Soccer Betting

England looking for fast start against Bulgaria in Euro qualifiers

When England takes to the field on Sept. 3rd at Wembley Stadium in London for their Group G Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria, the team won’t have as many changes in it as many fans had hoped for. Even though it appears manager Fabio Capello has more or less gone back to the old guard after experimenting a little bit in a 2-1 friendly over Hungary last month only 13 players of the 23-man World Cup squad remain.

Granted, Chelsea’s John Terry and Frank Lampard are missing from the fold, as is striker Peter Crouch of Spurs, but that’s due to injuries. Goalkeeper David James, striker Emile Heskey, and defender Wes Brown all retired from international duty after England’s woeful world Cup this summer. Keeper Paul Robinson did the same after Capello called him up for the game against Hungary and Paul Scholes has made it known he won’t make a comeback with England. Jermain Defoe is in the squad after the Spurs striker shelved plans for groin surgery until another time.

Ever since the signing of Thierry Henry, the New York Red Bulls have been surging through the regular season. The Red Bulls have lost only 2 games in their last 10 and have netted at least one goal in every game.

The attack is the most potent of any part of the team. Led by Juan Pablo Angel and Thierry Henry, the opposing defenses and goalkeepers have to be on their A game for the entirety of the match.

The team started off relatively slow at the beginning of the season but it seems like they are hitting their peak now.

With just 8 games remaining it is imperative that the Red Bulls maintain their winning ways and keep composed. New York’s next game is against their second place counter parts in the West, Real Salt Lake this Saturday. The game has major implications for both teams because a win for either side could mean a tie for first (Real Salt Lake) or being just 1 point back (New York).

Fourth-ranked Germany will kick off its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a Group A game in Brussels against 48-th ranked Belgium on Sept. 3. The team that looked so impressive in the World Cup this summer should be ready to go, even though they played poorly in their 1-0 loss to Spain in the World Cup semi final. They need to get back to attacking football and use their speed to get back on track.

Manager Joachim low has confirmed that 33-year-old Michael Ballack will remain as Germany’s captain even though the midfielder will miss the game due to injury. Philipp Lahm will continue as acting captain until Ballack gets back. Low also said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of Shalke is still his first choice in net with Tim Wiese and Rene Adler battling it out for the backup job.

After many US fans had thought the Bob Bradley era was over, they were in for quite the surprise. Many had speculated that Bradley would be seeking a job overseas, possibly in Europe. I would have to say it will be written down as a relief because Bradley has been at the reins of a footballing nation on the rise.

He will stick with the US team through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The coach helped guide the US into the Round of 16 this past summer in South Africa. Unfortunately the story ended in extra time at the hands of Ghana.

He is going to have to avoid the slump that has recently occurred with US coaches going into their second World Cup. Former coach Bruce Arena saw the US make it to the quarterfinals in 2002, but 4 years later the US dipped out in the first round. Although many thought the US was capable of more in South Africa, their exhibition of skill, and teamwork, and perseverance was heard around the World.