Germany coach Joachim Löw has bemoaned the lack of time he has with his squad in the build up to this summer's World Cup.
In an interview with BILD magazine the national team boss has revealed his disappointment at the lack of friendly preparation. A situation that has meant he hasn't been able to see as many players action as he would've liked.
"I find it alarming that from November to May we only have one friendly. And that before a World Cup! For example, I would have liked to see [Bayern defender] Holger Badstuber for us. But that has unfortunately not been possible." said Löw.
Despite the lack of preparation the Germany boss remains confident for his teams chances in South Africa.
"I say it like this: I have no concerns, but the situation is serious. As we said, our priority now must be to bring the players back into top form in a short space of time."
Germany have won the showpiece tournament on three previous occasions and reached the semi-finals in 2006, when they hosted the tournament.
Without a doubt one of the most naturally gifted Brazilian goalscorers of his generation, Róbson de Souza, known to his friends as Robinho, has never been far from the headlines.
At the age of just 15 he was singled out by none other than Pele himself as the successor to the great man's crown. A heavy burden to carry you might think, but Robinho was to take it all in his stride. At the age of just 17 the youngster led his hometown team, Santos, to their first league title since Pele himself wore the Santos shirt some twenty years previous.
Some 60 goals and another league title later and Europe's elite started to take notice of the emerging star. It was that most illustrious of clubs that eventually secured a deal, Spanish giants Real Madrid. A fee of 24 million Euros took the twenty-year-old to Spain and kick-started another chapter in his career.
A tumultuous time of injuries and disagreements saw Robinho's first team appearances restricted at Real and, despite his talent, it was clear that after three seasons in Spain his future lay elsewhere.
With Chelsea the expected destination a summer of transfer shenanigans took place in 2008 with the London club keen to get a good deal on a player that Real wanted to sell. With the deal expected to go down until deadline day 'The Blues' were prepared to bide their time; it turned out that the Brazilian, however, was not.
Meanwhile in Manchester, the Citizens were keen on signing a striker to demonstrate their new found wealth and announce themselves on the world stage. Their target was Tottenham forward Dimitar Berbatov, but when neighbours Manchester United poached the Bulgarian from under their noses the City executives frantically scoured the globe for a fitting alternative.
Within minutes a deal was done to sign Robinho and with Chelsea caught on their heels Robinho duly made his desired move to England and became the most expensive player in British football, at a cost of £32.5million.
As if it were fate his debut came against none other than Chelsea. The Brazilian didn't disappoint as he curled home a free-kick to put the Citizens ahead. The Londoners ran out eventual winners but Robinho had done his job and showcased his ability to the Premier League.
However, just like at Madrid, it would once again turn sour. An influx of strikers at Eastlands saw a stuttering Robinho drop down the pecking order and, what with it being a World Cup year, the inevitable happened, he left.
In search of first team football to enhance his international chances he returned on loan to his boyhood club, Santos. The twenty-six-year-old once again announced himself in style, scoring a backheel goal late in his debut against Sáo Pauloto secure a tense victory for the Peixe.
This summer Robinho will be looking to add to his 71 caps and will have to be on top form to help his country through the Group of Death that contains Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and Didier Drogba's Ivory Coast side, along with minnowsNorth Korea.
All you can say is that when the pressure is on, Robinho tends to deliver.
In the 18 World Cups that have taken place, the side that has won the tournament has also been the top scorers in that tournament on eight occasions. And as you will see from the following list, the top three goalscoring nations (by tournament) did NOT win the World Cup. It just goes to show that it's not ALL about goals. In ascending order, then, the top five highest scoring nations by tournament...
5= Argentina 1930 / Brazil 2002 (18 goals)
Argentina lost the first ever World Cup Final to Uruguay in 1930, scoring two in the Final to add to the 10 they had scored in the group stages and the six they put past the USA in the semi-final. Brazil in 2002 were one of the eight teams to have top scored in the tournament and won it. 11 goals came in their three group games; in the knock-out stages Brazil scored twice in the second round, the quarter-final and the Final, whilst a single goal was enough to win them the semi-final.
4. Brazil 1970 (19 goals)
Brazil scored 'only' eight goals in the group stages, a surprising stat given that they ended the tournament with 19, meaning that in the more testing ground of the knock-out stages they notched a further 11; four against Peru in the quarters, three against Uruguay in the semis and four more in the magnificent Final against Italy. They became the first nation that year to win the World Cup and top score at the tournament for a second time - the first time they had achieved this was in 1962.
