WORLD ஜ۩۞۩ஜ CUP♥♡2010 &#1008

[kueytoc]

France's World Cup failures arrive back home

ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, AP - 12 minutes ago

PARIS (AP) -- France's World Cup squad has arrived home to a cold welcome after a humiliating early exit that has been condemned by domestic media as a scandal.

The team's chartered plane landed Thursday in the small Le Bourget airport near Paris, where police guarded the tarmac to let the players disembark away from journalists and fans.

France was eliminated from the first round after a tournament in which they went on strike, failed to win a match and had striker Nicolas Anelka thrown off the squad for insulting the coach.

Domenech, who is retiring as coach, added yet more dismay by refusing to shake hands with rival coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after France's last 2-1 loss to host South Africa.

Striker Thierry Henry, a former team captain and a 1998 World Cup champion who only played 52 minutes across two games in South Africa, stepped off the team plane and joined a small motorcade sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Henry went to a private meeting with Sarkozy, entering the Elysee Palace by a side door and making no public comment.

The football fiasco is taking an increasingly political turn in France, where the leading sports daily L'Equipe has dubbed the debacle "A state scandal."

Sarkozy has vowed to personally investigate the matter. He met with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot on Wednesday to discuss ways to reform French football.

"The head of state asked the ministers to ensure that those responsible learn the lessons of this disaster quickly," Sarkozy's office said in a statement, implying that football officials could resign. "He also asked the ministers to ensure that no financial reward is given."

Henry and some other team members have confirmed they aren't taking any bonuses from the cup, including from private sponsors.

In Parliament late Wednesday, Bachelot described the team's performance as a "disaster" that forced authorities to get involved. She slammed the national team as "immature 'gangsters' bossing around frightened kids, with a powerless coach in disarray and a federation in shambles."

The term she used to describe what she implied was a gangster-style hierarchy, "caid," meaning "judge" or "boss" in Arabic, echoed the contention of some in France that the breakdown of the ethnically diverse team reflected the problems at play in French society -- notably in impoverished suburbs, often heavily Muslim, where many of the French football team, including Anelka, grew up.

The French Football Federation made no comment after the team's arrival except for a terse statement on its website announcing that the plane had landed and "team France disbanded."

Sarkozy has called for a French football summit in October to rethink how the team and federation are organized.

Football results have had a strong impact on French politics in the past. When France won the World Cup in 1998, for instance, both the president and prime minister saw a double-digit surge in opinion ratings.

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Anelka extends Chelsea stay

AFP - 17 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - France striker Nicolas Anelka has extended his contract with Chelsea by a year just days after being sent home in disgrace from the World Cup, the English Premier League champions said Thursday.

Anelka verbally abused France coach Raymond Domenech during the World Cup clash with Mexico in South Africa and, having refused to apologise, was sent home from the tournament.

The rest of the France squad then missed a training session in protest, sparking condemnation from the French government, before the 1998 champions exited the tournament in the group phase.

But having had no similar bust-ups with the forward, a member of the Chelsea side that delivered the west London club its first League and FA Cup 'Double' last season, the Blues had no qualms about keeping Anelka at Stamford Bridge until 2012.

"Chelsea is delighted to announce that Nicolas Anelka has signed a one-year extension to his existing contract that will keep him at the club until 2012," a club spokesman said.

Anelka, 31, said he had no plans to leave Chelsea.

"When I first came to Chelsea I wanted to stay much longer than I did in the past with other clubs," said Anelka.

"It is a big club, you play with big players and I like this club, I like London. There is no need to move anymore and so I am very glad to sign a new contract and I know we will play in big games and win titles. I am very glad."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti added: "Nicolas is a fantastic player who has good technical qualities and movement.

"When I was coach at Juventus I wanted to buy him, so it is good now he has signed for me and I think Chelsea is his home," the Italian added. "I look forward to working with him for one year more."

Anelka has scored 42 goals in 123 appearances for Chelsea since joining from Premier League rivals Bolton Wanderers in January 2008.

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Italian flops follow French out of Cup

Reuters - 24 minutes ago

By Andrew Cawthorne

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Holders Italy were sensationally dumped out of the World Cup by Slovakia on Thursday to join fellow European power France in a humiliating and unprecedented first-round exit for the two previous finalists.

In one of the most memorable World Cup upsets 34th-ranked Slovakia, appearing for the first time as an independent nation, stunned the aging Azzurri 3-2 to reach the second round together with Paraguay in Group F.

After a thrilling end-to-end match, the Slovakians danced for joy at the final whistle while the Italians, many too old to play in another World Cup, fell to their knees in disbelief.

Striker Robert Vittek scored in both halves for Slovakia, while Kamil Kopunek added the third in the 89th minute, setting off on a celebratory run to his bench that will be one of the abiding images of the World Cup whatever happens now.

A shadow of the side that lifted the trophy in 2006, Italy nevertheless showed plenty of spirit in the second half, twice pulling goals back and then frantically peppering the Slovakian penalty area to no avail in the final minutes.

"We played with our hearts and that's what decided the match today," Vittek said. "We couldn't have dreamt about this."

The amazing defeat brought a sad end to Marcello Lippi's time as Italy coach plus the international careers of Fabio Cannavaro and Gennaro Gattuso after the trio said this would be their last tournament with the national side.

PARAGUAY FLY LATIN FLAG

Paraguay did not show the fire and flair that has characterized Latin American teams' showing in the tournament so far. Yet their forgettable 0-0 draw with New Zealand in the other Group F match was enough to leave them top of the group.

The All Whites exit with heads high after three draws in a World Cup where many had forecast they would be whipping boys.

Italy's failure, including two earlier draws prior to Thursday's loss, follows the spectacular flop of 2006 runners-up France. Never before have two previous finalists gone out in the first stage of the next tournament.

France's team arrived home on Thursday to national disgust at both their performance -- one draw and two defeats -- and an unseemly players' revolt over Nicolas Anelka's expulsion.

So traumatic was France's failure that President Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered a shake-up of French soccer and met team captain Thierry Henry as soon as he arrived back.

In Thursday's late games, Netherlands, who have looked solid if not inspired, are already through in Group E and will play a meaningless tie against Cameroon who are out.

Japan and Denmark play in the group's other match, where the Danes must win but the Asians need only a draw.

GREAT GAMES TO COME

With the group stages being wrapped up, some mouth-watering second round fixtures are emerging.

Germany face old rivals England on Sunday.

In 31 encounters stretching back to 1908, the Germans have won 10 times, drawn six and lost 15. "The joy of preparing for (the) England match is huge," German coach Joachim Loew said.

England have hardly looked world-beaters, but confidence is rising after they beat Slovenia 1-0 to secure passage.

"It starts here -- it's a knockout. How you played in the group doesn't mean anything," midfielder Frank Lampard said.

Argentina's coach Diego Maradona is ecstatic at his free-flowing team's perfect start with three wins out of three. They face slick-passing Mexico in the last 16 on Sunday.

Maradona has revealed he takes inspiration from one of the world's most successful club managers: Jose Mourinho.

"I've got his phone number, I might call him," he said, adding the pair had spent hours in the past discussing tactics.

Maradona, who famously guided Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 believes the jewel in his crown -- world player of the year Lionel Messi -- could just emulate his feat.

"Leo is ready to go out onto a pitch and leave it with the crown," the infectiously enthusiastic coach said, also praising his "thrilling" striker Carlos Tevez. "I love my team."

Of six African nations in the continent's first World Cup, four are out, Ivory Coast need a miracle to qualify from their group, and only Ghana have guaranteed a second round berth.

Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou said the raised expectations of playing on home soil had hurt the Africans.

