Fact 1: Cameroon is the first African country to reach the quarter-final in soccer world cup. Fact 2: The official languages in Cameroon is French, English. They also have other native African languages. Fact 3: Cameroon celebrated its first independence day from the France and England on October 1, 1960. Fact 4: The religions followed in Cameroon are mostly Christianity and Islam. Fact 5: More than 30% of the total population lives at less than $1.25 per day. Fact 6: Cameroon is famous for producing coffee, cocoa, cotton, bananas and oilseeds. Fact 7: Cameroon has the tallest mountain in West Africa, Mount Cameroon. Fact 8: Cameroon is one of the wettest lands on the earth with annual rainfall of about 1028 cm. Fact 9: The Cameroon flag has a star and three colours; green for vegetation, red for independence and yellow for sunshine. Fact 10: Cameroon is a Portuguese word meaning River of Pawn.....
So it's mountainous, wet, they were pushed around by the English and the population aren't exactly prosperous....sounds like Wales
Wednesday 18 June - 23:00 Cameroon (PGF White) v Croatia (neveroffsidereff) We're coming for you, we're coming for yououuuuuuuuuuuuu Neveroffside ref, we're coming for you
Asmir Begovic: World Cup can reunite Bosnia's 'golden generation' By Steve Wilson BBC Match of the Day commentator Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic fled his homeland of Bosnia as a small child, his family moving to Germany to escape the war that devastated the country in the early 1990s. He was not alone. More than half the Bosnia-Hercegovina squad that will play in the country's first World Cup finals this summer were born or raised abroad, children of some of the estimated one million inhabitants who escaped the conflict. More than 100,000 who stayed were killed in a war fought on ethnic and religious grounds. Begovic - and Bosnia - have come a long way. And now, some 20 or so years on, the squad hope to help the nation continue to rebuild with a strong display in Brazil. Begovic's travels - After leaving Bosnia for Germany, Begovic moved to Canada as a 10-year-old before earning a trial with Portsmouth - He signed for Pompey as a 16-year-old and spent time on loan at La Louviere in Belgium - Further loan spells followed - at Macclesfield (see above), Bournemouth, Yeovil and Ipswich - After forcing his way into the Portsmouth team he joined Stoke in 2010 "I don't happen to have many memories of my childhood. We left when I was four so it's hard to recall much about my life there, but leaving was for the best," Begovic told BBC Sport. "Of course I've tried to educate myself about the conflict and spoken to my family a lot to get a sense of what they went through and to try to understand what happened. "They decided to get out just as the conflict was starting. It was a very hard time for them - to leave everything behind and to start a new life. Unless you actually lived through it you can probably never really know what that must have been like." Begovic's journey has taken him from Trebinje in Hercegovina to Germany, to Canada, to Stoke and, soon, to Brazil. Politics and geography seem to take turns to wreak havoc on Bosnia. In May, Sarajevo's City Hall, famous for its part in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which triggered the chain of events that led to the First World War, was reopened more than 20 years after its destruction in the Bosnian war. Optimism that this might symbolise a better future was quickly tempered by the country's worst flooding in over a century. Maybe the emergence of a football team to be truly proud of will herald a new chapter in this country's fractured history. That's certainly the hope, says Mirza Subasic, a sports reporter for the Sportzdk website. "Our team representing us at the World Cup is the biggest news for everyone in Bosnia in a generation," he said. "The only reason anyone knows us is because of the war or maybe the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984. "This team has united us and brought us some light. Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks are all together to support the team and to say something positive about our beautiful little country from some small part of Europe. For us to be in a World Cup is spectacular." Asmir Begovic Begovic joined the list of goalkeepers who have scored in the Premier League this season with his 90-yard effort against Southampton in November Stoke keeper Begovic, 26, insists the players are just as united. "We are all immensely proud of our nation and wherever we were actually living we were all raised as Bosnians - Bosnian is the language of our dressing room," he said. "It's an intriguing story because we have come together from all around the world - I guess what you might call a golden generation, raised in different environments but with a common country and a common goal. "Our country has wanted this so much and we lost in play-offs against Portugal for both the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012, so it was a huge relief to finally do it." World Cup debutants Robert Vittek of Slovakia That 'golden generation' includes Manchester City's Edin Dzeko - "one of the world's best strikers", according to Begovic - and Vedad Ibisevic of Stuttgart, who he says is "not far behind Dzeko". The pair scored 18 goals between them in qualifying. In midfield is Roma's Miralem Pjanic and at left-back Schalke's Sead Kolasinac who is on Manchester United's radar as they look to replace Patrice Evra. Begovic describes Kolasinac as "a very, very good full-back who loves to get forward". In Brazil, Bosnia-Hercegovina will take on Argentina, Nigeria and Iran in Group F. Starting their campaign against Lionel Messi in the Maracana is a thought that gets Begovic misty-eyed. "My outlook is this: the group couldn't be any better for us. I know a lot of my team-mates and we have worked our whole lives to go to a World Cup, and to play our opening game at the Maracana against Argentina - that's what it's all about," he says. "It's going to be a very special occasion for everyone on the team and everyone in the country. It's a tough group - Nigeria have a very experienced squad at this level - but we're looking forward to the challenge. Our strength is definitely being positive and going out to score goals. We can create chances and we have the players to take them." Last October, 100,000 people waited into the middle of the night to greet the team in Sarajevo when they returned