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Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann says the World Cup hosts are more than capable of defeating Costa Rica in today’s opener in Munich even without their injured captain Michael Ballack.
   Ballack has been ruled out of the game with a calf injury but, while acknowledging the importance of his skipper, Klinsmann is confident his team still have the ammunition to gun down Costa Rica.
   ‘It seems that Michael Ballack cannot play against Costa Rica,’ Klinsmann said at a press conference Thursday. ‘Of course we wanted him on board as he is our captain and leader but it is important that he recovers.
   ‘It is not a problem as we have different options with (Tim) Borowski and (Sebastian) Kehl.’
   Germany are expected to cruise past Costa Rica but Klinsmann says the players are not feeling the burden of expectation from their demanding public and media.
   ‘We cannot influence the expectation level and the opinion that we are going to march through this group,’ Klinsmann admitted.
   ‘I do not know how many newspapers the players are reading but I can assure you it is not disturbing them. The team knows what it wants.
   ‘We want to start with a win and three points against Costa Rica.’
   Costa Rica are expected to be lambs to the slaughter but Germany should beware as opening World Cup games can spring surprises – just ask France.
   Four years ago holders France opened the tournament against African side Senegal and lost 1-0.
   In contrast Germany started the 2002 World Cup with an 8-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia as they surged to the final which Brazil won 2-0.
   Miroslav Klose scored a hat-trick in that win over the Saudis and will hope for a repeat against Costa Rica on Friday when he celebrates his 28th birthday.
   ‘We will be pumped up from the first whistle and play at a high tempo,’ Klose declared.
   ‘If we can keep Costa Rica penned in their own half then we have a great chance of scoring the first goal.’
   It is also a special game for goalkeeper Jens Lehmann who will make his World Cup debut at the age of 36.
   ‘I have waited a long time for this and cannot wait to get out there,’ Lehmann said.
   Arsenal custodian Lehmann was deputy to Oliver Kahn at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups but now it is Kahn’s turn to play second fiddle.
   It will be particularly painful for Bayern Munich man Kahn as the game is being played on his home ground in Munich.
   Costa Rica, playing in their third World Cup, are expected to roll over against three-time winners Germany but former West Ham United and Manchester City striker Paolo Wanchope believes his team are capable of pulling off a major shock.
   ‘I don’t see any problem with Costa Rica being able to beat Germany,’ said Wanchope, his country’s all-time top-scorer with 43 goals.
   ‘Regardless of it being Germany, that we’re up against, you just have to go out there and win the game. Our way of doing things is to try to play good, attractive football.’
   Teams
   Germany (4-4-2): 1-Jens Lehmann; 3-Arne Friedrich, 21-Christoph Metzelder, 17-Per Mertesacker, 16-Phillip Lahm; 18-Bernd Schneider, 8-Torsten Frings, 18-Tim Borowski 7-Bastian Schweinsteiger; 20-Lukas Podolski, 11-Miroslav Klose
   Coach: Juergen Klinsmann
   Costa Rica (3-5-2): 18-Jose Francisco Porras; 4-Michael Umana, 3-Luis Marin, 12-Leonardo Gonzalez; 20-Douglas Sequeira, 5-Gilberto Martinez, 8-Mauricio Solis, 10-Walter Centeno, 6-Danny Fonseca; 11-Ronald Gomez, 9-Paulo Wanchope
   Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)
   
   New Age calls
   Openers are known for upsets and Germany will be playing without Ballack. But for that very reason we expect the man-machines to be more careful, take the lead, and fall back to the defense. The Central Americans are just not the upset type, you need Africans for that.
   Germany 1-0 Costa Rica

A smiling Wayne Rooney resumed training at England’s base camp in
   southern Germany on Thursday,
   giving the side a huge boost ahead of their World Cup campaign.
   The 20-year-old striker was put through his paces with
   his team-mates and showed no ill effects in his first run-out since jetting back from Manchester after being given the green light to play in the World Cup.
   Rooney was seen stretching, jogging, skipping and kicking the ball on a hot day in the tiny village of Buhlertal just outside Baden-Baden ahead of England’s opening match against Paraguay in Frankfurt on Saturday.
   The talismanic star returned to the Black Forest Wednesday evening after a day trip to Manchester for scan on his injured right foot which confirmed that he would be able to play in the tournament at some stage.
   Rooney’s own confidence in his ability to repeat the kind of impact he made as an 18-year-old at Euro 2004 was reflected in a gung-ho declaration on his return.
   ‘The big man’s back in town,’ he was quoted as saying by reporters based in the team hotel.
   Exactly when he will be ready to play remains unclear although England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has always been hopeful of having him available from the start of the knockout stages.
   United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes Rooney’s broken metatarsal is insufficiently healed to permit his participation in the World Cup, but in a statement the club said there was a ‘good chance’ he would be available after the group stages, should England qualify.
   However, they still struck a cautious note.
   ‘He is now in the care of the England medical team. The expert independent medical view is that Wayne has a good chance of being fit after the group stage,’ the club said on its website.
   ‘At that point, the expert independent medical view is that his participation in the tournament will require
   very careful assessment in order to address his suitability, as he will not have had the opportunity to play in less demanding games.’
   The statement backed up widely-held predictions that Rooney will not play any part in England’s group B matches, against Paraguay on Saturday and then Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden.
   The fact that he could play at all seemed highly unlikely
   after he broke a metatarsal
   bone in his right foot while playing against Chelsea on April 29.
   His return to the England camp came at the end of a hectic day that began with an early morning flight Wednesday from Germany.
   The midday scan only took 25 minutes to complete, leaving Rooney with a free afternoon which he spent at the family home of his girlfriend, Coleen McLoughlin, in his home city of Liverpool.
   Rooney returned to the clinic in the early evening and was cloistered there for two hours as discussions continued between the England team’s Swedish doctor, Leif Sward, and Manchester United’s top medic, Tony Gill.
   An official from FIFA, who had been primed to mediate between club and country in the event of a dispute over the interpretation of the scan, was also present.
   United have appeared reluctant to risk Rooney playing in the World Cup but the player himself has always been desperate to play, and his youth
   and fitness appear to have enabled him to make an odds-defying recovery from a serious injury.
   Rooney has been training and kicking a football since the end of last week and his energetic approach to England’s workouts had triggered a surge in optimism that he would be given the all-clear to play.
   The broad grin of FA executive director David Davies as he accompanied Rooney out of hospital also spoke volumes about the importance of the Liverpool-born star for England’s quest to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

Four Argentine players underwent random anti-doping tests this week
   at the squad’s base in southern Germany, a team source said Thursday.
   Striker Hernan Crespo, Boca Juniors player Rodrigo Palacio and West Ham’s midfielder Lionel Scaloni as well as another unidentified player were tested by FIFA at the town of Herzogenaurach on Tuesday, a team source said.
   ‘The routine, surprise tests were carried out by FIFA among all the teams and will be carried out again,’ the Argentina source told AFP. A spokesman for world football’s governing body confirmed that ‘surprise, out-of-competition’ tests have been carried out in recent weeks on teams taking part in the World Cup.
   ‘All teams are undergoing such tests by FIFA doctors,’ spokesman Andreas Herren told AFP.

The long wait finally ends with the World Cup kicking off today and I expect a mouth-watering tournament this time with countless stars twinkling for different teams. The month-long fiesta will attract the highest number of fans around the globe than all the previous editions, courtesy of satellite television and of course, I will be one of them.
   At this moment, I can’t help but wait for the opening game between Germany and Costa Rica, a match which has developed a tradition of causing a major upset. However, I believe it will be very difficult for Costa Rica to live up to it, as Germany are far ahead of them as a team.
   In the FIFA world ranking, Germany is languishing at 19, only seven positions ahead of Costa Rica (26). It suggests that the teams are very close in strength, but reality is contrasting. Germany have a bunch of quality players, led by their inspirational captain Michael Ballack. I also fully support coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s decision to give Jens Lehmann the number one shirt ahead of Oliver Kahn as the Arsenal custodian is now in superb form.
   Germany also have a few other world class players such as, Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski. The only thing that can prevent Germany from a convincing victory is the pressure of playing on home ground, but I believe they are the side fully capable of overcoming it.
   And of course we should not forget Gilberto Martinez and Paulo Wanchope of Costa Rica. They have the ability to stun any superpower and the great team spirit of the Central American side should spur them on.
   Poland will take on Ecuador in the second game and it is very difficult to predict the outcome of the match as both teams have a contrasting style of play. I will keep Poland slightly ahead because of the experience of their players in different European leagues. Among the Polish players I think striker Maciej Zurawski has the most potential to make an impact on the game.

FIFA will be using computer technology to clarify whether a goal is an own goal or not for the first time when the World Cup starts today.
   Holger Osieck, the head of FIFA’s technical study group, told reporters on Thursday that for the first time all 13 members would see detailed technical images of any dubious goals downloaded to their laptops.
   A verdict from the group would then be made as soon as possible.
   ‘Previous tournaments have been dotted with decisions about what constitutes an own goal which appeared to lack clear guidelines,’ he told a news coference.
   ‘On the basis of fairness and positive approach the benefit of the doubt should always be given to the attacker.’
   Andy Roxburgh, UEFA’s technical director and a member of the FIFA technical group added: ‘No matter where a member is in Germany, he will get images of the goal on his laptop and the decision will be made by the whole group as soon as possible.
   ‘If a goal has been awarded wrongly, the decision will be rectified by the next day at the latest.’
   FIFA clarified new regulations on own goals in 1997 and Roxburgh added: ‘There are three clear guidelines on what constitutes an own goal—or who should be credited as the official goalscorer.
   ‘If a goal-bound shot accidentally bounces off a team mate into the opponent’s goal, the goal will be awarded to the player who struck the ball towards the target in the first place.
   ‘If a goal bound shot is intentionally re-directed into an opponent’s net, the goal will be credited to the player whose action produced the change of direction.
   ‘If a shot is going wide and is then deflected or re-directed into the opponent’s goal by a team mate or an opponent then this player will be credited with the goal.
   ‘So if it just brushes your team mate’s leg and goes in, or hits an opponent and goes in, the player attempting to score is credited with the goal. If it obviously has changed direction, then it is either an own goal, or your team mates.’
   Own goals are rare in the World Cup; there have only been 24 in the 644 matches played in the finals since 1930.
   The most infamous and ultimately tragic own goal was scored by Andres Escobar of Colombia against the United States in 1994.
   He was murdered when he returned home a few days later after gamblers in Colombia blamed him for their heavy losses following Colombia’s 2-1 defeat in the match.
   As well as deciding on goal-scorers, the study group, established in 1966, will also be observing new trends and innovations in the game and nominating the players for the various FIFA Awards made at the end of the tournament including the All-Star team, the 64 Man of the Match awards and the Young Player of the tournament.
   It also compiles the list of outstanding players from which journalists choose the Golden Ball winner for Player of the Tournament.

British bookmakers are experiencing a surge in backing for England to win the World Cup after a businessman in the United Arab Emirates bet 50,000 pounds on Sven-Goran Eriksson and his men.
   The bet is the biggest World Cup wager accepted so far by bookmakers William Hill and was placed at odds of 6-1.
   A spokesman for William Hill said England had been receiving support from all over the world. A Chinese client has staked 20,000 pounds on an England triumph in Germany and there have also been big wagers from individuals in France, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Finland, Greece and Norway.
   Even the Scots – famous for their preference for England defeats – are getting in on the act with a punter north of the border splashing out 1,000 pounds on the chance of the ‘auld enemy’ going all the way.
   ‘To date the vast majority of bets on England to win have been from patriotic English punters but it now looks like there is a world-wide gamble on England winning the greatest prize in football,’ said Rupert Adams, a spokesman for Hills.
   ‘No longer is it England expects, the whole world is expectant.’
   The surge of money behind England has not, however, affected Brazil’s status as short-odds favourites to lift the trophy for the sixth time.
   Latest betting from William Hill:
   9/4 Brazil, 6/1 England, 7/1 Germany, 8/1 Argentina, 9/1 Italy, 12/1 France, 14/1 Spain, 14/1 Holland, 22/1 Portugal, 33/1 Czech Republic, 40/1 Sweden, 50/1 Mexico, 50/1 Ivory Coast, 66/1 Ukraine, 66/1 Croatia, 80/1 USA, 80/1 Australia, 100/1 Serbia and Montenegro, 100/1 Poland, 150/1 Switzerland, 200/1 Korea Rep, 200/1 Paraguay, 200/1 Japan, 250/1 Ghana, 400/1 Tunisia, 400/1 Ecuador, 500/1 Togo, 500/1 Iran, 500/1 Costa Rica, 500/1 Saudi Arabia, 750/1 Angola, 1000/1 Trinidad And Tobago.

Though each of the 32 team captains at the 2006 World Cup Germany have their own unique style of leadership, they are all united by a common goal – to raise football’s most coveted Trophy in Berlin’s Olympiastadion on July 9.
   The duties of a team leader begin long before a ball is kicked. As the respective captains go in search of glory this summer, they will, among other things, exchange the pennants of their national federations, pledge to abide by the spirit of fair play, and decide which direction to play in should the toss go their way.
   In the event of normal and extra time not settling an encounter, the captain is also required to contest another toss of the coin to decide which side will take the first penalty.
   In the case of a disputed decision during the course of a game, meanwhile, only the man with the armband is supposed to ask the referee about his call. It is also his responsibility to keep tempers in check among his players and try to prevent an accumulation of red or yellow cards.
   Above all, the skipper’s role is to motivate and drive his team to victory. Amid the deafening roar of a packed World Cup stadium, it will be nigh on impossible for a coach screaming from the sidelines to make himself heard, making it the captain’s responsibility to be the coach’s mouthpiece out on the pitch – another reason why the armband is normally only entrusted to the most experienced players.
   The average age of the skippers at Germany 2006 is 31.3. Nine of these seasoned pros – Brazil’s Cafu, Costa Rica’s Luis Marin, Ecuador’s Ivan Hurtado, France’s Zinedine Zidane, Iran’s Ali Daei, Saudi Arabia’s Sami Al Jaber, the Netherlands’ Edwin van der Sar, Paraguay’s Carlos Gamarra and the USA’s Claudio Reyna – are members of the prestigious FIFA Century Club, having each made at least 100 appearances in their national colours.
   As well as these battle-hardened veterans, FIFAworldcup.com has come up with four other categories with which to classify the remaining skippers. These are the ‘role models’ – those players who set a shining example for the whole team to follow; the ‘organisers’ – man-managers who can step into the coach’s shoes and give orders on the pitch; the ‘motivators’ – players who can boost the team’s morale and drive them on with their will to win; and the ‘goalscorers’ – the clinical finishers who can be relied on to find the back of the net when it matters most.

Two-footed tackles will be punished with a red card and referees who are lenient with this dangerous aspect of the game will be sent home from the World Cup, Argentina have been told.
   The twice world champions were visited by a referees’ commission to fill them in on the regulations officials will be follow by the book in the tournament starting on Friday.
   ‘We came to explain what the rules are now,’ Argentine former international referee Francisco Lamolina told reporters at the squad’s training base.
   Lamolina said all two-footed forward lunges at opponents are an automatic red card offence.
   ‘Those referees who are lenient with this will go home,’ said Lamolina, who officiated at the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.
   Argentina’s captain Juan Pablo Sorin said: ‘We went over FIFA’s latest amendments to the laws. One has to get up to date and be prepared before the tournament starts.’

Hosts Germany and holders Brazil are the favourites to lift the World Cup, according to three former South American winners attending the opening of the 56th FIFA Congress on Wednesday.
   Brazil’s triumphant 1994 captain Dunga and Osvaldo Ardiles, a midfield wizard in Argentina’s victorious team in 1978, made Brazil clear favourites.
   Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia, who struck Uruguay’s winner in the 1950 final against Brazil, preferred to favour Germany.
   Ghiggia, 79, told reporters: ‘I have great emotions now when I still remember that day.
   ‘I remember the people everywhere, a great atmosphere and smiling faces all around when we won the World Cup. I was so proud for my country and that is the same today I think for all the players.
   ‘The goal...was a great moment, and there were 200,000 people there. It was fantastic.’
   Ghiggia said playing at home might make all the difference for Germany.
   ‘This is going to be a very difficult World Cup, very closely-contested, and I believe Germany should be the favourites here because they are playing at home and that makes so much difference,’ he said.
   ‘I hope a South American team is capable of winning here and surprising everyone. The Brazilians have some great players and I think Ronaldinho is perhaps the best in the world but he has to prove that here.’
   Dunga, who also led Brazil in 1998, said: ‘It is always so difficult to know what will happen at a World Cup but I think Brazil can win.
   ‘They must be the favourites because they are the holders and they have so many truly great players.’
   Dunga said England would find it tough.
   ‘For the first time, I think England have a lot of good players of high technical level together at the same time and they have a lot of creative players, too, but they have the same old problem,’ he said.
   ‘When there is a lot of sunshine, in the second half, they can’t do it. They can’t keep up the pace for a whole game. If it is very hot, they just fade away and they can’t show what they can do.’
   Ardiles was less critical of England.
   ‘For me, Brazil are the outstanding favourites, a great team, full of great players, they have everything,’ he said.
   ‘England had a good chance before Wayne Rooney was injured but now it is difficult to say. They can reach the last four, the same as Argentina.’

