Italy
In the 15 times the Italian national football team qualified for the World Cup finals they managed to win the title three times. They were crowned World Cup champions first in 1934 when they won against Czechoslovakia 2-1, and then in 1938 after beating Hungary 4-2. Italy savored their third success when they reached the finals in 1982 and won against Germany.
Now, as the provisional names for the Italian squad were mentioned in FIFAworldcip.com the name of Francesco Tavano had been included but his participation remains doubtful due to injury.
Francesco Tottiís name is also missing from the list. It is uncertain yet, but according to Reuters, Totti plans to make his long-awaited return from an ankle injury in Italian Cup final first leg against Inter Milan. He has been out of action since undergoing surgery to repair a bone he fractured in his left ankle during a Serie A match against Empoli on 19 February. Totti’s comeback is good news for Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who considers him to be one of the lynchpins in the Azzurri’s bid to win their first World Cup since 1982.
The Italian provisional 29-man Italy squad: Goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Udinese), Marco Amelia (Livorno) and Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio) ; Defenders Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Andrea Zaccardo (Palermo), Fabio Grosso (Palermo), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Daniele Bonera (Parma), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina) and Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus) ; Midfielders Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Franco Semioli (Chievo), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Simone Barone (Palermo), Fabio Liverani (Lazio), Mauro Esposito (Cagliari) and Marco Marchionni (Parma) ; Strikers Luca Toni (Fiorentina), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Francesco Tavano (Empoli) and Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno).
Czech Republic
Finally the Czech Republic football national team got the chance to stand up and appear as an independent nation though Czechoslovakia had participated for eight years and would be now present at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany to record their first participation. During that time, Czechoslovakia succeeded in climbing the ladder of the World Cup and reached the final in 1934 but went down in defeat 2-1 against Italy. Afterwards, they reached the final again in 1962 in which another failure was witnessed after their encounter with Brazil 3-1.
Meantime, the Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner knows pretty much everything there is to know about his team having supervised a significant number of the current senior squad when they were still young hopefuls. The experienced 66-year-old has successfully blended youthful talent and seasoned old hands over the last few years, bringing to bear a reservoir of technical knowledge and tactical nous, and is a much-loved figure among both players and fans. Aside from his interpersonal skills, this wily and well-liked coach is renowned as a realist, a strategist and a master tactician. “He works out a new battle plan for every opponent,” explains man-mountain Jan Koller, “and it’s always turned out well up to now.” The approach certainly paid off in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup as the Czechs ran up 35 goals in 12 games, although they ultimately finished second in their group behind the Netherlands and were obliged to negotiate a play-off against Norway.
One important factor was the return of Pavel Nedved, who initially announced his international retirement after the disappointment in Portugal, but was persuaded by Bruckner to make a comeback at a key stage in qualifying. The Juventus superstar remains the outstanding figure in a midfield bristling with sublime talent. “Any line-up featuring (Karel) Poborsky, (Tomas) Rosicky, (Tomas) Galasek and Nedved has to be considered world class,” enthuses the coach himself, who appears to feel his men are well worth their status as a decent outside bet for the greatest prize in football.
USA
The United States had made history in the World Cup two times - in 1930 when they reached the semifinal and in 2002 when they advanced into the quarterfinals. The US pulled of the twin feat in seven appearances in the finals of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. The 54-year old American US head Coach Bruce Arena was the first to remain with the team for almost eight years since the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
He announced the final names of the US final 23-man squad as follows: Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller (Borussia Monchengladbach), Tim Howard (Manchester United) and Marcus Hahnemann (Reading) ; Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege) and Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake) ; Midfielders: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City), John O’Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (DC United), DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids) and Bobby Convey (Reading) ; Forward: Brian McBride (Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo).
Ghana
“We would have been the underdogs in any group as it’s our first appearance in the finals and we don’t have the experience,” said Dujkovic, who was appointed head coach by Ghana in December 2004.”But we have nothing to lose either and the lads will play their hearts out for Ghana.” If any coach is qualified to calm nerves then it is Dujkovic.
The 60-year-old Serb has a wealth of experience, having coached Venezuela and Myanmar as well as Rwanda, whom he took to the 2004 CAF African Cup of Nations. He was also on the coaching staff when Red Star Belgrade won the European Cup in 1991. He is now in charge of a side abundant in talent which has been tipped by some experts as the possible surprise package of the tournament, though poor recent form suggests Ghana may find it difficult to cope with the pressure.
“No one thought we had it in us to qualify for Germany 2006 except the technical staff and we pulled through thanks to hard work, discipline and a fantastic team spirit,” Dujkovic. Captain Stephen Appiah and Chelsea midfielder Mickael Essien emerged as the team leaders and their absence at January’s Nations Cup in Egypt through injury was painfully obvious.
“We missed several key players at the tournament but should have done better.
We were a bit unlucky in the end as we went out on goal difference and Senegal got through even though we had beaten them,” said Dujkovic.
