Playing for Cameroon is still a childhood dream, says Eto'o

Samuel Eto'o says playing for Cameroon remains the childhood dream it has always been despite the recent disagreements with his nation's football authorities.

The former Inter and Barcelona star was banned for eight months by Fecafoot after leading a player revolt over late payments of appearance fees.

Eto'o boycotted his comeback game in protest but has since made his peace and will lead the line for the Indomitable Lions on Sunday, in a decisive Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

"It is always a pleasure and a childhood dream to represent 25 million people," the 31-year-old told beIN SPORT.

"They asked me to come back and I'm back," continued Eto'o, who only made his return following a plea from his country's president.

"More than a victory, I'd like to see the soul of Cameroon reborn."

The striker went on to reaffirm his desire to win silverware with Anzhi Makhachkala, something he sa ys would rank alongside his biggest achievements in the game.

"After all the great victories I've had, my biggest one will be to say in the future that I was in the group that made this club grow," he added.

"Gradually, we are beginning to create a good team and we hope that the results will follow."

However, Eto'o showed that part of his heart remains with former club Barcelona when he was asked for his thoughts on who should win the Ballon d'Or.

"I have three names, which include Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta, but if you ask me for just one I will say [Lionel] Messi," he concluded.

Watch and bet live on dozens of International games this weekend

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Below is a list of some of biggest games of the upcoming weekend and where you can watch them live thanks to Goal.com's bookmaking partners.


An early kick off on Friday sees the top two teams in Group F put their 100 per cent winning records on the line in Moscow.

Fabio Capel lo's side have been impressive in their 2-0 win over Northern Ireland and in a 4-0 demolition of Israel but will face a much more intriguing test against Paulo Bento's men.

Bet365 make the home side slight 7/4 (2.75) underdogs while Portugal are the 8/5 (2.60) favourites, the draw is a 11/5 (3.20) shot.

Both teams to score is priced at an attractive 11/10 (2.10) with Bet365. Although Russia have kept two clean sheets in their past two matches, their defence will surely be tested by a Portugal side full of attacking talent.

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Spain's defence of the World Cup started with a hard fought victory over Georgia courtesy of a late Roberto Soldado goal.

Vicente Del Bosque will hope the meeting with Belarus in Minsk is somewhat of a more comfortable affair.

The odds would certainly suggest the 61-year-old has little to worry about, the reigning champions are priced at 1/8 (1.13) to secure another away win while the hosts are longshot 14/1 (15.0) chances with Paddy Power to shock the visitors, a draw is available at 7/1 (8.0).

Spain are available at 7/5 (2.40) to win with a -2 goal handicap whilst they are 8/1 3 (1.63) to record a win to nil.

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In one of the most anticipated matches on Friday, Serbia look to build on their impressive 6-1 demolition of Wales when they take on Belgium.

The home side are priced at 6/4 (2.50) to extend their winning run while Belgium are available at 17/10 (2.70).

Despite Serbia's free-scoring result against Wales, the bookmakers expect another tight game w ith under 2.5 goals priced at 4/7 (1.57) and over 2.5 goals at 5/4 (2.25) shot.

Group A is finely balanced after the opening two matches, with Serbia, Belgium and Croatia all on four points but the Serbians leading the group due to their superior goal difference.

Belgium's last match ended in a 1-1 draw against Croatia, a repeat of that scoreline is available at 5/1 (6.0) with Paddy Power.

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South American qualification for the World Cup may be more advanced than the European section at this point but there is still plenty of play for as the table is looking very congested at the top.

Ecuador are currently in third position and secured a 1-1 draw against Uruguay in their last game whilst opponents Chile have the ability to overtake the hosts with a win in Quito on Friday evening.

The home side are now unbeaten in four games, winning three of those, all to nil, and are favourites to claim another win at 19/20 (1.95) with Bet365, Chile are rated as 3/1 (4.0) outsiders.

These two sides met in a friendly in August and Ecuador secured a comfortable 3-0 win, a rep eat of that result pays 16/1 (17.0) with Bet365.

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Argentina hold a narrow advantage at the top of the qualifying group and will hope to extend that margin when they play hots to fourth placed Uruguay.

Gonzalo Higuain has been in fine form during the campaign, with six goals to his name and Lionel Messi has amassed four goals s o far.

The home side are 1/2 (1.50) favourites to beat a Uruguay side who have only won two of their last five and were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by high flying Colombia a month ago.

The visitors are 6/1 (7.0) outsiders to collect three points that could put them top of the group if other results go their way.

Customers in the UK can watch and bet on this game live with Paddy Power. If you do not have a Paddy Power account, you can sign up for one here and take advantage of up to 250 in free bets

For more details about the live streaming of games visit Bet365 or Paddy Power

Jim Knight is Betting Editor at Goal.com and has been tipping football games since he was old e nough to place a bet. He is a Leicester City fan, writer and member of the We Are Going Up Podcast

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Porto director reveals scouting secrets

Porto general director Antonio Henrique has partially uncovered the mystery behind his club's efficient scouting organisation, which has enabled the likes of Anderson, Pepe, Deco and Hulk to leave the Portuguese giants for lucrative deals.

The Dragons have arguably one of the most successful scouting systems in place, in recent years, which has contributed to their profitable dealings in transfer windows, which most recently saw Hulk leave for Zenit St Petersburg for a reported 50 million.

"Porto's success rests on three assumptions: recruitment, development and yield," explained Henrique, speaking to France Football.

"Recruitment links with scouting, development is linked with training and productivity is linked with the performance of the player in the first team.

"Most players are young when they come to our club and end up being in training permanently."

Henrique also stressed the importance of extens ive scouting, and explained how players are scrutinised before being invited to join the Portuguese giants.

He added: "We work with 250 scouts around the world in countries that make sense for football, because we will not send anyone to Bangladesh.

"We have internal and external scouts, which are divided into several levels of observation, which allows a player to be viewed by several people.

"They work with a shadow team, which is a set of players who are identified from various leagues, who are capable of being hired by Porto."

Capello finding life tough in Russia

Russia boss Fabio Capello has admitted that he's finding it difficult to adapt to his new surroundings, but is determined to overcome any obstacles as he tries to guide the national team to World Cup 2014.

The former England coach replaced Dick Advocaat at the helm after a disappointing Euro 2012 campaign, but he has so far struggled to settle.

"Everything is written in Cyrillic, and it's difficult to read and to learn the Cyrillic alphabet," Capello stated to Uefa.com.

"I always need a translator, and it makes it a bit more difficult to say what I want to say. Sometimes the right expression, the right word, helps you a lot. So I would say it's really difficult.

"But as with all difficult challenges, I like to take them on.

"I have just arrived and I am living in a hotel. Moscow is a beautiful city. Russia is a nation full of development. You see many nice things. For example all the stadiums are built fo r the World Cup, the infrastructure, so it's really a nation worth living in."

Russia are currently preparing for the World Cup 2014 qualifiers against Portugal and Azerbaijan.

Criscito: Italy recall a form of recognition not revenge

Domenico Criscito says his recall to the Italy set-up should be seen as recognition of his consistent performances for Zenit St Petersburg rather than the opportunity to take revenge on his country's governing body (FIGC).

The 26-year-old was ejected from the Azzurri's 23-man squad for Euro 2012 after being implicated in the Scommessopoli betting scandal earlier in the summer, as his room at the Coverciano training camp was searched by police.

But despite question marks over his international future being raised, the former Juventus defender was selected once more by coach Cesare Prandelli for the side's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Armenia and Denmark.

"I do not consider this as a mission for revenge, but rather a recognition of my recent performances," Criscito told reporters.

"I'm glad [to have returned to the side] and now I never want to vacate this jersey."

The Euro 2012 run ners-up travel to Armenia on October 12, before hosting Denmark four days later.

Emanuelson: Abbiati was amazing and I can only applaud him

Urby Emanuelson has taken the time to praise Christian Abbiati in the wake of AC Milan's hard-fought 3-2 Champions League Group C win over Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.