Brazil midfielder Juninho believes he is ready to fill the huge World Cup void left in the world champions’ team by the injury-enforced absence of Edmilson.
   ‘The coach will decide but I am ready and I want to help Brazil,’ said the Lyon midfielder who has been tipped to take over from the Barcelona man who was ruled out of the tournament because of a ruptured knee.
   ‘I know that I can play a role and it’s important to know that the coach can count on us. It’s not just me, we are all ready. I’m ready to help Brazil to victory.’
   Juninho has just helped Lyon clinch a fifth successive French league title and his inspirational form has had many observers of the Brazil team suggesting that he should be in the national team even though Edmilson has crafted an international career as the defensive covering man.
   In training, the belief that he will play in Brazil’s opening match against Croatia in Berlin on Tuesday was heightened on Wednesday when he played a major role with Ronaldinho in practising free-kicks.
   Whether he plays or not, Juninho believes that Brazil, bidding for a sixth world title, face one of their most challenging World Cup campaigns.
   ‘Everyone talks of our team’s quality but, as far as I’m concerned, we face the most difficult tournaments in recent times because we are the team to beat.
   ‘Everybody waits for us, everybody will play their best against us and we have to take care. But with the quality we have in our team, we should be able to win.’
   Juninho shares Ronaldinho’s demands that flair players should be protected at the World Cup.
   ‘Football has to be preserved,’ he said. ‘The team which has the ball and is going forward has to be protected. Sadly there will be referees who protect the violent players and others who won’t get involved.
   ‘But I hope this will be a World Cup of technique and quality because these are more important than tactics.’

Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedved limped off the training ground on Thursday, but coach Karel Brueckner played down the injury ahead of the start of the World Cup.
   Nedved, the former Czech captain who returned from self-imposed exile to help the team qualify for the tournament, appeared to hurt his left knee.
   ‘It is not an injury. This is normal, it is light,’ Brueckner said afterwards. The 33-year-old player nursed what looked like an ice pack over his knee but was later able to jog on it.

Towering England striker Peter Crouch is among Paraguay coach Anibal Ruiz’s main concerns as he draws up his battle plans ahead of their first World Cup Group B match on Saturday.
   ‘Peter Crouch is a concern for me,’ the soft-spoken Ruiz told reporters on Thursday. ‘We hardly come across players like Peter Crouch. Very seldom.’
    The 6 foot 7 inches (2.04 metres) Liverpool striker has been outstanding for both club and country in recent months, even scoring a hat-trick against Jamaica in a friendly match last week.
   Ruiz said Crouch’s coordination and his ability to shoot and play with his head was very good.
   ‘He has this harmony in his movements, a coordination that is very good and he also can go back and help with the game building,’ Ruiz said.
   Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra, who has his work cut out for Saturday, said he was not troubled by Crouch’s size.
   ‘I like playing tall players because that means you can get more physical.’
   Gamarra, the anchor in his team’s defence and among the game’s fairest defenders, said size did not matter.
   ‘It does not matter how tall you are but how you can keep the ball,’ said Gamarra, who did not commit a single foul during four games in the previous World Cup.
   Asked what he thought of Crouch’s goal celebration, known as the ‘Crouch shuffle,’ striker Roque Santa Cruz said: ‘I like it but I don’t want to see it on Saturday.’

Some 1.5 billion people worldwide are expected to watch Germany face Costa Rica on television at the opening match of football’s World Cup, German public broadcaster ZDF said Thursday.
   ‘Football fans in 200 countries will be able to watch the game in Munich live,’ ZDF sports director Dieter Gruschwitz said, referring to today’s opener.
   Media experts estimate 15 to 20 million Germans will be glued to their sets during the first match with hundreds of thousands more expected at public viewing screens erected throughout the country. —AFP
   
   Band of brothers
   Argentina are ready to play their hearts out in the World Cup finals like a band of brothers, captain Juan Pablo Sorin said Wednesday.
   ‘This is a collective dream. There’s a lot of hope, a lot of expectation and we’re focusing on the first game.... We know we’re 23 brothers,’ the Villareal left back said.
   ‘We’re going in their with our soul, we’re playing for what we love most in our lives, the Argentinian shirt,’ he told a crowd of mainly Argentine journalists at the team’s base in the small southern German town of Herzogenaurach.
   Argentina open their campaign in Group C against Cote d’Ivoire in Hamburg on Saturday, and the players appear to be chanting the same message in unison: the first game is crucial to Argentina’s fortunes.
   ‘The first game is the key. But I think it’s also important not to lose,’ Sorin said, warning of the west Africans’ strengths.
   Argentina’s managers have quietly marshalled pressure from home media in Germany, keeping at a distance and training largely out of sight following the upsets that surrounded their early exit from the last World Cup.
   Two players have attended a press conference at the end of each day, but coach Jose Pekerman has kept a low profile and even the players have given little hint of their tactics.
   Sorin is one of Pekerman’s proteges, having skippered Argentina’s youth team to a world championship under the current national team coach. — AFP
   
   Bonet not scared of Beckham
   Paraguay’s Carlos Bonet, detailed to mark David Beckham out of the action in Saturday’s Group B clash with England in Frankfurt, insisted on Wednesday the Real Madrid star and his compatriots hold no fears for the Latin American outsiders.
   ‘I don’t think we have to play things a special way against England. We know their players are very competent but they don’t scare us,’ Bonet insisted.
   Bonet added that the midfield duel would be where the outcome of the battle would be decided as he and Beckham come face to face while Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard look to make English class tell in the middle of the park.
   Roberto Acuna, Humberto Paredes and Cristian Riveros will seek to hold the line for Paraguay as they try to turn the tables and cause a shock upset 20 years after they succumbed 3-0 in a second-round encounter, the last time the countries met competitively.
   Bonet was nonetheless quick to say he admired Beckham’s talent, the Libertad star said.
   ‘He certainly puts over a great ball with his crosses,’ he told reporters. Coach Anibal ‘Mano’ Ruiz is set to throw Bonet and Riveros into the fray in an attempt to stunt England’s creativity rather than the more offensively-minded Edgar Barreto and Julio Dos Santos.
   — AFP
   
   Roberto Carlos recipe
   Brazilian wingback Roberto Carlos warned his teammates on Wednesday not to be overconfident and to be patient as they chase a fourth straight run to the final and a sixth title in all.
   ‘It’s a short competition and there’s no room for mistakes,’ the Real Madrid defender said as he contemplated a second triumph for the arrived after 2002 ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Croatia.
   ‘We are talking to the youngsters a lot to impress on them what the World Cup is all about. Most of them play for a big club and have big-match experience but a World Cup is different,’ said the 33-year-old veteran of the side which lost the 1998 final to France.
   Oozing talent, Brazil are favourites to make it six titles in all - but Roberto Carlos said they must take nothing for granted.
   ‘Everyone thinks it’s easy but we have to keep focused. Over the past 12 years Brazil has been in the final (1994, 1998, 2002) and we must retain this mentality while respecting opponents.
   ‘We mustn’t fall into thinking we are the best - we lost the 1998 World Cup and the 1997 Copa America like that,’ he noted, adding that Brazil had to watch out for Croatia on the counter attack.
   Last year the teams parted 1-1 in a friendly when Croatia threw caution to the wind up front - a tactic Roberto Carlos doesn’t expect to see this time.
   ‘Frankly, I don’t think they’ll put three up front against us at a World Cup. But Croatia are a good side with experienced players of quality. I think for us it will be important to keep our nerve and control the ball.’
   With an ageing defence Brazil’s strengths appear greatest in attack, as is their tradition.
   But Roberto Carlos insisted that ‘we have a solid back line.
   ‘And in addition to that, we’ll certainly get goals as we have a fantastic group of players up front.’—AFP
   
   German poll sees Japan as surprise package
   A straw poll of German football fans make Japan their pick of potential dark horse teams to have a good World Cup, if not actually to lift the trophy.
   According to the random sample in German newspaper ‘Bild’ of some 1000 fans 35 percent thought Japan, coached by former Brazil star Zico, would make an impact - though their group rivals include the Brazilians as well as Croatia and Australia.
   Another 12 per cent plumped for African Nations Cup finalists the Ivory Coast ahead of the United States and Switzerland, while eight percent thought the Australians under Dutch coach and former Korean handler Guus Hiddink men would go a long way.
   Responding to an earlier poll on who will win the competition, 44 per cent went with the Brazilians ahead of 20 per cent for the German hosts. — AFP
   
   Thai elephants kick off ‘Jumbo’ WC
   Eight elephants in northern Thailand have kicked off their own World Cup, painting their faces in team colors and staging their own tournament with a jumbo-sized ball.
   Four teams with two elephants each are representing Brazil, Germany, Italy and Spain at the Mae Sa elephant camp outside the city of Chiang Mai.
   The elephants can use either their front or rear feet to kick the ball into a goal guarded by another elephant.
   ‘We had elephant football matches during the previous World Cup four years ago, and we found tourists really like it,’ the camp’s director Anchalee Kalmapichit said.
   Like the real World Cup in Germany, the elephants’ matches will run for the next month, he said. — AFP
   
   Vice-president instead
   of president
   The German foreign ministry said Wednesday it had issued a visa for an Iranian vice president, Mohammed Aliabadi, so he can attend the football World Cup.
   A ministry spokesman told AFP that Aliabadi, who is also the head of the state physical education body, will be attending ‘as a sports official’. ‘He is vice president but he does not have any executive function,’ the spokesman added. ‘He does not represent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.’
   He said Aliabadi’s request for a visa had been examined and approved ‘as is the case for several other sports functionaries from all the countries’ that qualified for the championship.
   German police said Aliabadi is expected to attend the opening match featuring Germany against Costa Rica in the southern city of Munich before continuing on to nearby Nuremberg to watch Iran face Mexico.
   Before the announcement of Aliabadi’s visit, Jewish community members, Iranian opposition activists and Amnesty International called a protest during the Iran-Mexico match against Ahmadinejad’s tirades against Israel and denial of the Holocaust.
   Ahmadinejad has said he would like to attend the mega-event, although a spokesman claimed last month he would not be going to Germany.
   — AFP
   
   World Cup inspires sun to come out
   Summer finally came to Germany on Thursday, one day before the 2006 World Cup kicks off, and the good weather is forecast to last.
   Temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) were expected over large parts of the country, and forecasters said the mercury could reach 30 degrees on Friday.
   Most of Germany has suffered cold weather in recent weeks as the country prepared to host the football extravaganza, with rain falling almost daily in Berlin and snow returning to some parts of Bavaria in the south.
   Meteorologists forecast a slightly overcast 24 degrees Celsius for Munich on Friday when Germany meets Costa Rica there in the curtain raiser. — AFP
   
   A third of Croatians to take holidays
   Nearly a third of Croatia’s workforce will go on vacation during the World Cup to be able to watch their national team, local media reported Thursday.
   Some 500,000 of the Balkan country’s 1.4 million workers had saved up their annual holidays for the event, which kicks off on Friday, said the daily Vecernji List.
   ‘Since Croatians traditionally use June to go on vacation ... all companies have already included that in their budget, so there will be no losses,’ trade union official Goran Bakula told the newspaper.
   Some 20,000 Croatians have bought tickets to go to Germany for the World Cup, and many others will have to settle for cheering their team on television at home or in bars.
   In May, sales of television sets in Croatia rose by 30 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier, while bookmakers expect a 20 per cent increase in their transactions in June compared with an average monthly amount.— AFP

A minute’s silence in memory of football figures who have died in the past year will be held before Friday’s opening World Cup match between Germany and Costa Rica in Munich.
   The idea was put to Sepp Blatter, president of soccer’s ruling body FIFA, by former World Cup-winning Argentina striker Leopolde Luque.
   ‘He came to me and suggested this, that we remember all those we have lost in the last year,’ Blatter told the FIFA Congress on Thursday. I hope you will all agree to this.’
   A round of applause at the International Congress Centre here gave full support to the plan.
   A long list of former players, coaches and officials who have died in the past year, including Brazilian Tele Santana, Scotland’s Jimmy Johnstone, Northern Ireland’s George Best and England’s Ron Greenwood, Johnny Haynes and Peter Osgood, was shown on a screen in the hall.

Brazilian striker Ronaldo, top scorer in his country’s march to glory in 2002, missed training on Thursday with a fever, the Brazilian Football Federation CBF said.

Spain’s 2-1 victory over Croatia in their final World Cup warm-up match has left coach Luis Aragones with a series of selection headaches before next Wednesday’s opener against Ukraine.
   Aragones’s decision to depart from his preferred 4-3-3 formation in favour of a more conventional 4-4-2 line-up in the first half failed to give the desired results and Spain continued to struggle to break down the opposition defence.
   Jose Antonio Reyes was isolated on the left flank and although Joaquin saw more of the ball on the right he wasted a string of chances to breach the Croat back four.
   The presence of Barcelona’s Xavi in the starting XI did give Spain more direction in midfield but neither David Villa nor Raul was able to take advantage up front.
   The introduction of Fernando Torres in the second half added more dynamism to the attack and although the Atletico Madrid striker missed a penalty he clinched victory over the fellow World Cup qualifiers with a classy injury-time winner.
   Worryingly, Spain’s previous defensive stability was missing in the first half, and a lack of communication between Pablo Ibanez and stand-in keeper Pepe Reina resulting in an own goal from the centre-back that gave Croatia the lead in the 14th minute.

Former Poland great Zbigniew Boniek believes ‘Magic’ Maciej Zurawski can be the current team’s inspiration at the World Cup and especially in today’s Group A opener here against Ecuador.
   Appearing in the finals for the seventh time, Poland take on the South Americans before facing tournament hosts and Group A favourites Germany and then Costa Rica.
   ‘It’s about time Poland had a big name to make people sit up and take notice and I think we’ve found him in Zurawski,’ said Boniek, the driving force behind the Poles’ third place finish at the 1982 finals in Spain and regarded as one of the greatest ever players from Eastern Europe.
   ‘In my opinion, Zurawski is a complete player.’
   In other team news, Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc will start against the South Americans according to fellow keeper and team-mate Lukasz Fabianski.
   Boruc’s main rival for the spot had been Tomasz Kuszczak, but the West Brom player allowed a freak goal to get past him in the friendly against Colombia last week and that is believed to have nudged coach Pawel Janas in Boruc’s direction.
   Nicknamed ‘Magic’ by fans at his Scottish club Celtic, the 29-year-old Zurawski has been a relatively late bloomer who will shoulder Poland’s goal-scoring responsibilities.
   He found the net seven times during their qualifying campaign, and enjoyed a prolific first season at Celtic with 16 goals in 22 matches which helped them claim the league title. Zurawski made his debut for Poland in 1998 and established himself as a regular for the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and Korea where he started all three first round matches.
   Poland, who also finished third at the 1974 World Cup, are coached by Janas, Boniek’s team-mate in the 1982 line-up.
   Janas was in charge of the Polish Olympic team that won the silver medal at the 1992 Games and guided Legia Warsaw to two Polish league titles and the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 1996.
   He took control of Poland in 2002 and steered them to the runners-up spot in their qualifying group behind England.
   Ecuador, who failed to make it past the first round in their one previous World Cup appearance four years ago, finished a commendable third in their qualifying group behind Brazil and Argentina. Their impressive finish was due largely to their formidable home form where they had the advantage of playing at high altitude. They were unbeaten in Quito, claiming 23 of their 28 points.
   Ecuador’s main attacking threat will come from striker Edison Mendez, whose five goals helped secure qualification, while the experience of 31-year-old Ivan Hurtado will be invaluable to their defence.
   Highly-driven coach Luis Suarez has revitalised Ecuador by axeing many of the old guard and replacing them with hungry youngsters like Luis Valencia, a member of the Villarreal team that reached this season’s Champions League semi-finals.
   Teams:
   Poland (4-5-1): 1-Artur Boruc; 6-Jacek Bak, 2-Mariusz Jop, 14-Michal Zewlakow, 4-Marcin Baszczynski; 8-Jacek Krzynowek, 16-Arkadiusz Radomski, 10-Miroslaw Szymkowiak, 7-Radoslaw Sobolewski, 15- Euzebiusz Smolarek; 9-Maciej Zurawski. Coach: Pawel Janas
   Ecuador (4-4-2): 12-Cristian Mora; 4-Ulises de la Cruz, 3-Ivan Hurtado, 17-Giovanny Espinoza, 18-Neicer Reasco; 8-Edison Mendez, 20-Edwin Tenorio, 14-Segundo Castillo, 16-Luis Antonio Valencia; 11-Agustin Delgado, 21-Carlos Tenorio or 10-Ivan Kaviedes.
   Referee: Kamikawa Toru (Japan).
   
   New Age calls
   The South Americans impressed at the qualifiers, unbeaten at home, and taking Argentina down. But they will be in Europe against one of Germany’s closest neighbours who made England sweat. Also, Poland, one of the better sides in football history have a point to prove after the poor outing the last time around. Expect them to get two past the Americans in alien nation.
   Poland 2-0 Ecuador

Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann says he can’t wait to finally make his World Cup debut against Costa Rica today at the age of 36 and is unfazed by the possible hostile reception he could receive from the Munich crowd.
   After playing understudy to Oliver Kahn at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and at the European Championships in 2000 and 2004, Lehmann has finally dislodged his rival and made the number one jersey his own.
   ‘It is my World Cup debut but I will not be nervous or afraid about the game,’ Lehmann said.
   ‘I’m not looking at the tournaments in the past when I didn’t play. I have had a long career and can’t reflect on everything.
   ‘I am just looking forward to playing in the opening game. I have been waiting a long time for this.’
   Ironically Lehmann, capped 32 times, will make his World Cup bow in Munich on the home ground of Bayern Munich’s favourite son Kahn.
   The last time Lehmann played an international in Munich was on May 31 last year and he was jeered throughout the benefit match between Bayern and a select Germany XI.
   Manager Jurgen Klinsmann said afterwards that he could understand Munich fans supporting Kahn, but could not accept the harsh treatment of his rival Lehmann.
   ‘I don’t know how the Munich fans will receive me. We will have to wait and see,’ said Lehmann.
   ‘But there will be fans from the north, south, east and west of Germany in Munich for the game.
   ‘I also think the German fans realise they need to motivate us by getting behind everyone in the team and give us their full support.’
   After tasting defeat in the Champions League final with Arsenal - when he was sent off in the early stages of the match - Lehmann is desperate for glory with Germany and believes the team has a lot to offer.
   ‘Every team that wants to do well at a World Cup needs to have a great team spirit and we have that,’ Lehmann said.
   ‘We are a strong physical team and have home advantage too which is a big help. The fans have shown their fantastic support over the past few warm-up matches.’
   Germany’s suspect defence remains a concern ahead of the finals but Lehmann believes there is still time to get it right.
   ‘We’ve enough time to stabilise the defence,’ said the former Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper.
   ‘We conceded goals against Japan (2-2) but it was the whole team rather than the defence.’
   Lehmann is also convinced that Germany’s tournament pedigree can give them an edge over their rivals.
   ‘We’ve been there and done it. We have experience in World Cups and know how to stay the course in a tournament,’ he added.
   Germany have won three World Cups and reached the final four years ago against all the odds before falling 2-0 to Brazil.

