Kiwis to meet Chile in warm-up (New Zealand)

New Zealand will play Chile in a training match in the lead up to their opening match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ in June.

The game on 9 June - six days ahead of New Zealand's FIFA World Cup opener against Slovakia - would likely be played behind closed doors in three 30 minute spells, New Zealand Football said on Tuesday.

"I think we've got some really good fixtures lined up leading into our arrival in South Africa so something a bit more informal will be an ideal opportunity to finalise our build-up," New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert said.

"We may tinker with positions and personnel, but we aim to be heading into the opening game against Slovakia with all those bases covered and players fully aware of what they need to do."

New Zealand Football also said New Zealand and Australian players will go into a camp from 28 April to 10 May before the South Africa 2010 squad of 23 is named.

The All Whites, who have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1982, will play friendlies against Australia, Serbia and Slovenia in late May and early June on the way to South Africa.

Edu toasts timely resurgence (USA)

American midfielder Maurice Edu has had his ups and downs.

Cutting a university career short to join Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Toronto FC in 2007, the bustling, brawny workhorse looked to be on his way straight to the top. He won the North American league’s ‘rookie of the year’ award, given out to the best first-year player each season, and followed it up with a series of successful appearances for USA's national team.

Three days after his stint at the 2008 Olympic Games in August ended, the versatile ‘Mo’ – who deputised creditably at centre-back in Beijing – was on a plane to Glasgow, signing for Scottish giants Rangers. Inside a year-and-a-half, the 23 year old had exploded on the MLS scene, outgrown it, become a regular for his national team and signed a lucrative deal with a prestigious European club.

Queiroz: The doors are wide open (Portugal)

Carlos Queiroz is wrapped up in the excitement that only the FIFA World Cup™ can deliver: the Portugal coach is finally poised for involvement in the sport's showpiece event.

He is, however, intimately familiar with the tournament's host nation, South Africa. Queiroz, indeed, spent two years at the helm of Bafana Bafana, guiding them to qualification for Korea/Japan 2002 before resigning before the competition began. With less than 100 days to go until the big kick-off, FIFA.com caught up with the Mozambique-born 57-year-old to discuss A Selecção das Quinas's qualification campaign and preparations for the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA.com: Carlos, how are Portugal’s preparations going for the tournament?
Carlos Queiroz: Were moving forward. Presently we are just putting all the details in place and trying to create the right harmony. There’s just a little bit of concern with one or two issues: for example, how the players will come to the camp, how they are going to start training, when to travel. To prepare the team with different stages involved is difficult.

With little time remaining until kick-off, what is the most important work left to do?
At this moment, I would say it is to pray for the players not to become injured - that’s the most important thing. Because once you have a clear picture about the situation of your team and views regarding the future, it’s important that everyone is in good shape when it's time to deliver.

Villans back Milner to dazzle (England)

Stiliyan Petrov believes his Aston Villa team-mate James Milner will be the star of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, provided he maintains his current form. The Bulgarian is confident the versatile 24-year-old has the quality to make a telling impact for England if he is part of Fabio Capello's squad.

The Three Lions coach saw Milner turn in another fine display, despite scoring an own goal, during Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"James was a wide player, but he has always preferred to play in the middle," explained Petrov. "He has been doing really well. His energy is amazing and he has helped the team a lot.

"He can play anywhere. He has been brilliant and if he continues to progress like that, he will be the star of the World Cup. He has both the ability and the attitude to make a real impact.

"He has scored ten goals from midfield, which is really good. He has the licence to get forward and he shows great composure in front of goal. His work-rate is great, as well. He deserves everything he gets."

Villa winger Ashley Young echoed Petrov's sentiments about Milner, who was signed from Newcastle United in 2008 for a club record £12m.

"Regardless of what position James has played, he's just been tremendous all season," said the former Watford player. He's definitely a contender to be player of the season already.

"He has been fantastic for us and the way he goes about his job is just exceptional. We've got quality players in the middle there like James and Stiliyan but then we've got the likes of Steve Sidwell and Fabian Delph too. We've got competition but Milly has been brilliant for us, just brilliant."