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Portugal beat Mexico to top group
Judgement day for Ghana |
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Brazil face desperate Japan
Dravid & co start favourites
Punjab Police win golf title
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Portugal beat Mexico to top group
Gelsenkirchen, June 21 Mexico also make the last 16 after rivals Angola were held to a 1-1 draw by Iran. Portugal, already qualified and resting five players on yellow cards, held on after taking a 2-0 lead in the first 24 minutes. The Mexicans went down to 10 men in the 61st minute when Luis Perez was sent off for a second yellow card after going down in the box looking for a penalty. Mexico had thrown away the chance of an equaliser in the 57th minute when Omar Bravo blasted a penalty into the crowd. Portugal took the lead in the sixth minute. Maniche supplied Simao Sabrosa, who made a lovely run on the left flank before returning the ball to Maniche to hammer home. Portugal went two ahead after an inexplicable handball in the box by Mexico's captain Rafael Marquez. Winger Simao stepped forward to convert it in the 24th minute, stuttering only slightly before hammering the ball past Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Mexico pulled one back five minutes later when Fonseca headed home from a Pavel Pardo corner. Fonseca almost equalised six minutes before the interval when his head found an Omar Branco cross but this time the ball went just wide. After the break, Mexico kept up the attack, with Fonseca, who started instead of Guillermo Franco, having a say in most of the attacks. In the 56th minute, a Pardo cross found Bravo who tapped it to Fonseca, but the shot lacked sufficient power to get past Ricardo. A minute later, Mexico had a chance to equalise after Miguel touched the ball with his hand in the box, but Bravo's penalty sailed into the crowd. Angola out after draw with Iran
LEIPZIG: Angola failed in their bid to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup finals today, drawing 1-1 with already eliminated Iran. Striker Flavio came off the bench to give Angola a 1-0 lead in their Group D clash at the Zentralstadion after an hour, but defender Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh headed firmly home in the 75th minute to seal the draw. Portugal will play the losers of Wednesday's match between Argentina and the Netherlands and Mexico face the winner. Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves again opted to start with captain Akwa as a lone striker supported by a solid five-man midfield. Akwa failed to make much impression on the Iranian defence and was replaced by Flavio in the 51st minute after picking up a groin injury. Within 10 minutes Flavio had scored Angola's first goal in a World Cup finals, heading powerfully home from a perfect right-wing cross by Ze Kalanga. Iran had dominated the first half and should have taken the lead in the 24th minute. Veteran striker Ali Daei, in what could be his final international appearance, rose unmarked at the back post but the 37-year-old sent his header sailing over the bar. Shortly after, Angola midfielder Mendonca blocked a powerful header from dangerous Iran frontman Vahid Hashemian on the line. Iran's attacking potency was dulled considerably when Hashemian was forced off just before the break with what appeared to be an injury to his lower back. They finally broke through when Bakhtiarizadeh was left completely unmarked from a corner on the right and guided his header inside the far post.
— Reuters
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Baden-Baden, June 21 The 26-year-old Newcastle striker, appearing in his 80th international, collapsed to the ground in the first minute of the match of the 2-2 draw in Cologne and was stretchered off the pitch. “Following his injury in last night’s match with Sweden, Michael Owen had his right knee scanned today,” said a Football Association statement. “It has now been confirmed that the injury will prevent Michael playing any further part in the World Cup and he will return to England immediately. “Newcastle United have been kept fully informed of the facts, and Michael’s medical care will now be managed by the club. “Any further comment regarding details of the injury or further treatment will be made by Newcastle United.” Owen, 26, said he was devastated by the news. “Obviously it’s a massive blow to suffer the injury — and be out of the World Cup,” he said. Owen’s injury means England are desperately short of experienced strikers with coach Sven-Goran Eriksson left with a not yet fully-fit Wayne Rooney, Liverpool’s Peter Crouch and untested Arsenal teenager Theo Walcott. — AFP
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Nuremberg, June 21
“The chemistry is right and it’s working out well,” midfielder Otto Addo said. “If we beat the USA anything is possible.” A draw might be enough to send the Africans into the round of 16 depending on goal-difference scenarios and the result of tomorrow's Italy-Czech Republic match. But Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic, a 60-year-old Serbian who calls this the most important match of his life, made it clear his Cup debutantes prefer to settle matters themselves in the only group where all teams can still advance. “They have to worry. The USA will suffer because we are strong and we are not afraid of anyone,” he said. “Ghana is young and tough. We won't play for a draw. We always play offensive football and we play to win.” Ghana’s Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan and US starters Eddie Pope and Pablo Mastroeni will miss the match because of card suspensions. Gyan will be sidelined after receiving a yellow for taking a penalty kick too early against the Czechs after hearing a whistle from the stands, a fate Arena dubbed absurd even though it might help the US coach's cause. “I thought that was shocking. I think that’s wrong and a great player like this is out of an important game for his team,” Arena said. Italy wary of Nedved
Hamburg: Italy believe Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedved poses the biggest threat to their hopes of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup. The Italians will come face to face with the 2003 European Footballer of the Year here in tomorrow’s crunch Group E clash that has all the makings of a classic. Italy need a draw to advance to the knockout stages, while the Czechs must win to guarantee qualification. In fact, all four teams in a group which also includes Ghana and the United States, still have a chance of making the next round. Nedved knows all about Italian football having played in Serie A since 1996, and Fabio Cannavaro has identified his Juventus team-mate as the man most likely to cause the Azzurri defensive headaches. “He is an annoying player to play against,” the Italy captain said. “He has a great spirit and an inner strength that is an example to others. He’s a real professional, a player to fear.” Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo agreed with his skipper about the need to keep tabs on livewire Nedved. Playing at their first World Cup since 1990, the Czechs have been rocked by injury problems, but they were given a major boost yesterday when striker Milan Baros resumed training.
