The start of a new era

The final whistle of the 2010 World Cup signalled the end of a chapter, bringing on managerial changes, retirements and hope for a younger generation of players. Exactly a month later teams across the globe kicked off a new chapter in the hope of a brighter future. Cameroon bounced back from 3 World Cup defeats with a 3-0 victory in Poland while Greece returned from Serbia with a 1-0 win. Guinea beat Mali 2-0 in France while Gabon enjoyed a 2-1 win over their hosts Algeria, and in an African qualifier Botswana drew 1-1 away to Malawi. Lithuania fell 2-0 to the visiting Belarusians while Iceland could only draw 1-1 at home to Liechtenstein and Oman were beaten 3-1 in Kazakhstan. Italy continued their poor form losing 1-0 to the Ivory Coast in London while Spain remain at the top of the rankings despite a 1-1 draw away to Mexico in their first match as champions.