Valencia named in Ecuador squad

MANUTD-Antonio Valencia has been named in Ecuador's 2011 Copa America squad.

The competition begins in Argentina on 1 July, and Valencia is the star name in coach Reinaldo Rueda's 23-man party.
Ecuador, who have never won the Copa America, have been handed a tough draw, alongside Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela in Group B.Valencia and his compatriots open their tournament against Paraguay on 3 July, then meet Venezuela on 9 July before rounding off the group stage against Brazil on 13 July.
The top two teams from three groups, plus the two third-placed finishers with the highest points total all advance into the quarter-final stage.
 

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Reds duo down after late exit

MANUTD-United duo Danny Welbeck and Chris Smalling have spoken of their disappointment at England's exit from the UEFA European Under-21 Championships.

Stuart Pearce's side were a matter of minutes from qualification for the semi-finals after Welbeck had put England ahead in their final group game against the Czech Republic.
But the Czechs drew level in the 89th minute through Jan Chramosta, before Tomas Pekhart netted a winner in injury time to send them through and put England out.
"I don't know how we're going out after that performance," said a stunned Welbeck afterwards.
"All the lads have taken a hit and it's just a down feeling. We had the tactics right, keep the ball moving and hopefully wait for our chance – we took it, and were just unlucky to lose the game in the end."
Smalling, who played alongside new signing Phil Jones in the centre of defence, agreed it had been arguably England's most polished performance of the tournament.
"We played really well, probably our best game," he added. "If we would have played like that in the last two games then we probably wouldn't have had any complaints that we didn't get the luck of the green.
"They got their luck with a ricochet, but fair play to them that they won the game and good luck in the rest of the tournament."
 

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International Reds

MANUTD-A number of United players are away on international duty this week as the Reds take a break from a three-pronged trophy challenge. 

 Sir Alex will be hoping all his players return unscathed to ensure the injury problems affecting the squad are not exacerbated.

Wayne Rooney is United's sole representative in Fabio Capello’s England squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier in Wales (26 March) and Wembley friendly against Ghana (29 March). However, Chris Smalling and on-loan duo Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck have been included in Stuart Pearce’s Under-21 party for Thursday’s trip to Denmark and the match at Preston against Iceland next Monday.

Welbeck, who spent time at Preston on loan last season, will be hoping for another Deepdale run-out but will need to first shake off the injury that led to his substitution against Liverpool on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Serbia have confirmed Nemanja Vidic (calf injury) will miss the Group C qualifiers with Northern Ireland and Estonia, although Jonny Evans and on-loan Corry Evans are both in Nigel Worthington’s plans for the tie in Belgrade. The game is set to be played in front of only 200 travelling supporters due to a ban on home fans following crowd trouble that led to a recent qualifier in Italy being abandoned.

Patrice Evra has been recalled by former United defender Laurent Blanc for France’s games against Luxembourg and Croatia, while Nani will be a key figure for Portugal in their friendlies with Chile and Finland.

Further afield, Javier Hernandez is in Mexico’s squad for internationals against Paraguay and Venezuela with fit-again Antonio Valencia included for Ecuador’s friendlies with Colombia and Peru - although both of those fixtures will be played in Europe (Madrid and Amsterdam).

Darron Gibson is back with Republic of Ireland after scoring his first goal at international level against Wales last month, ahead of their matches with Macedonia and Uruguay in Dublin.

Mame Biram Diouf, who is on loan at Blackburn, is in Senegal’s squad for African Cup of Nations play-off against Cameroon.

There are Under-21 call-ups for Federico Macheda and Bebe with Italy facing Sweden and Germany and Portugal lining up against Republic of Ireland.

At a younger level, FA Youth Cup stars Ravel Morrison, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Tom Thorpe are in the England Under-19 squad with Sean McGinty and Robbie Brady representing Republic of Ireland in the same age group. Paul Pogba, fresh from another incredible strike at the weekend, is with France Under-20s and Marnick Vermijl is away with Belgium Under-19s.
Goalkeeper Joe Coll has been called up by Republic of Ireland’s Under-17s and Gyliano van Velzen is with Holland’s squad at the same level after being promoted from stand-by duty.