— AFP
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Bergisch Gladbach, June 21
Japan, coached by former Brazilian all-star Zico, desperately needs to win in Dortmund to keep its chances of advancing alive. A draw will automatically send the Japanese back home. “We’re playing the best team in the world and that's exciting but obviously we have to win,” said Alessandro Santos, a Brazilian native who has taken Japanese citizenship. Besides beating the five-time champions, Japan needs to hope Australia fails to defeat Croatia in the other Group F match tomorrow. Japan lost 3-1 to Australia in its opener, then drew Croatia 0-0. Aussies seek win against Croatia
Oehringen: Australia coach Guus Hiddink has ordered the Socceroos to go for broke in their World Cup clash with Croatia tomorrow, telling them it was too dangerous to try to hold out for a draw. The Australians are guaranteed of a place in the last 16 if they beat Croatia but can also go through with a draw if Japan fail to beat Brazil by three goals in the other Group F game. The odds are heavily stacked in their favour but Hiddink said he wanted his players to play their natural game and push for victory. Defender and former captain Craig Moore said the players agreed with Hiddink’s instructions and were approaching the match thinking they must win. “It can be dangerous playing for a draw so we have to attack. You must look to improve all the time. — AP, Reuters
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Kaiserslautern, June 21 Bayern Munich’s Julio Dos Santos unlocked the door to goal for the South Americans in the 25th minute, his effort backheaded into Kelvin Jack’s goal by T and T defender Brent Sancho. Second half substitute Nelson Cuevas secured Paraguay’s third place finish in Group G with his first goal of the tournament four minutes from the end. It means T and T, the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup, leave their debut without scoring a goal but with their heads held high after holding Sweden to a draw and losing 0-2 to England in the last 10 minutes. To have any chance of qualifying Trinidad needed to beat Paraguay and also hope for an England victory over Sweden in Group B’s other fixture at Cologne. However, despite a brave performance which seen Leo Beenhakker’s West Indians come close to levelling in an entertaining second half it was not to be. Thousands of fans had travelled to Germany to support the ‘Soca Warriors’ on their World Cup adventure. And it was to a lively party atmosphere that former Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke added some fizz when his succession of three free kicks in the first 15 minutes showed goal promise. On all three occasions Aldo Bobadilla was forced into evasive action, but it was Cornell Glen’s glancing header in the fifth minute which came closest to giving the Caribbeans the lead and had to be parried by the keeper. Paraguay found reward for their domination in the 25th minute after Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Roberto Acuna fired in a freekick from 25 yards. Dos Santos headed the ball on, and, unfortunately for Trinidad, so did Sancho as the ball found its way past Jack into the net. Jack, replacing veteran Shaka Hislop, stopped a South American onslaught in the final minutes including a spectacular stop from Nelson Valdez’s goalbound header. — AFP
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Kuala Lumpur, June 21
For the winners, who led 2-0 at half time, Tejbir Singh (9th), Sandeep Singh (15th) and Tushar Khandekar (53rd) were the scorers. Despite a three-hour rain delay and being down to 10 men in the last seven minutes, India held on to overpower a nippy Korea who had earlier shocked Olympic champion Australia 3-0. India last won the Sultan Azlan Shah in 1995, then also under coach V Bhaskaran. After the 2003 Asia Cup victory here at the Bukit Jalil stadium, this is the first time that India has entered the semifinals of a major tournament. Tejbir was the star of the first half with some great moves and held the ball long enough for the others to move into position. It was Tejbir who gave the lead to India in the ninth minute. In the 15th minute, India increased the lead off their first penalty corner. Sandeep Singh’s low flick beat the Korean goalkeeper as India went ahead 2-0. It was but natural that the Koreans would push harder and they did giving some anxious moments to the Indian defence which now had Kanwalpreet Singh doing a splendid job. With seven minutes to go in the first half, heavy rains came down as the pitch was water-logged making play difficult. The referees temporarily called off the game waiting for the rain to stop. As play resumed after break, the Koreans kept up the pressure forcing the Indians onto the defensive. With Bhaskaran rotating the players fast, the fresh legs were always on the field as the Koreans did try hard but couldn’t breach the defence. Adrian DSouza also kept the