PIcks For Sunday, April 1, 2007:

Inter Milan-Parma (1)
Udinese-Lazio (X)
Atletico Madrid-Mallorca (X)
Osasuna-Sevilla (X)
Hamburger SV-Wolfsburg (1)
Vitesse-Feyenoord (1)
Benfica-FC Porto (2)

New Fifa World Cup Qualifying Record:

Zurich, 30 March 2007 - No fewer than 204 national teams have entered the preliminary competition for the 19th FIFA World Cup™, set to take place in South Africa in 2010.

This record number includes the host country, South Africa, and Montenegro, which will likely become the 208th FIFA member association next May, subject to approval by the FIFA Congress.

Only the football associations of the Philippines, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam and Laos did not register to take part in FIFA’s flagship competition.

The previous record was set by the preliminary competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, in which 199 teams entered and 193 teams participated. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, 198 teams were registered and 194 played the preliminary competition.

The first qualifying matches will take place in August 2007. The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will use the South Pacific Games to be held from 25 August to 8 September of this year as a preliminary qualifying tournament for the Oceania region.

While South Africa qualify automatically as hosts, the other 31 places in the final competition of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ (11 June-11 July 2010) have been allocated as follows:

- AFC (Asia): 4.5*
- CAF (Africa): 5
- CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean): 3.5**
- CONMEBOL (South America): 4.5**
- OFC (Oceania): 0.5*
- UEFA (Europe): 13

*AFC and OFC to compete for one berth
**CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to compete for one berth

More detailed facts and figures on the FIFA World Cup™ preliminary competitions can be found on FIFA.com:

http://www.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-301_11A_FWC-prelstats.pdf
http://www.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-201_14A_PrelHistory.pdf

Further information from:
FIFA Media Department
media@fifa.org

Vidic Out For The Season?

During today's Mancherster United-Blackburn (4:1) game, Nemanja Vidic was attempting to win a header, however he lost his balance and fell on his collarbone. It is very possible that he broke his collarbone and that he will be off the field for a few months. This will give a headache to both Sir Alex Ferguson (Man U) and Javier Clemente (Serbia's coach) as he is an indispensible player. For Manchester United O'Shea might be able to play in Vidic's position. However, Serbia has no direct replacement for Vidic. Since Serbia has no direct replacement if I was Javier Clemente I would give a chance to a young Slobodan Rajkovic (OFK Beograd-Chelsea) who has similar style like Vidic. Lets wait and see what happens.

Nikola Zigic Punished 3 Matches:

Nikola Zigic has been given a 3 match ban by UEFA for receiving a red card against Kazakhstan. He already missed one game against Portugal and so he will be gone for 2 more games against Finland and Belgium which are both very tough EURO 2008 qualifiers being played away. Javier Clemente will have to call another striker - probably Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege) or Mateja Kezman (Fenerbahce) who are both in good for as of late. Serbian fans would rather see Mateja Kezman but Milan Jovanovic has been on fire for Standard Liege so it's a tough call.

Serbia VS Portugal 1:1

Yesterday's EURO 2008 qualifying game of the day, Serbia against Portugal ended in a 1:1 draw. The game was played in a wonderful soccer atmosphere in Serbia's capital Belgrade's stadium "Marakana". A little off subject, but miraculously there were no incidents with fans. 55,000 Serbian fans came to support their nation against arguably, the best national team in Europe (Portugal).

Portugal drew first blood as Chelsea's former midfielder, now playing for Olympique Lyon Tiago, scored a beautiful goal from about 35 meters in the 5th minute. Serbia's goalkeeper Stojkovic got caught being too much in front of the goal an so Portugal were winning 1:0. This early goal was like a motivation booster for the Serbs as the rest of the first half belonged to them. As a result of great will and hard work Serbia equalized in the 37th minute from Stankovic's corner kick being blasted in the net by Bosko Jankovic's powerful header. When Serbia equalized, the stadium went euphoric as 55,000 fans sounded like 550,000 fans.

The second half belonged more to Portugal as they had a few chances. However, Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic saved the day with a few great saves. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo had no chance with his trickeries against Serbia's Igor Duljaj who marked him very well. All in all, the game was played with fast pace, a lot of attacking and a lot of heart was left by both sides. Serbia and Portugal demonstrated today how soccer should be played. Both, Serbia and Portugal along with Finland have 11 points and are behind Poland who have 16 points. Poland has played an extra game. There are many games left and I think that the race for EURO 2008 will be till the end as Group A could be the "group of death".

