International Friendly Matches
Besides qualifying for euro 2008 or World Cup 2010 there are also international friendly matches.

Brazil
vs
Ireland


Match scheduled:
02-03-2010 from 21:05 until 23:05
Date/Time: Mar. 2, 2010, 3:05pm
Competition: Friendly
Live/Repeat: Live
Friendly Match - Match also on ITV1, NT1, RTE2, STV and UlsterTV - Live from the Emirates Stadium, London!

Brazil

Republic Of Ireland

English Premier League
England

The Barclays English Premier League (EPL),
considered as the best in the world.

Hull City
vs
Chelsea

Match scheduled:
02-02-2010 from 19:45 until 21:45GMT
Date/Time: Feb. 2, 2010, 2:45pm
Competition: England Premier League
Live/Repeat: Live
Week 26 / Round 26 :: Barclays Premier League 2009/2010

Hull City

vs.

Chelsea

Africa Cup of Nations
Angola

The CAF Africa Cup of Nations, the 2010 edition will be held in Angola!

Angola
vs
Mali

Angola

vs

Mali

Match scheduled:
10-01-2010 from 19:00 until 21:00
Date/Time: Jan. 10, 2010, 2:00pm
Competition: 2010 African Cup of Nations
Live/Repeat: Live
Group A :: CAN Africa Cup of Nations 2010 :: Luanda, Angola

The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations will finally kick off this Sunday. The tournament’s hosts Angola will welcome Mali in Luanda for a crunch opener.

Angola – time to back up and shine

Like every host nation’s dream, Angola’s wish will be to kick start the competition with three points in their bag at the end of proceedings.

However, how likely are they to defeat the Malians and therefore clinch a victory on Sunday?

Quick recent statistics and comparisons

Since coach Manuel Jose’s appointment back in May 2009, Angola have played ten matches and won only twice. The Black Antelopes’ average of goals per match doesn’t even hit one as they’ve netted only 8 times in as much as ten encounters.

The lack of scoring frequency has restricted Angola to too many draws, the last of which came on January 3rd in a friendly against the Gambia ahead of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Angola’s statistics are far from being impressive but they are perhaps not worse than Mali’s.

After ending their qualification campaign with a 2-2 draw away to Ghana back in November, Mali had the opportunity to test their strengths and weakness with four friendly games.

The Eagles experienced mixed results but only one victory out these matches.

Lately, Mali went down1-0 against Egypt in the final preparation fixture ahead of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Does it mean that The Eagles are not ready to enjoy a flying start to the campaign?

Angola coach Manuel Jose wants players to be fit

As the tournament’s hosts, Angola will try and build on extreme home support to see out the Malians on the opening day of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

If recent statistics from both sides somehow put Angola and Mali on an equal level, perhaps the same cannot be said on paper.

Being aware of the threat that Mali’s star trio (composed of Mahamadou Diarra, Frederic Kanoute, and Seidou Keita) are expected to pose, Angola’s coach Manuel Jose will want all of his players fit and ready for the challenge.

Winning has been rare for Angola under Manuel Jose so there’ll be pressure amid support to beat Mali on Sunday.

Captain Manucho, who scored in Angola’s 1-1 draw against the Gambia last weekend, could play the trick for the Black Antelopes again.

However, Manuel Jose has made it clear that the possible absence of striker Flavio and defensive midfielder Stelvio would be very much regrettable.

Stelvio received a knock last December in Angola’s defeat to Estonia while Flavio just sustained an injury against the Gambia earlier this month.

For Manuel Jose, it is a priority to have the likes of these two players available for Sunday’s 2010 Africa Cup of Nations opener.

The Portuguese coach stated:

“I really hope that Flavio recovers and becomes available to play against Mali. Flavio and Stelvio are important for our starting lineup.

“We don’t have any stars in our team so we need every player to be fit.”

Mali won't seat back in fear of Angola's home support