Gerrard admits Rooney ban a blow

England captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that Wayne Rooney’s absence from the first two Euro 2012 group games will be a blow.

The Manchester United striker was handed a three-match ban by UEFA, later reduced to two, after he kicked Miodrag Dzudovic in the 2-2 draw against Montenegro in October.

But the 32-year-old midfielder said the Three Lions are more than capable of putting in good performances until Rooney’s return.

Gerrard told RMC: “Wayne (Rooney) is a world class player. Any team would suffer after the loss of such a player.

“So yes, we will miss him. But we hope it will go well without him and we can do the job. In any case, we expect to reach the quarterfinals.”

The Liverpool man also praised the quality of the France squad ahead of the two sides’ meeting in their opening group game on June 11.

“Playing against France for the first game is a difficult start because this team is fantastic. But this type of game is exciting,” he said.

“They are fantastic players. For example, we know (Samir) Nasri and (Karim) Benzema very well. When we see such players selected for France, we understand that the quality of the French team is high.

“I consider France to be one of the favourites for the Euros. We are all looking forward to playing this game.”

However, Gerrard refused to look past the match against Les Bleus, insisting that his side will take it step by step.

“We take the games one after another,” he said.

“Sincerely, we hope to first achieve a good result against France. What we do will automatically give a lot of confidence for the rest.”

Source : http://www.soccernews.com/gerrard-admits-rooney-ban-a-blow/95521/

International friendlies preview: Euro preparations commence

England will rest Wayne Rooney for their friendly with Norway after it was revealed he carried an injury towards the end of the season.

England manager Roy Hodgson also hinted that Rooney might miss England’s other Euro 2012 warm-up, against Belgium, a week later.

“He won’t be involved in the Norway game and I don’t know whether I will select him for Belgium at this stage,” Hodgson said.

His absence will give Hodgson a chance to decide who he will use up front for England’s first two group matches in next month’s tournament with Manchester United striker Rooney suspended for those games.

Norway turn their attention to their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign having missed out on a place in Poland and Ukraine, and will be looking to impress at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.

In other action, world and European champions Spain play Serbia in Switzerland, with coach Vicente del Bosque calling up Chelsea pair Fernando Torres and Juan Mata into his Euro 2012 warm-up squad.

The recall boosts Torres’ hopes of being included in Del Bosque’s final 23-man squad, which will be named early next week.

Serbia, who failed to qualify for Euro 2012, will be led by new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic for the first time.

Elsewhere, Switzerland host another tournament favourite, Germany, in Basel, while fellow Group B competitors, the Netherlands and Portugal, go in as favourites against Bulgaria and Macedonia respectively.

Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland take on Slovakia, while fellow Group A rivals, Greece and Russia, play Slovenia and Uruguay respectively.

The current South American champions, Uruguay, are warming up for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers and sit undefeated and equal first on the standings after three matches.

And ahead of CONCACAF’s next qualifying stage, the USA host Scotland in Florida and Honduras play New Zealand.

World Cup preparations will also be in full swing when El Salvador meet Moldova and Costa Rica host Guatemala.

In other friendlies, Czech Republic play Israel, Denmark will face a stern test against Brazil, Ireland meet Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia should have little trouble in overcoming Estonia.

Source : http://www.soccernews.com/international-friendlies-preview-euro-preparations-commence/95066/