EURO 2008 Qualifying Scores & Standings:

Group A:
Azerbaijan 1 - 0 Finland
Poland 1 - 0 Armenia
Serbia 1 - 1 Portugal

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Poland 7 5 1 1 12 5 16
Portugal 6 3 2 1 13 4 11
Serbia 6 3 2 1 8 4 11
Finland 6 3 2 1 7 3 11
Belgium 6 2 1 3 4 6 7
Kazakhstan 6 1 2 3 3 8 5
Azerbaijan 6 1 1 4 2 13 4
Armenia 5 0 1 4 0 6 1


Group B:
Ukraine 1 - 0 Lithuania
Georgia 3 - 1 Faroe Islands
Italy 2 - 0 Scotland

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Ukraine 5 4 0 1 8 4 12
Scotland 6 4 0 2 11 6 12
France 5 4 0 1 12 2 12
Italy 5 3 1 1 9 5 10
Georgia 6 2 0 4 13 12 6
Lithuania 5 1 1 3 3 5 4
Faroe Islands 6 0 0 6 1 23 0

Group C:
Hungary 2 - 0 Moldova
Malta 0 - 1 Greece
Turkey 2 - 2 Norway

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Turkey 5 4 1 0 14 3 13
Greece 5 4 0 1 8 4 12
Bosnia-Herzegovina 5 2 1 2 10 12 7
Norway 5 2 1 2 9 6 7
Hungary 5 2 0 3 8 8 6
Malta 5 1 1 3 5 10 4
Moldova 6 0 2 4 3 14 2

Group D:
Czech Republic 1 - 0 Cyprus
Republic of Ireland 1 - 0 Slovakia
Wales 3 - 0 San Marino

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Germany 5 4 1 0 21 3 13
Czech Republic 6 4 1 1 15 4 13
Republic of Ireland 6 3 1 2 10 7 10
Slovakia 6 3 0 3 15 11 9
Wales 5 2 0 3 8 9 6
Cyprus 6 1 1 4 9 16 4
San Marino 4 0 0 4 0 28 0

Group E:
Estonia 0 - 2 Russia
Israel 4 - 0 Estonia
Andorra 0 - 3 England

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Croatia 5 4 1 0 15 4 13
Israel 6 3 2 1 13 6 11
Russia 5 3 2 0 7 1 11
England 6 3 2 1 9 2 11
F.Y.R. Macedonia 6 2 1 3 5 5 7
Estonia 5 0 0 5 0 10 0
Andorra 5 0 0 5 1 22 0

Group F:
Liechtenstein 1 - 0 Latvia
Northern Ireland 2 - 1 Sweden
Spain 1 - 0 Iceland

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Northern Ireland 6 4 1 1 10 7 13
Sweden 5 4 0 1 9 4 12
Spain 5 3 0 2 9 6 9
Denmark 4 2 1 1 7 2 7
Latvia 4 1 0 3 4 3 3
Liechtenstein 5 1 0 4 3 15 3
Iceland 5 1 0 4 4 9 3

Group G:
Bulgaria 0 - 0 Albania
Romania 3 - 0 Luxembourg
Slovenia 0 - 1 Netherlands

Teams Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Netherlands 6 4 2 0 8 2 14
Romania 5 3 2 0 10 3 11
Bulgaria 5 2 3 0 7 3 9
Belarus 5 2 1 2 9 11 7
Slovenia 5 1 1 3 4 8 4
Albania 5 0 3 2 3 6 3
Luxembourg 5 0 0 5 1 9 0

My Picks For Tomorrow's EURO 2008 Qualifying:

Poland-Armenia (X)
Serbia-Portugal (1)
Italy-Scotland (1)
Ukraine-Lithuania (X)
Turkey-Norway (X)
Andorra-England (2)
Spain-Iceland (1)

Serbia VS Portugal Preview:

Serbia hosts Portugal tomorrow in Belgrade in a sold out Marakana. Serbia is coming off a 2:1 defeat to Kazakhstan and Portugal are coming in the game with a 4:0 win against Belgium. Serbia's coach Javier Clemente stated that Serbia will be attacking the whole game and that Saturday's loss against Kazakhstan is buried in the past. On the other hand Luis Felipe Scolari might have a big problem as in today's training Portugal's star winger Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the field injured which leaves Ronaldo questionable for the game tomorrow. Serbia's Zigic is suspended due to the red card he received for elbowing a player against Kazakhstan.

Serbia plays very well against good teams on its soil and the fans tomorrow will enjoy attacking soccer. I am Serbian and as a Serbian fan I wish my national team best of luck.

Irina Abramovich To Buy Arsenal?

After divorcing Roman Abramovich, Irina inherited 300 million dollars. Irina stated that after many boring years of marriage with Roman she now wants more adventure in life. Irina also stated that the wisest investment would be to buy a soccer club.