"Expectations were huge and we owed it to ourselves to perform well, but the pressure has caused us more stress than anything else and even inhibited our talents," he said.

(Editing by Ossian Shine)

[kueytoc]

Italy eliminated after 3-2 loss to Slovakia

ANDREW DAMPF, AP - 4 minutes ago

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Defending champion Italy was eliminated from the World Cup on Thursday after a humbling 3-2 loss that sent Slovakia through to the round of 16.

For the third consecutive match, the Azzurri conceded an early goal, and this time they never recovered.

"I take full responsibility," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. "If the squad went out with fear in their legs and hearts it means the coach didn't prepare the match well tactically or psychologically."

Robert Vittek put Slovakia ahead in the 25th minute at Ellis Park, taking advantage of an errant pass from midfielder Daniele De Rossi. He then doubled the lead from close range in the 73rd following a corner.

Antonio Di Natale pulled one back for Italy in the 81st, but Kamil Kopunek scored another in the 89th for the Slovaks. Fabio Quagliarella put in the final goal in injury time.

Paraguay won Group F with five points, and Slovakia finished second with four points. New Zealand exited with three points and Italy was last with two, marking the first time the Azzurri have finished last in their group.

"We've shown shown that we're not here for a holiday," Slovakia forward Erik Jendrisek said.

Jendrisek added that the key for Slovakia was to be aggressive and not sit back.

"As soon as we were too passive, the Italians were more dangerous and scored, so we decided that we had to be more aggressive again," Jendrisek said.

The rest of the Slovakia players refused to speak with the media in an apparent show of support for coach Vladimir Weiss following his dispute with local reporters after a 2-0 loss to Paraguay.

While Slovakia's players heaped on top of one another to celebrate at the final whistle, the Azzurri walked off the field with their heads held low, with tears visible on some of their faces.

Quagliarella and Di Natale were particularly distraught, realizing their goals counted for little.

Italy also allowed early goals in its opening 1-1 draws with Paraguay and New Zealand, and the Azzurri attack struggled in all three games -- save for the final 10 minutes against Slovakia.

"Slovakia and New Zealand are teams worth respecting but nothing more and if we can't beat at least one of them it's only fair that we go home," said injured goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who watched from the sidelines again with a herniated disk in his back.

It was the end of an era for Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro and midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who already announced they would retire from the national team after the tournament. Lippi is also moving on, with Cesare Prandelli already named as his successor.

Italy's squad featured nine players that are 30 or older, led by the 36-year-old Cannavaro.

"We were a disappointment and everyone saw it," Buffon added. "The difference between 2006 and 2010 is that there are no longer enough players like (Francesco) Totti and (Alessandro) Del Piero.

"(Prandelli) will have to start a new cycle and I hope he's got his ideas in order, because the current situation of Italian football isn't great."

Lippi already left after Italy's title in 2006, then returned after Roberto Donadoni led the Azzurri to the quarterfinals of the 2008 European Championship.

"I don't regret coming back," Lippi said. "It was an experience I wanted to replicate. I was convinced I could do things differently and I'm sorry."

Slovakia is playing in its first major tournament since the former Czechoslovakia divided in 1993. The team conceded a stoppage time equalizer in its opening 1-1 draw with New Zealand and lost to Paraguay 2-0.

Vittek's opening goal came on a low shot just beyond the reach of Italy goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, who again replaced Buffon. He then beat Giorgio Chiellini from close range following a corner for his second goal.

Di Natale slid in a rebound from a Quagliarella shot and -- with four forwards on -- Quagliarella nearly equalized in the 85th but he was ruled offside.

Slovakia restored its two-goal lead in the 89th when Kopunek lifted a bouncing ball over Marchetti.

Quagliarella finally found the target in the second minute of injury time with a powerful long-range shot. A draw would have put Italy through, but Simone Pepe missed a volley wide in the fifth minute of added time.

Andrea Pirlo came on in the 56th for his first action since injuring his left calf in a pre-tournament friendly against Mexico three weeks ago and the crafty playmaker gave Italy's sagging attack a much-needed boost.

Still, for 80 minutes Italy's forwards were unable to find the target, and no forward scored in open play during the Azzurri's opening two matches.

Italy hasn't won since beating Sweden 1-0 in a friendly in November, drawing five times and losing twice.

It was Italy's first loss at the World Cup since allowing a golden goal to South Korea in the second round in 2002.

With France also eliminated, it's the first time that both previous World Cup finalists have been sent home after the group phase.

Lineups:

Italy: Federico Marchetti, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito (Christian Maggio, 46), Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo (Andrea Pirlo, 56), Gennaro Gattuso (Fabio Quagliarella, 46), Simone Pepe, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale.

Slovakia: Jan Mucha, Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Radoslav Zabavnik, Jan Durica, Miroslav Stoch, Juraj Kucka, Zdeno Strba (Kamil Kopunek, 87), Marek Hamsik, Robert Vittek (Stanislav Sestak, 90), Erik Jendrisek (Martin Petras, 90).

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Italy and France make unwanted history

AFP - 13 minutes ago

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Italy and France's miserable World Cup campaigns were complete on Thursday as they became the first finalists from the previous World Cup to exit at the first hurdle of the following one.

Champions Italy were eliminated after a stunning 3-2 defeat by Slovakia, and even finished bottom of the group below the rank outsiders New Zealand.

France, who lost on penalties to Italy in the final in Berlin in 2006, had exited on a suitably low note on Tuesday, bottom of their group like Italy, with a 2-1 defeat by hosts South Africa.

Never in the previous 18 editions had the two finalists shared such an ignominious fate.

Ironically Italy emulated France's lame defence in 2002 when the French had gone out at the first hurdle, though at least the Italians managed to score whereas the French failed to fins the net in three games.

The Italians had also failed to progress from the group stage in 1950 although few if any of the squad that won the 1938 edition would have been there with World War II intervening from 1939 to 1945.

Brazil also surprisingly failed to make it out of the group stage in 1966 having arrived with hopes of making it three World Cup titles in a row.

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Soccer upstages strike as Les Bleus return

Reuters - 12 minutes ago

By Jean-Paul Couret

PARIS, June 24 (Reuters) - France's humiliating first round exit from the World Cup took centre stage in French politics on Thursday, overshadowing protests against pension reforms and preparations for a G20 summit.

Police were deployed in numbers to protect the return of the team, Nicolas Sarkozy changed his schedule to meet Thierry Henry and Sports minister Roselyne Bachelot called for the resignation of the French Federation chairman.

Opposition leaders criticized the governement.

Green leader Cecile Duflot said it was "indecent to see the government giving priority to soccer on a day of a national strike and demonstrations all over France against a pension reform."

Non governmental organisations (NGOs) complained Sarkozy had cancelled a meeting ahead of the G20 meeting in Toronto.

Trade unions leaders said they hoped the strike would get the same political and media treatment than the crisis of the national soccer team.

The disgraced Bleus returned home in a plane chartered by the French Federation which landed at Le Bourget business airport, 20 km north of Paris.

Their campaign, marred by infighting and the boycott of a training session, ended on Tuesday with a 2-1 defeat by hosts South Africa that left them bottom of Group A without a win.

A smattering of supporters were kept at a distance and dozens of photographers, cameramen and journalists were penned behind a wire fence.

Some of the players went straight into two coaches with darkened windows which left the airport through a back entrance without going through passport control and customs.

"They didn't have the guts to confront us. They have really reached rock bottom," a disappointed and angry fan told television channel iTele in front of the main terminal.

"IMMATURE GANG LEADERS"

Florent Malouda had gone straight from South Africa to London.

