World Cup Friendlies 30/05

England v Japan
Belarus v Republic of Korea


Sunday, May 30

England v Japan

Verdict: England manager, Fabio Capello, will give some of his fringe players their final opportunity to impress before cutting his squad from 30 to 23 against Japan today. Darren Bent, Tom Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon, and Theo Wallcott will all start today against a Japanese side that has tasted defeat in 3 of its last 4 outings. The Samurai last tasted dissapointment on Sunday when they went down 0-2 to bitter foes, South Korea. Despite their recent poor form, manager Takeshi Okada still insists that his team will reach the semi-finals in South Africa. I expect his side to be at full throttle today against one of the title favorites in England, as the manager seeks to appease the fans back home.

England defeated Mexico 3-1 at Wembley, on Monday, in a game where the result was perhaps more convincing than the performance. The Three Lions took advantage of their aerial power with King and Crouch scoring from high balls. This may yet prove an avenue to goal against the Japanese who have always been susceptable when defending high deliveries into their area. Despite their goal scoring form in recent days, Capello will be concerned at the fact that his chargers have only kept a single clean sheet in their last 8 outings. Japan will hope to have golden boy Junichi Inamoto back from injury. He and Nakamura will be the main threats to England.

With Japan looking to bounce back from their embarassment against South Korea, and England players looking to impress in order to avoid the chop, I expect an open, fast paced game with goals.

Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 2.75 (william hill, 3 units)
England 2 - 1 Japan

Belarus v Republic of Korea

Verdict: South Korea will play their first of two friendly games at high altitude, in the Austrian Alps, against Belarus. The South Koreans have left no stone unturned in their preparation for South Africa. They have been wearing special oxygen masks during training to mimic high altitude conditions, and have also spent time in a special low oxygen room following training. Belarus drew 2-2 with Honduras just two days ago, in Austria, so it will be questionable whether the Eastern Europeans would of recovered fully for this encounter.

South Korea have been in very good form, winning 7 of their last 8 outings including a 2-0 win in Japan on Sunday. Belarus are ofcourse not in the World Cup after finishing 4th in their WC Qualifying group behind England, Ukraine and Croatia. They have only registered one win in their last 9 outings.
I expect the Asian side, and modern technology, to prevail here as they looking to continue their winning form ahead of the World Cup opener in two weeks time.

Pick: South Korea @1.83 (188bet, 10 units)
Belarus 1 - 0 South Korea

Chile v Northern Ireland

Verdict: After doing extremely well to qualify just behind Brazil in the South American qualifiers, Chile must fancy themselves to get through the WC group stages. Apart from a 1-0 loss in Mexico, their preparations have gone smoothly. Their 3-0 win over Zambia four days ago was another confidence building step for the La Roja and they will look to continue in that vein against a youthful looking Northern Ireland side. Northern Ireland manager, Nigel Worthington, has chosen to give youth a chance on this tour. The experienced manager handed international debuts to 5 players in the 2-0 loss to Turkey, in the searing heat in Connetcticut, and is likely to choose the same team in Chile.

Chile's manager, Argentinian Marcelo Bielsa, has chosen to play two friendly games on the same day as he looks to cut his squad to FIFA's World Cup quota of 23. A second team will play Israel a few hours after the game with Northern Ireland has concluded. Northern Ireland have not won a single game in their last 8 outings so they will be up against it here. Chile on the other hand are a very strong home outfit, having not tasted defeat in their last 10 in front of their fans. Despite a slightly depleted Chile line up, I expect this to be a tough learning experience for the young Irish outfit.

Pick: Chile -1.5AH @1.85 (bet365, 7 units)
Chile 1 - 0 Northern Ireland