If this happens I believe that when ever Chelsea and Arsenal play that there would be extravagant euphoria since her ex-husband Roman is the owner of Chelsea and since both team are from London.

Lets wait and see what happens, I will post you on all the updates of this story.

U-21 Serbia - U-21 Portugal 2:0

In today's U-21 friendly a very disciplined squad Serbia beat Portugal. The game took place in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbia's coach Miroslav Djukic said that he is very satisfied with his squad's tactical maturity.

Zoran Tosic ('18) and Dejan Milovanovic ('68) were the scorers.

EURO 2008 Results & Standings:

Group A:

Poland	5 - 0	Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan	2 - 1	Serbia
Portugal	4 - 0	Belgium

Azerbaijan	28/03/07	Finland
Poland	28/03/07	Armenia
Serbia	28/03/07	Portugal

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Poland	6	4	1	1	11	5	13
Finland	5	3	2	0	7	2	11
Portugal	5	3	1	1	12	3	10
Serbia	5	3	1	1	7	3	10
Belgium	6	2	1	3	4	6	7
Kazakhstan	6	1	2	3	3	8	5
Armenia	4	0	1	3	0	5	1
Azerbaijan	5	0	1	4	1	13	1

Group B:

Scotland	2 - 1	Georgia
Faroe Islands	0 - 2	Ukraine
Lithuania	0 - 1	France

Ukraine	28/03/07	Lithuania
Georgia	28/03/07	Faroe Islands
Italy	28/03/07	Scotland

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Scotland	5	4	0	1	11	4	12
France	5	4	0	1	12	2	12
Ukraine	4	3	0	1	7	4	9
Italy	4	2	1	1	7	5	7
Lithuania	4	1	1	2	3	4	4
Georgia	5	1	0	4	10	11	3
Faroe Islands	5	0	0	5	0	20	0

Group C:

Moldova	1 - 1	Malta
Norway	1 - 2	Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece	1 - 4	Turkey

Hungary	28/03/07	Moldova
Malta	28/03/07	Greece
Turkey	28/03/07	Norway

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Turkey	4	4	0	0	12	1	12
Greece	4	3	0	1	7	4	9
Bosnia-Herzegovina	5	2	1	2	10	12	7
Norway	4	2	0	2	7	4	6
Malta	4	1	1	2	5	9	4
Hungary	4	1	0	3	5	8	3
Moldova	5	0	2	3	3	11	2

Group D:

Republic of Ireland	1 - 0	Wales
Cyprus	1 - 3	Slovakia
Czech Republic	1 - 2	Germany

Czech Republic	28/03/07	Cyprus
Republic of Ireland	28/03/07	Slovakia
Wales	28/03/07	San Marino

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Germany	5	4	1	0	21	3	13
Czech Republic	5	3	1	1	14	4	10
Republic of Ireland	6	3	1	2	11	8	10
Slovakia	5	3	0	2	15	10	9
Cyprus	5	1	1	3	9	15	4
Wales	4	1	0	3	5	9	3
San Marino	4	0	0	4	1	27	0

Group E:

Croatia	2 - 1	F.Y.R. Macedonia
Israel	0 - 0	England
Estonia	0 - 2	Russia

Israel	28/03/07	Estonia
Andorra	28/03/07	England

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Croatia	5	4	1	0	15	4	13
Russia	5	3	2	0	7	1	11
England	5	2	2	1	6	2	8
Israel	5	2	2	1	9	6	8
F.Y.R. Macedonia	6	2	1	3	5	5	7
Estonia	4	0	0	4	0	6	0
Andorra	4	0	0	4	1	19	0

Group F:

Liechtenstein	1 - 4	Northern Ireland
Spain	2 - 1	Denmark

Liechtenstein	28/03/07	Latvia
Northern Ireland	28/03/07	Sweden
Spain	28/03/07	Iceland

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Sweden	4	4	0	0	8	2	12
Northern Ireland	5	3	1	1	8	6	10
Denmark	4	2	1	1	7	2	7
Spain	4	2	0	2	8	6	6
Latvia	3	1	0	2	4	2	3
Iceland	4	1	0	3	4	8	3
Liechtenstein	4	0	0	4	2	15	0

Group G:

Luxembourg	1 - 2	Belarus
Albania	0 - 0	Slovenia
Netherlands	0 - 0	Romania

Bulgaria	28/03/07	Albania
Romania	28/03/07	Luxembourg
Slovenia	28/03/07	Netherlands

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts

Netherlands	5	3	2	0	7	2	11
Bulgaria	4	2	2	0	7	3	8
Romania	4	2	2	0	7	3	8
Belarus	5	2	1	2	9	11	7
Slovenia	4	1	1	2	4	7	4
Albania	4	0	2	2	3	6	2
Luxembourg	4	0	0	4	1	6	0

Kazakhstan-Serbia (0:0)2:1

A very strong and very good fundamental team Kazakhstan beat Serbia today 2:1. This was Kazakhstan's first win in European qualifying.

