-Climax

The absence of fans did not take away the beauty of the match played behind closed doors.

It was decided at a time Enyimba were ready to celebrate another point on the road to boost their quest for a seventh title.

It was action packed and top stars like Femi Thomas, Victor Ezeji, Bishop Onyeudo, Chinedu Udoji, (Enyimba), Rabiu Ali, Theophilus Afelokhai, Buhari Musa, Gambo Mohammed (Kano Pillars) were impressive.

However, it was a day ordained for substitute Manir Ubale, to get all the plaudits.

Ubale grabbed the chance in style and emerged match day hero as his last minute header ensured Pillars maintained their quest for back-to-back title for the first time in their history.

"I was confident of changing the match when the manager introduced me.

"It was a good match and Pillars deserved to win," Ubale said to supersport.com.

Enyimba failed to climb Mount Patti, but you don’t need to worry about formations when you have a mountain climber like Ubale.

Table-topping Pillars with 60 points return to the foot of Mount Patti for their last home match against Dolphins, on match day 37.

Messi absence chance to test options

Lionel Messi's injury absence is a psychological blow to Argentina and requires a solution so rivals cannot take advantage, coach Alejandro Sabella said on Wednesday.

Argentina will also be without Gonzalo Higuain, Fernando Gago and Javier Mascherano against Peru at home on Friday and for their last qualifier in Uruguay next Tuesday.

Sabella, whose team secured their place in next year's World Cup in Brazil last month, will use the last two matches to try fringe players as he looks to settle on a final squad of 23.

"Messi's absence is always impossible to disguise," Sabella told Argentina's Radio 9.

"It's a different story, not just for us but also our rivals. It's a psychological blow when Leo's not on the pitch and it's a challenge to find a solution to the problem."

Captain Messi is Argentina's match-winner and top scorer with 10 in qualifying, a tally he shares withUruguay's Luis Suarez, and rarely do the team fail to win when he finds the net.

"The team's heart will be missing," said Sabella of the additional absences of Mascherano and Gago before adding that he now has the chance to test Lucas Biglia and Ever Banega together in central midfield.

"On the one hand, I'd prefer to field the same team to run it in more, but I also can't help thinking this is a good chance to try out players and bed them in.

Honduras eye spot, Mexico 'must win

Honduras host Costa Rica on Friday with a chance to secure a 2014 World Cup berth as mighty Mexico bid to breathe life into their CONCACAF qualifying campaign.

The United States and Costa Rica have already qualified for next year's finals in Brazil, leaving Honduras, Mexico and Panama battling for the third and final direct entry from North and Central America and the Caribbean with two matches remaining.

The fourth-placed team will face Oceania's New Zealand for a World Cup spot, with even lowly Jamaica still technically in with a chance of making the playoff.

Honduras lie third in the standings with 11 points, three more than both Mexico and Panama who face off at Azteca Stadium on Friday.

Honduras can book their second straight World Cup finals appearance, and third overall, with a victory over Costa Rica in San Pedro Sula –depending on the outcome in Mexico City.

Honduras missed out on a chance to bolster their position on September 10 when they were unable to hold onto an early lead and finished with a 2-2 draw against Panama.

Mexico will be under the microscope, their so-far disastrous qualifying campaign seeing them in danger of missing the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990 - when they were banned by Fifa for using overage players in the 1989 World Youth Championship.

With just one victory in eight matches in the six-nation final qualifying group, Mexico are fifth – trailing Panama on goal difference.

An embarrassing 2-1 defeat to visiting Honduras spelled the end of Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre's managerial tenure last month, and his successor, Luis Fernando Tena – who managed Mexico's 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning team – departed after a 2-0 loss to the United States in Columbus, Ohio, on September 10.

Victor Manuel Vucetich is now at the helm, and insists it is not too late for Mexico.

"The group is gelling more and more every day, and this gives us the serenity that we can come out victorious with this squad," he said.

In Panama they'll be facing a side hungry to follow up their run to the Gold Cup final with a first-ever trip to the World Cup finals.

The United States, who top the group with 16 points to Costa Rica's 15, host Jamaica on Friday in Kansas City and promised no let-up in their final two matches.

"We want to finish qualifying on a high note and prove a point in our region," said manager Jurgen Klinsmann, who called up Michael Orozco on Tuesday to replace injured defender Omar Gonzalez in the squad.

"We don't view these games as the end of World Cup qualifying. For us, it's the start of preparations for the World Cup and therefore we have to continue to raise the bar," added Klinsmann, who guided Germany to the World Cup semifinals in 2006 when they hosted the tournament.

That could be bad news for Jamaica, who have just four points from eight matches and have yet to post a win in the group.

Qualifying in the region concludes on Tuesday, when Costa Rica host Mexico, Jamaica host Honduras and Panama host the United States.

Teshome hopes to replicate form

Ethiopia Walia Ibex midfielder Minyahil Teshome has his work cut out as he faces the likes of John Obi Mikel in a midfield battle but he feels he is up to task.

The inspiring midfielder who scored the crucial goal against the Central Africa Republic last month in Congo Brazaville hopes to inspire his team with another fine performance having been the talk of the team for several months.

Minyahil had been in the middle of a storm that saw Fifa dock his country three points when they fielded him despite the fact that he had accrued two yellow cards however he says that is all now all behind him as he looks forward to the Nigerian game.

"I can’t wait for Sunday to once again play against Nigeria at the National Stadium. It will be a tough match but our main aim is to get all the three points and maybe hope for a draw away in Calabar. We have been in great shape and I don’t think this is the time to be worried of Nigeria's African champions tag. What matters for us is how we will organize ourselves for the entire 90 minutes and give another fine performance."

"Against CAR I felt so inspired and when I scored I felt vindicated after all the blame game that took place after we were docked points but all that now is water under the bridge and i am looking to partner with my team mates to ensure Nigeria go home empty handed," Minyahil told supersport.com.

The newly married player who just two months ago was in honey moon hoped to dedicate the win to his fiancée and the entire football fraternity in Ethiopia.

Girma warns Nigeria

Ethiopia's attacking midfielder Adane Girma has warned Nigeria not to expect an easy game despite being the African champions as he called on his teammates to have self belief.

The St. George player says he is not perturbed by the calibre of players in the Nigerian team as he thinks they are equal to the task and reiterated they did not qualify for the play offs by fluke.

Girma has been a key player for the national team during the World Cup qualifiers is remembered by fans scoring a crucial equalizer against Zambia in the 2013 Afcon held in South Africa.

"It always laughable when a fellow player even though based in Europe alludes to sentiments that they can easily beat Ethiopia. How on earth do they think we qualified to set up a gruelling play off against them Nigeria?”

"Nigeria must not expect to run over us as we are equal to the task ahead of us and if they are not careful they will go back home wiping tears as we are very unpredictable. The mood in camp is superb and every player who will be given a chance to start will have a job to do and make Ethiopia proud," a buoyant Adane told supersport.com.

"Personally I feel am in great form and it’s in games like this that I want to show Ethiopia my worth and I will give 100 percent knowing very well that we are only 180 minutes away from our dream World cup in Brazil," he added.

Girma has 36 caps for Walia Ibex and is expected to start alongside Shemeles Bekele in midfield.