Witnesses said the Olympique Lyon players and Franck Ribery flew out on in two private planes without going through passport control and customs. A French team spokesman later said that Ribery would undergo groin surgery in Munich on Friday.

Team captain Thierry Henry was driven in an official car under police escort to the Elysee Palace.

Les Bleus' team captain, who has 123 caps to his name and is France's most prolific scorer with 51 goals, entered the presidential palace through a side door, far from the media who were waiting for him at the main entrance.

He left the same way and a government spokesman said there would be "no statement and no comment."

Meanwhile, television cameramen on motorbikes had followed the car that was driving Patrick Evra back to Paris.

The Manchester United player, who captained Les Bleus in their first two world cup games but was dropped for the last one, opened his window but cut questions short saying:

"Today is not the time to speak, today is the time for suffering."

Players and Federation leaders will however not be able to avoid questions for long.

In one of the harshest condemnations so far, Bachelot castigated "the disaster of the national team made of immature gang leaders in command of scared kids with a coach at a loss and without any authority and a federation with its back against the wall."

(Additional reporting by Dimitri Rahmelow and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Nigel Hunt)

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I did not prepare Italy fully, says shocked Lippi

Reuters - 14 minutes ago

By Mark Meadows

JOHANNESBURG, June 24 (Reuters) - Italy coach Marcello Lippi took full responsibility for their humiliating World Cup group stage exit on Thursday, saying he had not trained the team well enough.

The holders lost 3-2 to World Cup debutants Slovakia, who qualified for the last 16 with Paraguay from what had looked an easy-looking Group F for Italy.

"I take all responsibility. I haven't prepared this team well enough," an ashen-faced Lippi told a news conference without even being prompted by a question.

"I didn't think we could win the World Cup but I though we would do better."

In a strikingly honest assessment of what went wrong, Lippi pummelled himself verbally for 15 minutes.

"I failed to train the team well enough, they weren't ready for such an important match. For an hour and 15 minutes, for psychological reasons I think, nothing worked," he said.

The 62-year-old, a national hero when he led the Azzurri to 2006 World Cup glory, had already announced he would step down again after the finals. He will be replaced by Cesare Prandelli.

Lippi first quit straight after their triumph in Germany but returned in 2008 after Italy's disappointing European Championship campaign under Roberto Donadoni.

"I don't regret coming back, I came back with great enthusiasm," he added.

His stark words took some of the sting out of the Italian reporters who were waiting to savage a campaign that began with two 1-1 draws.

"I have no intention of getting straight back into coaching and training after this," added Lippi. "I'll take some months off and we will see."

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Good team but 'luck' not on their side...sigh !

Ivory Coast win convincingly but go out

Reuters - 13 minutes ago

By Peter Rutherford

NELSPRUIT, June 25 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast convincingly beat North Korea 3-0 on Friday, but the win, which could easily have been by a larger margin, was still not enough to prevent the Africans from going out of the World Cup.

Portugal and Brazil's 0-0 draw in the other final Group G match ensured they both qualified for the last 16, rendering the Ivorian result meaningless. North Korea, who lost all three of their games, had already been eliminated.

Despite their exit, Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said he was pleased with his side's performance in what had always looked like one of the tournament's hardest groups.

"They should be very proud of themselves and the country should be very proud of them," he told reporters.

"It's a good team and I think the future belongs to this country ... absolutely. The future for this country, football-wise, is great."

The Ivorians had needed to score a glut of goals to give themselves any chance of overhauling Portugal after their earlier 7-0 win over North Korea.

"If we were a little bit more calm maybe we could have scored more goals," said striker Didier Drogba,

"Our world cup is over today but we can be proud of what we did against Portugal and what we did against Brazil and today. We are disappointed but we can't be too disappointed when you are in a group like this with Portugal and Brazil."

He also saw good times ahead for his nation's team.

"For a country like Ivory Coast to be in the world cup twice in a row is something fantastic. We were unlucky but at the same time we are happy," he said.

THREE-PRONEGD ATTACK Needing plenty of goals, Ivory Coast left Salomon Kalou on the bench and opted for a three-pronged attack of Drogba, Gervais Kouassi and Abdelkader Keita.

North Korea coach Kim Jong-hun kept faith with the same starting 11 that were ruthlessly dismantled by Portugal.

Goals from Yaya Toure and Ndri Romaric gave the Ivorians a 2-0 halftime lead, but it could have been five or six as North Korea struggled to cope with the one-way traffic heading towards their net.

Ri Myong-guk was forced into action right from the kickoff, making a smart save from Keita, but there would be no respite for the North Korean goalkeeper as Ivory Coast flooded forwarded at every opportunity.

The Ivorians went ahead in the 14th minute Toure took a pass on the edge of the area before opening up his body and curling the ball into the far corner of the net.

Romaric struck the outside of the post four minutes later but was on hand to nod the ball home after Drogba crashed a vicious shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 20th minute.

North Korea's first and only chance of the first half came in the 25th minute when captain Hong Yong-jo stroked a freekick just wide of Boubacar Barry's goal.

The west Africans picked up where the left off in the second half, Drogba sending a diving header wide and Kouassi failing to connect with Keita's dangerous delivery, but North Korea looked far more organised in defence.

Jong Tae-se almost pulled one back for North Korea in the 81st minute but he could not force the ball over the line.

Instead, Ivory Coast notched up a third when Kalou, on as a substitute, side footed home from close range in the 82nd minute after a great cross from Arthur Boka. (Editing by Michael Holden)

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Ivory Coast bow out on victorious note

AFP - 23 minutes ago

NELSPRUIT, South Africa (AFP) - – Ivory Coast joined the exodus of African teams from the World Cup here on Friday as they could only beat already eliminated North Korea 3-0 in their Group G match.

Chasing a seemingly impossible nine goals to nudge Portugal out of the last 16 - though it wouldn't have made a difference in the end as the Portuguese drew with Brazil to finish a point ahead of the 'Elephants' - the Ivorians' goals dried up in the second half against a massed North Korean red wall of defenders.

Ivory Coast joined hosts South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and Algeria as first-round casualties with only Ghana carrying on the African cause in the knockout round.

The Ivorians scored twice in the opening half, raising some hopes that they might set sail after the imposing target, but as the smoke drifted in from fires on the surrounding low veld, so did Sven-Goran Eriksson's team lose their way.

Only Chelsea's Salomon Kalou, a second half substitute, found the net in the 82nd minute, tucking away a high ball from defender Arthur Boka.

"We played good and we had a lot of chances," Ivory Coast skipper Didier Drogba said.

"If we were a little calmer and taken the right decisions we could have scored more goals.

"Our World Cup is over but we can be proud of what we did against Brazil and Portugal and it was difficult for us to go through to the next round."

The Elephants made a good fist of a vibrant opening half with strikes by Yaya Toure and Romaric among 10 Ivorian shots on target.

Ivory Coast were looking for a mammoth win over the North Koreans, like Portugal's last start 7-0 rout, and relying on group leaders Brazil to beat the Portuguese in Durban for them to have an outside prospect of reaching the knockout round.

Barcelona playmaker Yaya Toure struck first in the 14th minute, drilling home from outside the area off a cut-back from Kader Keita.

The Elephants went two-up on 20 minutes after Drogba rattled the crossbar with a fierce volley and left midfielder Romaric with an easy header into an unguarded net.

Chelsea superstar Drogba, in imperious form, had found the back of the net in the 12th minute but it was ruled offside as Ivory Coast bombarded the North Korean goal.

The Ivorians' play fell away in the second half as the North Koreans tightened their five-man defence screened by three midfielders.

Eriksson made a double substitution in the 64th minute bringing on Kalou for Keita and Aruna Dindane for Gervinho as he juggled his attack to prise more goals and Kalou dutifully answered the Swedish coach's call.

