Slick Holland thrash woeful Ghana

The Netherlands proved to be too strong a side for Ghana in last night's friendly, handing the Black Stars a crushing defeat.

Sunderland loan-star John Mensah came on for the second half in Rotterdam but by then Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vart had given the Dutch a 2-0 lead.

Ghana pulled a goal back midway through the second half but Holland's Wesley Sneider found the back of the net before a Robin van Persie penalty took the scoreline to 4-1, dealing the Ghanaians a crush blow as they prepare for their World Cup campaign.

Ghana have one friendly against Latvia on Saturday prior to their World Cup opener against Serbia on 13 June.

The Black Stars are also in a group with Australia and Germany.

 

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Morten Olsen reveals Denmark's 23 man squad for World Cup.

Denmark coach Morten Olsen on Friday unveiled a 23-man squad that will meet the Netherlands, Cameroon and Japan in group E of the World Cup.

Goalkeepers: Thomas Soerensen (Stoke City/ENG), Stefan Andersen (Broendby), Jesper Christiansen (FC Copenhagen).

Defenders: Daniel Agger (Liverpool/ENG), Simon Kjaer (Palermo/ITA), Per Kroeldrup (Fiorentina/ITA), Lars Jacobsen (Blackburn/ENG), Simon Busk Poulsen (AZ Alkmaar/NED), William Kvist Joergensen (FC Copenhagen), Patrick Mtiliga (Malaga/ESP).

Midfielders: Daniel Jensen (Werder Bremen/GER), Christian Poulsen (Juventus/ITA), Christian Eriksen (Ajax/NED), Jakob Poulsen (AGF), Martin Joergensen (AGF), Mikkel Beckmann (Randers), Thomas Enevoldsen (FC Groningen/NED), Thomas Kahlenberg (Wolfsburg/GER), Dennis Rommedahl (Ajax/NED), Jesper Groenkjaer (FC Copenhagen).

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Strikers: Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord/NED), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal/ENG), Soeren Larsen (Duisburg/GER).

Indomitable Lions 30 man squad.

Cameroon names World Cup squad and includes veterans Rigobert Song and Geremi Njitap.

French coach Paul Le Guen has found places for veterans Rigobert Song and ex-Chelsea midfielder Geremi Njitap.

Cameroon will play in Group E in South Africa alongside Denmark, Japan and The Netherlands.

Bassong's Tottenham team-mate Bennoit Assou Ekotto is also included in the squad after missing the Nations Cup in Angola with an injury.

But Burnley's Andre Bikey has been left out of the line-up.

Coach Le Guen is also giving an opportunity to two home-based players John Patrick Abouna Ndzana of Stars FC Yaounde and Patrick Mevoungou of Canon Sportif.

Other notable inclusions are Samuel Eto'o of Inter Milan and Arsenal midfielder Alexander Song.

The Indomitable Lions kick off their World Cup campaign on 14 June against Japan.

Cameroon squad:

Goalkeepers: Guy Roland N'Dy Assembe (Valenciennes), Idriss Carlos Kameni (Espanyol), Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor), Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic)

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Defenders: Patrick Abouna (Astres Douala), Benoit Assou Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur), Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham Hotspur), Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes), Aurelien Chedjou (Lille), Geremi (Ankaragucu), Boukar Makadji (Al Nahdha), Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco), Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)

Midfielders: Achille Emana (Real Betis), Enoh Eyong (Ajax Amsterdam), Jean Makoun (Olympique Lyon), Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern), Joel Matip (Schalke 04), Patrick Mevoungou (Canon Yaounde), Marcel Ndjeng (Augsburg), Landry Nguemo (Celtic), Alexandre Song (Arsenal)

Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Coton Sport), Eric Choupo-Mating (Nuremburg), Stephane Mbia (Marseille, France), Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), Mohamadou Idrissou (Freiburg), Dorge Kouemaha (Club Bruges), Achille Webo (Real Mallorca), Jacques Zoua (Basle)

Japan's samba star is ready for the World Cup

Marcus Tulio Tanaka Japan's Brazilian born defender has vowed to give all for his country in the forth coming world cup

Japan's Brazilian-born defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka has vowed to make his first World Cup a bruising battle he can remember with pride as a hard man among the Blue Samurai.

"I don't want the World Cup finals to be like food that I can't remember the taste of," the J-League Nagoya Grampus player said.

"It would be fantastic if our hard work from the World Cup tastes like strawberries but there is also a possibility it could taste nasty," he told Kyodo news agency in an interview published Wednesday.

"Even if we get hammered and it is not a nice feeling, I want to feel it completely in my body. I don't want to come back home wondering maybe if I could have given a bit more," said the 185-centimetre (six-foot-one-inch) player.

Tulio, who turns 29 on Saturday, is seen as sure to be selected alongside Yokohama F Marinos' Yuji Nakazawa as the main centre backs when Japan face Cameroon, the Netherlands and Denmark at the World Cup group stage in South Africa.

He has scored seven goals in 37 international appearances.

Despite being crowned the 2006 J-League Player of the Year, Tulio was ignored by Japan's then-coach Brazilian legend Zico for the squad that made an early exit from the 2006 World Cup in Germany after losing to Australia and Brazil and drawing with Croatia.

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"Maybe I won't have another chance to play at the World Cup and I just want my whole body to react when someone mentions the tournament in 70 years time, if I'm still alive then," Tulio said.

Tulio first came to Japan, his father's homeland, aged 16, to enrol at a high school as an exchange student and football player. He joined the J-League Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2001.

He moved to Urawa in 2004 after a year on loan to a second-division side and helped the country's best-supported team win the AFC Champions League title in 2007. He signed with Nagoya in January.

Tulio, who obtained Japanese nationality in 2003, will become the third Brazilian-born player to represent Japan at the World Cup, following Wagner Lopes in 1998 and Nagoya team-mate Alessandro Santos in 2002 and 2006.

He admitted he was at first sceptical of Japan coach Takeshi Okada's ambitious goal of a semi-final spot in South Africa.

"To be honest I also thought 'what?' first of all, but we have played against a number of strong opponents and I see no reason why we can't achieve that," he said.

Nigel De Jong will not rein in tough tackles

Netherlands defender Nigel De Jong has defended his bone crunching tackling style despite a warning from Netherlands national coach that he would be a walking Red Card at the World Cup if he continues with this style.

Nigel de Jong insists he will not curb his combative approach to the game, despite recent criticism.

The Manchester City midfielder has established a reputation for taking no prisoners, with the Dutchman prepared to put his body on the line every time he takes to the field.

However, the Netherlands international can, at times, overstep the mark, with a crunching challenge on USA international Stuart Holden in a recent friendly leaving the Bolton man with a broken leg.

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has called on De Jong to tone down his all-action displays, for fear of losing him to suspension during this summer's World Cup.

De Jong has no plans to heed that warning, though, with the 25-year-old adamant that he will not be changing his ways.

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"It's difficult because I always give 100 per cent," he said.

"I spoke with the coach but he knows how I am as a player.

"But I also have to know that with international referees you can't do certain things, as you can in England. Over here, they will play on for things that get stopped in international games.

"I just have to focus on my game and be smart in certain situations on the pitch."

De Jong added: "English competition suits me better than German or Dutch at the moment, so I am happy to be here and willing to give 100 per cent again this weekend.