Big guns prepare for finals battle

HOLLAND, England and Spain may have secured qualification for the 2010 World Cup, but there are a number of high-profile teams – not least Portugal, France and Argentina – who must still overcome significant hurdles if they are to make it to South Africa.

Poland coach Leo Beenhakker has already paid the price for failure to reach South Africa after the side crashed 3-0 away to Slovenia on Wednesday. The Slovenia game, which came after a sloppy 1-1 draw at home on Saturday to Northern Ireland, left Poland second-from-bottom of Group Three and mathematically unable to catch up in their two remaining games against leaders Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“That was Leo Beenhakker’s last game as Poland manager,” said a Polish FA spokesperson. “We have several candidates. It’s too early to talk about names. But it will certainly be a Pole.”