3. Brazil 1950 (22 goals)
13 of the 22 goals came in the Final Group phase in which four teams all played each other. As host nation Brazil were favourites, and winning their first World Cup seemed inevitable after they thrashed Sweden and Spain 7-1 and 6-1 respectively, leaving them only needing to draw against Uruguay in the last match to take the trophy. They led 1-0 in front of a delirious crowd of nearly 200,000 at the Maracana, but were caught out by two goals in the last quarter of the match as Uruguay claimed a second Title.
2. France 1958 (23 goals)
The amazing thing about this tally of goals is that it was achieved in just six matches - two of which the French lost! Seven against Paraguay in the first group match was followed by defeat to Yugoslavia and then victory over Scotland. Northern Ireland were put to the sword in the quarter-final before Brazil ended French hopes of winning the tournament with a 5-2 win in the last four. The third/fourth place play-off match between the losing semi-finalists gave France the chance to add a further six goals, and striker Just Fontaine ended the tournament with 13 goals.
1. Hungary 1954 (27 goals)
The Germans won't agree, but this was a tournament that Hungary should have won.Their 27 goals were scored in just five games; 17 of them came in their two group games (9-0 against South Korea and 8-3 against West Germany). Brazil and Uruguay were both duly dispatched by a 4-2 scoreline in the quarter-final and the semi-final, and the 're-match' with Germany saw Hungary score two more within the first eight minutes. There were no more goals to come however, from the Magical Magyars, and the Germans found three of their own to complete an extraordinary comeback.
Spain. They beat the USA 3-1, Chile 2-0 and England 1-0. That saw them comfortably through to the Final Group of four sides, where a heavy loss to Brazil (6-1) and defeat against Sweden (3-1) left them with a fourth place finish.
France beat Mexico 4-1 in the first ever World Cup Finals match. It was played on July 13 1930, kicking off at 3pm at the Pocitos stadium in Montevideo.
The current format has been used since 1998. From 1982 to 1994 there were 24 participating nations at the Finals. Prior to that there was always 16 teams, with the exception of 1930 and 1950 (curiously both tournaments were won by Uruguay) where just 13 nations took part.
The USA. The format of the World Cup that year was straight knock-out, so that one bad night in Rome meant the end of the road for the Americans.
1966, England v Uruguay; 1970 Mexico v Soviet Union; 1974 Brazil v Yugoslavia; 1978 West Germany v Poland - they all finished 0-0.
Denmark (1986, 1998 and 2002) and Ireland (1990, 1994, 2002). Both nations have reached the quarter-finals once; the Danes in 1998 when they were beaten 3-2 by Brazil and the Irish in 1990, when they lost by a single goal to the host nation Italy.
Four teams won their groups with 100% records. Hosts Germany (Group A) beat Costa Rica 4-2, Poland 1-0 and Ecuardor 3-0. Portugal (Group D) beat Angola 1-0, Iran 2-0 and Mexico 2-1. Brazil (Group F) saw off Croatia 1-0, Australia 2-0 and Japan 4-1. And Spain (Group H )defeated Ukraine 4-0, Tunisia 3-1 and Saudi Arabia 1-0.
Austria and Brazil finished on level points and goal difference in Group 3, but the European side took first place by virtue of having scored one goal more.
The unfortunate nation was South Korea, who were beaten 9-0 by eventual finalists Hungary and 7-0 by Turkey.
Jamaica beat Japan 2-1. France 98 was their first and - to date - only appearance at the World Cup Finals. Both sides went into this final group game having already lost their other two games. Jamaica's win therefore saw them finish third in the group, with Japan fourth.
1. England, Chile and the United States were all beaten by which European side in the group stages of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil?
2. Which two teams contested the first ever World Cup match and what was the result?
3. At South Africa 2010 there will be 32 participating nations at the Finals. Since when have FIFA used the current format?
4. In 1934 who did eventual champions Italy thrash 7-1 in the first round ?
5. What did the opening matches in the four World Cups from 1966 to 1978 have in common?
6. Who are the only two nations in the history of the World Cup (both from Europe, and each with three appearances at the Finals) who have never gone out in the first round?
7. In Germany four years ago, how many of the group winners won all three of their first round matches?
8. Which nation pipped Brazil to first place in Group 3 in the first round in Argentina 1978?
9. Which Asian team conceded 16 goals and failed to score in their two group games in 1954?
10. Which Caribbean side beat Japan in their final group match at France 98, thus registering their first ever win at the Finals?
SOME TOUGHIES HERE! HAPPY HUNTING AND ANSWERS TOMORROW.
