WORLD NEWS

Italy win fourth World Cup
Marcelo Lippi's Italy team overcame their penalty hoodoo to win the 2006 World Cup final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The match finished 1-1 after extra time and the Italians for once held their nerve to win 5-3 on penalties.

France opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Lyon winger Florent Malouda dived in the box to win a penalty, which Zidane scored off the underside of the bar.

Italy came back strongly and minutes later Marco Materazzi scored with a powerful header from a corner and the Italians then had the better of the first half, twice more threatening from corners with one header hitting the bar.

France came out stronger after the break and Italy eventually replaced the ineffective Totti with a supplementary striker but couldn't get enough possession to create any more chances. Buffon made several fine saves at the other end.

A tired Frank Ribery and then Thierry Henry were replaced in extra time but France still looked the most likely to score until the 110th minute when Zidance clashed with Materazzi off the ball.

The referee missed the incident but television replays showed a vicious head butt, which the linesman did spot and the French captain got his marching orders. Italy failed to take advantage of the extra man and the game went to penalties.

Pirlo took first and duly converted his kick, as did Wiltord and Materazzi before substitute Trezeguet hit the bar for France. From then on, De Rossi, Del Piero and Grosso made no mistake to delight the Azzurri faithful. - Paul

Cheating Ronaldo to win best young player?
There is a very real danger that Cristiano Ronaldo will be voted the
fans best young player at the World Cup despite his pouting, diving,
pretty boy antics designed mainly to get himself a lucrative transfer to Real Madrid and thus avoid the good kicking he deserves from Wayne Rooney at Manchester United training.

He is currently 1st in the FIFA voting just ahead of Luis Valencia of
Ecuador. Please can everyone go to http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/bypa/eligible.html and do the
decent thing by voting for Valencia.

It doesn't matter who you support or if you haven't seen them play, just stop Ronaldo.

You know it makes sense - Ren

Round 1 Game 1 Highlights
Germany 4-2 Costa Rica

Hosts Germany – minus Ballack - laid down their marker with a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica inspired by two goals from Klose and one each from Lahm and Frings, both stunning shots from distance. Pretty going forward, they lacked conviction and pace at the back and were caught twice by Wanchope, easily beating the German off-side trap and finishing with composure.

Ecuador 2-0 Poland

Ecuador came away with a rare victory at low-altitude defeating an average Poland team 2-0 with goals from Tenorio and Delgado and look set to qualify in second place and a potential meeting with England in the second round.

Trinidad and Tobago 0-0 Sweden

Trinidad and Tobago gained their first World Cup points ever, drawing 0-0 with Sweden with man-of-the-match Shaka Hislop playing only because of a last minute injury to first choice ‘keeper Kelvin Jack. They could have won the game but will be delighted with the draw and face England in their next match full of confidence. Sweden can only be disappointed that they failed to take even one of their many chances and must now surely beat Paraguay to keep their second round ambitions alive.

England 1-0 Paraguay

England struggled in the heat to a narrow 1-0 victory over Paraguay thanks to an own goal by Gamarra after only 3 minutes. Comfortable and in control in the first-half they relinquished command in the second and Paraguay will consider themselves unfortunate to have lost the game. Owen’s match-fitness remains a doubt and neither Gerrard or Lampard were able to impose themselves in any meaningful way though the later did go close with a number of long range efforts. England will qualify for the next round with a win over Trinidad and Tobago and should do so with ease if they create even just half the chances Sweden did against the same opposition.

Peter Crouch has vowed to not do the robotic dance routine because the World Cup is not the place for a bit of light-hearted celebration when the serious task of winning the competition needs to be done. This is a huge mistake; quirky celebrations (Roger Milla for starters) are as much part of the World Cup as anything and should he score – not particularly likely but you never know – he should click those bones of his.

Argentina 2-1 Côte d'Ivoire

Perhaps the best game of the round. Whilst everyone is talking about the other South American team, Argentina quietly and with some panache overcame Côte d'Ivoire with goals from Crespo and Saviola. Juan Riquelme in particular providing a touch of class to proceedings.

Serbia and Montenegro 0-1 Netherlands

A scintillating performance from Robben helped the Dutch to an impressive opening victory and it was his goal that separated the teams. Ruud ‘the horse’ Nistlerooy was not impressed with the pitch and moaned that it was to blame for his poor performance. Hmm. Everyone else seemed to manage ok.

Mexico 3-1 Iran

Every team needs that one player capable of that small piece of magical creativity, a player liberated to perform and entertain as well as provide that extra ingredient to separate teams so closely matched in ability and tactics. In Zinha, Mexico found that player and his second half performance inspired Mexico to victory against Iran. Surprise inclusion Bravo vindicated his inclusion with two goals. Mexico look set to be without Borgetti until the knock-out stages, which they look set to reach. Iran cannot afford to lose to Portugal in their next game.

