Desailly reaches French milestone

Desailly longevity
It is a milestone the France and Chelsea FC captain is delighted to achieve. "It's strange because when I decided to become a footballer I never imagined I could last so long," said Desailly, 34. "I've been in this business more than 15 years and I'm not tired." A member of victorious French sides at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2000™, Desailly hopes to sign off with another success in Portugal next year.

Returning heroes
"I want to help the team qualify and then I'll see if I can still play," he said. "But obviously EURO 2004™ is going to be a turning point for a lot of French players." Bixente Lizarazu and Robert Pires both return to face the Czechs after injuries ruled them out of France's three European qualifying wins - and in Pires's case, the 2002 World Cup. The Arsenal FC man said: "I'm just happy to be back and want to be first choice again."

Rooney chance
A striker who seems destined to be first choice for his country in future years is Wayne Rooney. The Everton FC prodigy, 17, will become England's youngest ever international when Sven-Göran Eriksson fields a team of players aged under 25 in the second half of the game against Australia. "He is a very good player, a big talent and I hope he can show that," Eriksson said. "He's maybe a little nervous, but I guess that's very normal."

Italy's new faces
While Rooney hogs the headlines in England, the talk in Italy surrounds Mauro Camoranesi. Born in Argentina, the Juventus FC winger will debut for the Azzurri against Portugal in Genoa while forward duo Fabrizio Miccoli of AC Perugia and S.S. Lazio's Bernardo Corradi should also appear for their country for the first time. Milan-based Rui Costa will marshal Portugal's midfield alongside Luis Figo in what is Luiz Felipe Scolari's - Brazil's World Cup-winning coach - first match in charge.

Raúl's goal
Another coach relatively new to the scene is Spain's Iñaki Sáez. Despite topping their qualifying section, Group 6, after two games, Spain scored just once in the recent friendlies against Paraguay and Bulgaria and Sáez is keen to add a ruthless streak to his side's attacking play against Germany. "I am concerned about our forward line," he said. "We have a lot of quality up front but we haven't taken our chances." The return of Raúl González should help; the Real Madrid CF striker needs one goal to reach the 30 mark and become his country's all-time leading scorer.

Home from home
Unusually, home advantage will count for little in Mallorca, Sáez saying: "There are a lot of Germans living here and that's the reason we're playing in Mallorca. It's important there is a good atmosphere in the stands." Germany's star player Michael Ballack heads a long absentee list, paving the way for Benjamin Lauth of TSV 1860 München and Tobias Rau of VfL Wolfsburg to make their debuts. Germany also top their EURO 2004™ qualifying section, Group 5.

Action replay
As do the Netherlands and Wales. The Dutch face Argentina in a repeat of the 1978 World Cup final will Wales are looking to negotiate their ninth game without defeat against Bosnia-Herzegovina and so set the longest unbeaten run in the 127-year history of football in the Principality. Group 7 leaders Turkey warm up for their qualifier against England with a home game against Ukraine, while Group 8 pacesetters Switzerland visit Slovenia.