Conte calls on Italy 'pride' for Croatia qualifier | ||
| | ||
Milan (AFP) - Italy coach Antonio Conte has called for the Azzurri to swell with pride when they take to a rain-battered San Siro pitch against Croatia in a crucial Euro 2016 qualifier later Sunday. Italy face their first big test of the qualifying campaign having won their first three games against Norway, Malta and Azerbaijan to sit second in Group H behind Croatia on goals difference. The Azzurri have failed to beat Croatia in their past six meetings, their last win coming in Genoa in 1942, but Conte said his men have no reason to fear Niko Kovac's visitors. "We should be proud when we line up to take on Croatia," Conte told reporters at the San Siro. "We respect them because they're a side that are good at keeping possession and are strong on one-on-one situations, but we don't fear them. "We have to be careful not to get sucked into ball-watching. But we've studied them well, we know in which areas we can create problems and we have to try to try to provoke that without exposing ourselves too much." Heavy rain in Milan in recent days had prompted fears that Sunday's Group H clash, scheduled for 1945 GMT, would have to be postponed with Croatia coach Niko Kovac complaining of the state of the San Siro pitch. "If the pitch stays like this, the game can't go ahead. The ball doesn't bounce, it would be like a game of waterpolo," he told reporters. But as Milan awoke to blazing sunshine on Sunday morning, Italian football federation (FIGC) officials were quick to allay fears. "There are no fears over the game. It will go ahead as scheduled," FIGC spokesman Paolo Corbi told AFP. Corbi admitted the pitch is "likely to be a little heavy", but he added: "There are no major problems. It is a sunny day today and the pitch will be ready in time for tonight's game." Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli and Juventus defender Angelo Ogbonna are ruled out after being sent home from Italy's training camp on Friday with hamstring and thigh injuries respectively. Midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Marco Verratti will also be missing from Conte's traditional 3-5-2 formation with Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi, who will pick up his 100th cap, set to marshall the midfield. Sassuolo's Simone Zaza and Ciro Immobile of Borussia Dortmund should spearhead Italy's attack as the hosts bid to claim a first win over Croatia in 72 years (although Croatia was part of the former Yugoslavia from WWII until 1992). Conte, who led his side to a 2-0 friendly win over the Netherlands in his first game in charge, said despite injury absences the mood in the Azzurri camp is good. "The spirit I've seen has been great over the first four games, and I'm sure it will be the same against Croatia," he said. "We're ready for Croatia." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Japan's Okinawa elects governor opposed to US base: exit polls | ||
| | ||
Tokyo (AFP) - Residents of Japan's Okinawa Sunday elected a governor who opposes plans to relocate a US military base within the island chain, a fresh setback in efforts to resolve a thorny issue in military relations. Voters in the southern prefecture chose Takeshi Onaga over the incumbent Hirokazu Nakaima, NHK, Jiji Press and Nippon Televison reported, citing their exit polls. Onaga's apparent victory is a significant blow to the central government because the governor can veto the landfill work needed for a new base to be built. In his first comments, the 64-year-old indicated he would do just that. Any veto would leave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having either to overrule locally-elected officials -- risking charges of authoritarianism -- or reverting to the cajoling and persuading of recent years, which would not be popular with Japan's close ally the United States. It would also take some of the wind out of Abe's sails just days before he is expected to announce a snap general election. Years of deadlock on the planned base relocation have frustrated the Americans and been a thorn in the side of successive Japanese governments. Okinawa is home to more than half of the 47,000 US service personnel stationed in Japan, and strategically key to the US-Japan security alliance at a time of simmering tensions in East Asia. But there is widespread local hostility to the military presence, with complaints over noise, the risk of accidents and a perception that the presence of so many young servicemen is a source of crime. There have been plans for years to move the US Marines' Futenma Air Station from a crowded urban area to a sparsely populated coastal district elsewhere on Okinawa -- some 50 kilometres (30 miles) to the north of the current location. But opponents like Onaga say Okinawa already hosts a disproportionate share of the US military presence in Japan, and the US base should be moved outside the islands altogether rather than within them. Incumbent governor Nakaima stands accused of betraying the islanders after striking a deal with Tokyo last year to approve the relocation within Okinawa. In what critics said amounted to a bribe, Abe pledged a huge cash injection to the local economy in return for Nakaima reversing years of opposition to the move, which was first mooted in the 1990s. Katsuji Miyagi 64, a retiree, told AFP he voted for Onaga. "Four years ago I voted for Nakaima but he broke his promises," he said. "I've had enough of these bases. I want no more bases in Okinawa."
- Bitter memories -
"I'd like to convey the message to the governments of Japan and the United States... that the wishes of the people here are different from the administrative action in December last year," Onaga told reporters, referring to his predecessor's about-face. Onaga, quoted by Jiji Press, said he would "act with determination" towards retracting approval for the landfill work. The current base sits in a residential district whose inhabitants bitterly recall a 2004 military helicopter crash in the grounds of a local university, and who resent the sound of roaring engines metres from their backyards. Nakaima says the relocation plan is the only realistic option to eliminate the danger of the Futenma base. The dispute taps into a vein of historical resentment. Previously an independent kingdom, Okinawa was annexed by Japan in the 19th century and was under US rule for almost three decades after World War II. In talks with US President Barack Obama Sunday, Abe stressed the importance of the security alliance with Washington. He also called for US cooperation in "easing Okinawa's burden" of hosting US forces in Japan as part of a wider realignment plan, Japanese media reported. They met on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit in the Australian city of Brisbane. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