United States 0-3 Czech Republic

One day the United States will win the World Cup but not this year (China to win it within 20 years as well anyone?). An average team produced an average performance, undone by the goal of the round from Tomas Rosicky and a performance to match. Jan Koller gave the Czech’s an early lead with what the term ‘bullet header’ was created for. The Czech’s oozed confidence and will qualify from the group along with Italy and are surely contenders for the title.

Italy 2-0 Ghana

Naïve is a cliché far too often thrown at African teams but in this case is a pretty apt description of what was nonetheless a spirited (another cliché – sorry) display from the Ghanians. The most ‘worthiest World Cup team’ – according to the World Development Movement (surely they have better things to do?) – went down to goals from Pirlo and substitute Iaquinta. The Italians were relatively impressively (they were playing Ghana) and their patience and know-how was enough.

Australia 3-1 Japan

When losing, substitutions enable the coach to alter a teams tactics and change the flow of the match. Hiddink is rather good at tactics. Three late goals from Austrialian substitutes Tim Cahill (2) and John Aloisi and Hiddink’s decision to throw on three big strikers gave Australia their first ever win the in the World Cup. Japan shouldn’t have been leading anyway – Schwarzer was fouled – but looked set to take the three points. Their failure to score a second goal – and they had a number of decent chances – proved fatal as they ultimately failed to withstand the aerial bombardment thrown their way. Australia face Brazil next. Never mind. Just beat Croatia.

South Korea 2-1 Togo

Togo scored first. Korea scored twice in the second half. Togo had a man sent off. Not the best game of the tournament. By a long way.

France 0-0 Switzerland

Switzerland should have won this game. Despite their failure to take a number of chances that came their way, they will be delighted with the draw. France will not. Despite Zidane’s cajoling and clapping, they were poor and uninspiring and Henry didn’t look interested. The match also witnessed some of the most inexplicable referring to date: can someone please tell me why Magnin got booked? Thought not.

Both teams should qualify.

Brazil 1-0 Croatia

Despite what you might have read Brazil will not coast to victory in this World Cup. They might win it but they will play teams of greater ability then Croatia, who despite being well-organized didn’t have enough creativity or firepower. A wonderful goal from Kaka was enough for Brazil, the best player of the famous quartet. The worst? The Original Buck Toothed One. He was anonymous. No, in fact he was worse than that. As Kovac said, marking Ronaldo was “easy”.

Spain 4-0 Ukraine

Can the perennial underachievers come good? Based on this display there is no reason why not. A comfortable win over Ukraine with goals from Alonso, Villa (2) and Torres gave Spain the most comprehensive win of the round. They look strong at the back, composed and creative in midfield and quick upfront. Shevchenko may have just signed for Chelski but perhaps they should have bought Torres instead. If Spain go far, he could be an outside bet for the Golden Boot. Another bizarre refereeing display in this match; Vashchuk incredibly harshly sent off for apparently shirt-tugging in the box. Don’t think so ref.

- Fran

Friendly Updates
Argentina over powered Angola winning 2-0 with Maxi Rodriguez and Juan Pablo Sorin scoring.


Chile drew 1-1 with 10-man Ivory Coast, Aruna Dindane getting the goal for the World Cup debutants.


England over powered Hungary 3-1 with goals from Gerrard, Terry and Crouch. But Sven will be left with more questions than answers. The formation and who to playing in the holding midfield role still seem unclear.


After going 2-0 down to Japan with goals from Naohiro Takahara, Germany pull the score back to 2-2. The hosts still look unconvincing with the World Cup approaching fast.




Other Results:

Czech Republic 1 - 0 Costa Rica

Poland 1 - 2 Colombia

Tunisia 3 - 0 Belarus


- Ren

Rooney Ruled Out of Group Stage
Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has been definitively ruled out of England's three Group stage matches at the World Cup in Germany. If his team mates do make it through to the latter stages of the tournament, there is a possibility that he may return for the second round although a quarter final come back is a more likely scenario.

The 20-year-old received the results of a second scan on his broken metatarsal on Friday and has been told he won't be able to resume training until after the start of the tournament. A third scan has been scheduled for the 14th of June to hopefully give him the all-clear. However, boss Sven Goran Eriksson must make the final decision whether to take Rooney to Germany by the 9th of June so he could end up including a player who won't be fit at all.

Rooney's club manager Alex Ferguson had some words of warning for the striker as he urged him to err on the side of caution and not rush back. The nation will have to wait with baited breath to see if any other squad members pick up injuries in the remaining two warm up games before we know for sure who will be going to Germany. - Paul

Youth the theme in World Cup Squads
There were a few surprises as the deadline for national coaches to name their 23 man World Cup squads passed. The theme for 2006 seems to be 'give youth a chance' as several of the major nations opted to gamble on young and untested players.

