The qualifying draw for World Cup 2014 was held in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.
I think England has to be the biggest beneficiary of the draw as they avoided Europe's top teams. England have been placed in Group H against Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and San Marino. The toughest group is probably Group I where Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia and Finland will battle it out.
The complete World Cup 2014 draw is as follows.
While delivering a welcome speech FIFA president Sepp Blatter backed Brazil to overcome delays in preparations and host a successful World Cup 2014.
Blatter said: 'We need the support of the government of Brazil, the state governments, the organising committee and the 190million fans of football that is the population of Brazil. 'It is a matter of trust and confidence and FIFA have trust in Brazil and are confident of its abilities. 'Football is the beating heart of Brazil. It is a multi-cultural country of joy and celebration blessed with natural beauty and a booming economy ranking number seven in the world.'
I think England has to be the biggest beneficiary of the draw as they avoided Europe's top teams. England have been placed in Group H against Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and San Marino. The toughest group is probably Group I where Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia and Finland will battle it out.
The complete World Cup 2014 draw is as follows.
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While delivering a welcome speech FIFA president Sepp Blatter backed Brazil to overcome delays in preparations and host a successful World Cup 2014.
Blatter said: 'We need the support of the government of Brazil, the state governments, the organising committee and the 190million fans of football that is the population of Brazil. 'It is a matter of trust and confidence and FIFA have trust in Brazil and are confident of its abilities. 'Football is the beating heart of Brazil. It is a multi-cultural country of joy and celebration blessed with natural beauty and a booming economy ranking number seven in the world.'
Sir Alex Ferguson expects the MLS All-Stars to provide a much sterner challenge than they did against his Manchester United side this time last year.
As part of Tour 2011 the Reds take on the cream of Major League Soccer at New Jersey's Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, almost a year to the day since beating a representative team 5-2 in Houston. United dominated that game but Sir Alex believes the meeting with this year's All-Stars outfit will be a different prospect.
"We're at the stage where the games are a bit more serious," the United manager told a press conference in New York. "The MLS team is much stronger than the team we played last year, with players like David Beckham and Thierry Henry. Both are fantastic footballers with a great profile."
United have won all three games on the US tour so far but Chicago Fire gave the English champions a thorough workout in testing conditions on Saturday, taking a shock early lead before eventually succumbing 3-1. Also David de Gea debut in that game made it more significant.
"The last game in Chicago was in tremendous heat," Sir Alex admitted. "We felt it in the first half but fortunately managed to turn the game around. In the first half, Chicago Fire were the better side and created the better chances. In the second half, we had to step up the performance level and we brought on a few substitutes, which helped us. The temperature went down a bit and we got the result we wanted.
"It was warm in Chicago but it'll be cooler in New Jersey on Wednesday and we look forward to the match."
MLS All-Stars vs Manchester United kicks off at 21:00 local time (EDT, five hours behind UK) on Wednesday 27 July. The match will be shown live in the UK and Ireland on MUTV and MUTV Online.
As part of Tour 2011 the Reds take on the cream of Major League Soccer at New Jersey's Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, almost a year to the day since beating a representative team 5-2 in Houston. United dominated that game but Sir Alex believes the meeting with this year's All-Stars outfit will be a different prospect.
"We're at the stage where the games are a bit more serious," the United manager told a press conference in New York. "The MLS team is much stronger than the team we played last year, with players like David Beckham and Thierry Henry. Both are fantastic footballers with a great profile."
United have won all three games on the US tour so far but Chicago Fire gave the English champions a thorough workout in testing conditions on Saturday, taking a shock early lead before eventually succumbing 3-1. Also David de Gea debut in that game made it more significant.
"The last game in Chicago was in tremendous heat," Sir Alex admitted. "We felt it in the first half but fortunately managed to turn the game around. In the first half, Chicago Fire were the better side and created the better chances. In the second half, we had to step up the performance level and we brought on a few substitutes, which helped us. The temperature went down a bit and we got the result we wanted.
"It was warm in Chicago but it'll be cooler in New Jersey on Wednesday and we look forward to the match."
MLS All-Stars vs Manchester United kicks off at 21:00 local time (EDT, five hours behind UK) on Wednesday 27 July. The match will be shown live in the UK and Ireland on MUTV and MUTV Online.
David de Gea is ready to make his first United appearance in the Tour 2011 match against Chicago Fire on Saturday, with praise from goalkeeping coach Eric Steele ringing in his ears.