North Korea's Japanese-based striker Jong Tae-Se didn't look out of place with the skilful Ivorians and he tested their defence with speed and close control several times.

Jong had a great chance in the 81st minute and only a diving block from Manchester City defender Kolo Toure - brother of Yaya - stopped him from scoring.

The match was played in clean spirits with Spanish referee Alberto Undiano not once brandishing the yellow card.

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Villa on song as Spain beat Chile 2-1

Reuters - 6 hours ago

By Rex Gowar

* Brilliant Villa scores one, lays on another

* Both teams go through to the second round

* Chile's Estrada sent off for two bookings

PRETORIA, June 25 (Reuters) - A brilliant David Villa scored one superb goal and laid on another as Spain beat 10-man Chile in a match that petered out into a pact of non-aggression to send both sides into the World Cup second round on Friday.

Spain, having weathered early pressure from the Chileans, took the lead in the Group H decider when Villa curled a sublime ball into the empty net from 40 metres out on the left after goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had raced from his box to clear from Fernando Torres.

Villa, who took his tally to 41 in 61 internationals, laid on the second when he took a pass to the left from Andres Iniesta and pulled the ball back into the middle where the midfielder shot low past central defender Waldo Ponce and Bravo.

Chile, playing on a knife edge in their efforts to impose Bielsa's attacking tactics and spar with Spain as equals, had midfielder Marco Estrada sent off in the 37th minute.

The hard-tackling midfielder earned a second yellow card for a trip on Torres off the ball in the build up to Iniesta's goal, putting the South Americans at risk of a pasting in the second half.

However, coach Marcelo Bielsa, facing possible elimination for his side, made two bold halftime substitutions and one of them, midfielder Rodrigo Millar, chipped over Iker Casillas to pull a goal back just two minutes after the resumption.

Spain plugged away looking for further goals but the hard working Chileans kept them at bay, protecting a goal that ensured they would go through in second place in Group H on goal difference even if Switzerland managed to beat Honduras. The Swiss were in fact held 0-0 by the group's whipping boys.

TIGHT GROUP

Vicente del Bosque's European champions also became protective of their lead going into the final quarter as they shared six points with Chile at that point and the Swiss could also potentially finish on six with tight goal difference coming into play.

Spain, by winning the group having started out with a shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland, go on to meet Portugal in the second round, avoiding favourites Brazil, who won Group G.

"The defeat against Switzerland really made things difficult for us ... if we had drawn that match I think the whole group would have taken on a different look," Del Bosque said.

"I think the doubts did start to enter in when Chile scored, the players started to play more cautiously ... but we achieved our goal."

The tiring Chileans withdrew into their half but Spain gradually reduced their efforts to score a third goal and had long spells passing the ball across the back of their defence close to the halfway line as the clock wound down.

This contrasted dramatically with the action-packed first half in which Chile defenders Gary Medel and Ponce picked up yellow cards along with Estrada, while Spain go through to their next match free of bookings.

"The first 40 minutes were balanced in possession, in control and goal chances," Bielsa said. "Evidently, afterwards it was a different match.

"We also instinctively felt that to qualify was the prime objective."

(Editing by Nigel Hunt)

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South Korea K.O.

Uruguay beats South Korea 2-1 in round of 16

KARL RITTER, AP - 9 hours ago

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (AP) -- The game on the line, Luis Suarez sidestepped two defenders in the driving rain and struck a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area.

"The truth is, I didn't realize the ball was going to go in," he said.

It did. And now Uruguay is headed to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years after beating South Korea 2-1 on Saturday.

Suarez, who had Uruguay's only goal in its 1-0 group stage win over Mexico, scored twice against the Koreans -- early in the first half and again in the 80th with the score tied 1-1.

"In these moments, the only thing I want to do is enjoy," said Suarez, who jumped over a row of photographers to celebrate his second goal with his teammates.

Lee Chung-yong had tied the second-round game in the 68th on a header after goalkeeper Fernando Muslera left his line attempting to punch away a looping ball. It was the first goal given up by Uruguay in the tournament.

"The key to Uruguay's improvement (at the end of the game) was South Korea's goal. We stopped thinking about not conceding a goal," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said.

"Luckily, Suarez scored a spectacular goal that gave us victory."

Uruguay took the lead in the eighth when goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong failed to intercept Diego Forlan's low cross from the left flank. It bounced across the goal mouth and Suarez put the ball in the net with a one-timer from a tight angle.

"I'm really happy because, being young, I always dream of these types of moments," the 23-year-old forward said. "These moments we're experiencing are once in a lifetime."

The goal forced the Koreans to push forward, but Uruguay's compact defense forced them to rely on outside shots and they struggled to hit the target. Meanwhile, the South Americans sat back and waited for opportunities to counterattack.

Lee finally scored when Uruguay failed

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American Dreams-less...

Ghana crush American dreams, deliver African joy

Reuters - 8 hours ago

By Timothy Collings

RUSTENBURG, June 26 (Reuters) - Ghana crushed American dreams and delivered African joy on Saturday when they beat the United States 2-1 after extra time of a thrilling contest to take their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Rising to the challenge of an emotion-charged evening, they carried their continent's hopes with pride and passion to become the third African nation ever to reach the last eight in the world's greatest soccer tournament.

Goals by thrusting midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng after just five minutes and then from striker Asamoah Gyan three minutes into added time carried them to victory after the ice-cool Landon Donovan had converted a second-half penalty to drag the spirited Americans back into a tumultuous match.

"I am the happiest man in the world," a delighted Gyan said. "We have made everyone proud -- not just Ghana, but all of Africa."

Ghana, who combined great enthusiasm with moments of sublime skill, now meet Uruguay at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg next Friday after emulating the feats of Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) in reaching the quarter-finals.

Their achievement was greeted with a crescendo of blasting vuvuzuelas at the final whistle when players collapsed on the field amid wild scenes of unrestrained relief and bliss.

The sight of John Pantsil, with the flag of Ghana, and Samuel Inkoom, with that of South Africa, running laps of the stadium in front of a crowd that included former U.S. president Bill Clinton, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and South African local organising committee chief Danny Jordaan, was a symbol of a memorable night.

GHANA'S NIGHT

The opening half, and the night, belonged to Ghana, who repeated the result of their only previous clash with the United States when they beat them by the same score in Germany four years ago.

"We gave away an early goal and put a lot into it to recover, but we were in that spot once too many times," admitted U.S. coach Bob Bradley. "Ghana are a talented team and I think that Milovan Rajevac has done a great job in organising them."

Ghana started with steely aggression and swiftly went in front when Ricardo Clark lost possession in midfield.

Collecting in his own half, Boateng ran directly at the passive American defence, evading Clark's attempted recovery, and then turned Jay DeMerit before striking a low left-foot shot inside Tim Howard's right post.

It was a poor goal to concede and this time the Americans, who had come from behind twice in the group stage, struggled to recover.

Outnumbered in midfield, where Ghana had three central players to their two, they were swamped at times and Clark, in frustration, was cautioned before being withdrawn on the half hour.

A low shot from Robbie Findley, which Richard Kingson saved with his left leg, was their best effort in reply before Ghana, content to play on the break, went close to a second following another DeMerit error, but Howard dived to save from Kwadwo Asamoah.

Bradley reorganised his team for the second period, taking off the re-called Robbie Findley and sending on Benny Feilhaber in a switch that freed Clint Dempsey to rove behind Jozy Altidore.

This gave them parity in the tightly-contested central area and, after 47 minutes, almost an equaliser when Feilhaber's close-range shot was saved one-handed by Kingson.

