There will be some sore heads this morning for those who last night ensured their qualification for the World Cup in Brazil – but for those who failed, the pain is much more severe.

Igor Stimac

And those feeling it more than most are the coaches of Poland and Croatia, both of whom it was announced today had been sacked.

Poland, who lost 2-0 to England last night despite a spirited display in front of 20,000 of their own supporters at Wembley, announced the departure of coach Waldemar Fornalik.

His side finished fourth in Group H behind England, Ukraine and Montenegro. “Waldemar Fornalik has ceased to carry out the functions of national team coach,” the Polish FA said in a statement which thanked the 50-year-old former Poland defender for his “more than one year of work with the national team.”

Fornalik had been in charge since July last year after replacing Franciszek Smuda who was sacked after a disappointing display at Euro 2012.

The sacking of Igor Stimac as Croatia coach may come as more of a surprise. Despite his side struggling in Group A, signalled by defeats home and away to Scotland, they still managed to finish second and qualify for next month’s play-offs.

Yet it would seem the Croatian Football Federation, its president Davor Suker and even Stimac, felt a change was neccessary to boost their chances of progressing in the two-legged tie which will be against either France, Romania, Iceland or Ukraine.

Following last night’s 2-0 defeat at Hampden – which followed a loss to Belgium, Stimac said he would step down because of “a moral responsibility”.

“Stimac had total support of the federation, but after these poor results … my proposal was to remove Stimac from his duties,” Suker said. Stimac took over from Slaven Bilic.

According to Independent

Gareth Bale returned to full training with his Real Madrid team mates on Wednesday as he continued his recovery from a muscle injury, suggesting the Wales winger may play a part in Saturday’s La Liga clash at Malaga.

Bale became the world’s most expensive player when he joined the Spanish giants from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of 100 million euros (£85.3 million) in the close season but was sidelined by a thigh strain last month.
Real’s internationals were back working out at the club’s Valdebebas training ground on Wednesday and Bale came through a full session overseen by coach Carlo Ancelotti, the club said on their website.
“Ancelotti had the majority of the internationals at his disposal as well as Bale to prepare for the Malaga game,” Real said.
Bale’s pre-season was disrupted by the drawn-out negotiations over his move and there has been a question mark over his fitness since the deal was concluded.
Real acted quickly to deny a report in Marca sports daily at the weekend that said Bale was suffering from a slipped disc and club president Florentino Perez denounced the newspaper in a television interview.
“The player Gareth Bale has a small chronic disc bulge, which is extremely common among football players and by no means prevents him from carrying out his professional activity normally,” the club said.
Real host Italian side Juventus in the Champions League next Wednesday before playing at arch rivals and La Liga leaders Barcelona in Spain’s ‘Clasico’ on October 26.

According to Yahoo

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil is expected to be in contention to face Norwich on Saturday despite being substituted during Germany’s final World Cup qualifying match

The £42.5million transfer deadline day signing from Real Madrid has been a key player in the Gunners’ impressive form before the international break, which saw them move to the top of the Barclays Premier League.
Although Ozil, who turned 25 on Tuesday, was replaced in the closing stages of the 5-3 win against Sweden in Stockholm, during which he scored, Press Association Sport understands the knock the player received to his knee was considered minor and the
German Football Association was not aware of any major issues before he flew direct back to London.
Ozil is, like the rest of Arsenal’s internationals, set to return to the club for assessment on Thursday, when it is hoped further tests will confirm no lasting problems as Arsene Wenger looks to finalise his plans for a return to domestic action.
Fellow midfield playmaker Santi Cazorla should be involved again for the first time since the win over Tottenham on September 1 following his recovery from an ankle problem. England forward Theo Walcott, who has been sidelined after a minor abdominal procedure, could also come back into Wenger’s thinking, although next week’s Champions League tie with Borussia Dortmund is perhaps a more likely return date.
One player who has declared himself fit following the international action is goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who produced a couple of good saves in Poland’s 2-0 defeat at Wembley which saw England qualify for the World Cup finals.
Szczesny stood in for Artur Boruc, who had a muscular problem, and there was a short moment of concern when the Arsenal keeper held his arm following a collision with Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck.
However, the 23-year-old Pole said: “He just stood on my hand, but it was nothing seriuos.”
Szczesny feels Arsenal can sustain their positive form to last the distance in the race for some long-overdue silverware in 2014.
He said: “I hope we (Arsenal) can keep going the way we have in the past few weeks and will give ourselves the best chance to challenge for a trophy.”
Arsenal will hold their Annual General Meeting on Thursday, when owner Stan Kroenke is expected to be in attendance at the Emirates Stadium’s Highbury Suite along with new chairman Sir Chips Keswick.
While this year’s event is likely to be less heated than 12 months ago given the improvement of on-field results and smashing the transfer record to sign Ozil, supporters group are nevertheless set to press the American again on his pre- takeover commitment to engage with “fan groups in formal and informal settings.”
Elsewhere, Wigan manager Owen Coyle has confirmed he wants to sign out-of-favour Arsenal forward Park Chu-young, but the South Korean – who spent last season on loan in Spain at Celta Vigo – would need to agree to a wage cut to play for the Sky Bet Championship side.

According to Foxsports

The Albiceleste legend is still hurting from his treatment during his spell as national coach and has instead pledged his allegiances to hosts UAE at the Fifa under-17 World Cup

Diego Maradona has continued his long-running feud with his country after he announced he would not be supporting Argentina at the upcoming Fifa Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The former Napoli striker has never reconciled differences with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) since he was unceremoniously removed from the position of head coach of the senior national side after the 2010 World Cup.

He is now back in Argentina, where he has picked up the post of ‘spiritual coach’ for Primera D club Deportivo Riestra in addition to his role as a sports ambassador for Dubai, after leaving Emirates club Al Wasl last year.

However, as a result of his tempestuous relationship with the AFA, Maradona is withholding his support for his own country and has announced he will instead be getting behind the hosts at the upcoming tournament.

“I will support the UAE and not Argentina because of my differences with my country,” the former World Cup winner announced at a press conference.

“I urge all the fans to come in large numbers to support the home team.”

The tournament kicks off on Thursday when Brazil take on Slovakia in the opening match, before hosts UAE take on Honduras.

Argentina, meanwhile, start their campaign, minus the support of Maradona, against Iran on Saturday evening.

According to Goal

Vicente del Bosque allows the defensive trio to rest up after a hard-fought victory over Belarus, but all are expected to feature in the final group clash with Georgia

Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique and Alvaro Arbeloa have been excused from training with the Spain squad after their 2-1 victory over Belarus on Friday.

All three defenders made it through the 90 minutes in Mallorca as la Roja moved to within one point of securing their place in the World Cup finals, thanks to strikes from Pique’s Barcelona team-mate Xavi and Manchester City’s Alvaro Negredo.

However their training has now been restricted to gym sessions by team doctors, as the trio are allowed time to recuperate following a draining performance at the Iberostar Stadium and a hectic start to their respective club seasons.

None of the trio are carrying any injuries, and though the rest of the team prepare for Tuesday’s game against Georgia without them, it is not thought that there are any questions over their availability.

But with fatigue clearly a factor in the back line, it could pave the way for 21-year-old left-back Alberto Moreno to make his full debut.

Vicente del Bosque’s men only need a point against Group I’s bottom team when they meet at Albacete’s Estadio Carlos Belmonte to ensure top spot, and an automatic berth in Brazil nest summer

According to Goal