Goals:K. Ashirbekov (47th), N. Zhumaskaliev (61st) for Kazakhstan and N. Zigic (68th) for Serbia.

Serbia takes on Portugal this Wednesday in sold-out Marakana.

Lazovic in PSV or Arsenal???

A lot of speculation and rumours lately about Serbian striker Danko Lazovic's future. After having an excellent season so far with Vitesse Arnhem the former FK Partizan striker is on a verge of moving to a super club like PSV or Arsenal. PSV reportedly have offered 4 million dollars for Lazovic while Arsenal's coach Arsene Wenger has announced to be very interested in obtaining this young striker as well. Lazovic currently has a contract with Vitesse untill June, 2010. It would be interesting to see this striker who reminds of Van Basten alongside with Thiery Henry. I would really like to see him play in Arsenal and show the world his true potential. At age 23 this man has played in U-21 UEFA Championships final and semifinal and also has been capped by Serbian A team 10 times already and managed to score 3 times. So far he scored 17 times for Vitesse this season and is in good form to hit the 20 mark.

PIcks For EURO 2008 Qualifications:

Kazakhstan-Serbia (2)
Portugal-Belgium (X)
Scotland-Georgia (1)
Greece-Turkey (1)
Croatia-FYR Macedonia (X)
Spain-Denmark (1) Spain must win
Albania-Slovenia (X)
Holland-Romania (2)

Top 20: Goal Celebrations

Scoring a goal is an awesome crazy feeling. Take a look at the top 20 goal celebratings.

Picks For Sunday March 18th 2007:

AC Milan-Atalanta (1)
Fiorentina-AS Roma (1)
Lazio-Empoli (1)
Sevilla-Celta de Vigo (X)
Espanyol-Levante (1)
Everton-Arsenal (1)

Nikola Zigic In Juventus?

Juventus announced today that they have extra 100 Million Euros. Most of this money will be directed towards keeping big names like David Trezeguet and G.Buffon. However, Juventus are also planning on signing a couple of fresh faces like Serbian Striker Nikola Zigic who currently plays for the Spanish side Racing Santander. Zigic currently holds a indespensible status at his current club. I don't think that Racing Santander will let Zigic go for less than 20 Million Euros. Many say that Zigic who is 25 years old is the Serbian version of Peter Crouch(Liverpool).

Zigic (right)

Picks for Saturday March 17th:

Sampdoria-Palermo (1)
Mallorca-Real Betis (1)
Athletic Bilbao-Osasuna (2)
Schalke-Stuttgart (1)
Wolfsburg-Bochum (2)
Manchester U-Bolton (X)
Reading-Portsmouth (2)
Sochaux-Toulouse (X)
Monaco-Nantes (1)
Club Brugge-FC Brussels (1)
FC Porto - Sporting Lisbon (X)
Thun-Zurich (X)

UEFA Cup Draw:

Draw takes place at 12.00 GMT on Friday, March 16.

Quarter-finals
Thursday, April 5 and 12
AZ Alkmaar v Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen v Osasuna
Sevilla v Tottenham Hotspur
Espanyol v Benfica


Semi-finals
Thursday, April 26 and May 3
Espanyol/Benfica v AZ/Bremen
Leverkusen/Osasuna v Sevilla/Tottenham

UEFA CUP FINAL
Hampden Park, Glasgow, May 16, 2007
Winners Semi-final One v Winners Semi-final Two

My Picks For Today:

Hertha BSC - Energie Cottbus (1)
Germinal Beerschot - Lokeren (2)
Nacional - Boavista (X)
Bologna - Mantova (X)
Southampton - Colchester U. (1)

My picks for UEFA Cup (Day 2):

Shakhtar - Sevilla (X)
AZ Alkmar - Newcastle (2)
Espanyol - Maccabi Haifa (1)
Benfica - Paris SG (X)

Many Fines Issued For Inter-Valencia Brawl:

UEFA have suspended Valencia's David Navarro for seven months for breaking Inter's Burdisso's nose. Both Burdisso and Maicon of Inter Milan were also fined (both 6 matches). Valencia's Carlos Marchena is suspended 4 matches. Also, both Inter and Valencia were fined 250,000 Swiss Francs.