Frank Lampard has called on England to take an aggressive approach as they seek to get off to a flying start against Paraguay in their opening World Cup match here Saturday.
   The Chelsea midfielder is acutely aware that England have a history of starting poorly in major championships but believes there can be no margin for error when they face the Paraguayans in Frankfurt.
   Anything less than a victory could well leave England needing to get a win against Sweden - a team they have not beaten for 38 years - in their final Group B match to be sure of advancing to the last 16.
   ‘The first game is critical in any tournament,’ said Lampard, who will turn 28 on June 20.
   ‘I’ve watched opening games for any country and you’ve seen results that you maybe didn’t expect,’ he added.
   ‘Obviously we want to be determined to start in a good way that doesn’t put too much pressure on ourselves in the next two games.
   ‘If we can get a positive result in the first game, that would send us into the Trinidad and Tobago game with great confidence.
   ‘If it wasn’t so positive obviously we’d feel under more pressure. So we want to start well and help our route through to the next round.’
   Lampard believes England must play their natural high-tempo attacking game to upset the rhythm of the South Americans.
   ‘The way to stamp our authority is to play our own game,’ Lampard said.
   ‘Teams in the World Cup, especially South American teams, might find it hard to deal with an English-type game that we play better than anyone else - with a lot of pressure, playing to our attacking instincts and working hard - even if it means being a bit physical. That’s the way we play.’
   Lampard’s fortunes have blossomed in the four years since the 2002 World Cup, when he suffered the crushing disappointment of missing out on a place in Japan and South Korea. On holiday in the United States to take his mind off the disappointment, Lampard fell asleep watching England’s 1-0 victory over Argentina.
   ‘It wasn’t that the game was boring it was that I was in America,’ Lampard recalled. ‘I was desperately trying to stay up. But I managed to fall sleep at the end. I rang home to find out the result.

Excited staff at Dortmund’s 4,000-bed fan camp welcomed their first World Cup guests on Thursday, 24-year-old Swedish twins bewildered by the attention after an all-night drive from Gothenburg.
   ‘We had no idea we’d be the first,’ said a tired-looking Philip Gunnarsson, wearing a bright yellow Sweden T-shirt.
   ‘They’ve kept us busy all morning, posing for photographs, meeting people. I’m feeling a bit tired now,’ he told Reuters as organisers whisked him off to a celebratory lunch.
   Dortmund’s vast Westfalenhalle exhibition hall, fitted with bunk bed frames and temporary walls, may still look like emergency accommodation but organisers say by the weekend it will be buzzing with fans from 30 countries.
   It is unique in Germany during the World Cup and will form one of the largest accommodation sites for fans.
   They have ordered 100,000 litres of beer to keep things merry as well as 30,000 Bratwursts and 8,000 kilos of chips.
   The hall’s fork-lift trucks are parked behind a temporary screen and flags decorate the 1,500-seater breakfast room.
   ‘We came here for the atmosphere and because it is relatively cheap,’ said Johan Gunnarsson.
   A place costs 35 euros a night and includes travel on local public transport to World Cup stadiums in Dortmund, Cologne and Gelsenkirchen.
   ‘I’m hoping to meet lots of people and mingle with other nationalities,’ said 39-year-old New Yorker Sharleene Smart, originally from Trinidad.
   ‘I’m looking forward to German men and the beer,’ laughed her friend Shay Collins, 34.
   Men and women are segregated in different areas of the hall, although there is a mixed area for established couples.
   ‘We didn’t want men’s darts societies booking themselves in to bother women,’ said fan camp spokesman Andreas Weber, adding the number of bookings from men vastly outnumbered those from women.
   ‘Those separate areas don’t bother me, we’ll meet men outside,’ laughed Collins, excited about her first World Cup.

Michael Ballack has reacted furiously to criticism of the way he handled the injury that will keep him out of Germany’s World Cup opener against Costa Rica in Munich on Friday.
   The captain and playmaker suffered a strain to his right calf in a 3-0 warm-up win over Colombia on June 2.
   German media have questioned why he did not receive treatment until the squad reassembled on Monday but Ballack said the problem did not emerge until later.
   ‘Contrary to all the speculation and reports, I was pain free when I travelled home after the Colombia game,’ Ballack said in a statement released by the German Football Association on Thursday.
   ‘I first felt a muscle problem on Sunday evening and immediately after arriving at the team hotel on Monday I was treated by the medical staff.
   ‘I completely reject all allegations this was handled unprofessionally. Such claims are an affront. It’s almost a slur on my reputation.’
   Medical staff have been working on Ballack’s calf muscle intensively since Monday.
   Ballack also received treatment from an alternative therapist, according to a report in Bild newspaper on Thursday.
   Coach Juergen Klinsmann said he had no problem with his players seeking such external help.
   ‘If there is someone Michael has confidence in, who are we to deny him the right to see them?’, said Klinsmann.
   ‘If he wants alternative treatment, let him do it, but it’s us who will decide whether he has a clean bill of health.’
   According to Bild, several members of the squad have been treated by the alternative therapist.

John Terry has revealed he feared his World Cup could be over before it had started when he collided with Wayne Bridge at a training session here this week.
   The 25-year-old Chelsea captain was caught on the ankle by his Chelsea team-mate Bridge on Tuesday and dire consequences flashed through his mind.
   ‘One tackle can do it,’ he said at England’s training ground in the tiny village of Buhlertal just outside Baden-Baden in southern Germany.
   ‘When he caught me on the ankle it was one of those ones where for a few minutes you think ‘oh, I’m struggling here, I could be on the way home’.
   ‘He caught me on the ankle and it was bad. But thankfully a few minutes later I was up and running around.’
   Terry said being injured on the training field was always a possibility with England becuase the players all gave it 100percent.
   ‘The tempo we train is a plus for us. You can see how sharp it is. When Sammy Lee gave a corner the lads were swearing at him and going mad.
   ‘None of the lads want to lose, and that’s a great thing.’

Juan Pablo Sorin is preparing to join an illustrious group of former Argentina captains by leading his country at the World Cup.
   When he walks his side out in their Group C opener against Ivory Coast on Saturday, Sorin will follow players like Daniel Passarella, Diego Maradona, Diego Simeone and Roberto Ayala.
   ‘To wear the band is always an honour and a matter of pride,’ the Argentina left back, who was a surprise choice as captain, told a news conference on Wednesday.
   Pekerman decided last year to hand the armband to Sorin, a player he developed in the national junior teams he coached. Sorin captained Pekerman’s World Youth Cup winners in 1995.
   However, Sorin said he felt it was wrong to discuss the captaincy following considerable criticism in the Argentine media over his appointment.
   ‘I prefer not to expand on the subject of the captaincy, basically after all that’s been said and knowing that in this squad there are players like Roberto Ayala who wore the armband for a long time.’
   Ayala, who has 100 caps, captained his country in 53 matches, four short of Maradona’s Argentine record of 57.
   ‘I think the group is much more important than any significance placed on being the captain.’ Sorin added.

Brazilians are used to coming out on top in the World Cup—but not when it comes to drinking beer. A poll published in a German newspaper on Thursday had the five times world champions only 16th in a ranking of beer consumption among the 32 countries in the tournament.
   The Czech Republic are top of the NZZ poll with 161 litres per person per year, followed by host nation Germany with 116 litres, England 101 and Australia 95.
   Consumption in Brazil is 49 litres a year, the second highest in Latin America after Mexico.

Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz has declared himself fit to face England in their opening World Cup match on Saturday and said it is up to the coach to pick him.
   ‘I am ok now. I don’t have a problem but we will find out (the lineup) today,’ Santa Cruz, who missed most of last season after a leg operation, told reporters on Thursday.
   The striker, who recently also suffered from tendinitis, is crucial for his team, more so since the sudden departure of striker Jose Cardozo, who was dropped due to an injury.
   ‘I am recovering and feeling well. I think I will start but I don’t know. It is up to him,’ Santa Cruz said pointing to his coach Anibal Ruiz.
   ‘This is something for the coach to find out,’ he said.
   Ruiz declined to reveal whether the striker would be in the starting lineup to face England in Group B, a game Paraguay see as crucial for their chances of reaching the second round.
   ‘Wait and see until the day of the game at three o’clock. Then you will know (if he starts),’ Ruiz said with a smile.
   If Santa Cruz is left out his most likely replacement would be Nelson Cuevas. Paraguay also play Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden in the group stage.

Italy striker Francesco Totti has bemoaned the Azzurri’s bad luck after they were hit by a series of late injuries ahead of their opening World Cup match against Ghana on Monday.
   ‘What a great start we have made! We really have been unlucky,’ he was quoted as saying in La Repubblica on Thursday.
   ‘I’m going to end up being the player in the best shape around here,’ said Totti who has himself only recently recoved from a serious ankle injury.
   In the past 48 hours, fullback Gianluca Zambrotta and midfielder Gennaro Gattuso have been ruled out of Italy’s opener with thigh injuries.
   Alessandro Nesta also risks missing the match after aggravating an old adductor muscle injury.
   The central defender will have tests on Saturday to decide if he is fit to play.
   Italy’s lengthening casualty list unfolded in front of a bemused Totti, who had been the focus of the team’s fitness concerns in the run-up to the World Cup.
   The Roma captain, often described as the linchpin of Italy’s World Cup bid, is struggling to regain form after spending three months on the sidelines.

England captain David Beckham says his team is more than capable of meeting the huge expectations of the English public and predicted unprecedented celebrations if they win the tournament.
   ‘Without a doubt these players can handle expectations. They’ve done it week in, week out for their clubs, they’ve all played in huge competitions and huge games all year round, and for a couple of years now,’ he said.
   ‘We all know what the expectations are in our country, and rightly so, because we have some of the best young talent and experienced players in Europe, and in the world.
   ‘We are very lucky in that case and we have to go into this competition and have the belief and, to be honest, we do have the belief.’
   England open their campaign against Paraguay in Frankfurt on Saturday, and Beckham warned that it would not be easy, but that England should get a result.
   ‘Paraguay are a very good team and very difficult to play against. It is going to be complicated,’ he said.
   ‘We need to go into this game confident, full of belief and hoping that we can get off to a good start.
   ‘Every team in our group is a threat to us, Sweden has always been a tough game but I think Paraguay is gifted and very talented and very technical.’
   With Wayne Rooney back in the frame and England on a run of decent results, expectations that they can go all the way in Germany are high in England.
   Beckham said that if they brought the trophy home, there would be amazing, never seen before, scenes.
   ‘We’ve been trying not to think about winning it but I think if something like that did happen to us, I think our country would see things that it has never seen before,’ he said.
   ‘What happened with the cricket, the rugby, that was huge but if that was to happen in football I think we would see something special.’.

If a struggling Ronaldo is scoring goals with blistered feet, what chance do any of Brazil’s World Cup rivals have?
   The five-time winner appears to be peaking at just the right time, with the World Cup opening on Friday. Although the coach and players confess to feeling anxious, don’t bet against the Brazilians being in a fourth consecutive final on July 9, with Cafu becoming the first captain to hoist the trophy twice.
   Argentina’s talented squad also looks finely tuned, and England appears to be coping well with Wayne Rooney’s broken foot.
   But the French are relying on aging stars, the Italians and Dutch are beset by injuries, and Germany’s young defenders are likely to buckle under the pressure of hosting the event. The Czechs, Spaniards and Portuguese show few signs they can win the title for the first time, and the United States will do well to emulate its quarterfinal appearance four years ago.
   It looks like Brazil’s title to lose.
   A 4-0 warmup victory over modest New Zealand isn’t enough to leave their rivals shaking with fear. But the Brazilians were sharp as they headed to their June 13 match against Croatia. By the time Brazil kicks off in Berlin, 26 of the 32 World Cup teams will already have played. So Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and company can sit back and watch the others before showing the world how the game should be played.
   Rivals such as England’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Germany’s Juergen Klinsmann have been tinkering with their lineups. But Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Perreira confidently announced his starters weeks ago, with the ‘magic quartet’ of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo and Adriano in an attacking formation.
   While past Brazilian teams often relied on offense, this lineup has strength throughout, with a standout goalkeeper in AC Milan’s Dida and reliable central defenders and defensive midfielders.
   Argentina is another lineup teeming with talent, and coach Jose Pekerman’s difficulty is choosing the right names.
   Unlike Parreira, he won’t reveal his lineup until he has to, one hour before kickoff. Even Carlos Tevez, a striker considered to be in the Diego Maradona mold, isn’t sure of starting because Pekerman also has Chelsea’s Hernan Crespo, Sevilla’s Javier Saviola and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to choose from. And he has one of the world’s top playmakers, Juan Ramon Riquelme.
   Argentina is in the toughest group with the Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro and probably the strongest African nation, Ivory Coast. If Pekerman makes the wrong choices, Argentina could go out in the first round for the second straight World Cup.
   If they make it, however, Pekerman’s stars should get stronger with each round and have the talent and all-around strength to make it all the way to the final.
   With its strongest lineup in three decades, especially if Rooney’s broken foot heals enough for him to play in the later rounds, England goes into the World Cup on a streak of six victories. Appearing in their third World Cup, David Beckham and Michael Owen are at their peak. Frank Lampard, John Terry and Steven Gerrard provide a strong backbone, and Peter Crouch, the 6-foot-7 (2.01-meter) striker who is Rooney’s replacement, scored three times in Saturday’s 6-0 rout of Jamaica. He could emerge as a World Cup star.
   With a domestic match-fixing scandal disrupting its preparations, three-time World Cup winner Italy has enough problems. Now, several players - Gianluca Zambrotta, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso and Francesco Totti - are struggling to recover from injuries.
   The Germans were runners-up four years ago, but Klinsmann inherited a declining team two years ago. He might have to counter rising optimism and convince the nation Germany is building for the future.
   With five players recovering from injuries, Dutch coach Marco van Basten can’t identify his starting lineup. Traditionally unpredictable, the Netherlands needs all the stability it can get in search of a first World Cup title.
   Portugal’s Luis Figo is one of several stars who came out of international retirement for one last shot at the world title. This championship may show he is way past his peak. Pavel Nedved also returned for the Czech Republic, which could be the dark horse of the championship and is ranked second by FIFA.
   Despite Barcelona’s Champions League triumph, Spain is a perennial underachiever at the national team level and this year should be no different. Watch out for rising stars Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Ramos and Fernando Torres at the next World Cup.
   Bruce Arena’s American team is stuck in a tough group with the Czechs and Italians, and success this time may be reaching the second round. A succession of injuries left captain Claudio Reyna with little competitive experience in 2006.
   South Korea can only dream of a repeat of its semifinal appearance four years ago on home turf. Poland likely will go home still living on memories of third-place finishes in 1974 and ‘82. Mexico, Sweden and Serbia-Montenegro are difficult opponents, but hardly seem of championship caliber. Ukraine will rely heavily on star striker Andriy Shevchenko.
   Who could be the upset kings of World Cup 2006?
   Returning for the first time since 1974, Australia is coached by the respected Guus Hiddink, and Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell could ruffle Croatia and Japan.
   The five African nations - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tunisia, Angola and Togo - don’t look strong enough to emulate the quarterfinals appearances of Cameroon and Senegal in the past and will effectively have their own private contest to see if any reaches the last 16.
   For Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Trinidad and Tobago it will be a contest to avoid finishing last overall.

Two-time world champions Argentina may be the hot favourites to beat Cote d’Ivoire in their Group C opener but the African Nations Cup finalists coach Henri Michel said Wednesday they may be feeling the pressure.
   The 57-year-old Frenchman said that while logically both Argentina and the Dutch should progress from their ‘Group of Death’ football had a habit of producing illogical results.
   ‘If logic is to be respected then one should say that Argentina and The Netherlands should qualify for the second round,’ said Michel, who has guided Cote d’Ivoire to their first ever World Cup finals.
   ‘But as we know in football there is no logic, I believe that every opponent is there to be respected. We are set to face Argentina, but what do the Argentinians think of Cote d’Ivoire as opponents for their first match.
   ‘Maybe they have as many doubts as us. There are no sides more favourites than the others, even if one thinks Argentina are better.’
   Michel, who as French coach took them to the 1986 World Cup semi-finals and the Olympic side to the 1984 gold medal, said he hoped his team did not find the moment of their World Cup debut too overpowering.
   ‘We are happy to be here, to be competing in our first World Cup,’ said Michel, who had to sit in his home in Beirut and watch the home matches on television because it was too dangerous for a Frenchman to be seen in the war torn African country.
   ‘We appreciate that the tension will mount from now till the match.
   ‘We have had the luck that we have suffered no injuries and the conditions are ideal for finishing our preparations for the match.
   ‘Everyone knows the importance of the first match in a World Cup, which is also against Argentina. Often the result determines the way the teams play for the rest of the competition.
   ‘It is true that there is a lot of hope being placed on this team. I have confidence in their abilities, but now, we have to find out how they are going to react with regards to the tournament.
   ‘I hope that above all they will be able to block out the fact it is their first match at a World Cup finals, and in the case where the emotions are too strong, they get rid of them quickly and one rediscovers this team which has so much potential, and which is capable of taking on anyone in the world . It is not just my players who will be especially touched by raw emotion, it is everybody who takes part in a World Cup,’ said Michel.
   ‘It is a kid’s dream that has been realised and when you put your first step onto the pitch, practically all your life passes before you.
   ‘The emotional side is very strong, and one has to be able to master them, but it is not unique to the Ivorians, it affects everybody.’
   Michel, who looked to be in danger of losing his job had the Cote d’Ivoire not done well at the African Nations Cup, said he was delighted with the way the team had come on since the African Nations Cup in Egypt in January.

Agence France-Presse . Baden-Baden
   Frank Lampard believes England will owe a debt of gratitude to Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho if they end up winning the World Cup.
   The England midfielder said Mourinho’s determination to turn Chelsea into a dominant force since taking over in 2004 had helped him acquire a winning mentality that was previously absent.
   ‘Mourinho has definitely changed my mentality,’ Lampard said. ‘That was probably a weakness of mine a few years ago. I wanted to win but sometimes maybe I didn’t. Now I feel much more focused about what direction I want to go and the fact I want to be a winner.’
   Lampard said Mourinho had informed his squad that he would turn them into a winning team as soon as he took over at Stamford Bridge, and had hammered that attitude into his players at every turn.
   ‘We were a good bunch of individuals before Mourinho came, but he came in and sat us down and said ‘From now on, we are going to be winners.’
   ‘It is an easy thing to say, it doesn’t mean you are going to be winners, but he kept battering away at us and making sure that’s how we thought.’
   Now England stand to reap the benefits of Mourinho’s demanding approach, according to Lampard, who said that the success other squad members have enjoyed at club level will stand the team in good stead.
   ‘We’ve come here to win the World Cup,’ said the 27-year-old.
   ‘It is not an easy tournament, there are a lot of strong teams but with this squad we’ve come with the intention to win and if you don’t do that, you haven’t succeeded in the tournament.
   ‘Mourinho still goes on about that and it is very important about our everyday life at Chelsea having that winning mentality because the minute you lose it, the minute it drops below the level you’ve been at, you can find yourself losing games or getting into a comfort zone.
   ‘That is something that is not allowed to happen at Chelsea and I sense that mentality around the England squad now because we have a lot of players who have won things.’
   Having the experience of delivering under pressure is vital for a team’s success, Lampard said, recalling several occasions over the course of the Premiership season when an individual had turned a match Chelsea’s way.
   Lampard believes England must find that knack if they are to be successful in Germany.
   ‘At certain times you look back and remember something was a decisive moment when a certain individual did something special to win us the game,’ he said.
   ‘Over a course of a tournament that needs to happen. There needs to be moments where we stick together and get through a hard game or where certain individuals do something special to win you the game.’
   Lampard is not necessarily convinced that England should adopt Mourinho’s ‘us against the world’ approach that characterised much of their domestic campaign.
   ‘There are ways of making a siege mentality and it doesn’t have to be ‘it’s everyone
   against us type of situation.’,’ he said.
   ‘I just think it has to be a strong group. You don’t have to be against anyone in particular. You just have to be strong.’

Brazil legend Carlos Alberto claims the form of Ronaldinho will determine the World Cup holders’ fate in Germany - but also insists the Barcelona star will never be as good as Pele.
   The tournament favorites begin their bid to win a sixth World Cup when they open their group campaign against Croatia on Tuesday with all eyes trained Ronaldinho.
   FIFA’s double World Player of the Year is expected to take top billing in Germany and Alberto admits the 26-year-old is Brazil’s key player.
   But Alberto, who led Brazil to World Cup glory in 1970, believes he will never eclipse Pele as debate rages over who is the better player.
   ‘Ronaldinho is the best in the world,’ he said. ‘Like everybody says, he’s very good. He’s young, only 26, and I believe he can do much better than he is now. He needs more experience but is still our main player. To win a World Cup it is not enough to have a good team. You must have one player who makes the difference, like Pele did before Garrincha, like Maradona did for Argentina and like Paolo Rossi did for Italy in 1982. We hope Ronaldinho makes the difference for us.
   ‘But in the history of Brazilian football Ronaldinho can only be No. 3. First is Pele, second Garrincha and then Ronaldinho. He will never become No. 1 because only Pele can hold that title. But he’s a very good player. People in Brazil are trying to compare him with Pele at the moment, but no way.’
   Ronaldinho will operate alongside Ronaldo, Kaka and Adriano in All-Star forward lineup that can traumatize any defense in the World Cup.
   But Alberto believes Ronaldo may be a weak link in the quartet following a disappointing season at Real Madrid and questions why the 29-year-old striker spends so long in the treatment room.
   ‘I don’t know what’s happened with Ronaldo but I know that when you’re nearly 30 you have to practice more and more to avoid injuries,’ he said. ‘If you don’t practice then you have problems. Ronaldo is 29 and has injuries here, injuries there.
   ‘He’s still a good player if he’s in good shape physically. We hope the World Cup brings out the best in him.’
   Alberto, who scored against Italy in the 1970 final, has been hugely impressed by Wayne Rooney but the former defender insists England can win the World Cup without him.
   Rooney will learn of the scan results on his broken metatarsal later Wednesday.
   ‘Wayne Rooney is a great player. In Brazil we would like to see him play in the World Cup,’ he said. ‘This is the World Cup for him. Technically he’s excellent and physically he’s very strong. He is only 20 and I like him very much.
   ‘England can win the World Cup without Wayne Rooney because they still have good players. This is a team that has been working together for four years. They have experience between 2002 and 2006. Guys like John Terry and Frank Lampard are great players. But I feel most of the people in England don’t believe in their team. I believe they can be champions and should be in at least the semifinals.’
   To mark 40 years since England lifted the World Cup, the Royal Mail has issued six stamps featuring all the winning nations since 1966.
   Alberto also believes Michael Owen will have a major impact for England at this summer’s World Cup.
   Last year Carlos Alberto described Owen as a midget when the Brazilian World Cup winner was in charge of Azerbaijan.
   Unimpressed by apparently disparaging comments about his side from the then Real Madrid striker, the coach rounded on Owen after the minnows’ 2-0 defeat to England at St James’ Park.
   However, Carlos Alberto is now singing a different tune.
   ‘I called him a midget because of what he said before the game,’ said the Brazilian.
   ‘He said he was going to score five goals against us. I know we were not on the same level as England but he showed us no respect.
   ‘He didn’t score and after the game I said some things.
   ‘Now he is a giant. He can score against Brazil and he can be special for England.
   ‘Today he is a very experienced player, not like at France 98 when he was just 18.
   ‘He can help the team, not only by doing his job but by doing a little bit more.’

World Cup newcomers Ghana are taking inspiration from the impact made by fellow African sides ahead of their opener against Italy on Monday.
   ‘In modern football the names don’t mean anything. Think of Cameroon and Argentina, Senegal and France,’ Ghana’s captain Stephen Appiah told reporters after a training session on Wednesday.
   Cameroon beat eventual finalists Argentina 1-0 in their first match in the 1990 World Cup while then-champions France were defeated by Senegal by the same score in the first match of the 2002 World Cup and were eliminated in the first round.
   ‘We are not here to win the World Cup but we are here to make a mark,’ Appiah said. ‘We are all playing in Europe and the Champions League.’
   Appiah and other members of his squad recognised that three-time champions Italy and the Czech Republic are favourites to proceed from the tough Group E, which also features the United States, quarter-finalists in 2002.
   But the Ghanaians are optimistic about reaching the knock-out stage.
   ‘We could cause a surprise,’ said midfielder Otto Addo. ‘I think we will qualify. I have great faith in our team.
   ‘We are facing a world-class team but we have the players to beat them.’

David Beckham has revealed his secret World Cup nightmare - facing Germany in a penalty shoot-out.
   The England skipper fears meeting the host nation in the second round. But Beckham insists that if it boiled down to a shoot-out he would take a spot-kick, despite his poor record of misses which led to him passing the duty to Frank Lampard.
   ‘If we play Germany in the second round it will be damn, damn hard,’ said Becks.
   ‘It’s always tough to play them. The so-called experts tell us Germany are not as strong as they used to be, but I don’t think so.
   ‘If that is the way it works out, it will be a really tough game.
   ‘A penalty shoot-out is like Russian roulette. It is a brutal way and there has to be a winner. We just hope we won’t meet Germany in a shoot-out.’
   The Real Madrid star insisted: ‘Nothing less than winning the World Cup is good enough if we want to be remembered as a great team. To do that, you have to have silverware.
   ‘Players like John Terry and Steven Gerrard are real leaders too - and we have more experience now.
   ‘I want to play for another four or five years and be at the next World Cup in South Africa but you never know, things change very fast.’

Japan’s World Cup side received a huge lift on Wednesday when wonder dog Rommel made a red-carpet arrival at their German base.
   The Asian champions are unbeaten in 18 games when the miniature dachshund—nicknamed Ron, for short—has been in attendance during the match build-up.
   Japan coach Zico even keeps a picture of Ron in his breast pocket when his side’s lucky charm has been unable to travel to matches.
   Ron touched down in Frankfurt only slightly the worse for wear after his 12-hour flight and perked up upon spying hundreds of Japanese photographers and TV cameras awaiting his arrival.
   The excitable mutt, who belongs to Japan’s chief media officer Hideto Teshima, was late joining up with the Japan camp due to a delay in clearing quarantine in Tokyo.
   ‘He wasn’t too upset flying in cargo rather than first-class,’ Teshima told Reuters. ‘He was in quite a happy mood. It was a bit scary at the airport. Foreign TV crews also came rushing over when they saw the commotion.’
   Ron shot to stardom at the 2002 World Cup, when he was a regular fixture at the Japanese media centre in Shizuoka as well as on the back pages of the daily papers.
   Now 10 years old—comfortably a pensioner in dog years—Ron is set to retire from his role as Japan’s unofficial mascot at the end of this year’s World Cup.

Croatia’s football squad has been stricken by a mysterious virus since its arrival last week at Bad Brückenau, Germany, ahead of the World Cup there, team officials said on Thursday.
   Doctors could not determine the cause of the infection which had stricken most of the squad - Darijo Simic, Ivica Olic, Bosko Balaban, Dado Prso, Stjepan Tomas, Anthony Seric and Joseph Didulica.
   The last victim of the virus, of which his teamates have barely recovered, was defender Darijo Srna reporting symptoms of nausea, high fever and headache.

Warnings of a potential terrorist threat to soccer’s World Cup hold chilling associations for the city of Munich as it prepares to host the opening match under the gaze of billions of TV viewers.
   The German players who will take the field against Costa Rica on Friday are too young to remember the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian ‘Black September’ guerrillas at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
   But the experience of seeing the ‘Friendly Games’ turn into a bloodbath left deep scars on Germany, provoked a radical security shake-up whose results are still visible, and remains very much in the minds of police and officials.
   ‘I believe it’s an abiding memory and a warning for Germany,’ says Gregor Rosenthal, a senior interior ministry official helping to lead the copious security planning for the 32-nation World Cup.
   Officials say there is no concrete indication that Islamist militants are planning attacks during the tournament, although the general ‘abstract risk’ is high.
   They say the opening match in Munich and the July 9 final in Berlin would present the most symbolic, and therefore most attractive, targets.
   The massive security net includes NATO air patrols, flight bans over stadiums, 250,000 police on duty around the country and a comprehensive intelligence-sharing network with a round-the-clock unit in Berlin at its nerve centre.
   Special forces at the ready include the crack 240-strong GSG 9, created specifically in response to the Munich tragedy.
   In many ways, Munich 1972 was an object lesson in how not to handle a militant attack.
   A series of blunders culminated in a bloody debacle at Fuerstenfeldbruck, an airbase where the Germans had provided the Palestinians with a getaway plane but planned to overpower them and free their Israeli hostages.
   ‘We had never seen a terrorist, it was like something out of a bad TV cop film...We hadn’t trained for that,’ recalls Heinz Hohensinn, 63, a Munich policeman who was part of the assault team but whose previous experience was limited to tackling robbers and drug dealers. ‘The fully fuelled plane was standing there ready to take off, as the terrorists demanded,’ he told Reuters.
   ‘We were supposed to overwhelm the terrorists in the aircraft before it took off, but that was a short-term emergency plan and it was abandoned as too risky because the leader had a hand grenade and we would all have been blown up with the plane. Then the shooting started...’ All the hostages were killed in the carnage, along with a German policeman and five of the kidnappers.
   Security analyst Rolf Tophoven said Germany’s desire to present a friendly face to the world at Munich—in contrast to the Nazi-hosted Olympics in Berlin 36 years earlier—was partly to blame for the lack of preparedness.
   ‘The trauma of the Hitler Olympiad was in the minds of the German organisers...Security was low-profile in Munich because no one wanted to stir memories of German police and armed troops in 1936,’ he said.
   Another generation on, and with the U.S.-led war on terrorism nearly five years old, German security is forewarned, better equipped and confident it can throw a great sporting party for the world.
   ‘The training, weapons and technical equipment are all very different today...There’s a lot more understanding of security and controls. The hospitality won’t be dampened if the security is cranked up,’ Hohensinn said.
   Officials believe they can show off their country as a fun-loving, welcoming host and keep the tournament safe without smothering it with security.
   ‘We have our tournament motto—’A Time to Make Friends’—and that means above all that sportsmen and fans from all over the world will feel safe,’ Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said this week. ‘We need security for a joyful and happy World Cup.’

England are oozing with confidence after an encouraging run of results leading up to the World Cup, and no-one is more so than Chelsea captain John Terry.
   The 25-year-old has made remarkable progress under Jose Mourinho, marshalling a stingy Chelsea back-line and skippering the Blues to two Premiership titles while moulding himself into one of the world’s most respected defenders.
   It was a different story four years ago when he was not part of the England setup, and he admits now that he just wasn’t up to the job.
   ‘I was nowhere near it to be honest,’ he said.
   ‘At the time it didn’t even enter my head that I should be in the squad. Looking at it from a professional point of view I wasn’t ready.
   ‘If you look at the players at the time, Rio (Ferdinand), Sol (Campbell), they were a different class and I wasn’t near them at the time. But I’m coming into this one ready and it’s up to me to prove myself.’
   Since he made his debut against Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, Terry, seen as an ‘old school’ centre-half, has grown in stature and has consistently produced polished displays.
   He is now first choice in central defence ahead of both Ferdinand and Campbell and has little to prove.
   But Mourinho likes to push his players to ever greater heights, and said before the World Cup that he wants to see Terry stamp his authority on big games like Brazilian ace Ronaldinho does in an attacking sense.
   A goalscorer for Chelsea and tipped as a future England captain, Terry acknowledges that he still has work to do to be up there with the very best.
   ‘You want to be the best and it is something I’m trying to do,’ he said at England’s training camp in southern Germany.
   ‘I’m improving and I’m trying to get there. I’m watching and learning all the time in training with Chelsea and with England.
   ‘It’s not just coming away from training and getting on the bus and going to the hotel, I’m coming away and thinking about what I’ve done, what work I need to improve on.’
   As captain of one of Europe’s top club sides, Terry said the one thing he had learned was a never-say-die attitude, and he sees that in the current England squad, whom many consider to be the best since 1966.
   ‘None of the lads wants to lose and that’s a great thing,’ he said.
   ‘I think it’s an English thing. You get that every day. Speaking to other lads at club level every single day that’s what Chelsea training is like every day - you speak to the Man United lads, Liverpool, it’s all the same.
   ‘Every day that tempo is set and when foreign players come in they have to step up a bit.’
   And far from seeing England’s achievements in winning the World Cup in 1966 as a burden, he instead sees it as an inspiration and believes it can be matched in Germany.
   ‘You look at what it did for everyone and for the country and everybody involved in the country footballing wise. It’s something we want to improve and if we could do it it would be a fantastic achievement,’ he said.
   ‘You look at those guys and I have nothing but respect for them. But it’s our time now and it is time for us to really go out and prove ourselves.’

Even as favorites, players on an experienced Brazilian team confess feeling a bit of nervous anticipation—this is, after all, the World Cup.
   ‘Our biggest worry for the first match will be the anxiety,’ defender Roberto Carlos said Wednesday. ‘We’ll need to find ways to control it.’
   Roberto Carlos will play in his third World Cup when Brazil begins its quest for a record sixth title Tuesday against Croatia before playing Australia and Japan.
   Brazil arrived in Germany on Sunday, and has been training in the small town of Koenigstein, in the wooded Taunus hills outside Frankfurt. The defending champion spent 14 days in Switzerland before heading to Germany.
   ‘We’ve been waiting four years for this,’ said defender Lucio, a 2002 World Cup veteran. ‘There is a lot of anxiety, I’m sure everyone here is feeling it.’
   Even Brazil’s veteran coach Carlos Alberto Parreira acknowledged first-match jitters.
   ‘I would be lying if I said I’m not anxious,’ said Parreira, 63, who led Brazil to the 1994 title in the United States. ‘We sleep a little less, eat a little less ... but it’s part of it, and I think it’s good.’
   One of Parreira’s players in 1994 was defender Cafu, the current captain.
   ‘I can’t wait to get on the field,’ Cafu said last week. ‘There’s a lot of expectation.’
   Cafu, who just turned 36 and has played a record 146 games for his country according to the Brazilian soccer federation, has said that the thought of lifting the World Cup trophy again has crossed his mind.
   Among Brazil’s starters, only defender Juan and striker Adriano will be playing their first World Cup. On the team’s 23-man roster, nine players are World Cup first timers, including Real Madrid’s Robinho.
   ‘We want the tournament to start, we want to begin playing,’ the 22-year-old striker said.