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Fergie disappointed over Evra omission

ESPN-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is dismayed that Patrice Evra has been left out of the France squad.
Evra will sit out the friendly against Brazil on Wednesday despite having served a five-match ban that was imposed after the players' downed tools for a day during the World Cup in protest at Nicolas Anelka being sent home.
Coach Laurent Blanc, who had a spell at Old Trafford as a player, chose to omit Evra and Ferguson said: ''It is surprising he has been left out because he has been punished. I don't see why he should be punished further.
''If they are saying he is not good enough to play for France then you cannot argue with that. But I know he is the best left back France have got and one of the best in the world.
''There is no question in my mind about that. He is a fantastic footballer. He will be disappointed but he just has to accept it.''
Ferguson added: ''Patrice Evra is a very important player for Manchester United and he will continue that way.
''Laurent Blanc was a player here and he knows the expectation at this club. He knows that any player coming from Manchester United is playing at the highest level and he knows that about Patrice.
''He has served his punishment. He had five games and I thought they would have moved on.''
Blanc, though, said that he would make his own decision and not succumb to outside pressure on who he should and should not select.
"I made my choice according to sporting criteria," he insisted. ''There is a lot of competition for that post involving players who play for great clubs. I base my criteria on sporting qualities and take into account Eric Abidal's showing in the last game which was very good."
Blanc added that "the behaviour of the 23 (in South Africa), not just that of Evra, was unworthy. There followed bans - and they have been served. What interests me is putting together the best team possible."
He added: "The door remains open."

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Nani eyes revenge

MANUTD-Last week it was the Manchester derby… this week, some of United’s players will experience geographical rivalries on the international stage.
Nani is set to face Spain in an all-Iberian friendly as Portugal get an opportunity to avenge their World Cup exit at the hands of the eventual champions.

Meanwhile at Wembley, England are taking on France, who should be far from travel-weary after a short flight across the Channel. Chris Smalling will be hoping to feature at some point alongside Rio Ferdinand while a former United centre-half looks on from the French bench – Les Blues’ recently-appointed boss is Laurent Blanc.

“England will be very motivated...” said Blanc, before getting in a not-so-subtle dig … “especially since our comprehensive 2-0 win in 1999."

Journey time back to Manchester shouldn’t be an issue for Darron Gibson and John O’Shea, with the Republic of Ireland hosting Norway in a friendly, or for Jonny Evans as Northern Ireland face Morocco at home. Darren Fletcher will return to Carrington from Sir Alex Ferguson's former fortress of Pittodrie, Aberdeen - venue for Scotland's friendly with the Faroe Islands.

United’s scorers at Aston Villa are away with their countries - Nemanja Vidic is no doubt relieved that Reds team-mate Dimitar Berbatov has retired from international football as Serbia visit Bulgaria, while Kiko Macheda is in Italy’s Under-21 squad for a friendly against Turkey, the first game under new coach  Ciro Ferrara.

Macheda said: “This is a positive moment for me. I am playing well with Manchester United and I would like to also show my qualities with Italy’s Under-21s. I am one of the veterans at this level. I will help the new players feel at ease, I already know many of them and we have to do everything we can to become a tight-knit team.”

Gabriel Obertan completes the line-up of travelling first-teamers – the United winger is with France’s Under-21s. Also called up at that level is reserve-team midfielder Magnus Eikrem (Norway) while Ravel Morrison and Tom Thorpe are in the England Under-18 squad. Finally, Michele Fornasier – a recent scorer for United Reserves – is involved with Italy’s Under-17s.

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World Cup 2010 - Fergie backs Qatar 2022 bid

EUROSPORT-Qatar's dreams of hosting the 2022 World Cup were given a surprise boost when Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said they were "definitely achievable" despite the searing summer heat.
"I would back the Qatar bid," Ferguson said. "I admire their purpose and vision."
Ferguson added that the Gulf state had a "marvellous chance" of hosting the finals, even amid worries about temperatures that can rise to 50 Celsius.
His remarks came shortly after world soccer's governing body FIFA published its technical reports on the bids to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
FIFA said that, despite proposals for cooling the stadiums, Qatar's bid to host the 2022 tournament could pose a potential health risk because of the midsummer heat.
Qatari organisers say they have tackled the issue by constructing climate-controlled, zero-carbon emitting stadiums.
The country has harnessed solar-powered technology to cool stadiums to about 27 Celsius.
Ferguson said the idea of dismantling modular stadia to be shipped to developing countries would be "absolutely fantastic" for football across the world.
All of Qatar's stadiums would be partly dismantled after the finals, with the extra seating shipped to developing nations who could reconstruct them as smaller stadiums for their own use.
"Addressing the hot climate issue and transporting the stadia to countries is very clever," added Ferguson.
Qatar is competing with the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia for the right to host the 2022 tournament.
It would be the first Middle East country to stage the event.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will announce the winning bid in Zurich on December 2, following a vote by the executive committee.

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