Ghana began to lose their discipline and shape and it was no great surprise when Jonathan Mensah misjudged a tackle on Dempsey and brought him down to concede a penalty on the hour.

Donovan stepped up and steered his spot-kick high to Kingson's left as he went the other way. It was the first penalty they had been awarded at the World Cup since 1930.

Further chances came at both ends in normal time, when the Americans played with greater authority and Altidore, steering a low shot just wide after 80 minutes, almost snatched a winner.

Ghana hung on, but regrouped for extra time and regained the lead by punching another hole through the American defence. Chasing a clearance by Dede Ayew, Gyan shrugged off Carlos Bocanegra's challenge and ran clear of DeMerit to shoot over Howard.

The Americans refused to lie down, but it was a heavy blow to their morale and Ghana, despite looking naive and vulnerable at times, battled through as thick wisps of smoke from nearby bush-fires supplied a dramatic final backdrop.

(Editing by Kate Holton)

[kueytoc]

Germany beats England 4-1 in World Cup

By NESHA STARCEVIC, AP Sports Writer

5 hours, 5 minutes ago

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP)—Germany’s latest World Cup victory over England will be remembered not for any of the brilliant goals, but for the one that didn’t count.

Lukas Podolski and Philipp Lahm of Germany celebrate victory over England. (Michael Steele/Getty Images) Ask anyone—players, coaches, thousands of fans in the stadium and millions more watching on television—and there’s little question that Frank Lampard put a shot in the net late in the first half that would have tied the score.

But referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on, and Germany used two second-half goals by Thomas Mueller for a 4-1 victory Sunday. The Germans are headed to the quarterfinals. The English are shaking their heads in disbelief.

Referees miss an obvious English goal Plane with World Cup fans lands on highway Maradona accuses countryman of treason “It’s incredible,” England coach Fabio Capello said. “We played with five referees and they can’t decide if it’s a goal or no goal. The game was different after this goal. It was the mistake of the linesman and I think the referee because from the bench I saw the ball go (in).”

Germany coach Joachim Loew couldn’t argue that point.

“What I saw on the television, this ball was behind the line,” Loew said. “It must have been given as goal.”

It wasn’t.

“The goal was very important,” Capello said. “We could have played a different style.

“We made some mistakes when they played the counterattack. The referee made bigger mistakes.”

Larrionda and assistant referee Mauricio Espinosa were not made available to comment. FIFA said in a statement that it “will not make any comments on decisions of the referee on the field of play.”

Soccer’s rules-making panel agreed last March not to pursue experiments with technology that could help referees judge goal-line decisions.

Germany went up on goals by Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski before England’s Matthew Upson made it 2-1 in the 37th minute.

Lampard’s non-goal came a minute later. After the ball landed across the line, it spun back into the arms of Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Capello initially celebrated what he thought was an equalizer by clenching his fists and shaking his arms. But his face changed when he realized the goal had not been given.

As the players headed off the field at halftime, Wayne Rooney walked over to a linesman and gestured with his hands how far he thought the ball crossed the goal line.

In 1966, England and Germany were 2-2 in extra time in the World Cup final when Geoff Hurst’s shot struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and spun back into play. That time, the referee consulted his linesman, who awarded the goal.

Hurst went on to score a third goal in England’s 4-2 victory at Wembley.

This time, it was Mueller getting two goals.

“We heard that the ball was behind the line, that we were fortunate,” Mueller said of Lampard’s shot. “Before the last two goals, the game hung in the balance, England was putting on the pressure.”

The 20-year-old forward finished two quick German counterattacks within 3 minutes to sink England’s hopes of beating Germany at the World Cup for the first time since that ’66 final.

Germany plays Argentina, which beat Mexico 3-1, in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Cape Town.

“In the knockout stages, Germany is always there,” Podolski said. “We fought and ran a lot, just fantastic today.”

Added Klose: “We were aggressive from the first minute and it was a deserved victory. Our target was to reach the semifinals and that’s what we want to achieve.”

It was the most lopsided England loss in a World Cup.

Mueller scored on the counterattack in the 67th minute, having started the move after a long clearance by Jerome Boateng. Mueller passed to Bastian Schweinsteiger, who patiently dribbled upfield and ran across the 18-yard line to feed the unguarded Mueller. His shot hit the hand of England goalkeeper David James and went in.

Three minutes later, Mueller struck again after a break on the left wing by Mesut Oezil.

“We played I think well at 2-1, but after the third goal it was a little bit disappointing,” Capello said. “Germany is a big team. They played a good game.”

Klose scored his 50th goal in 99 games for Germany—his 12th World Cup goal — by outmuscling defender Upson to a bouncing ball off a goal kick. Podolski gave the three-time champions a 2-0 lead, putting the ball through James’ legs.

Upson headed in a cross from Steven Gerrard to make it 2-1, then Lampard’s shot was not rewarded—a decision sure to be debated for as long as international soccer has no video replay.

“I think if you look back at the game as a whole, we’ve been beaten by the better team,” England captain Steven Gerrard said. “At 2-1, if Frank’s ball had stayed I think it would have been a nice turning point in the game.”

[kueytoc]

England incensed after ref misses obvious goal

By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports

13 hours, 18 minutes ago

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — The most astonishing and controversial moment of the World Cup left England’s players and fans incensed after a perfectly legal goal was disallowed in its round-of-16 clash with Germany.

Frank Lampard’s chip in the 38th minute struck against the crossbar of the Germany goal and bounced down more than a foot over the line. However, Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistants incorrectly ruled that the goal should not count, as the England side held their heads in disbelief.

The incident spawned unavoidable comparisons with one of the most contentious moments in World Cup history. During the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany, England’s Geoff Hurst was awarded a goal when the ball struck the bar and landed on the line.

Germans have never forgotten that decision in the intervening 44 years, but revenge finally arrived at Free State Stadium.

With England trailing 2-1, Lampard’s strike should have completed a remarkable first-half comeback after Germany had taken a two-goal lead in the early stages.

England head coach Fabio Capello already was celebrating before being told by his support staff about the officials’ incredible short-sightedness.

The no-goal call will only increase pressure on governing body FIFA to introduce video replays, something it has so far steadfastly resisted.

Germany retained its 2-1 lead at halftime. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals.

[kueytoc]

German keeper feels he ‘fooled the referee’

By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports

9 hours, 9 minutes ago

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer admitted he “fooled” referee Jorge Larrionda into making the most controversial decision of the World Cup.

Neuer carried on playing even when Frank Lampard’s 38th-minute lob bounced over the line and appeared to give England a clear goal at Free State Stadium. The 24-year-old grabbed the ball and swiftly kicked it upfield as England’s disbelieving players rounded upon Larrionda and begged him to reconsider his decision.

“I didn’t react because I just wanted to concentrate on carrying on and making the game fast,” said Neuer, who plays for Schalke in the German Bundesliga. “I realized it was tight, but I was quite sure it was over the line. I think that perhaps the way I carried on so quickly fooled the referee and made him think it was not over.

“After the game I was in doping control and saw it on the television. And yes, of course it was over and should have been a goal for England. It was lucky for us and unlucky for them.”

The German team was equally as stunned as England by its slice of good fortune. Head coach Joachim Loew was spotted nudging his assistant and smiling at their luck, while England boss Fabio Capello fumed nearby.

Neuer insisted, though, that the Lampard no-goal made no difference to the eventual outcome Sunday, 4-1, claiming Germany would have won the match in any case.

“It was one incident and yes, it was important,” Neuer said. “But I believe we were the stronger team and deserved to win the game even without this.

“If you look at the way the match played out then I think our team would have scored the goals we needed just like we did. When you have good luck in football it is important to capitalize on that luck, and we did.”