Steele has been explaining why the champions opted for the Spaniard when scouring the globe for a long-term replacement for Edwin van der Sar. De Gea is in line to play at Chicago Field after training with his new team-mates in the United States.
"He's just a unique talent," said Steele, in an exclusive interview to be screened on MUTV this weekend. "Ultimately, I think they come around in cycles. Iker Casillas was 17 when he got in the Real Madrid team, I saw Gianluigi Buffon play in Scotland when he was 17.
"I first watched de Gea when he was representing Spain four years ago, before I was even associated with the club and it's just something that you tick the box and say 'one to look at'. So my first contact was when I saw him at the Euro Under-17s which Spain happened to win. He's suited to the way that we play and the way that we want to play."
Chicago Fire vs Manchester United kicks off at 16:00 local time (CDT, six hours behind UK) on Saturday 23 July. The match will be shown live in the UK and Ireland on MUTV and worldwide - with a few exclusions - on MUTV Online.
Manchester United revealed their new kit today and I confess - it sucks!
This season the Reds will play in a striking blue and black away kit which really looks dull to me. I believe last season's white and black away kit was much better as it looked fresh and more professional.
Take a look at United's new away kit and judge it yourself!
The new away shirt consists of a royal blue body and sleeves with hoops made of small midnight navy blue and black stripes. There are exactly 11 stripes in each hoop to represent each member of the United team.
The shorts are entirely black except for the same hoop from the shirt, consisting of 11 midnight navy blue and black stripes at the bottom of the back of each leg. The socks are black with a white devil from the club crest on the calf and a royal blue band at the top.
As I said earlier, I really didn't like the new away kit but if you liked it and wish to buy United's new away kit, you can order online here - store.manutd.com
Michael Owen, Federico Macheda and Ji-sung Park helped Manchester United to run out 4-1 winners against New England Revolution 4-1 to kickstart their pre-season tour of the United States.
Reds’ performance in the first half was one to forget, but a flurry of second-half goals, including four in the space of 11 frantic minutes, made everyone present at The Gillette Stadium go crazy!
Sir Alex branded Manchester United's first match of the 2011 pre-season tour a success and said,
“You're always glad to get the first game out of the way. You expect maybe some tiredness to creep in at some point in the game, but I thought our fitness looked good. And we managed to get most of the players some game time, which is the main reason for having pre-season games, to make sure everybody, by the end of the tour, has enough game time to get his rhythm and tempo back in.”
Having opened their American tour with a victory, United now fly to Seattle on Thursday ahead of next Wednesday’s encounter with Seattle Sounders at Centurylink Field.
The rest of the schedule is as follows:
20 July, 19:00 PDT (03:00 UK) - Seattle Sounders
23 July, 16:00 CDT (22:00 UK) - Chicago Fire
27 July, 21:00 EDT (02:00 UK) - MLS All-Stars
30 July, 19:00 EDT (00:00 UK) - FC Barcelona
The highly expected transfer of Wes Brown from Manchester United to Sunderland was officially confirmed by the Black Cats today. Brown has agreed a four-year deal worth £1 million.
I think its a good deal for everyone; Brown, Man United and Sunderland. But I feel Sunderland's valuation of Wes is under rated. He's an agile atlete, has got experience at the top level and has won numerous accolades; and he's valued at just £1 million? Strange!
Maybe, his fitness was some concern for Steve Bruce and hence he under valued such a good athlete.
Wes Brown, however, would be happy with a new club which means he'll get ample opportunities to play. The Da Silva twins had given him a tough time at Old Trafford and the arrival of youngsters like Smalling and Jones clearly indicated it was going to be tough for Brown to get even 10 games in a season.
It was sad to see Wes come along with the Reserves when the entire team walked down to collect their 19th League Title. I knew he'll leave soon and yes, he has left Old Trafford today.
The 31 year old has won almost everything he could with Man United. He's won 14 medals in all. His honours read:
* Premier League: 1998/99, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2007/08
* Champions League: 1998/99, 2007/08
* FA Cup: 1998/99, 2003/04
* League Cup: 2005/06, 2009/10
* Community Shield: 2003, 2007, 2008
Impressive club career for a player who debuted in 1998 and went on to make 361 appearances. Brown's international career isn't so impressive and he has 23 England caps to his name.
I hope he stays fit and enjoys his football at his new club.
Good luck Wes!
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