Steven Gerrard believes England have what it takes to win the World Cup, and cited Peter Crouch as their secret weapon to get them off on the right foot against Paraguay on Saturday.
   ‘We’ve got a really strong team, a really strong squad. It is the first time the manager has had a fully fit squad to pick from as well which has helped,’ he said at their training base here in southern Germany. There’s a buzz around the place and a confidence that we can go all the way.
   ‘All the players realise there’s massive expectations back home, all the supporters expect us to go all the way and the players are really confident we can deliver this time round.’
   First up, they need to get past Paraguay, which he admits will be a tricky exercise.
   ‘History shows we haven’t got the best record in opening games and we need to put that right and get all three points against Paraguay,’ he said.
   ‘They’ll be tricky opposition, they’ve got match winners and they’re going to be good technically. But if we play to our strengths we’re confident we can win Saturday.
   ‘It’s important to get off to the right start and build on that and win the group. We need to let people know we are here to win it and not just to take part.’
   One of England’s trump cards could be lanky forward Peter Crouch, he said.
   ‘We’re hoping they haven’t played against a Peter type of player before and he can cause a lot of problems,’ he said of his Liverpool teammate.
   ‘I see him day in day out in training and in games and I know what a talent he is. If he plays to his ability on Saturday he can cause Paraguay’s defence a lot of problems.’
   ‘He is scoring goals, he’s playing well, he’s causing defences all sorts of problems and he is a great option to have in the squad.’
   England also play Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden in their group.

Australia winger Harry Kewell said Thursday he is determined to play a full part in his country’s World Cup campaign after coming through the 3-1 win over Liechtenstein unscathed.
   The 27-year-old Kewell suffered a groin strain playing for Liverpool in the FA Cup Final four weeks ago and the injury placed a cloud over his participation here.
   But after playing almost an hour of the game in the birthplace of Albert Einstein on Wednesday, he hopes to force his way into the side to take on Japan in Australia’s opening Group F tie in Kaiserslautern on Monday.
   ‘The medical staff are working day and night on me, so everything is going well. Its just great to be out there playing. Im enjoying the progress we are making. Were working together and well just see where it takes me,’ he said.
   Asked if he thought he was fit enough to last the full 90 minutes, Kewell added: ‘I think I could play for 120. I finished the game unscathed and it feels great.’
   Coach Guus Hiddink was also happy to see one of his potential match-winners come through.
   ‘He is not in full shape but that’s why these games are very important for him. Of course he will be there if he makes progress in the next few days,’ said the Dutchman.

Dona Zora is in no mood for small talk. ‘Journalists?’ she squawks from the second-floor doorway that leads into her cramped, two-bedroom home. ‘For the love of God, what do you want?’
   Here in Vila Cruzeiro, one of Rio de Janeiro’s most notorious shantytowns, reporters are about as welcome as head lice. Ruled by heavily armed drug traffickers, the community’s relations with the press hit an all-time low during the 2002 World Cup. After being caught secretly filming in a nearby favela one Brazilian reporter was hacked to death with a samurai sword and then burnt in a shallow grave not far from here.
   Four years on, and with another World Cup approaching, Vila Cruzeiro is back in the headlines. This time, however, the interest is not in cocaine or mutilated journalists but a world-famous footballer, known here simply as pipoca or popcorn. This is the old stamping ground of the Internazionale striker Adriano, one component of Brazil’s ‘magic quartet’ and widely tipped as a contender for this year’s Golden Boot. And Dona Zora, however keen she seems to deny it, is the reluctant owner of his childhood home.
   ‘If you want an interview, I want money,’ she shouts furiously before, in true Brazilian style, cracking open a cheek-splitting smile and shooing us into her front room. A lonely sticker hangs from the entrance with the greeting: ‘Someone loves you’.
   In Vila Cruzeiro ‘Pipoca’ is remembered for two things – his devastating left foot and his shyness. ‘He’s really timid here in the community,’ says his childhood friend Sandra Vieira, beaming out from the third floor of the sports project she helps run which towers over Adriano’s cramped childhood home. ‘He talks to us because he’s known us since he was a kid but with people he doesn’t know he gets all . . .,’ she cuts off and shakes her arms up and down, pretending to be nervous.
   Vieira praises the stocky forward as an ambassador for their favela. ‘We suffered a lot after [the murder of the journalist] Tim Lopes,’ she says. ‘In fact, he wasn’t killed here, it was over there ... [But] people were sacked from their jobs and lots couldn’t get work because they lived here. Society started associating the community with crooks . . . We lost projects – who is going to give money to a place which everyone says is full of bandits?’
   Adriano was one of the few who escaped this reality. A visit to his old bedroom, a box-room on the second floor of house No 19 on road No 7, in one of around 800 favelas in Rio de Janeiro, underlines the rags-to-riches story of one of Brazil’s best-known footballers.
   Heave open the room’s metal window grate and you stare out on to a pale concrete wall, with a minuscule glimpse of blue sky visible if you arch your neck 90 degrees sideways. A spaghetti-like tangle of electricity cables hovers just above the window sill, siphoning electricity from the city’s network into the thousands of red-brick shacks that form the favela.
   ‘Don’t mind the mess,’ Dona Zora chatters, leading us through her immaculately tidy residence and up to the tiled, rooftop veranda from which ‘Popcorn’ used to gaze out over the favela’s dusty football pitch, home to his first team, ‘Hang Football Club’.
   Founded in 1989 by Adriano’s father, Almir Leite Ribeiro, ‘Hang’ lasted 14 years, until its creator’s death. Ribeiro never recovered fully after being caught in the skull by a stray bullet – an all too common fate in these parts of Rio, described generically as ‘the Gaza Strip’ – and eventually succumbed to a heart attack in 2003.
   By this time Adriano’s career was at full throttle. While he is not the only mesmerising footballer to have graced the dusty pitch around which Vila Cruzeiro splays out, he is the exception in having made it to the top flight.
   ‘There is a great crop of players inside here, they just need the opportunity to show what they can do,’ says Bruno Lopes, a former Fluminense player, who now trains hordes of potential Adrianos on Vila Cruzeiro’s tatty pitch each day.
   ‘Look at this guy,’ he marvels, following a two-hour training session in suffocating 35C heat. He points to a stocky, nimble-footed teenager, juggling a ball on the back of his neck in front of the nearby goal. Anderson Vinicius, Lopes explains, is mute and deaf – the result of catching meningitis as a child. ‘What God took away from him with one hand he gave back with the other,’ says Lopes, tipping Vinicius as another Vila Cruzeiro player to watch – despite his disabilities.
   Adriano is another who breaks the typical mould of a Brazilian player, though in a different way. Not known for the technical wizardry of his fellow countrymen Ronaldinho and Robinho, he is nevertheless considered one of the country’s most dangerous players; admired for his tenacity and his clinical finishing.
   ‘I always thought he had a lot of potential,’ says Flavio Pinto, a Rio-based football agent who has worked with Adriano since he played for Brazil’s Under-17 team. ‘He was physically strong, had a powerful left foot and above all the desire to win, to be a professional.’
   Pinto describes the 24-year-old’s rise to fame as a whirlwind. Scarcely had he become a professional player than he was sold to Europe to cut his teeth in the Italian league. ‘Adriano didn’t ever really have any time to think about playing for the national team. He got back from playing for the Under-20s in the World Cup and – bam! – two months later he’d been sold to Europe.’
   ‘Today people are calling him the Imperador [Emperor] but he’s got the same good heart, he’s never lost any of his simplicity,’ he adds, looking forward to Adriano’s proposed return to Brazil after the World Cup.
   Everyone in Vila Cruzeiro, it seems – even the pistol-clutching drug traffickers who loiter at the favela entrance and perhaps once would have desired a similar path for themselves – has something nice to say about Adriano.
   ‘Good community! Good people!’ shout the shantytown’s on-duty ‘foot soldiers’ as we make our way out of Adriano’s former home, slipping their pistols behind their backs with a vaguely embarrassed sleight of hand.
   If Adriano notches up even one goal during the World Cup next month, the Vila Cruzeiro firework display is likely to be heard all over Rio de Janeiro. And perhaps Dona Zora might permit herself a discreet smile.

France have called up Lyon forward Sidney Govou into their World Cup squad to replace the injured Liverpool player Djibril Cisse
   Cisse was stretchered off with a broken right leg sustained in the friendly against China here on Wednesday night.
   It is the second time in successive championships that 26-year-old Govou, scorer of three goals in his 19 international appearances, has been a late call-up.
   Govou is set to join up with the French squad here later on Thursday before they leave for their German base.

Italy’s passionate armchair football fans are about to discover the World Cup is bad for their health.
   Research released on Thursday claimed that eating junk food while watching the month-long tournament in Germany on television can lead to fans piling on up to five kilos in weight.
   Agricultural union Coldiretti advised fans to ditch the snacks and chew healthy salads instead.
   ‘Football, beer and pizza will be a triple danger for fans who follow the World Cup in front of the television and spend hours on the sofa. They risk putting on around five kilos, said the group.
   ‘With a month of matches, with an average of two a day, a total of 5,760 minutes of television transmission, not including extra time and discussion programmes, can cancel the effects of a month spent in the gym.’

Mexico’s first-choice keeper Oswaldo Sanchez has returned home from the World Cup after the death of his father who was due to watch him play in the finals, the Mexican football association said.
   ‘We received the call late yesterday and he has left for Mexico.’ Juan Jose Kochen told Reuters on Thursday. ‘We are all shocked and our thoughts are with him.’
   Sanchez’s father, Felipe, who was in his mid 50s, suffered a heart attack, according to media reports in Mexico. He was due to fly to Germany.

South Korea are on a staggering half-a-million US dollars-a-player bonus to lift the World Cup, according to the Korea Football Association (KFA)
   The huge 500 million won (about 526,523 US dollars) hand-out for becoming world champions ranks third among the 32 World Cup finalists following Spain (712,000 US dollars) and England (549,000 US dollars), the KFA stated.
   A KFA spokesman confirmed to AFP during a training session here on Wednesday that reports were circulating in Korea that the win bonus figure had been set by the association.
   The Korean players will be paid 100 million won if they reach the last 16 while making the quarter-finals and semi-finals will reap 200 million won and 300 million won respectively. The KFA has not officially announced what the squad members will receive if Korea are beaten finalists.
   South Koreas footballers each received a 250,000 US dollar bonus for reaching the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup on home soil.
   The KFA originally devised a format to pay bonuses according to the role of each player in the 2002 finals but backed down after the squad protested en bloc.
   Several of the younger players in the Korean squad will be exempted from military service if they progress past the group stage, a concession which was passed into law after the squads glory run in 2002.
   All Korean males over 18 are liable for a two-year stint in the Armed Forces and the possible waiver would effect former Asian Young Player of the Year Park Chu-Young, who turns 21 next month, and defender Kim Jin-Kyu.
   Manchester United star Park Ji-Sung was one of the players who escaped national service as a reward for reaching the 2002 semis.

When Tunisian goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel made his international debut in 1991, the youngest player at this World Cup, England’s Theo Walcott, was just two years old.
   Boumnijel will become the oldest player to appear at a World Cup finals when he takes to the field on June 14 against Saudi Arabia.
   At 40 years and 62 days, he’ll beat the previous record set by Cameroon striker Roger Milla who was 40 years and 39 days when he appeared at the 1990 finals.
   There are other golden oldies in Germany waiting for one last shot at the big time.
   Trinidad and Tobago’s Russell Latapy, at 37, will be the oldest outfield player with Mexico defender Claudio Suarez, Latapy’s teammate Shaka Hislop and Iran’s Ali Daei not far behind.
   Boumnijel believes he has plenty to offer despite his years.
   ‘There are words, looks, attitudes. I try to reassure the youngsters,’ said Boumnijel who despite his years still has only 48 caps.
   ‘I talk a lot on the pitch. My experience helps me to feel things, to anticipate and talking a lot helps ease the pressure.’
   Latapy, who will be 38 in August, and currently plays with Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League, admits he has lost some speed but not his knowledge of the game.
   ‘Of course, I’m no young pup,’ said Latapy whose club career has taken him to Academica Coimbra, FC Porto and Boavista in Portugal as well as Hibernian, Rangers and Dundee United in Scotland.
   ‘It is a bit unrealistic in my lifetime to come back for a fourth and fifth World Cup qualification.’
   Latapy has hit 28 goals in his 66-match international career.
   But that is nothing compared to Daei, who has 109 goals from his 145 appearances
   ‘The World Cup is every footballer’s dream,’ said Daei.
   ‘In the past ten years I have played hard for the national team with the hopes of reaching the finals. We were thrilled to reach France in 1998 but our failure to make the finals in the USA in 1994 and South Korea and Japan in 2002 has left a bitter taste.’
   Former Harvard scholar Hislop will be at his first showpiece and is well known in England for his club career with the likes of Newcastle and West Ham.
   He won the first of his 24 caps in 1999 and is involved in a tussle with Kelvin Jack for the starter’s position.
   ‘Kelvin has held it for a while now and done well, so it will be hard to displace him,’ said Hislop.
   ‘But this is a chance for us to show what we have in the World Cup and I want to be a part of it.’
   At 36, Brazil skipper Cafu is a comparative youngster, but has a glittering World Cup record.
   The defender could become the first man to win the title twice as a captain as well as the first to play in four consecutive World Cup finals, being a veteran of the 1994 win over Italy, the 1998 loss to France and the 2002 success over Germany.
   He would also join Pele as the only individual to have won the title three times.
   ‘We have the best Brazil team I’ve played in. But now we have to win to prove it,’ said the veteran of 138 internationals.

Argentina’s strike partnership is showing good movement and will deliver if the pair get two chances each per match, according to Javier Saviola. ‘The duo is good, we always get on well. We understand each other and try to be dynamic,’ Saviola told reporters of his partnership with Hernan Crespo.
   Saviola and Crespo are expected to start against Ivory Coast in Argentina’s opening Group C match in Hamburg on Saturday, going by the line-up in practice this week.
    ‘If we get one or two chances per match we’ll be okay,’ the 24-year-old former world youth champion said at Argentina’s training base.
   ‘After the Angola game we’ve been practising with this team for some time,’ added Saviola, referring to Argentina’s 2-0 win in a warm-up against the African side in Italy last week.
   ‘Anything can happen, but we hope to continue playing well so that on the day when the coach announces the team we can be in it,’ he said referring to himself and Crespo.
   ‘We’ve practised different positions up front but we’ll see how things develop in the matches.’
   Crespo is one of a small handful of veterans from the 2002 World Cup when he was Gabriel Batistuta’s understudy who now has the chance to lead the attack in a tough group that also includes Serbia & Montenegro and Netherlands.
   Coach Jose Pekerman, who has not confirmed his starting line-up for Saturday, is expected to ask his defence to concentrate on their duties and not venture forward too often. ‘I’ve got no problem playing in my natural position,’ said left back Juan Pablo Sorin, known for his attacking forays that can leave the defence exposed as in last year’s Confederations Cup final when Argentina lost 4-1 to Brazil.
   ‘If I have to attack less I’ll do so and if I have to defend more I’ll also do that,’ team captain Sorin added.
   Argentina’s line-up in practice has been: 1-Roberto Abbon-danzieri; 21-Nicolas Burdisso, 2-Roberto Ayala, 6-Gabriel Heinze, 3-Juan Pablo Sorin; 18-Maxi Rodriguez, 8-Javier Mascherano, 5-Esteban Cambiasso, 10-Juan Roman Riquelme; 7-Javier Saviola, 9-Hernan Crespo.