Take a look at the fight:

3/4 Today on My UEFA Cup Picks:

Leverkusen 3 - 0 Lens
Osasuna 1 - 0 Rangers
Werder Bremen 2 - 0 Celta de Vigo
Tottenham H. 3 - 2 Braga

Ronaldinho One Step Closer To Milan?

Brazilian Super-Mega Star, Ronaldinho is one step closer to play for A.C. Milan. Ronaldinho's brother Roberto Assis who is also his manager had a business meeting with A.C. Milan V.P. Adriano Galliani and Sporting Director Ariedo Braida. They apparently were disucssing Ronaldinho's future. It is being said that if A.C. Milan shall buy Ronaldinho it would be for an astronomic price. Ronaldinho currently has a contract with F.C. Barcelona untill 2011.

FIfa's New Top 50

1 Argentina
2 Italy
3 Brazil
4 France
5 Germany
6 England
7 Netherlands
8 Portugal
9 Czech Republic
10 Spain
11 Ukraine
12 Croatia
13 Greece
14 Romania
15 Sweden
16 Scotland
17 Switzerland
18 Cameroon
19 Ghana
20 Côte d'Ivoire
21 Mexico
22 Denmark
23 Russia
24 Poland
24 Ecuador
26 Uruguay
27 Turkey
28 Serbia
29 Paraguay
30 USA
31 Colombia
32 Chile
33 Finland
34 Iran
35 Mali
36 Nigeria
37 Slovakia
38 Israel
39 Bulgaria
40 Australia
41 Egypt
42 Japan
43 Norway
44 Morocco
45 Senegal
46 Tunisia
47 Northern Ireland
48 Korea Republic
49 FYR Macedonia
50 Costa Rica

UEFA Cup Picks:

Bayer Leverkusen - Lens (X)
Osasuna - Rangers (1)
Werder Bremen - Celta de Vigo (1)
Tottenham - Braga (1)

3/5 On My Picks:

Motherwell 0 - 2 Aberdeen (2)
South Africa 1 - 1 Swaziland(X)
Millwall 2 - 2 Crewe Alexandra(X)
Ried 0 - 3 Austria Vienna(2)
Leicester C. 1 - 1 Leeds U.(X)

My 5 Picks For The Day:

Motherwell-Aberdeen (2)
South Africa-Swaziland (1)
Millwall-Crewe Alexandria (X)
Ried-Austria Vienna (1)
Leicester-Leeds (X)

Roeber Quits!

Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Roeber has stepped down after a run of six defeats in seven matches. After leaving FK Partizan, Roeber seemed to be a perfect new generation coach for Borussia Dortmund. However, Roeber was not able to harmonize his squad. Borussia Dortmund is currently in 13th place but still only 9 points behind 5th place Nurnberg.

Cristiano Ronaldo To Stay In Manchester?

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo might after all stay in Manchester. Man U seem to be ready to extend Ronaldo's contract and make him the highest paid soccer player in the world. Barcelona and Real Madrid will not give up till the end to acquire this young mega star. Cristiano Ronaldo is currently 2nd on the scorers list in English Premiership with 16 goals.(Behind D. Drogba with 18 goals scored)

This Weeks Recap:

It was a pretty busy and interesting weekend in the elite soccer world. As always, more drama than in soap operas. 2 "grande" soccer derby's took place this weekend.
Inter Milan-AC Milan & Barcelona-Real Madrid.

Inter hosted AC Milan in a game full of drama. Inter started off aggressive and played much better than their city rivals. However, AC Milan were first to strike. Ronaldo scored a beautiful goal from about 20 yards. But, Inter are not the Serie A leaders for reason. Their quality showed in this match as well as they overpowered AC Milan 2:1. The scorers for Inter were Argentian J.R. Cruz and Bosnian born Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Another great match took place in Barcelona, Spain where F.C Barcelona hosted Real Madrid. Nou Camp Stadium was packed and the fans have seen more than they expected. Ruud VAn Nistelroy opened the goal tally for Real Madrid in the fifth minute, only for Barcelona's mega star Lionel Messi to tie up the game six minutes later. Van Nistelroy responded again only 2 minutes later to put Real Madrid back on top. Lionel Messi responded again in the 28th minute to make it 2:2. Before the halftime Barcelona's Oleguer got a second yellow card and had to hit the early shower. This really weakened Barcelona's defence which would show in the second half. In 73rd minute Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos scored a nice goal to put the Madrid team up front. Just as the ref was getting ready to blow the full time whistle Ronaldinho found an open Lionel Messi who had no problem scoring a hat-trick and saving Barcelona's chances of winning the Spanish Primera Division.