International Watch: 20 Gunners on duty

A host of Arsenal stars will be on show for their countries in World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches over the next seven days. Below is a comprehensive list of what our globetrotting Gunners will be doing.

Eduardo
Croatia 3-2 Qatar, Friendly, October 8
Kazakhstan v Croatia, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Eduardo sat out Croatia's 3-2 win over Qatar due to his thigh injury. Croatia took the lead seven minutes in courtesy of Vedran Corluka and doubled their advantage four minutes later through Ivan Klasnic. In the final minute of the first half Majdi Siddiq pulled one back for Qatar and the scores were levelled when Sebastian Soria struck after 69 minutes. Nikica Jelavic netted Croatia's winner in stoppage time.
Croatia warm up for their crunch Group Six match in Kazakhstan with a friendly against Qatar on Thursday. Slavan Bilic's side will be keeping a very close eye on Ukraine's clash with already qualified England - a Ukrainian victory would see Croatia slip to third in the table with just the Kazakhstan game to play. Eduardo is unlikely to feature that game because of his

Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, William Gallas, Bacary Sagna
France v Faroe Islands, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
France v Austria, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
The four Gunners in the France squad will be doing all they can to help ensure Les Bleus reach next summer's World Cup. They are currently four points off the pace in Group Seven. However, Raymond Domenech's side are looking good for the Play-Offs and a home win over Faroe Islands would see them secure second place. But if they were to lose, next week's match against Austria would become a winner-takes-all showdown.

Cesc Fabregas
Armenia v Spain, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Spain, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Spain are already qualified for South Africa 2010 having won all eight of their Group Five matches so far. Cesc Fabregas will be looking to continue his eye-catching Arsenal form and help his nation maintain their impressive qualifying record.

Thomas Vermaelen
Belgium v Turkey, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Estonia v Belgium, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Five consecutive defeats have left Belgium unable to qualify for the World Cup. Thomas Vermaelen and his team-mates will be looking at a home fixture against Turkey and a trip to Estonia to improve on their seven points from eight games so far.

Philippe Senderos
Luxembourg v Switzerland, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Switzerland v Israel, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Switzerland are currently top of Group Two and a win over Luxembourg would guarantee them at least a Play-Off place. If Greece and Latvia draw in Athens then the Swiss will be on their way to South Africa. If not, just a point at home to Israel would be enough for Philippe Senderos' nation to finish group winners.

Tomas Rosicky
Czech Republic v Poland, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Czech Republic v Northern Ireland, World Cup Qualifier, October 14

Group Three is one of the tightest in the European zone of World Cup qualifying. Only pointless San Marino cannot make it to South Africa. The Czechs can't catch group leaders Slovakia but are just two points from second-placed Slovenia. The games against Poland and Northern Ireland are both must-wins for Tomas Rosicky and his international compatriots who will also be relaying on Slovenia to drop points in Slovakia or San Marino. thigh injury.

Carlos Vela
Mexico v El Salvador, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Trinidad and Tobago v Mexico, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Mexico are well placed to qualify for next summer's World Cup and are already guaranteed a minimum of a Play-Off against a South American side. However, just one point from the games against El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago would ensure Carlos Vela's country direct progression to South Africa.

Andrey Arshavin
Russia v Germany, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Azerbaijan v Russia, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Russia are assured at least a Play-Off berth but Saturday's clash with Germany could well decide which of the nations progresses to South Africa automatically. Just one point separates the sides at the top of Group Four and while defeat would resign Russia to the Play-Offs, a win would give them a two-point advantage over Germany with just the game in Azerbaijan left to play. Andrey Arshavin is expected to captain his national side in both fixtures.

Nicklas Bendtner
Denmark v Sweden, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Denmark v Hungary, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Denmark can seal their place at the World Cup with a win over Sweden but a defeat would leave the sides level on points at the top of Group One. Struggling Portugal will be looking to take advantage of the clash when they take on Hungary in Lisbon on Saturday. It's a close-run group and any one of the aforementioned teams could still qualify automatically, so Nicklas Bendtner and his team-mates can't afford to slip up at this late stage. If they do, they could even miss out on the Play-Offs.

Aaron Ramsey
Finland v Wales, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Liechtenstein v Wales, World Cup Qualifier, October 14
Wales cannot qualify for the World Cup but victories over Finland and Liechtenstein could see them finish third in Group Four.

Alex Song
Cameroon v Togo, World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Angola v Cameroon, Friendly, October 14
Group A leaders Cameroon will qualify for the World Cup if they beat Togo and Morocco win in Gabon on Saturday. If those conditions aren't met, qualification will be decided by the final round of matches in November.  A friendly in Angola will follow next week for Alex Song's nation as they prepare for next year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Emmanuel Eboue
Malawi v Ivory Coast World Cup Qualifier, October 10
Ivory Coast need just one point from their final two games in Group E to book a place in South Africa.

Armand Traore
Malta v France, UEFA Under-21 Qualifier, October 9
Belgium v France, UEFA Under-21 Qualifier, October 13
The UEFA Under-21 Championships qualifying stage has only recently begun and France have four points from two games. Wins against Malta and Belgium could see the French jump to the top of the table. Armand Traore should feature in both games.

Wojciech Szczesny
Liechtenstein v Poland, UEFA Under-21 Qualifier, October 9
Poland v Netherlands, UEFA Under-21 Qualifier, October 13
Poland travel to Liechtenstein and then host the Netherlands as they look to build momentum in Group Four. They have two wins from three so far and will be looking to add to that and could be top of the table come full time against the Netherlands. Wojciech Szczesny is expected to play in both games.

Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere
England v Macedonia, UEFA Under-21 Qualifier, October 9
Stuart Pearce has selected a trio of Arsenal stars for the Group Nine clash with Macedonia. England have already beaten Friday's opposition away from home and will be confident of picking up three more points at Coventry's Ricoh Arena. Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere are all in the Three Lions squad.

[Wednesday, October 07, 2009]

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