Angola
   Goalkeepers: 1 Joao Ricardo, 12 Lama,
   22 Mario
   Defenders: 2 Marcos Airosa, 3 Jamba, 4 Lebo Lebo, 5 Kali, 15 Rui Marques, 20 Loco,
   21 Delgado, 23 Marco Abreu
   Midfielders: 6 Miloy, 7 Figueiredo, 8 Andre,
   11 Mateus, 13 Edson, 14 Mendonca, 17 Ze Kalanga
   Forwards: 9 Mantorras, 10 Akwa, 16 Flavio, 18 Love, 19 Andre Titi Buengo
   Argentina
   Goalkeepers: 1 Abbondanzieri Roberto,
   12 Franco Leonardo, 23 Ustari Oscar
   Defenders: 2 Ayala Roberto, 3 Sorin Juan,
   4 Coloccini Fabricio, 6 Heinze Gabriel,
   13 Scaloni Lionel, 15 Milito Gabriel, 17 Cufre Leandro, 21 burdisso Nicolas
   Midfielders: 5 Cambiasso Esteban,
   8 Mascherano Javier, 10 Riquelme Juan,
   16 Aimar Pablo, 18 Rodriguez Maxi,
   22 Gonzalez Luis
   Forwards: 7 Saviola Javier, 9 Crespo Hernan, 11 Tevez Carlos, 14 Palacio Rodrigo,
   19 Messi Lionel, 20 Cruz Julio
   Australia
   Goalkeepers: 1 Schwarzer Mark, 12 Covic Ante, 18 Kalac Zeljko
   Defenders: 2 Neill Lucas, 3 Moore Craig,
   6 Popovic Tony, 14 Chipperfield Scott,
   16 Beauchamp Michael, 22 Milligan Mark
   Midfielders: 4 Cahill Tim, 5 Culina Jason,
   7 Emerton Brett, 8 Skoko Josip, 11 Lazaridis Stan, 13 Grella Vince, 21 Sterjovski Mile,
   23 Bresciano Marco, 20 Wilkshire Luke
   Forwards: 9 Viduka Mark, 10 Kewell Harry, 15 Aloisi John, 17 Thompson Archie,
   19 Kennedy Joshua
   Brazil
   Goalkeepers: 1 Dida, 12 Rogerio Ceni, 22 Julio Cesar
   Defenders: 2 Cafu, 3 Lucio, 4 Juan, 6 Roberto Carlos, 13 Cicinho, 14 Luisao, 15 Cris,
   16 Gilberto
   Midfielders: 5 Emerson, 8 Kaka,
   10 Ronaldinho, 11 Ze Roberto, 17 Gilberto Silva, 18 Mineiro, 19 Juninho Pernambucano, 20 Ricardinho
   Forwards: 7 Adriano, 9 Ronaldo, 21 Fred,
   23 Robinho
   Costa Rica
   Goalkeepers: 1 Mesen Alvaro, 18 Porras Jose, 23 Alfaro Wardy
   Defenders: 2 Drummond Jervis, 3 Marin Luis, 4 Umana Michael, 5 Martinez Gilberto,
   12 Gonzalez Leonardo, 15 Wallace Harold,
   17 Badilla Gabriel, 22 Rodriguez Michael
   Midfielders: 6 Fonseca Danny, 7 Bolanos Cristian, 8 Solis Mauricio, 10 Centeno Walter, 14 Azofeifa Randall, 16 Hernandez Carlos, 20 Sequeira Douglas
   Forwards: 9 Wanchope Paulo, 11 Gomez Ronald, 13 Bernard Kurt, 19 Saborio Alvaro, 21 Nunez Victor
   Cote d’Ivoire
   Goalkeepers: 1 Tizie Jean-Jacques,
   16 Gnanhouan Gerard, 23 Barry Boubacar
   Defenders: 2 Boka Arthur, 4 Toure Kolo,
   6 Kouassi Blaise, 12 Meite Abdoulaye, 13 Zoro Marc, 17 Domoraud Cyrille, 21 Eboue Emmanuel
   Midfielders: 3 Akale Kanga, 5 Zokora Didier, 7 Fae Emerse, 10 Yapi Yapo Gilles, 18 Keita Kader, 19 Toure Yaya, 20 Demel Guy,
   22 Romaric
   Forwards: 8 Kalou Bonaventure, 9 Kone Arouna, 11 Drogba Didier, 14 Kone Bakary, 15 Dindane Aruna
   Croatia
   Goalkeepers: 1 Pletikosa Stipe, 12 Didulica Joe, 23 Butina Tomislav
   Defenders: 3 Simunic Josip, 4 Kovac Robert,
   5 Tudor Igor, 7 Simic Dario, 11 Tokic Mario, 13 Tomas Stjepan
   Midfielders: 2 Srna Darijo, 6 Vranjes Jurica,
   8 Babic Marko, 10 Kovac Niko, 14 Modric Luka, 15 Leko Ivan, 16 Leko Jerko,
   19 Kranjcar Niko, 20 Seric Anthony
   Forwards: 9 Prso Dado, 17 Klasnic Ivan,
   18 Olic Ivica, 21 Balaban Bosko, 22 Bosnjak Ivan
   Czech Republic
   Goalkeepers: 1 Cech Petr, 16 Blazek Jaromir, 23 Kinsky Antonin
   Defenders: 2 Grygera Zdenek, 3 Mares Pavel, 6 Jankulovski Marek, 13 Jiranek Martin,
   21 Ujfalusi Tomas, 22 Rozehnal David
   Midfielders: 4 Galasek Tomas, 5 Kovac Radoslav, 7 Smicer Vladimir, 8 Poborsky Karel, 10 Rosicky Tomas, 11 Nedved Pavel, 14 Jarolim David, 17 Stajner Jiri, 19 Polak Jan, 20 Plasil Jaroslav
   Forwards: 9 Koller Jan, 12 Lokvenc Vratislav, 15 Baros Milan, 18 Heinz Marek
   Ecuador
   Goalkeepers: 1 Villafuerte Edwin, 12 Mora Cristian, 22 Lanza Damian
   Defenders: 2 Guagua Jorge, 3 Hurtado Ivan,
   4 De La Cruz Ulises, 5 Perlaza Jose,
   13 Ambrosi Paul, 17 Espinoza Giovanny,
   18 Reasco Neicer
   Midfielders: 6 Urrutia Patricio, 7 Lara Christian, 8 Mendez Edison, 14 Castillo Segundo, 15 Ayovi Marlon, 16 Valencia Luis, 19 Saritama Luis, 20 Tenorio Edwin
   Forwards: 9 Borja Felix, 10 Kaviedes Ivan,
   11 Delgado Agustin, 21 Tenorio Carlos,
   23 Benitez Cristian
   England
   Goalkeepers: 1 Robinson Paul, 13 James David, 22 Carson Scott
   Defenders: 2 Neville Gary, 3 Cole Ashley,
   5 Ferdinand Rio, 6 Terry John, 12 Campbell Sol, 14 Bridge Wayne, 15 Carragher Jamie
   Midfielders: 4 Gerrard Steven, 7 Beckham David, 8 Lampard Frank, 11 Cole Joe,
   16 Hargreaves Owen, 17 Jenas Jermaine,
   18 Carrick Michael, 19 Lennon Aaron,
   20 Downing Stewart
   Forwards: 9 Rooney Wayne, 10 Owen Michael, 21 Crouch Peter, 23 Walcott Theo
   France
   Goalkeepers: 1 Landreau Mickael, 16 Barthez Fabien, 23 Coupet Gregory
   Defenders: 2 Boumsong Jean-Alain, 3 Abidal Eric, 5 Gallas William, 13 Silvestre Mikael,
   15 Thuram Lilian, 17 Givet Gael, 19 Sagnol Willy, 21 Chimbonda Pascal
   Midfielders: 4 Vieira Patrick, 6 Makelele Claude, 7 Malouda Florent, 8 Dhorasoo Vikash, 10 Zidane Zinedine, 18 Diarra Alou, 22 Ribery Frank
   Forwards: 9 Cisse Djibril, 11 Wiltord Sylvain, 12 Henry Thierry, 14 Saha Louis,
   20 Trezeguet David
   Germany
   Goalkeepers: 1 Lehmann Jens, 12 Kahn Oliver, 23 Hildebrand Timo
   Defenders: 2 Jansen Marcell, 3 Friedrich Arne, 4 Huth Robert, 6 Nowotny Jens, 16 Lahm Philipp, 17 Mertesacker Per, 21 Metzelder Christoph
   Midfielders: 5 Kehl Sebastian, 7 Schweinsteiger Bastian, 8 Frings Torsten, 13 Ballack Michael, 15 Hitzlsperger Thomas, 18 Borowski Tim, 19 Schneider Bernd, 22 Odonkor David
   Forwards: 9 Hanke Mike, 10 Neuville Oliver, 11 Klose Miroslav, 14 Asamoah Gerald,
   20 Podolski Lukas
   Ghana
   Goalkeepers: 1 Adjei Sammy, 16 Owu George, 22 Kingston Richard
   Defenders: 2 Sarpei Hans, 4 Kuffour Samuel,
   5 Mensah John, 6 Pappoe Emmanuel, 7 Shilla Illiasu, 13 Mohamed Habib, 15 Pantsil John, 17 Quaye Daniel, 21 Ahmed Issah
   Midfielders: 8 Essien Michael, 9 Boateng Derek, 10 Appiah Stephen, 11 Muntari Sulley, 18 Addo Eric, 20 Addo Otto, 23 Dramani Haminu
   Forwards: 3 Gyan Asamoah, 12 Tachie-Mensah Alex, 14 Amoah Matthew,
   19 Pimpong Razak
   Iran
   Goalkeepers: 1 Mirzapour Ebrahim,
   12 Roudbarian Hassan, 22 Talebloo Vahid
   Defenders: 3 Bakhtiarizadeh Sohrab,
   4 Golmohammadi Yahya, 5 Rezaei Rahman,
   13 Kaabi Hossein, 18 Zare Sattar, 19 Sadeqi Amir Hossein, 20 Nosrati Mohammad
   Midfielders: 2 Mahdavikia Mehdi, 6 Nekounam Javad, 7 Zandi Ferydoon, 8 Karimi Ali,
   14 Teymourian Andranik, 21 Madanchi Mehrzad, 23 Shojaei Masoud
   Forwards: 9 Hashemian Vahid, 10 Daei Ali,
   11 Khatibi Rasoul, 15 Borhani Arash, 16 Enayati Reza, 17 Kazemeian Javad
   Italy
   Goalkeepers: 1 Buffon Gianluigi, 12 Peruzzi Angelo, 14 Amelia Marco
   Defenders: 2 Zaccardo Cristian, 3 Grosso Fabio, 5 Cannavaro Fabio, 6 Barzagli Andrea, 13 Nesta Alessandro, 19 Zambrotta Gianluca, 22 Oddo Massimo, 23 Materazzi Marco
   Midfielders: 4 De Rossi Daniele, 8 Gattuso Gennaro, 10 Totti Francesco, 16 Camoranesi Mauro, 17 Barone Simone, 20 Perrotta Simone, 21 Pirlo Andrea
   Forwards: 7 Del Piero Alessandro, 9 Toni Luca, 11 Gilardino Alberto, 15 Iaquinta Vincenzo, 18 Inzaghi Filippo
   Japan
   Goalkeepers: 1 Narazaki Seigo, 12 Doi Yoichi, 23 Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu
   Defenders: 2 Moniwa Teruyuki, 3 Komano Yuichi, 5 Miyamoto Tsuneyasu, 6 Nakata Koji, 14 Santos Alessandro, 19 Tsuboi Keisuke, 21 Kaji Akira, 22 Nakazawa Yuji
   Midfielders: 4 Endo Yasuhito, 7 Nakata Hidetoshi, 8 Ogasawara Mitsuo,
   10 Nakamura Shunsuke, 15 Fukunishi Takashi, 17 Inamoto Junichi, 18 Ono Shinji
   Forwards: 9 Takahara Naohiro, 11 Maki Seiichiro, 13 Yanagisawa Atsushi, 16 Oguro Masashi, 20 Tamada Keiji
   Korea Republic
   Goalkeepers: 1 Lee Woon Jae, 20 Kim Yong Dae, 21 Kim Young Kwang
   Defenders: 2 Kim Young Chul, 3 Kim Dong Jin, 4 Choi Jin Cheul, 6 Kim Jin Kyu, 12 Lee Young Pyo, 18 Kim Sang Sik, 22 Song Chong Gug, 23 Cho Won Hee
   Midfielders: 5 Kim Nam Il, 7 Park Ji Sung,
   8 Kim Do Heon, 13 Lee Eul Yong, 15 Baek Ji Hoon, 17 Lee Ho
   Forwards: 9 Ahn Jung Hwan, 10 Park Chu Young, 11 Seol Ki Hyeon, 14 Lee Chun Soo, 16 Chung Kyung Ho, 19 Cho Jae Jin
   Mexico
   Goalkeepers: 1 Sanchez Oswaldo, 12 Corona Jose, 13 Ochoa Guillermo
   Defenders: 2 Suarez Claudio, 3 Salcido Carlos, 4 Marquez Rafael, 5 Osorio Ricardo,
   14 Pineda Gonzalo, 15 Castro Jose Antonio,
   16 Mendez Mario, 18 Guardado Andres,
   22 Rodriguez Francisco
   Midfielders: 6 Torrado Gerardo, 7 Zinha,
   8 Pardo Pavel, 20 Garcia Rafael, 23 Perez Luis
   Forwards: 9 Borgetti Jared, 10 Franco Guillermo, 11 Morales Ramon, 17 Fonseca Jose, 19 Bravo Omar, 21 Arellano Jesus
   Netherlands
   Goalkeepers: 1 Van der Sar Edwin, 22 Timmer Henk, 23 Stekelenburg Maarten
   Defenders: 2 Jaliens Kew, 3 Boulahrouz Khalid, 4 Mathijsen Joris, 5 Van Bronckhorst Giovanni, 12 Kromkamp Jan, 13 Ooijer Andre, 14 Heitinga John, 15 De Cler Tim
   Midfielders: 6 Landzaat Denny, 8 Cocu Phillip, 10 Van der Vaart Rafael, 16 Maduro Hedwiges, 18 Van Bommel Mark, 20 Sneijder Wesley
   Forwards: 7 Kuyt Dirk, 9 Van Nistelrooy Ruud, 11 Robben Arjen, 17 Van Persie Robin, 19 Vennegoor Hesselink Jan, 21 Babel Ryan
   Paraguay
   Goalkeepers: 1 Villar Justo, 12 Gomez Derlis, 22 Bobadilla Aldo
   Defenders: 2 Nunez Jorge, 3 Toledo Delio,
   4 Gamarra Carlos, 5 Caceres Julio Cesar,
   14 Da Silva Paulo, 15 Manzur Julio, 21 Caniza Denis
   Midfielders: 6 Bonet Carlos, 7 Cabanas Salvador, 8 Barreto Edgar, 10 Acuna Roberto, 11 Gavilan Diego, 13 Paredes Carlos, 16 Riveros Cristian, 17 Montiel Jose, 19 Dos Santos Julio
   Forwards: 9 Santa Cruz Roque, 18 Valdez Nelson, 20 Cardozo Jose, 23 Cuevas Nelson
   Poland
   Goalkeepers: 1 Boruc Artur, 12 Kuszczak Tomasz, 22 Fabianski Lukasz
   Defenders: 2 Jop Mariusz, 3 Gancarczyk Seweryn, 4 Baszczynski Marcin, 6 Bak Jacek, 14 Zewlakow Michal, 17 Dudka Dariusz,
   18 Lewandowski Mariusz, 19 Bosacki Bartosz
   Midfielders: 5 Kosowski Kamil, 7 Sobolewski Radoslaw, 8 Krzynowek Jacek,
   10 Szymkowiak Miroslav, 13 Mila Sebastian,
   15 Smolarek Ebi, 16 Radomski Arkadiusz,
   20 Giza Piotr
   Forwards: 9 Zurawski Maciej, 11 Rasiak Grzegorz, 21 Jelen Ireneusz, 23 Brozek Pawel
   Portugal
   Goalkeepers: 1 Ricardo, 12 Quim, 22 Paulo Santos
   Defenders: 2 Paulo Ferreira, 3 Caneira,
   4 Ricardo Costa, 5 Fernando Meira,
   13 Miguel, 14 Nuno Valente, 16 Ricardo Carvalho
   Midfielders: 6 Costinha, 8 Petit, 10 Hugo Viana, 18 Maniche, 19 Tiago, 20 Deco
   Forwards: 7 Luis Figo, 9 Pauleta, 11 Simao Sabrosa, 15 Boa Morte, 17 Cristiano Ronaldo, 21 Nuno Gomes, 23 Helder Postiga
   Saudi Arabia
   Goalkeepers: 1 Al Deayea Mohammed,
   21 Zaid Mabrouk, 22 Khojah Mohammad
   Defenders: 2 Dokhi Ahmed, 3 Tukar Redha,
   4 Al Montashari Hamad, 5 Al Qadi Naif,
   12 Khathran Abdulaziz, 13 Sulimani Hussein,
   15 Al Bahri Ahmed
   Midfielders: 6 Al Ghamdi Omar, 7 Ameen Mohammed, 8 Noor Mohammed, 10 Al Shlhoub Mohammad, 14 Khariri Saud,
   16 Aziz Khaled, 18 Al Temyat Nawaf, 19 Massad Mohammed
   Forwards: 9 Al Jaber Sami, 11 Al Harthi Saad, 17 Al Anbar Mohammed, 20 Al Kahtani Yaser, 23 Mouath Malek
   Serbia and Montenegro
   Goalkeepers: 1 Jevric Dragoslav, 12 Kovacevic Oliver, 23 Stojkovic Vladimir
   Defenders: 3 Dragutinovic Ivica, 5 Vidic Nemanja, 6 Gavrancic Goran, 13 Basta Dusan, 14 Djordjevic Nenad, 15 Dudic Milan, 16 Petkovic Dusan, 20 Krstajic Mladen
   Midfielders: 2 Ergic Ivan, 4 Duljaj Igor,
   7 Koroman Ognjen, 10 Stankovic Dejan,
   11 Djordjevic Predrag, 17 Nadj Albert,
   18 Vukic Zvonimir, 22 Ilic Sasa
   Forwards: 8 Kezman Mateja, 9 Milosevic Savo, 19 Zigic Nikola, 21 Ljuboja Danijel
   Spain
   Goalkeepers: 1 Casillas Iker, 19 Canizares Santiago, 23 Reina Jose Manuel
   Defenders: 2 Salgado Michel, 3 Pernia Mariano, 4 Marchena Carlos, 5 Puyol Carlos, 12 Lopez Antonio, 15 Ramos Sergio,
   20 Juanito, 22 Pablo
   Midfielders: 6 Albelda David, 8 Xavi, 10 Reyes Jose Antonio, 13 Iniesta, 14 Xabi Alonso,
   16 Marcos Senna, 17 Joaquin, 18 Fabregas Cesc
   Forwards: 7 Raul, 9 Torres Fernando,
   11 Garcia Luis, 21 Villa David
   Sweden
   Goalkeepers: 1 Isaksson Andreas, 12 Alvbage John, 23 Shaaban Rami
   Defenders: 2 Nilsson Mikael, 3 Mellberg Olof, 4 Lucic Teddy, 5 Edman Erik, 13 Hansson Petter, 14 Stenman Fredrik, 15 Svensson Karl
   Midfielders: 6 Linderoth Tobias,
   7 Alexandersson Niclas, 8 Svensson Anders,
   9 Ljungberg Freddie, 16 Kallstrom Kim,
   19 Andersson Daniel, 21 Wilhelmsson Christian
   Forwards: 10 Ibrahimovic Zlatan, 11 Larsson Henrik, 17 Elmander Johan, 18 Jonson Mattias, 20 Allback Marcus, 22 Rosenberg Markus
   Switzerland
   Goalkeepers: 1 Zuberbuehler Pascal,
   12 Benaglio Diego, 21 Coltorti Fabio
   Defenders: 2 Djourou Johan, 3 Magnin Ludovic, 4 Senderos Philippe, 13 Grichting Stephane, 17 Spycher Christoph, 20 Mueller Patrick, 23 Degen Philipp
   Midfielders: 5 Margairaz Xavier, 6 Vogel Johann, 7 Cabanas Ricardo, 8 Wicky Raphael, 15 Dzemaili Blerim, 16 Barnetta Tranquillo, 19 Behrami Valon
   Forwards: 9 Frei Alexander, 10 Gygax Daniel, 11 Streller Marco, 14 Degen David,
   18 Lustrinelli Mauro, 22 Vonlanthen Johan
   Togo
   Goalkeepers: 1 Tchagnirou Ouro-Nimini,
   16 Agassa Kossi, 22 Obilale Kodjovi
   Defenders: 2 Nibombe Dare, 3 Abalo Jean-Paul, 5 Tchangai Massamasso, 12 Akoto Eric, 19 Assemoassa Ludovic, 21 Guede Karim,
   23 Toure Assimiou
   Midfielders: 6 Aziawonou Yao, 8 Agboh Kuami, 9 Dossevi Thomas, 10 Mamam Cherif Toure, 15 Romao Alaixys, 20 Erassa Affo
   Forwards: 4 Adebayor Emmanuel, 7 Salifou Moustapha, 11 Malm Robert, 13 Forson Richmond, 14 Olufade Adekanmi,
   17 Mohamed Kader, 18 Senaya Yao Junior
   Trinidad and Tobago
   Goalkeepers: 1 Hislop Shaka, 21 Jack Kelvin, 22 Ince Clayton
   Defenders: 2 Cox Ian, 3 John Avery,
   4 Andrews Marvin, 5 Sancho Brent,
   6 Lawrence Dennis, 8 Gray Cyd,
   17 Charles Atiba
   Midfielders: 7 Birchall Christopher, 9 Whitley Aurtis, 11 Edwards Carlos, 18 Theobald Densill, 23 Wolfe Anthony
   Forwards: 10 Latapy Russell, 12 Samuel Collin, 13 Glen Cornell, 14 John Stern, 15 Jones Kenwyne, 16 Wise Evans, 19 Yorke Dwight, 20 Scotland Jason
   Tunisia
   Goalkeepers: 1 Boumnijel Ali, 16 Nefzi Adel, 22 Kasraoui Hamdi
   Defenders: 3 Haggui Karim, 4 Yahia Alaeddine, 6 Trabelsi Hatem, 7 Meriah Mehdi, 15 Jaidi Radhi, 18 Jemmali David,
   19 Ayari Anis, 21 Saidi Karim
   Midfielders: 8 Nafti Mehdi, 10 Ghodhbane Kaies, 12 Mnari Jaouhar, 13 Bouazizi Riadh, 14 Chedli Adel, 20 Namouchi Hamed,
   23 Melliti Sofiane
   Forwards: 2 Essediri Karim, 5 Jaziri Zied,
   9 Chikhaoui Yassine, 11 Santos, 17 Jomaa Issam
   Ukraine
   Goalkeepers: 1 Shovkovskiy Oleksandr,
   12 Pyatov Andriy, 23 Shust Bogdan
   Defenders: 2 Nesmachniy Andriy, 3 Iatsenko Oleksandr, 5 Yezerskiy Vladimir, 6 Rusol Andriy, 13 Chigrynskiy Dmytro, 17 Vashchuk Vladislav, 22 Sviderskiy Vyacheslav
   Midfielders: 4 Tymoschuk Anatoliy, 8 Shelayev Oleg, 9 Gusev Oleg, 11 Rebrov Serhiy,
   14 Gusin Andriy, 18 Nazarenko Serhiy,
   19 Kalinichenko Maksim, 21 Rotan Ruslan
   Forwards: 7 Shevchenko Andriy, 10 Voronin Andriy, 15 Milevskiy Artem, 16 Vorobey Andriy, 20 Byelik Oleksiy
   USA
   Goalkeepers: 1 Howard Tim, 19 Hahnemann Marcus, 18 Keller Kasey
   Defenders: 2 Albright Chris, 3 Bocanegra Carlos, 4 Mastroeni Pablo, 6 Cherundolo Steve,
   7 Lewis Eddie, 12 Berhalter Gregg, 13 Conrad Jimmy, 22 Onyewu Oguchi, 23 Pope Eddie
   Midfielders: 5 O Brien John, 8 Dempsey Clint, 10 Reyna Claudio, 14 Olsen Ben, 15 Convey Bobby, 17 Beasley DaMarcus, 21 Donovan Landon
   Forwards: 9 Johnson Eddie, 11 Ching Brian,
   16 Wolff Josh, 20 Mc Bride Brian

