France Star Vieira and Portugal’s Quaresma Can Only Look On

Saturday, 14th November 2009

Whilst the France team is preparing to take on the Irish for a place at the World Cup in South Africa, Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira will be turning out in Liechtenstein against FC Vaduz. As so often in an international break, the Serie A giants have opted to play a friendly, but the team-sheet reads like a who’s who of stars overlooked for international duty.

Standing out the most are Patrick Vieira, Ricardo Quaresma and Walter Samuel. The situation of Vieira in particular highlights his need for regular first-team football should he stand any chance of forcing his way back into France’s World Cup plans. The former Arsenal enforcer has been linked with several clubs in the January transfer window and the chances must be high that he will accept one of the offers on his table.

At present however, both Vieira and Quaresma can do nothing but watch France and Portugal attempt to qualify for the World Cup without them.

Latest Features: