“Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson faces another day of reckoning on Saturday against a Costa Rica team who will be attempting to pull off a repeat of their famous Azteca stadium win eight years ago.” (Reuters)

Del Bosque: Spain squad fully fit for Turkey (FIFA)
“The five Spanish players who joined up with the squad with minor problems have recovered and will be available for the two World Cup qualifiers against Turkey, coach Vicente del Bosque said on Friday.”

Enke keen to prove he is Germany’s #1 (ESPN)
“Robert Enke will start tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in Leipzig determined to prove he deserves to be Germany’s number one.”

The head-to-heads tell a story (AFC)
“With four steaming 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in queue for Saturday, the-afc.com glances in the rearview mirror for trends and patterns involving the rival teams.”

Absences of Yorke, Suazo create voids for Trinidad & Tobago, Honduras (CONCACAF)
“This is not the time in World Cup qualifying to be without your scoring inspirations. Trinidad and Tobago will be without Dwight Yorke while David Suazo will be missing from the Honduras starting 11 in as for both teams face off in the second match of the final round of qualifying Saturday in Port-of-Spain.”

Off-field issues settled, El Salvador now gathers for World Cup tilt against USA (CONCACAF)
“El Salvador recorded an important victory last week and it wasn’t on the soccer field. Earlier in the week 23 players left training camp for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier, protesting the non-payment of bonuses for reaching the CONCACAF final round.”

Preview – Ecuador v Brazil (sambafoot)
“Brazil meet Ecuador in Quito for a World Cup qualifier on Sunday. Dunga’s men are in need of a victory – 2nd in the table six points behind Paraguay – however Ecuador has proved problematic to Brazil in the past.”

Weekend Predictions: Victory for El Diego, Frustration for France, Survival for Sven (WorldCupBlog)
“Very little club football this weekend, it’s all about World Cup qualifying. Below are my picks for three games, one from COMNEBOL, one from UEFA and one from CONCACAF. And I dare you – make that double dare you – to leave your own predictions in the comments.”

Oranje aid helps Huntelaar to sparkle (uefa)
“International football helped Klaas Jan Huntelaar come through a tough spell at Real Madrid CF and he is hoping to ‘keep up the goalscoring tempo’ as the Netherlands face two key FIFA World Cup qualifiers.”

Portugal results queer Queiroz’s pitch (uefa)
“Coach Carlos Queiroz is confident 2009 will be a good year for Portugal, but as they attempt to make up for lost points in FIFA World Cup qualifying – starting against Sweden on Saturday – he warns: ‘We can’t afford to drop any more points at home.'”