International Duty

This week has been designated as World Cup qualifying fixture week, with most teams playing a double fixture during the weekend and then again mid-week. Benfica will be without 10 players, all involved in international duty


Here are all of the Benfica players and their respective games.



Quim, Nuno Gomes and Carlos Martins
9/6 @ Malta
9/10 vs Denmark

Portugal gets their World Cup qualifying underway with 2 matches in Group 1.
With Queiroz back at the helm of the national team, Portugal is looking to extend their unbeaten streak of World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Denmark, a streak that goes back to October of 96, when Portugal lost to the Ukraine in Kiev.
Other teams in Portugal's group are: Sweden,Hungary and Albania.

Katsouranis
9/6 @ Luxembourg
9/10 @ Latvia

Greece who is part of group 2, will open up away against Luxembourg, and then travel to Latvia. Greece has a fairly accessible group as their other adversaries are: Israel, Moldova and Switzerland.

Here's the full group listing


Friend Blogger Starting 11 has a rundown on the World Cup's first qualification first fixtures, in his usual blog spanning style.



In the South American Region

Brasil will continue their quest to appear in every single World Cup. There have already been 6 games played in the South American region and here are the standings:

Paraguay 13pts
Argentina 11pts
Columbia 10pts
Chile 10pts
Brazil 9pts
Uruguay 8pts
Venezuela 7pts
Ecuador 5pts
Bolivia 4pts
Peru 3pts

The top 4 teams get a direct berth, the 5th team will enter a playoff with the 4th place team from the North, Central American and Caribean Region.

Luisao
9/7 @ Chile
9/10 vs Bolivia

Brazil will try to leap frog Chile and get back into the top 4. It won't be an easy match in Santiago, and a loss could seriously compromise Brazil's appearance. The second game is against Bolivia in Rio, a game that the Brazilians will surely win.


Maxi
9/6 @ Colombia
9/10 vs Ecuador

Uruguay is faced with an uphill battle. They stand 6th, and have a tough match in Colombia. A win would keep the Charua side in the thick of it, a loss would be disastrous for the Celeste. They will host Ecuador in their second game, a game they are expected to win.

DiMaria
9/6/08 vs Paraguay
9/10 @ Peru

Argentina sits 2nd in the group and has a chance to take the lead of the group with a win against group leaders Paraguay. Coming off a stellar Olympic tournament, and most players playing in top clubs all over Europe, this is Argentina's game for the taking, not to mention they will playing at home. They will travel to Lima on their second fixture, where they will play last place Peru, who has yet to win a game.

Cardozo
9/6/08 @ Argentina
9/10 vs Venezuela

Paraguay will try to stop powerhouse Argentina, and come out with at least a tie from the Argentina fixture. A tie would still keep them in the lead and would minimize any point loss to the rest of the contenders. They will host 7th place Venezuela in a game where they shouldn't have any difficulties winning.


Here's the full group standings

In the North, Central American and Caribbean Region, there are 3 groups of 4 teams. The top teams of each group get a direct berth. The best second place finisher out of all the groups, will enter a playoff game against the 5th place team of the South American region.
Only one game has been played do far in this 3rd phase of qualifying and the group leaders are:

Group 1 - Trinidad and Tobago 3pts(shares the same points as the US, but tops on goal diff)
Group 2 - Mexico 3pts
Group 3 - Costa Rica 3pts

Suazo
9/6 @ Canada
9/10 vs Jamaica

Honduras is last place in the group, after losing their inaugural game to Mexico. They will need to get good results against Canada and Jamaica if they are to remain close to group favorites Mexico. Arguably the toughest group of the region, it'll be hard for the second place team to come out of this group, as all games will be close.

Here are the rest of the groups.

African Region

The African region is still in its preliminary stages and it's currently composed of 12 groups. The 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up will advance to Round Three. The 20 teams will then be grouped into 5 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.

Binya
9/6 @ Cape verde

Cameroon is in group 1 with Cape Verde,Tanzania and Mauritius. they will certainly emerge from this group as group winners. They have already played 4 fixtures and lead the group with 10 points. With a win over Cape Verde, the indomitable Lions will clinch first place.

Here are the full fixtures for the African Region.


Let's hope that all players involved in International clashes come back healthy. Benfica doesn't need anymore bad luck, especially with the luck they've had this past week.

As of right now, Cardozo, Binya and Aimar will not be able to play against Napoli. The first two due to UEFA bans, the second one for an injury. Let's hope that Leo can make a full recuperation.