India captain Rahul Dravid and West Indies’ Brian Lara have been praising their sides for the competitive way in which they played the opening Test of their four-match series that ended in a draw on Tuesday at the Antigua Recreation Ground.
   West Indies, chasing a highly improbable, if not impossible victory target of 392, ended on 298 for nine with their last wicket pair of Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore grimly batting through the final 3.1 overs to defy the Indians.
   ‘It was a great a Test match, a fantastic Test match,’ Dravid told reporters at the post-match news conference.
   ‘We had our backs to the wall with three days to go, but the boys showed a lot of character to come back.
   ‘I was happy that my team was part of this Test, we learnt a lot from this match. We had no chance at the end of the second day, and most had written us off. Nobody would have believed we could have done this.’
   Dravid noted the competitive nature of the Test was helped by the ARG pitch which held up brilliantly over the five days, possibly for its final Test.
   ‘There was not much spin, but it had plenty of bounce,’ Dravid said.
   ‘You needed to pitch the ball up and get the batsmen to drive. I thought our young seamers bowled spells of high quality, real Test-class bowling, and Anil Kumble was fantastic, plugging away, so we created pressure.’
   Dravid also singled out opening batsman Wasim Jaffer for special praise, following his second innings 212 that set things up for India and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
   ‘Some of the shots he played were tough to play on this pitch,’ Dravid said.
   ‘Earlier, he was loose and would throw his wicket away, but hopefully he will emerge consistent because he has all the tools to succeed at this level.’
   The match also featured the final Test innings of Lara at a ground on which he has twice posted the World record score for the highest individual innings.
   He lasted just seven balls before he was adjudged lbw to Shantha Sreesanth, but the result of the match resonated much more with the batting superstar.
   ‘It was a great Test match, it ebbed and flowed for three days,’ Lara said.
   ‘It edged away from us on the fourth and fifth days, but I must commend the guys for showing a lot of character.
   ‘It was an unfortunate day for me, but at the end of the day, we have been given a lifeline going into the rest of the series.
   ‘This ground has served me well, but it has also served West Indies cricket well, especially in this match.’
   Lara acknowledged the effort of Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore, as well as Daren Ganga, who was runner for the injured Edwards when he batted.
   ‘Corey we know can keep the ball out, and Fidel can bat,’ he said.
   ‘They were not the only ones in the middle though. They managed with a little help from Daren. Ganga is as good an option as we could choose.
   ‘He’s a successful captain for his native Trinidad and Tobago and he knew exactly what needed to happen out there.’
   The second Test starts at Gros Islet’s Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on Saturday.

Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne overcame Belgian compatriot Kim CLijsters 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final of the French Open on Thursday.
   The 24-year-old fifth seed will meet Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final on Sunday after the eighth seed put out teenager Nicole Vaidisova 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
   The 17-year-old Czech, who had knocked out world number one Amelie Mauresmo and Venus Williams on her way to the last four, controlled the match for almost two sets and served for victory at 5-4 in the second before suffering a dramatic collapse.
   Vaidisova had never been beyond round four of a grand slam before and a stream of unforced errors allowed eighth seed Kuznetsova to win the second set tiebreak 7-5 and then rattle through the decider.
   Vaidisova left the arena with nothing but tears and sympathy.
   ‘I think I benefited from my experience,’ said the 20-year-old Kuznetsova. ‘I've played more often on centre court than she has and I knew it was possible to turn the match around.’
   Vaidisova's forehand power troubled Kuznetsova from the start but the stocky Russian scurried doggedly at the baseline and led 5-3 in the first set.
   The Czech, however, won the longest rally of the match with a backhand winner to reach break point, provoking an unexpected roar from the centre court spectators.
   It knocked the stuffing out of Kuznetsova and she netted forehands to lose successive service games and another forehand error handed Vaidisova the first set.
   The tall teenager seemed in control of her emotions and on course for victory after breaking in the first game of the second set.
   When she served for the match at 5-4, however, her game fell apart. After successive forehand errors Vaidisova double-faulted to lose her service.
   In the tiebreak Kuznetsova led 4-1 before Vaidisova fought back to 5-5. However another over-hit forehand gave Kuznetsova set point and a similarly over-cooked backhand allowed the Russian to level the match.
   Kuznetsova scented blood and immediately broke at the start of the second set as, for the first time in the match, Vaidisova began to show visible signs of frustration.
   Another unforced error left the Czech scratching the
   clay with her racket court in dismay and suddenly she was 3-0 down.

England's wounds have hardly had time to heal since their mauling in the third Test against Sri Lanka, but Shane Warne believes that they will only emerge stronger and tougher against Pakistan later this summer.
   Speaking at the launch of his new poker website, PokerCricket.com, Warne said: ‘It's the one series they've got before the Ashes so it will make all their players really hungry. I expect a very good showing.’
   Thoughts are already turning, of course, to this winter's showdown in Australia, and Warne hopes that Monty Panesar will be on the plane, despite mounting speculation that his fellow spinner won't be able to cope with the crowd pressure.
   ‘If Monty keeps fielding like he has, I'm sure he'll be a crowd favourite in Australia.’ But if Monty keeps fielding like he has - fluffing at will - he may not be much of a dressing-room favourite. Still, Warne believes Panesar has no option but to continue as he is.
   ‘The more you try and fight them, if you get upset with them, the more it can actually affect you. You can have a joke with them and fun with them.’
   If it's not so surprising that Warne favours Panesar, what may come as a shock to English tacticians is his backing of another spin wizard: Merlyn, the bowling machine. Ominously, he claims that Merlyn - the very machine designed to help English batsmen learn to combat Warne-like whirlers in last year's Ashes - leaves him holding all the aces.
   ‘I think it helps me,’ he revealed, ‘because it does these silly things with balls that spin that far and people say 'How do I play that?' and that helps me. So the more they use that the better I reckon.’
   One thing he does say which will come as some comfort to the England line-up is that he has no plans to develop any new balls just now.
   ‘There's nothing in the pipeline at the moment,’ he said - but is this just a double bluff? Either way, he's doubtless going to cause England enough problems come this winter - and beyond.
   He hasn't yet ruled out playing in the 2009 series, as Richie Benaud recently said he hoped he would do. Speaking of Benaud, the silver-haired septuagenerian was the surprise choice for who Warne would like to play him in the upcoming musical of his life. The work, imaginatively entitled Shane Warne: The Musical, is currently being penned by the Melbourne-based comic Eddie Perfect. He had been undecided whether to let Warne know or not, but news travels fast and Warne already knew about it - and he's not necessarily pleased.
   ‘It depends on what sort of spin he wants to put on it, doesn't it? He can be factual, he can not be factual. He can exaggerate it. I don't know, I haven't thought it through whether I like it or don't like it.
   ‘But I don't like it how people can do books on you ... anyone can write a book on anyone, I don't like that law. I don't like that people can do things about your life without consent, I don't think that's fair.’
   Neither does he think the ticketing fiasco in Australia has worked out particularly fairly, although he recognises the need for Cricket Australia to have put some policies into place, regardless of how they were eventually executed.
   ‘There's a 40,000 stadium - you don't want 35,000 Englishmen and 5,000 for Australia, it's a home ground for England.’
   Not that he will take much notice when the Barmy Army start up. ‘I think because I've copped it so much, sledging doesn't get to me. The English have got the best songs. Sometimes they overstep the mark but I think generally it's maybe a bit of fun.’
   And fun is what it's all about for Warne, who hasn't ruled out appearing in the 2009 Ashes. ‘It's all about enjoyment. If you enjoy what you're doing, keep doing it, if not it's time to do something else.’
   He has to retire at some point - and his poker venture will, he hopes, provide a business interest, but in the meantime, how many more Test victims would he like to go with his 685 to date? How many is enough? ‘Never enough! Whatever it is in life, it's never enough.’

Former batting great Zaheer Abbas Wednesday said England were on the back foot after their latest defeat against Sri Lanka and urged Pakistan to exploit the situation during their tour next month.
   Pakistan are scheduled to play four Tests and five one-day internationals on their two-and-a-half month tour. The first Test starts at Lord’s from July 13.
   Abbas, who hit a monumental 274 at Edgbaston and 240 at The Oval on Pakistan’s tours in 1971 and 1974 respectively, said Pakistan had a good chance to defeat England in the series, noting that England would be on the defensive.
   England went down to a 184-run third Test defeat against Sri Lanka on Monday at Trent Bridge to leave the three-match series level at 1-1.
   Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan took eight for 70 as the home side slumped to 190 all out.
   ‘I am amazed they (England) prepared a dry wicket against Sri Lanka and were routed by Murali,’ Abbas who is manager designate for the tour told AFP.
   England could easily have used a grassy pitch and won the series, ‘if they do the same against Pakistan we have a good chance and (can) keep the unbeaten record against England’ since 1982.
   Abbas played 78 Tests between 1969 and 1985, scoring 5062 runs and with his stylish and elegant batting for Gloucestershire county became a batting legend in England.
   He is the only Pakistani to hit over 100 first class hundreds, and excelled in English conditions which he feels are the most taxing for a batsman.
   ‘My advice to the Pakistan batsmen will be to ‘be patient, take your time at the crease and play late and this is the main trick to bat in England,’ said Abbas, who said captain Inzamam-ul Haq was the key to Pakistan’s batting.
   ‘With both Pakistan and England having good bowling attacks, I think batting will be crucial and Inzamam will hold the key for Pakistan because he knows the conditions having toured England thrice,’ said Abbas, 58.
   ‘Pakistan’s batting revolves around Inzamam and the way he batted against England when they came here was remarkable.’ Inzamam hit three fifties and two hundreds in Pakistan’s 2-0 series win last year.
   Abbas said Pakistan’s bowling attack was very good.
   ‘England was the most difficult side to beat when I played, but gradually other sides have become stronger and now Pakistan is one of top sides.
   ‘We boast of a world class bowling attack and if Shoaib Akhtar is fit our attack would be too hot to handle.’
   Akhtar is nursing a swollen ankle and is racing against time to get a place in the 16-man squad to be announced on Friday.
   ‘Akhtar is a match winning bowler and his fitness will definitely be crucial for Pakistan. Even without him we have a very decent attack and this team has proved that it doesn’t rely on individuals,’ said Abbas.

Andrew Flintoff’s latest ankle injury has left England coach Duncan Fletcher with a problem he admitted he is struggling to solve ahead of the upcoming one-day series with Sri Lanka.
   England were due to announce their squad for the five-match encounter on Wednesday but that has now been delayed by at least 24 hours.
   Flintoff underwent a scan on his injured left ankle on Sunday, having bowled in pain and at reduced pace during Sri Lanka’s second innings of the third and final Test, a match the tourists went on to win by 134 runs at Trent Bridge on Monday to square that series at 1-1.
   If the all-rounder is ruled out and, with regular skipper Michael Vaughan seemingly not yet fit for international cricket following a comeback from a knee problem, Fletcher will have some tricky decisions.
   ‘It has got to be a concern because he is such a major player for us; also he helps get the balance of the side right,’ said Fletcher.
   ‘When it comes to the one-dayers I have sat for two days with (assistant coach) Matthew Maynard and a few of the players thinking about how we can balance the side.
   ‘How do we add five players to the squad which allow us batting depth and still have quality bowlers who can knock sides over,’ the former Zimbabwe captain added. ‘If he (Flintoff) plays it’s a bonus.’
   If both Vaughan and Flintoff are ruled out then batsman Andrew Strauss would be the most likely candidate to become captain, after stepping in during the one-day series during England’s (northern hemisphere) winter tour of India.
   ‘When you sit down and pick the squad that has all got to come into consideration,’ said Fletcher.
   ‘We have also got to have a look at whether Fred (Flintoff) can play just as a batter.’
   Vaughan, 31, has made a cautious return to county action with Yorkshire this season, following knee surgery in December.
   But, after discussions with Fletcher, he will not be rushed back as he was for the start of the Indian tour.
   ‘He wants to make sure he is 100 percent fit, he doesn’t want to let the team down again so we are going to leave it open for him,’ Fletcher said of Ashes-winning skipper Vaughan.
   ‘If he feels right we can pull him in at the back end of the series.’
   The Test defeat at Trent Bridge also left batsman Kevin Pietersen with a slight hamstring tear and all-rounder Paul Collingwood a sore rib.
   England used just a dozen players in five Tests while regaining the Ashes from Australia last year.
   But this season has seen them hit by several injury problems with fast bowlers Stephen Harmison (shin), Simon Jones (knee) and James Anderson (back) all sidelined, while left-arm spinner Ashley Giles (hip/hernia) has also been out of action.
   ‘From our point of view we have been re-developing the squad since we got to Pakistan, in both one-dayers and Test matches,’ Fletcher added.
   ‘When we developed a squad to win the Ashes all under the age of 30 we thought ‘here we go, there are four years of cricket left in this team, let’s build on that’.
   ‘But we have ended up with four or five players missing all the time.’
   England great Geoffrey Boycott has warned the current team they must improve their ‘indifferent’ form if they want to retain the Ashes when they travel to Australia later this year.