Germany next takes on Argentina in a quarterfinal at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium on Saturday.

[kueytoc]

World Cup blunder continues England misery

By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports

10 hours, 28 minutes ago

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – The call that drove a stake through the heart of one nation and gave another sweet revenge after 44 years was this World Cup’s most dramatic moment.

And also its most disappointing.

It wasn’t just Frank Lampard and England that deserved better than the outrageous blown call that denied them a valid goal and sent Germany to a 4-1 victory and a place in the quarterfinals.

Soccer deserves better.

“There is so much at stake in these big games and this was a million-dollar call,” Lampard said. “I am gutted because it was clearly a yard or so over and it would have changed the game.”

Lampard’s chip after 38 minutes at Free State Stadium gave England a dramatic equalizer, leveling the score at 2-2 after the English had gone down by two early goals.

At least, the entire stadium and both sets of players thought that. The only exceptions were Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his Uruguayan assistant referee Mauricio Espinosa. Neither saw Lampard’s shot bounce down off the crossbar and the ball pass the line by more than a foot for what should have been a goal.

“It is a big mistake,” England coach Fabio Capello said. “It is one goal, but the game will be different with this goal. They can’t decide if it is a goal or not a goal? I saw the ball go over the line.

“Little things change a game. It is incredible. I can’t believe it. I can’t understand this. Why can’t we have another referee who can see if it goes over the line?”

It was the moment that was so many things. For Larrionda and his crew, it was a moment of shame that will haunt them forever. For governing body FIFA, it was another headache to plague them after a World Cup marred by dreadful officiating.

For Germany, it was revenge from the 1966 World Cup final, when England’s Geoff Hurst was allowed a goal that bounced off the crossbar and did not fully cross the line.

And for England, it was agony. Not just the end of a campaign that initially promised much but an injustice that will rankle for years in a country utterly obsessed with this game.

The disbelief on Lampard’s face told it all – shock, horror and denial wrapped up into one tortured portrait. And as the second half wore on and Germany sealed victory with two breakaway goals late, the red mist started to rise in England’s frustrated players, their patriotically clad fans and a furious nation back home.

Germans have never forgotten that Hurst decision in the intervening decades, but this finally scratched that long-standing itch. The final score line of a three-goal margin doesn’t begin to tell the full story here, but you’ll struggle to find a single German who cares about that.

There is a common belief in England that Hurst’s goal in 1966 may have drained the English well of soccer good fortune. Ever since, there has been nothing but a steady diet of disappointment.

Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God handball goal in 1986 was one heartbreak. Three exits via the dreaded penalty-shootout format hasn’t exactly soothed England’s soul either.

This controversy, though, had all the ingredients for a concoction of pain beyond compare. No opponent, no scenario, could inflame more than this.

Capello, who already was celebrating Lampard’s phantom goal before being told by his support staff about the officials’ incredible short-sightedness, was still incredulous after the final whistle.

For him, it was the lowest point of a difficult campaign, one which has seen early optimism about the team erased by a repeated second-guessing of his methods in the media and the questioning of his authority by senior players.

There is nothing that can console him, his men or the throngs that gathered to watch on giant screens in English cities. The other blown calls of this World Cup offer not a shred of solace.

Soccer is a game defined by such small margins, yet this was not a borderline call. It was not a moment of magic by an opponent or a mistake by someone in an England shirt. It was simple ineptitude from a referee who controls the fates of elite players and entranced nations but missed the most glaring of incidents.

“We had a lot of luck with this shot,” said Germany’s Thomas Mueller, who was voted man of the match. “We heard about it and we realized we knew we had to make the most of this good luck.”

England was left to lick its wounds and wonder again when its luck might change.

[kueytoc]

Capello has no plans to quit after England loss

By RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press Writer

8 hours, 58 minutes ago

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP)—Fabio Capello has no plans to quit as coach despite overseeing England’s most lopsided World Cup defeat.

England lost 4-1 to Germany on Sunday in a second-round match during which its defense was badly exposed.

Capello said he wanted to discuss his future with Football Association chairman Roger Burden soon, but the 64-year-old Italian made it clear he had no immediate plans to resign.

“We have time to decide,” Capello said. “I need to know whether the FA have confidence in me or not … I want to speak with the chairman and then we can decide my future.”

In early June, the Capello signaled his desire to remain with England by signing a deal with the FA that removed an escape clause that could have let him leave after the World Cup.

Capello, who has coached Real Madrid and AC Milan, took over the England squad in January 2008 after Steve McClaren was fired for failing to qualify England for the 2008 European Championship.

Capello quickly transformed the England squad, imposing strict discipline and a no-nonsense approach. England’s players responded, and the team breezed through World Cup qualifying by winning nine of 10 games.

Frank Lampard, who thought he’d scored an equalizer before halftime but was not awarded a goal against Germany, sought to play down speculation about Capello’s future. Lampard said debate over a coach’s fate is routine after a dramatic World Cup exit.

“At the end of the day, when an England team gets knocked out of the World Cup there’s question marks about managers and old players,” said Lampard, who described Capello as a “top manager.”

Captain Steven Gerrard also supported keeping Capello at the helm.

“I’d like him to stay because I think he’s a fantastic manager,” Gerrard said. “I’m sure he’ll address his own situation very soon.”

Capello’s current contract runs through the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.

[kueytoc]

Angry English press demands that Capello quit

54 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - English commentators launched scathing attacks Monday on their football team's dire performance against Germany which ended the country's World Cup hopes, as calls mounted for Fabio Capello to quit.

Newspapers saved some of their criticism for the referee in the game who disallowed an England goal that had clearly crossed the line, during the country's heaviest ever defeat in the World Cup finals.

But this was nothing compared to the fury directed at the team for their unconvincing effort in Bloemfontein, South Africa, which saw them slump to a 4-1 defeat against their arch-rivals.

The Sun tabloid, which is Britain's best-selling paper, headlined its front page with a message to the players: "You let your country down."

"We gave football to the world. Yet since 1966, the world has stubbornly refused to give it back," said the paper, referring to the only time England has ever won the World Cup.

"And in yesterday's pathetic performance we miserably failed to take the game from the old enemy, Germany."

"England coach Fabio Capello and his team of self-regarding flops have presided over a national embarrassment, one of the most comprehensive humiliations in our sporting history," lamented the Daily Mail.

The mounting anger at England's performance led commentators to call for what many now expect to happen—Capello to resign and make way for a fresh face to help the side get over such a severe defeat.

"England played three calamitous matches out of four, failed to score goals and defended like fools—and that's all (Capello's) responsibility," said the Times.

The Italian, who has been in charge of the Three Lions since January 2008, admitted at a press conference after England's defeat he was considering his position as coach.

Papers were also up in arms about the decision by Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistant to disallow a goal scored by England player Frank Lampard in the first half of the match, which had clearly crossed the line.

Had the referee allowed it, England would have equalised with Germany.

"The ref and his assistant were the only two people in the ground who didn't think the ball had crossed the line," commented the Daily Mail.

But most thought the referee's mistake had not made much difference to the final result, as England were playing so badly.

The Sun said the disallowed goal "was no excuse for the way Fabio Capello's toothless Three Lions were made to look like pussycats".

"England were robbed of a goal, not the result. They deserved to lose," said the Times.

The controversial decision did however prompt a flurry of appeals for the introduction of video goal-line technology to avoid such blunders in the future.

"Even the stubborn bunch who run FIFA must now cave in to demands for bringing technology to the game," urged the Sun.