The experienced goalkeeper pulled off a number of superb saves to help the Rossoneri to the full three points, and the former Ajax man feels the 35-year-old was extraordinary.

"Abbiati was amazing I don't know what he has been eating! He was our captain today, and the way he played all I can do is applaud him," the Dutchman was quoted as saying on the Uefa website.

"Today was really important as we drew our first game with Anderlecht: we could not afford to lose here. We are really happy with the victory. We worked as a team and it was a great result.

"We started well but after we had gone 2-0 up, Zenit got stronger and stronger. Their scoring right at the end of the first half was bad for us, but it was good we won in the end."

Mil an resume Serie A action on Sunday against arch-rivals Inter.

Zenit triumph a big boost, but AC Milan must beat Inter to turn the corner

COMMENT
By Kris Voakes Italian Football Writer

It was three points that they needed more than anything, and AC Milan got exactly that from their Champions League trip to face Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday, but the 3-2 victory must not cloud the fact that the Rossoneri still need to make massive improvements in order to turn around their slow start to the season.

After an opening 16 minutes in which they scared the living daylights out of Luciano Spallettis side, Milan should have gone on to win comfortably, but instead they decided to stop doing all the things that had given them an early 2-0 lead and very nearly handed a victory on a plate to the Russian side as a result.

Urby Emanuelsons run at the heart of the Zenit side resulted in a free-kick when Viktor Fayzulin foolishly brought him down just when he appeared to be running into a cul-de-sac. The Dutchman got up and sent a free-kick goalwards, and Roma n Shirokovs deflection sent it beyond Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Within minutes, Stephan El Shaarawy was making the most of more disorganisation in the home defence, turning three players inside out before sliding home a fantastic second goal. But that was about as good as it had threatened to get for Massimiliano Allegris troops.

As soon as they had scored their second, they appeared to rest on their laurels, and a Zenit side which is going through an even more uneasy spell than the Diavolo were suddenly being made to look like world-beaters. Christian Abbiati quickly became the most vital player on the pitch as he pulled off save after save as Milan were unable to stem the flow of attacks, with Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Hulk in particular looking to cause real problems. The former Porto striker hit one effort which resulted in a stunning one-handed stop from the 35-year-old worthy of any highlights reel.

When Hulk narrowed the lead on the stroke of half-time, it came as little surprise, and Shirokovs equaliser four minutes into the second period was the least that Zenit had deserved. When the home side continued to enjoy the greater possession and territory, it appeared that there would only be one winner.

However, the one saving grace was that this remained a poor Zenit side with an extremely soft underbelly, and with a short burst of increased ball retention, Milan did enough to claim all three points. Some smart movement of the ball resulted in Riccardo Montolivo finding space on the right, from where he played a low cross which Giampaolo Pazzini met with a near-post touch which was eventually turned in by defender Tomas Hubocan.

Again Milan lived dangerously, with Aleksandr Anyukov forcing another spectacular save from Abbiati, but they just about held on until full-time to clinch three vital points. The result should and will be used to help inject some morale into the squad, but it must not b e considered the turning point, since this was no better a performance than we have seen on many occasions already this term.

The defence still looked uncertain, another goal was shipped from a set piece their sixth such concession this season and there was still a lethargy about their midfield that has been evident from the end of August right through to today. El Shaarawy continues to be the one stunningly bright light in an otherwise unconvincing outfit, and there needs to be more variety and solidity on show on Sunday if the Rossoneri are to beat Inter.

As much as derbies are always key, this one is particularly vital to Allegri and Milan. Win it, and there will be every reason to believe in them being able to weather the storm and come out of the other side. Lose it, and there is a very real chance that those at Via Turati will see the result in Russia for what it was: a riding of fortune against a team going through a truly torrid period at t he moment.

So well done Milan; a good result has been gained. But if the real target of a turning of the corner is to be achieved, then it is against their nearest and dearest that they will have make their greatest statement yet.

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