Host nation Germany named twenty-two year old David Odonkor of Borussia Dortmund in their squad. The winger is noted for his speed and unpredictability and will give coach Jurgen Klinsmann a different option in attack. However, he had never been picked before and the call-up came completely out of the blue.

Sven Goran Eriksson was one of the first coaches to name his squad and he surprised everyone by naming 17-year-old Theo Walcott amongst his 23. Eriksson admits he has never even seen Walcott play and indeed, few people have - the striker hasn't played a game since his move from Southampton to Arsenal in January.

France coach Raymond Domenech also opted to call up a previously untried player in Marseille's Franck Ribery. The skilful winger has impressed with the Under 21's but was not expected to make the trip. This summer will be a welcome opportunity for him and the other youngsters to make an early impression on the World stage. - Paul

FIFA Gets Tough On Racism
Football's world governing body, FIFA, has announced tough new measures to combat the problem of racism in the game. The strict new penalties will target the clubs and their supporters by means of match suspensions, point deductions and possibly even relegation. It is hoped that these punishments will be much more effective than the meagre fines that have been handed out in the past.

Under the new rules, a first offence would see a club docked three points, a repeat offence would see them lose six points and any further offences could result in relegation. National associations would have to implement these punishments or risk being banned from playing international matches.

It will be interesting to see how the new laws work in practise and the first test cases will be closely watched around the world. It will be a brave association that relegates one of their larger clubs, and will there be cases of fans turning up at a rival club to do racist chants and try to get them penalised? - Paul

Striking Problems For Brazil
Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has plenty to think about when it comes to deciding who will lead the line at this summer's World Cup in Germany. With under three months to go until the finals kick off, his two highest profile goalscorers are woefully off form casting doubt over their positions in the starting line-up.

Ronaldo was tournament top scorer four years ago in Japan and South Korea but is out of favour at Real Madrid and looks set to leave in the summer. His popularity with the fans is at an all time low and he did himself no favours by missing a penalty in their 0-0 draw with Valencia at the weekend. Overweight and frequently injured, it is hard to see how Ronaldo can play himself into form in time for the World Cup.

Adriano has been the first choice understudy for Ronaldo for some time now and he shone at last summer's Confederations Cup in Germany, finishing as top scorer with five goals in as many games. Since then, he's struggled to recapture his best form, especially in the Champions League, where he also missed a penalty in Inter's midweek fixture.

Brazil will need a potent goalscorer to put away the plentiful chances created by Ronaldinho and Kaka, so forward places may still be up for grabs before Parreira finalises his selecao. The likes of Fred at Lyon and Nilmar at Corinthians will be hoping a run of good form can earn them a call up, otherwise Robinho or Julio Baptista could be pressed into the number nine shirt. - Ed.

Egypt face Ivory Coast in the final
The host nation held their nerve under intense pressure and lived up to the expectations of their passionate crowd to qualify for the final of the African Cup of Nations. It was a dramatic, end-to-end game with plenty of chances for both sides but Egypt did enough to merit the victory even though Senegal were inexplicably denied a penalty at the death.

The Egyptians took the lead in the 37th minute with a penalty of their own, taken by Ahmed Hassan after a ridiculous hand ball by Mendy. However, their lead was cancelled out in the 51st minute when Niang headed in a cross from the right.

Tottenham striker Mido may have talked himself out of a place in the final with his impetuous reaction to being replaced by Amr Zaki. He squared up to coach Hassan Shehata but was soon made to eat his words as his replacement scored the winner with his first touch, heading in a cross form the left.

Earlier, Didier Drogba capitalised on some slack Nigerian defending at the start of the second half to slot home the only goal of a much tighter semi final. The Ivorians should prove to be the host nation's toughest test yet and whoever wins that test can consider themselves deserving winners of the tournament. - Paul

Favourites Miss Out On Semis
Both the pre-tournament favourites for the African Cup of Nations crashed out at the quarter final stage after nail-biting penalty shoot outs.

Cameroon and the Ivory Coast cancelled each other out during a goalless 90 minutes before the Ivorians took the lead at the start of extra time through Kone. However, Cameroon struck back almost instantly through Meyong to take the tie into penalties.

Incredibly, all eleven players on both sides took and scored their penalties before Samuel Eto'o stood up for the second time and put his kick over the bar. It was left to Didier Drogba to put the Ivory Coast into the semis, which he duly did.

Holders Tunisia were also held to a 1-1 draw in their quarter final. They went behind early on as Obinna opened the scoring for Nigeria, but drew level just after the interval through Haggui. The ensuing penalty shoot out finished 6-5 in favour of the Nigerians. - Ed.