[kueytoc]

Liverpool Midfielder Steven Gerrard Hopes Fabio Capello Will Remain The England Manager Despite World Cup Exit

Goal.com

1 hour, 38 minutes ago

England captain Steven Gerrard wants Fabio Capello to stay after the Three Lions were eliminated from the World Cup by Germany on Sunday.

The Three Lions fell to a 4-1 defeat against their arch-rivals in their Round of 16 clash in Bloemfontein, ending their World Cup campaign in disappointing fashion.

Some are already calling for Capello’s head after England crashed out of the tournament, but Gerrard hopes that the Italian will stay.

"I'm sure Fabio will stay and he'll address his own situation very soon,” Gerrard told The Sun.

"I don't know when. Personally I'd like him to stay as I think he's a fantastic manager but that's my opinion."

The Liverpool star thinks that England will have a vastly different squad when their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign begins in September.

"Everyone in the dressing room is hurting, the coaching staff and the players.

"We'll go away in the summer and analyse things personally and the team.

"We'll have to see what the future holds. We've got an experienced team and players who are getting on.

"I'm sure they'll be changes by the time the next tournament comes around.

"But they're questions you'll have to ask the manager."

[kueytoc]

Franz Beckenbauer: Germany Were Better Than England In Every Aspect

Goal.com

1 hour, 50 minutes ago

Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer believes that England were “overwhelmed” in their 4-1 loss in the World Cup Round of 16 on Sunday.

Beckenbauer has been critical of the Three Lions during the tournament and after Germany’s convincing victory to knock England out he acknowledges that his country took apart their arch-rivals.

"England were overwhelmed - they just could not come to terms with our style of play," Beckenbauer told The Mirror.

"We have taken England apart. We were simply better in every aspect."

Goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski gave Germany an early stranglehold on the match before Matthew Upson halved the advantage later in the first half.

England should have drawn level just a short time later but Frank Lampard’s shot that landed over the line after hitting the underside of the crossbar was not given.

A second half brace from Thomas Muller put the game out of reach for the Three Lions, and Beckenbauer was pleased that the disallowed goal was rendered insignificant by Germany’s second half display.

"The linesman really has to see the that goal which was not given.

"It was a clear goal.

"Fortunately, we added two more, otherwise there would be a lot more discussion about it."

[kueytoc]

Japan out to end Asia’s South American jinx

2 hours, 56 minutes ago

By Peter Rutherford

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Japan may never have a better opportunity to bring Asia’s woeful World Cup record against South American opposition to an end than when they face Paraguay in the second round in Pretoria on Tuesday.

No Asian team have ever beaten a South American side at the World Cup. Of the 10 encounters between the continents, South America have won eight times with two games drawn—North Korea v Chile 1-1 in 1966 and South Korea v Bolivia 0-0 in 1994.

However, Japan’s flying form in the group stage this time around makes them strong candidates to break that jinx and qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time.

While Paraguay topped a group that included world champions Italy, Slovakia and New Zealand they have rarely shown the attacking verve expected of a team featuring top-class forwards Roque Santa Cruz, Lucas Barrios and Nelson Valdez.

Japan, meanwhile, have been one of the tournament’s delights with their free-flowing attacking style and set-piece mastery.

After dominating Denmark 3-1 in their final group game, striker Keisuke Honda, who scored a stunning 30-meter freekick, has now set his sights on a place in the last eight.

“For me, for the team, the next game is more important because we want to show the Japanese people that nothing is impossible,” he said.

DEAD AIM

Japan have also shown the rest of the teams at the World Cup that scoring direct from a freekick with the much-maligned Jabulani ball is far from impossible.

Honda and Yasuhito Endo scored stunners in the same game against Denmark and defender Tulio, who has declared himself fit after picking up a knock against the Danes, said Japan could exploit their set-piece superiority again.

“They (Paraguay) will be trying everything on to rile us. Every goal is so much more precious now in this knockout stage and it is important we try to get our noses in front first,” he told fifa.com. “One thing we will have to try and do is vary our set-pieces to surprise them.”

Paraguay would be happy to get goals from anywhere at the moment after a lackluster 0-0 draw with New Zealand in the final group game highlighted their shot-shy struggles.

Defender Julio Cesar Caceres said Paraguay were not satisfied with just reaching the second round, which they had achieved three times before.

“We’re happy that we went through the first round but our objective is to keep writing history and the match against Japan is the most important thing,” he said.

“We are capable of playing a great match. Japan is a quick team, we have to think about every detail against them.”

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

[kueytoc]

World-Paraguay v Japan

Reuters - 2 hours ago

PRETORIA, June 28 (Reuters) - Paraguay play Japan in a World

Cup second round match on Tuesday.

Where: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Capacity: 49,000

When: Tuesday June 29, 1600 local (1400 GMT)

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

World ranking: Paraguay 31, Japan 45

Teams: Likely formation, shirt numbers, age, caps, goals:

* denotes misses next match if booked

Paraguay (4-3-3) Japan (4-5-1)

1-Justo Villar 32-76-0 21-Eiji Kawashima 27-13-0

4-Denis Caniza 35-99-1 *2-Yuki Abe 28-47-3

21-Antolin Alcaraz 27-8-1 22-Yuji Nakazawa 32-108-17

14-Paulo Da Silva 30-74-2 4-Tulio 29-42-8

3-Claudio Morel 32-31-0 3-Yuichi Komano 28-56-0

*13-Enrique Vera 31-32-3 *5-Yuto Nagatomo 23-29-3

6-Carlos Bonet 32-66-1 16-Yoshito Okubo 28-53-5

16-Cristian Riveros 27-52-9 *7-Yasuhito Endo 30-97-9

*9-Roque Santa Cruz 28-73-21 17-Makoto Hasebe 26-34-1

18-Nelson Valdez 26-41-9 8-Daisuke Matsui 29-26-1

19-Lucas Barrios 25-6-3 18-Keisuke Honda 24-18-6

Also available:

5-Julio Cesar Caceres 30-63-2 23-Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi 34-117-0

8-Edgar Barreto 25-49-1 12-Kisho Yano 26-19-2

10-Edgar Benitez 22-14-1 15-Yasuyuki Konno 27-38-0

12-Diego Barreto 28-3-0 13-Daiki Iwamasa 28-2-0

17-Aureliano Torres 28-30-2 20-Junichi Inamoto 30-82-5

20-Nestor Ortigoza 25-6-0 14-Kengo Nakamura 29-47-5

2-Dario Veron 30-29-0 6-Atsuto Uchida 22-31-1

22-Aldo Bobadilla 34-19-0 9-Shinji Okazaki 24-31-17

23-Rodolfo Gamarra 21-3-0 10-Shunsuke Nakamura 32-98-24

7-Oscar Cardozo 27-32-4 11-Keiji Tamada 30-71-16

11-Jonathan Santana 28-23-0 19-Takayuki Morimoto 22-6-1

1-Seigo Narazaki 34-76-0

Trainer - Gerardo Martino Takeshi Okada

Injured - None None

Suspended - 15-Victor Caceres 25-30-0 None

Changes:

* Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino could replace the suspended

holding midfielder Victor Caceres with the versatile Carlos

Bonet.

Antolin Alcaraz, who missed the 0-0 draw with New Zealand

with a minor injury, returned to training on Saturday and could

start.

* Japan coach Takeshi Okada fielded the same starting lineup

for his side's three group matches and with no injuries or

suspensions will probably do the same again.

Key stats:

* Of all the remaining teams, Japan have completed the least

amount of passes. Their 709, with a completion rate of 62 per

cent, significantly trails Paraguay's stats (1051 and 69 per

cent).