from Lithuania having sealed World Cup qualification with a win in Kaunas, but expectations soon change. A 2-0 loss to Egypt in a friendly played in Innsbruck in March saw the team, and their coach Safet Susic, heavily criticised in the Bosnian press. The support for the team in Innsbruck was astonishing. I went expecting a small crowd of curious Austrian locals, only to be confronted by a mass of about 15,000 Bosnians honking horns, lighting flares, chanting and pretty much drinking the town dry in a mood of infectious excitement. Begovic says somehow those fans will get to Brazil too and make their presence felt. "It's amazing, hard to describe," he says. "The war meant that the population was scattered all over the world, so it doesn't matter where we go it always feels like a home game. "They travel in huge numbers to give us incredible backing. Even in America, where we've played three friendlies now, thousands of Bosnians have been in the stadiums. Our fans are pretty hard-core and very, very passionate. "We're determined to make them feel proud." - Bosnia will become the 15th nation to make their World Cup debuts since the 2002 finals in South Korea and Japan - There were eight debutants at the 2006 finals in Germany - the most since the 1934 finals in Italy - Serbia and Slovakia (above) made their debuts at the last World Cup in South Africa - Slovakia qualified from Group F - beating champions Italy on the way before losing to the Netherlands in the second round
Bosnia and Herzegovina are True Contenders Although Bosnia and Herzegovina lost to Portugal in the UEFA qualifying playoffs in 2010 and the Euro 2012 qualifying playoffs, this time, things are looking good for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoffs, according to the Bleacher Report. The Bosnian team has a lineup of star players, including Manchester City star Edin Dzeko, Sevilla defender Emir Spahic, Stoke City keeper Asmir Begovic and attackers Vedad Ibisevic and Miralem Pjanic. According to the Bleacher Report, Edin Dzeko has already scored a whopping 15 goals in the qualifying matches. Dzeko is the biggest name on the team and forms a deadly partnership with team player Vedad Ibisevic when it comes to making goals. Many consider Asmir Begovic to be a top five keeper due to his many saves and scores. Another key player is Zvjezdan Misimovic. In addition to his all-time caps record, he’s an effective player for pulling the strings in plays. The team can’t do without him. The Bleacher Report indicates that the Bosnia-Herzegovina team wiped out the weaker teams of Lithuania, Latvia and Liechtenstein in addition to walking away with four out of six points with Greece. Although this team isn’t a household name in the world of soccer, with its star players, this team can do some major damage in its first-time World Cup. The Bosnia-Herzegovina team is also led by legendary coach Safet Susic, who has transformed them from a mid-level European team to true contenders for the 2014 FIFI World Cup. Without a doubt, the Bosnia-Herzegovina team is an underrated national team that the power teams fear in the up and coming World Cup. Working at a good pace, Bosnia and Herzegovina are likely to knockout Greece for the Group G title. Even through the Bosnia-Herzegovina team are a World Cup rookie, they could certainly challenge the knockout stages and some of the perennial powers. At the 2014 World Cup, this dynamic team will have no fear.
My boys are looking good ...........http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footbal...ve-commentary-germany-vs-cameroon_157902.html
Will we see one of these in the World Cup??...........[video]http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27678434[/video]
Anyone picked their all time best World Cup XI on the BBC site? After you've finished they give your team a rating and compare it to their "experts" selections... Link here; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-27699398#010011021024016071061069102100103 I went with; 1) Dino Zoff 2) Carlos Alberto 3) Andreas Brehma (on reflection he's the weak link) 4) Fabio Cannavaro 5) Franz Beckenbauer 6) Lothar Mattheus 7) Garrincha 8) Jairzinho 9) Gerd Muller 10) Diego Maradonna 11) Pele Who would you go with? (I love World Cups me )
http://www.sportal.co.nz/football/world-cup-2014/verheijen-blasts-van-gaal/1kollzt7524e8zemeq4guzob8 Raymond's a loud mouth but he has a point doesn't he? Surely pre World Cup fitness should be kept to a minimum and the focus should be on playing as a team? I reckon a friendly every couple of days (Alternating between 1 half of the squad playing one system and the other half of the squad playing a plan 'b' with plenty of substitutions in both games so everyone gets to practice in both systems) would be far more beneficial. ...keep training to warm ups and downs with tactics and set piece drills in between...
....from 'Wales Online' Swansea City star Jonathan de Guzman looks set for stunning Holland return against Spain After a week of injury drama, it now looks as though Jonathan de Guzman will play for Holland against Spain in their World Cup opener. The Netherlands, fresh from their warm-up win over an under-strength Wales last week, take on Spain in their first game and it appears Swans loan star de Guzman is back in contention. Dutch boss van Gaal has hailed de Guzman’s importance to the side of late and suggested he will have a starting berth in his starting side only for a hamstring injury picked up before the Wales game to leave him a doubt for to face the champions. But de Guzman, 26, returned to training as the Oranje arrived in South America, completing the warm-up with the team and then training by himself with van Gaal claiming the player should be fine for the Salvador clash, adding: “He is ahead of schedule; it has been more quickly than expected.” Meanwhile, Nigeria defender Elderson Echiejile will miss the World Cup because of a muscle injury. The 26-year-old Monaco player limped out of Nigeria’s 0-0 friendly draw against Greece in Philadelphia on Tuesday shortly before half time. Echiejile underwent a scan where the injury was diagnosed as a muscle tear, which is expected to keep him out for up to three weeks. He will be replaced in the squad by Enugu Rangers winger Ejike Uzoenyi. Coach Stephen Keshi said: “Doctors have said Echiejile will need up to three weeks to recover from the muscle tear but we don’t have that type of time to play with so we’ve taken the decision to replace him.”