BCB Red team registered a four-wicket win over BCB Green team in a women's exhibition cricket match at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
   Batting first, the Green team scored 96 for nine in 25 overs with Farida Jahan putting on an unbeaten 22 with four boundaries in her 33-ball knock. Opener Ayesha Akhter added 20 off 37 balls. The highest 25 runs, however, came from extras.
   Nahar Nice grabbed three wickets while T Zaman Eva and Saria Tanjim took two wickets each for 14 and 34 respectively.
   In reply, Papiya Haq rattled up 30 runs as the Red team overhauled the target scoring 97 for six in 18.4 overs. Papiya hit four fours in her 47-balls innings.
   Supriya Rani picked up two wickets for 10 runs.

Former Australia captain Allan Border tipped a 2-1 Ashes series win for his nation Thursday but warned the Australians would underrate England ‘at our own peril’.
   Border said Australia’s home ground advantage would prove crucial in the campaign to regain the Ashes trophy that England claimed for the first time in 16 years last September.
   ‘Overall, England are a good cricket team, but I just think at home we have got the players, as long as they all stay fit, to get those Ashes back,’ Border told Australian Associated Press.
   ‘If England have some injury problems I think we will win and win well, but if they get their full complement here I’ll give them a Test match and I think we will get two, so 2-1 will do me.’
   Border, the second highest runscorer in Test match history, nominated all-rounder Andrew Flintoff as England’s main threat but said quick Steve Harmison and captain-batsman Michael Vaughan could also cause damage if they recovered from injury.
   ‘To me they still have the basis of a very good cricket team once they get all their players fit,’ he said.
   ‘If they keep Flintoff fit and they get Harmison back and Vaughan back after his knee (injury) they’ll be very competitive—we underrate them at our peril,’ he said.
   The first of five Ashes Tests begins on November 23 in Brisbane.

Errol Alcott, the physiotherapist Steve Waugh described as ‘the best in the business’, has ended his 22-year association with Australian cricket to work with the South Sydney rugby league club.
   Alcott earned enormous respect after his efforts in the crucial recoveries of Waugh, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath from serious injuries, and he was called on to help the actor Russell Crowe during his filming of the movie Cinderella Man.
   Crowe is a part-owner of the struggling rugby league club and Alcott will join their physical performance and rehabilitation unit.
   ‘Part of me is sad that my time with the team is coming to an end, but I am looking forward to the new challenges in my professional life,’ Alcott said.
   ‘I believe I've left a legacy to the sport and have many fond memories including three victorious assaults on the cricket World Cup, and eight successful Ashes campaigns out of ten from 1986 to 2005.’
   Alcott, who was quickly nicknamed ‘Hooter’ after asking if they sounded one when a game finished, started with the national team on the 1983-84 tour of West Indies and was involved for 243 Tests and 516 ODIs.
   During his reign he reorganised the way the team treated fitness, developed new training regimes and set long-term individual programs for the players.
   He is best known for his work on Waugh's calf during the 2001 Ashes tour, when he ensured Waugh was fit to farewell England with a century at The Oval only 19 days after tearing a hole the size of a 20c piece in the muscle.

Virender Sehwag has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for excessive appealing during the tense final stages of the drawn first Test between India and West Indies in Antigua.
   Sehwag was found to have breached section 1.5 of the ICC Code which relates to "the practice of celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given". He removed Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin on the final day as West Indies hung on by one-wicket to save the match.
   All level one breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee. The charge was brought by the umpires Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel and Billy Doctrove.
   Jeff Crowe, the match referee, reached his conclusion after a hearing attended by Sehwag, the Indian coach Greg Chappell and the umpires following the conclusion of the Test.

Pakistani selectors on Thursday chose forgotten paceman Shahid Nazir to replace injured Shoaib Akhtar in their 16-man squad for next month’s Test series in England.
   The 28-year-old medium fast bowler played the last of his eight Tests against Sri Lanka in 1999 and was not included in any of the five one-day games on last year’s tour of India.
   Nazir was among six pacemen named to the squad, which will play four Tests and five one-day games during the trip, which starts on July 1.
   Pakistan suffered a crucial blow on Wednesday when their match-winning paceman Akhtar was ruled out for at least six weeks after scans revealed an ankle fracture sustained last year had not properly healed.
   Squad: Inzamam-ul Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Sami, Rana Naved, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir. Reserve players: Taufiq Umer, Asim Kamal, Zulqarnain Haider, Rao Iftikhar.

After surviving the Balkan war as a child, facing Spain’s clay-court giant Rafael Nadal holds little fear for Croatian hard man Ivan Ljubicic as the pair await a semi-final clash at the French Open.
   ‘It’s a fantastic feeling, I have to say,’ Ljubicic said after ending French participation at Roland Garros 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 over Julien Benneteau Wednesday. ‘I go in with zero pressure on me.’
   Ljubicic, at 27 and fourth in the world, is an experienced campaigner who was ahead by a break in the fifth set of the pair’s last meeting in the Madrid final in October, a thriller won by Nadal.
   Ljubicic heads into his fourth meeting with the defending champion, who is riding a 58-match clay win streak.
   Like his shaven head and workmanlike blasting serve, Ljubicic is engagingly blunt: ‘I’m not impressed with that streak,’ said the grand slam semi-final first-timer. ‘It’s a fantastic result, but he was close of losing matches so many times.
   ‘It has to happen one day. And I believe that I can beat him.’
   The Croatian whose family escaped in stages from war-torn Bosnia at the height of Balkan hostilities, feels his vast tennis experience will serve him well against the 20-year-old from Mallorca.
   And he won’t be over-awed by the moment either.
   ‘You know, when certain things happens to you when you’re 27, you know how to cope with those situations, sometimes better than when you’re 18.
   ‘In my career everything has been coming slowly. I know what it means to reach the semi-finals of the French Open. When you do it when you’re 18, 19, you don’t necessarily know exactly what it means.
   ‘I know exactly what my game, it’s about, head, all the ideas how to play. I can beat anyone, and why not Rafael Nadal?’

Shaun Pollock could miss South Africa's first Test in Sri Lanka to attend the birth of his second child.
   The all-rounder, who already has a two-year-old daughter with his wife Trish, told Reuters on Thursday that the birth could clash with the first Test starting in Colombo on July 27 because the tour dates had been brought forward.
   ‘We had planned it for before the tour started, but now they've moved the tour earlier. The caesarean will take place on either July 21 or 25 and obviously I'll be trying to get to Sri Lanka straight afterwards.
   ‘I might miss the first Test, but Cricket South Africa are happy because it really wasn't our fault with the tour dates changing,’ added Pollock, who flew home from the 2003 tour of England for the birth of his first child.
   Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of the national selection panel, confirmed that he was not concerned about Pollock's possible absence.

Footballers may be hounded by young girls wanting anything from a drink to a dance and other more physical pursuits - often leading to tell it all stories in the newspapers.
   But spare a thought for those of the fairer sex who face virtually five weeks of seeing their partners literally become couch potatoes as they watch blanket coverage of the World Cup.
   They will almost certainly undergo a footballer style sex ban and go from dreams of Sex in the City to the real life equivalent of Desperate Housewives as they are bent double serving up meals and drinks to their boyfriends/husbands and friends.
   However they have struck back by creating a couple of websites including chatlines and other such stuff - even including on one worldcupwidowsclub.com all the latest news especially on England’s darling Wayne Rooney and his ongoing soap opera with his metatarsal bone.
   Plenty of suggestions are made of how to deal with the oncoming onslaught of football, with not just the matches being pored over by the men but every piece of analysis and action replays and even repeats of the matches.
   Divorce evidently is one of those topics which provoked plenty of discussion, albeit mostly in a frivolous vein.
   ‘That’s a bit drastic!’ opined sweety monster. Another of the correspondents thought differently.
   ‘Expensive but worth it,’ commented Peachy.
   lisanmatt had another alternative idea.
   ‘Get a bike, it is cheaper.’
   However the bitter reality of their month off matrimonial and social duties was reflected later by peachy.
   ‘Would be worth it if I were married to a millionaire but I’m not so it is the dining room for me.’
   However even there the unfortunate woman will not be safe and sound as she revealed.
   ‘Thats okay but it (the diningroom) is off the kitchen and thats where the beer is kept, can hear me name being called all the time, fetch me, carry me...’
   Some, though, believe that they can get rid of the men from the house led by bluey.
   ‘Flick the trip switch before they get up in the morning, get ya mates who live in the area to do the same thing,’ commented bluey, believing that this would provoke them going to the pub leaving it a man free and football free household.
   Peachy did not agree.
   ‘Trouble is hubby won’t take the kids to the pub, so it looks like the fusebox is staying and its pub here I come.’
   The other site to stand up for the women of the household www.stopthe worldcup.co.uk has more creative demands in that yes if the men are to watch their beloved football then there is to be payback.
   In fact they have 11 demands - one for each starting player on the team - and if unlikely to be rewarded it is not one for an England fan wishing Sven-Goran Eriksson good luck.
   ‘Each goal scored by England will have to be compensated with one afternoon of shopping....at man’s expense.’
   And if the men thought that it would be safe to step back into the matrimonial bedroom just after the final whistle has blown on July 9, then they can think again, though it is once more the England football fan who will suffer.
   ‘Each garment or collection of accessories that is meant to even closely resemble the cross of St George will be punished with a one week strike.
   ‘For example white shirt with red cross + face paint in same colours = not getting any for two weeks.’
   The British farce ‘No Sex Please We’re British’ ran for years on the West End stage and if many Englishmen follow Prime Minister Tony Blair’s example by flying the flag of St George outside 10 Downing Street they will not be receiving any for a long time to come.
   Watching the World Cup may prove that the grass may not be greener after all.

Dutch coach Marco van Basten said on Thursday he was hoping that his side could make it three successive major finals on German soil after losing the 1974 World Cup final and winning Euro 88.
   The former AC Milan and Dutch striking legend expressed his hope that reaching those finals was a good omen for the latest edition of the World Cup as they bid to become the first Dutch side to win football’s greatest prize.
   ‘I hope that in effect our performances in 1974 and 1988 are not merely coincidental,’ said van Basten, who took over the reins from Dick Advocaat following Euro 2004 where the Dutch went out in the semi-finals.
   ‘Instead I would like us to rubberstamp the idea that we feel good when we play in Germany.
   ‘We should benefit from playing so close to home. We will also have the bonus of a lot of our supporters coming over to support us.
   ‘We sense this enthusiasm. It is now for the players to take that onto the pitch.’
   Van Basten said that having ditched several of the old guard like midfielders Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids, who were often linked with dressing room dissent, he would be relying on those remaining like Edgar van der Sar, Philip Cocu and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
   ‘As regards it being a youngish squad, if those players like van der Sar, Cocu, van Bronckhorst and van Nistelrooy don’t get injured, it will not be a problem,’ he said.
   ‘That will mean the younger players are well protected. As for myself I count a lot on the older players. I never hesitate to ask their advice with regards to certain tactics,’ said van Basten, who scored a wonder goal against the then Soviet Union in the Euro ‘88 final.
   Van Basten admitted that he had thought he had made a huge mistake and destroyed his squad by organising the friendly last Sunday with Australia, which resulted in several of his players being injured by the robust tackling of the Aussies.
   ‘I doubted my decision at that point.
   ‘When I saw the state of Wesley Sneijder (foot injury) and of Cocu (bruised thigh), I was really scared.
   ‘That is why I called up two replacements on standby (Stijn Schaars and Nigel de Jong).
   ‘But happily today everything is better and I think that all the players will be ready by Sunday (for their first Group C match against Serbia and Montenegro in Leipzig).
   ‘All the same I have had my preferred starting line-up in my head for a while and which will largely be the one that played in the final friendly matches.
   ‘I just have to be reassured of the state of fitness of certain players.’

England midfielder Steven Gerrard says he is only ‘50-50’ to face Paraguay in their World Cup opener on Saturday due to a hip problem.
   Gerrard, set to be a key figure in England’s Group B campaign, missed Wednesday’s training session with what coach Sven-Goran Eriksson described as a stiff back.
   But Gerrard told reporters on Thursday: ‘It’s not really a back problem. I got a knock on my hip and it’s just made my back go into spasm a bit.
   ‘Overall, I’ve got a good chance of playing on Saturday. I’ve just got to keep working on it, but I’ve got a good chance.
   ‘As we speak now it’s probably 50-50. But if it keeps improving the way it has done over the past 24 hours I’ll be there.’
   Meawhile, Brazilian legend Pele feels Steven Gerrard has been the world’s best player over the past five years.
   Gerrard has proved to be the heartbeat of the Liverpool side in recent seasons and has played an instrumental role in the club’s success.
   He was a pivotal figure in last year’s UEFA Champions League triumph and produced a two-goal salvo in the FA Cup final against West Ham United in May.
   His exploits have also seen Gerrard finish third in the 2005 European Footballer of the Year poll and pick up the PFA Player of the Year accolade.
   The Reds skipper is also expected to have a decisive say in how England fare at the upcoming World Cup in Germany.
   The powerhouse midfielder will head into the tournament with Pele’s praise ringing in his ears, following a glowing tribute from the three-time World Cup winner.
   Pele believes that Gerrard does not receive the recognition he deserves because he is a midfielder, rather than a forward.
   ‘The fans, they look only for forwards, always a forward,’ Pele told Sky Sports News. ‘Somebody who scores.
   ‘Sometimes you have a player like Gerrard.
   ‘For me, for the last five years Gerrard has been the best player in the world.
   ‘He is a midfielder, he plays very good. People didn’t mention Gerrard, now they mention Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Messi because they are forwards.’

Oh come, it’s been bothering us for a while now, hasn’t it? And, let’s face it, Beckham’s chest is a far more attractive area of debate than Rooney’s foot, Crouch’s inside leg or any other part of Team Eng-phwoar!-land’s anatomy.
   Judging by his readiness to peel off his strip at the mere glint of a photographer’s lens, Captain Becks doesn’t have any sense of pectoral inadequacy. Nor should he. According to Andrew Jones, professor of applied physiology at the School of Sport and Health at the University of Exeter, Beckham’s flat pecs are to be expected. ‘The pectoral muscles are engaged by extending the arms horizontally from the shoulder. They aren’t a particularly important muscle group for football. Speed, endurance and conditioning and strengthening of the lower body are much more important.’
   Moreover, Jones muses that big pecs would be a hindrance. ‘Enormous upper-body strength isn’t a requirement. Too much bulk there would be energetically costly and might compromise his speed and endurance. It could help if a footballer were competing for the ball and engaged in some argy-bargy. Beckham’s time would be better spent practising crosses, rather than lifting weights in the gym.’ Is any player on the pitch likely to have rippling pecs? ‘Yes, the goalkeeper, or someone who takes a lot of throw-ins.’ So, that explains Danny ‘Handful’ Mills and D-Cups David James then.
   A swift (OK, prolonged) re-examination of Beckham’s chest gives rise to another pec theory. In one picture Ashley Cole stands next to him. Cole’s pecs are similar in proportion to Beckham’s, yet somehow appear a little more bulky. Perhaps, this is because Beckham’s nipples are the size of a penny piece, or possibly it’s a result of the lack of shading afforded by a hairless chest creating the illusion of flatness. Aesthetic musing aside, does Jones think there is any chance of Beckham developing big bouncy pecs in Germany? ‘Well, raising the trophy would go some way towards building them.’

Argentina are missing only one thing at this World Cup - ‘un crack.’
   A ‘crack’ is Spanish slang for a game-breaking player – a superstar like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry or Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to their second World Cup title in 1986.
   The Argentines had a go-to man four years ago in Gabriel Batistuta – the country’s all-time leading scorer with 56 goals – but it didn’t matter. Argentina were ousted in the first round, a national humiliation.
   ‘What happened in Japan, the unfinished business, hopefully will spur us on,’ captain Juan Pablo Sorin said before Thursday’s practice.
   Sorin is one of only four players that coach Jose Pekerman has returning from the 2002 squad, joining Roberto Ayala, Pablo Aimar and Hernan Crespo. Pekerman is now trying to win with the youngsters he nurtured for a decade as the country’s youth coach.
   At a team dinner earlier this week, Argentina Football Federation president Julio Grondona called this team ‘stronger psychologically’ than the 2002 version. But man-for-man, nobody has suggested this team is better.
   ‘I don’t want to get into comparisons with four years ago,’ Sorin added. ‘We are aware of the pressure on us. Inside we are nervous, anxious to play and hungry for success.’
   Argentina begin play against Ivory Coast on Saturday in Group C, the toughest of the eight groups in the World Cup. Any of the four teams – including Serbia-Montenegro and the Netherlands – could reach the second round.
   ‘The first game is so, very important for us to win,’ striker Javier Saviola said.
   Argentina’s best hopes for a game-breaking player are 18-year-old Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and 22-year-old Carlos Tevez of Brazilian champions Corinthians. Both have been called the next Maradona, but on Saturday they are likely to be substitutes behind Crespo and Saviola.
   ‘If I get a chance, I hope I can come through and prove something,’ Tevez said earlier in the week.Argentina was No 1 in FIFA’s rankings going into the 2002 World Cup. This time it’s No 9, but expectations are still high. Other Latin American teams like Mexico, Paraguay and Costa Rica might be satisfied making the quarterfinals, but for Argentina, only the final will do.
   Five TV stations are giving live coverage to Argentina’s training camp in southern Germany, and one – the station TyC – is broadcasting from 6:00am until 10:00pm in Argentina time.
   Jorge Valdano, the former sporting director of Real Madrid and a member on the ‘86 World Cup team, is playing down expectations.
   ‘Brazil have at least five candidates that would fit on a list of the best 10 players in the world,’ Valdano said in an interview. ‘Argentina probably don’t have a single one despite the strong soccer culture.