Previous meetings:

20.09.95 Tokyo Japan 1 Paraguay 2

17.05.98 Tokyo Japan 1 Paraguay 1

02.07.99 Asuncion Paraguay 4 Japan 0

01.07.01 Sapporo Japan 2 Paraguay 0

11.06.03 Saitama Japan 0 Paraguay 0

27.05.08 Saitama Japan 0 Paraguay 0

Paraguay's tournament results:

June 24

Paraguay 0 New Zealand 0

June 20

Slovakia 0 Paraguay 2

June 14

Italy 1 Paraguay 1

Japan's tournament results:

June 24

Denmark 1 Japan 3

June 19

Netherlands 1 Japan 0

June 14

Japan 1 Cameroon 0

(Compiled by Tom Pilcher, Editing by Patrick Johnston ; To

query or comment on this story email

sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

[kueytoc]

Simone Pepe doesn't appreciate being drawn as a coffin

Sun Jun 27 02:07pm EDT

By Brooks Peck

The anguish in Italy over their team's early exit from the World Cup is still being released as the squad has now returned to the fist-shaking nation. But after all the fury and harsh headlines, the thing that has offended Italy winger Simone Pepe the most is a cartoon.

The vignette by Giorgio Forattini (above) appeared on the front page of Il Giornale, but Pepe apparently did not appreciate it.

From Football Italia:

“That was going too far,” slammed Pepe upon his return from South Africa. “I accept criticism, but depicting us in coffins is offensive.

“Whoever drew such a thing should be an undertaker. I hope soon they get to build a coffin for him instead – not blue, but brown.”

Wishing death on a man who offended you by depicting you as a coffin on the pitch? Isn't that just a tad hypocritical, Simone?

Forattini defends his work, though, telling Gazzetta dello Sport:

“Against Slovakia I saw 11 cadavers out there. It was not my intention to wish death upon the players, obviously.

“If anything I wanted to describe the sporting death of our Nazionale. That is all. Pepe’s reaction was far worse, but I take his words with a smile upon my lips."

And Il Gioranele editor Vittorio Feltri offered a more direct insult for Pepe:

“A vignette is a vignette,” said Vittorio Feltri. “If Pepe knew how to read, he’d realise that the message was not the physical death of the players, but the death of our football.”

So Pepe goes from thinking he's been depicted as a dead man to being told that he's illiterate and partially responsible for killing Italian football. I think he might have been better off just thinking he was a dead man.

[kueytoc]

Capello admits England must change to progress

by Chris Hatherall

42 minutes ago

RUSTENBURG, South Africa (AFP) - Fabio Capello has given an insight into how he sees the future England as he picks over the ashes of his team's miserable World Cup exit.

The England manager, who says he wants to stay in the post, has been told he must wait two weeks before his employers, the Football Association (FA) decide whether he will complete the two remaining years of his current contract, which takes him up to the end of the Euro 2012 finals.

But the Italian is already discussing ways of refreshing his team for the Euro 2012 qualifiers after seeing the way his experienced side, many of whom have played in two or even three previous major tournaments, failed to deliver.

With typical self confidence the former AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid manager feels he did everything right to prepare his team but was let down by his players, particularly in a 4-1 last-16 exit against Germany which was England?s biggest World Cup finals defeat.

Now, his own future aside, the biggest debate in England is which players should be dropped and who should be brought in to rescue English football from yet another low point.

Capello was, as expected, tight-lipped on the former of those two questions but happy to discuss the players who could potentially be drafted in for a new era next season.

"We talked about this with my staff," he said. "I think we will find two or three new players, probably, for the Euros.

"Adam Johnson, the Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs. Also Michael Dawson, although he is not young. Also Gabriel Agbonlahor and Bobby Zamora, who was injured this time. And another player we will hope will be fit is Owen Hargreaves.

"The best young players are in the under 21s and are not ready to play here at the World Cup. But I hope in the next year or six months people will come through. I hope Theo Walcott will be back and his shoulder is ok. And Jack Wilshere is another interesting player. I hope some good players will be ready in six months, it?s possible."

Capello, who also hinted at a big future for goalkeeper Joe Hart, knows his brave new world with England will be subject to the same restrictions and problems that affected the current squad, however.

With only 38 per cent of players in the Premier League eligible to play for England the talent pool remains shallow and the intense, physical nature of the league means injuries and tiredness are par for the course.

"I know a lot of things about the players and what happened", insisted Capello as he made a case for two more years in charge. "I know more now than before because I realised what happened when we arrived at the World Cup. I understand more things.

"And I understand one thing really important, I understand why England didn't win before. The England players arrive at the end of the season tired.

"Every game we played in this period, seven games in all including friendlies and at the World Cup, I never saw the players that I can see in the autumn or two months after Christmas. They were training well, were focused, but they are not the same players, not as fast or quick, as I know.

"I want to change something but it's impossible, there are too many games in the season. They play, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday."

That, if Capello does remain in charge, could prove to be his biggest challenge, but he is adamant he wants a chance to prove he can change England?s fortunes.

"I prefer to stay," he insisted. "We need time to recover and be fresh."

[kueytoc]

Germany’s Klose says England didn’t play as a team

By NESHA STARCEVIC, AP Sports Writer

12 hours, 46 minutes ago

ERASMIA, South Africa (AP)—England’s failure to play as a team and match Germany’s spirit were behind its 4-1 loss in the round of 16 at the World Cup, German striker Miroslav Klose said Monday.

Klose scored to give Germany a 1-0 lead in Bloemfontein on Sunday, tying him with Pele in fourth place on the career World Cup list with 12 goals. Two more goals by Thomas Mueller and another by Lukas Podolski inflicted England’s worst World Cup loss.

“We came out with confidence and as a unit and we were present in the game from the opening whistle. I did not have the impression that England came out as a team,” Klose said. “I expected them to come with the bit between their teeth, but after five or seven minutes it was clear to me that it wasn’t the case.”

Klose showed Germany’s determination when he outraced and outmuscled England defender Matt Upson to connect with a long goal kick from Manuel Neuer and shoot the ball into the net with his first touch.

It was Klose’s 50th goal in 99 games for Germany, and left him trailing only Ronaldo of Brazil (15), countryman Gerd Mueller (14), and Just Fontaine of France (13) on the World Cup scorers list.

“I signaled to him to give it a strong kick, and I saw that the ball had changed its trajectory and I watched it closely,” Klose said of Neuer. “It is extraordinary to have reached this (12th World Cup goal), but I am not yet finished—there could be a goal or two more.

“It helps to have a good team behind me. If I don’t get the passes or the crosses, I won’t score.”

The 32-year-old Klose has put a difficult season behind him. He spent much of it on Bayern Munich’s bench, scoring only three Bundesliga goals. But he hit the second goal in Germany’s opening 4-0 rout of Australia after coach Joachim Loew kept faith in him.

That faith was tested after being sent off in Germany’s 1-0 loss to Serbia, missing the 1-0 win over Ghana in the last group game. But he was back in the starting lineup after his suspension.

“It is very important to have a coach who believes in you. And my strength is to peak at the right time, to get fit when I need to be fit,” Klose said.

Klose is the oldest starter on Germany’s team—the country’s second youngest squad at a World Cup—but the striker believes it has the right blend to repeat its 2006 quarterfinal victory over Argentina on Saturday in Cape Town.

Germany knocked out Argentina on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. Klose equalized in the 80th minute to cancel out Roberto Ayala’s second-half goal. Germany won when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann stopped shots by Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso.

“We have a good balance between young and experienced, and we have the quality to beat Argentina,” Klose said. “I know they can take revenge for 2006, but it’s a different team now. Lionel Messi was on the bench then.

“On paper, they have better individuals. But it’s what happens on the field that matters, as you saw yesterday. It’s how you come out as a team.”