England 3 Platinum Stars 0, Eto'o Suspension, Soccer Aid 2010

England 3 Platinum Stars 0
In their last match before the World Cup finals England played local African side Platinum Stars and after only 3 minutes it looked like it would be a cake walk for England when Jermaine Defoe put England one up.  The lead was threatened in the 6th minute when the home side were awarded a fortuatous penalty.  Glen Johnson bringing down the Platinum striker.  Bradley Grobler blasted the ball over the bar.  That was basically it for a very lacklustre England.  The second half could only be better, and it was.  Fabio Capello made 10 changes, only keeping Joe Cole on and bringing on the likes of Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey and England looked brighter.  A further two goals from Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney made the final score England 3 Platinum Stars 0 and also, no fresh injury worries, although Jermaine Defoe was seen to be hobbling off at half time.


First Half: Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe


Second Half:  Rob Green, Jamie Carragher, Michael Dawson, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock, Aaron Lennon, Michael Carrick, James Milner, Joe Cole, Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney


Samuel Eto'o Suspension

In a recent friendly Cameroon talisman Samuel Eto'o was sent off after two bookings in less than a minute, first for arguing a goal and the second yellow was for a frustration foul on the Portugese defender Duda.  Usually you would be looking at a 3 game ban but Eto'o has received just the one game ban which is a friendly against Serbia.  So why did he receive just the one game and why not a World Cup match.  I personally think the reason is because of Didier Drogbas injury for the Ivory Coast.  With Didi out of the tournament and it being held in Africa for the first time FIFA want to make sure as much African talent is on show as possible and Samuel Eto'o is regarded as one of the best players on the continent so the organizers can't afford Drogba and Eto'o to be missing from the tournament.  Would've been interesting to see what would have happened if it was a European or South American player.


£1.5 Million Raised At Soccer Aid 2010

Yesterday saw the bi-annual charity soccer matchbetween England and The Rest Of The World  at Manchester United's Old Trafford and the 65000 plus supporters who turned up got more than their monies worth with a fantastic display from not only the professionals but also the celebrities (with a few exeptions) who proved they are as handy on the pitch as they are in their own fields.  Ex professionals included Alan Sherer, Teddy Sheringham, Zinidine Zidane and Luis Figo with a mixture of singers, actors, sportsmen and Gordon Ramsey turned up for the match and at full time it finished 2-2 so it went to penalties and the Rest Of The World ran out 7-6 winners.  I have to admit, it took a little getting use to the commentary hearing things like Zidane, past one, past two, oh great challenge by GMtv's Ben Shepherd but in the end it was a thoroughly enjoyable match with the main benefactors being Unicef who the event was organised for.
The teams were (subs in brackets):


England: 1. David Seaman (13. Jamie Theakston, DJ), 2. Ben Shephard, Breakfast TV (16. Dominic Cooper, Actor), 3. Robbie Williams, Singer (12. Paddy McGuiness, Comedian), 4. Jonny Wilkes, Actor, 5. Martin Keown (7. Nicky Butt), 6. Jamie Redknapp, 8. Damian Lewis, Actor (50. Bradley Walsh Actor/Comedian), 9. Alan Shearer, 10. Teddy Sheringham, 11. Olly Murs, Singer (17. Ricky Hatton, Boxer), 14. Ralph Little, Actor.  Manager:  Harry Redknapp


Rest Of The World


1. Jens Lehmann (20. Paddy Kielty, Comedian), 2. Gethin Jones, TV Presenter, 3. Gordon Ramsay, Chef (18. Woody Harrelson, Actor), 4. Sami Hyppia, 5. Zinedine Zidane, 6. Joe Calzaghe, Boxer (James Kyson Lee, Actor), 8. Mike Myers, Actor (12 Shane Filan, Singer), 9. Henrik Larsson, 10. Martin Sheen, Actor (17. Brian Lara, Cricketer), 11. Ryan Giggs (7. Luis Figo), 16. Nicky Byrne, Singer (14. Simon Baker, Actor) Manager: Kenny Dalglish


Scorers: Eng: Jamie Redknapp, Teddy Sheringham, R.O.W: Joe Calzaghe, Sami Hyppia (R.O.W win 7-6 on penalties)


Referees:  Pierre Luigi Colina (ITA), Mark Clattenburg (ENG)


ATT: 65493


To Donate CLICK HERE