flag flying with some very good saves in the second half. Twice, he dived to force the ball away even though the Korean forwards were almost onto him. It was a counter-attack that gave India their third goal in the 53rd minute. Tushar put Shivender through and the Mumbai lad streaked into the striking circle as Korean goalkeeper was forced to come on top of the circle. But the ball bounced off the pads and went to Tushar who ran and tapped the ball into an empty goal. Within two minutes, Korea had changed their goalkeeper with Lee Myung Ho coming in for Dong Sik. India earned their second penalty corner in the 67th minute but couldn't convert. Korea didn’t get a single penalty corner in the match which actually showed the tremendous amount of work that India did with their defensive play. Malaysia hold Australia Hosts Malaysia rallied to score in dying moments to hold Olympic Champions Australia to a 2-2 draw but the latter managed to make it to the semifinals of the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament here on Wednesday. Australia needed a victory by four goals to top Pool B but now have to settle for second place. Both Australia and South Korea have the same number of four points but the defending champions made it to the last four on a better goal difference. Malaysia shot into the lead when Kuhan’s penalty corner flick was deflected in by Ismail Abu in the 15th minute. Australia equalised in the 27th minute through a penalty stroke. At the break, both the teams were locked 1-1. Australia went ahead after resumption through Grant Schubert. Just when it seemed that the Aussies would walk off with a 2-1 win, a Malaysian attack through the middle by Sukri Abdul Mutalib earned the hosts a penalty stroke. Megat effortlessly converted the stroke for a memorable draw with Australia.
— UNI
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Dravid & co start favourites
St Kitts, June 21 It’s an historic event for this tiny, twin island state of St Kitts and Nevis as it hosts its first ever cricket Test, having had the opportunity of staging its maiden one-day international (ODI) between the same teams last month. Indeed, the compact Warner Park stadium here can at present justifiably claim to be the most complete and World Cup ready facility of all Caribbean grounds. But what do the weather and wicket have in store? It being officially the rainy season in this part of the world from the beginning of June, it would be a miracle if the match escaped without some scattered showers. The second part of the question is trickier. No first-class match has ever been played on the square. It’s, therefore, anybody’s guess as to how the selected strip will comport over a five-day period. Superficially, there’s likely to be an even layer of grass on it, mostly whitish, but some green. This should assist seamers, at least on the first morning. On the other hand, water was sprinkled on it on Tuesday evening, for fear of the cracks on the surface opening up too soon, according to head groundsman Stedroy Douglas. He anticipates the wicket will turn appreciably on the last two days. If Douglas’ guess is a guide, India should seriously consider playing a specialist spinner, in addition to Anil Kumble, especially since both Harbhajan Singh and Ramesh Powar are raring to go. If anything, Virender Sehwag’s success with the ball has proved West Indies, where there has been no quality spinner since Lance Gibbs or for over 35 years, are inexperienced against the slower stuff. Even if Brian Lara wins the toss, with no specialist spinner retained in the West Indian squad, it would be logical of him to insert India. This would pave the way for exploitation of a fourth innings wicket by the Indian spinners. They failed to do so at Antigua largely because the wicket rolled out into a batting paradise and at St Lucia because of the loss of nearly one and one-third day’s play. In either case, though, an extra spinner and greater aggression from Dravid from an earlier stage could have clinched the issue. The hard reality is, India’s dominance in the first two Tests notwithstanding, the series is still 0-0. Consequently, omitting a batsman would be a risky pursuit, particularly since Mahendra Dhoni is yet to win his spurs in seaming conditions and Irfan Pathan’s credentials as a batsman are yet to be established outside the sub-continent. As for VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh, one should not demur to choose both. The latter, though, needs to appreciate that in the Caribbean it’s by and large hazardous to drive on the up. You either meet the ball on the half volley or cut or pull, if it’s short.
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Chandigarh, June 21 Teams from police forces of 26 states and also teams of Central Police organisations like Intelligence Bureau, BSF and CRPF participated in the tournament. — TNS
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In video: Rahul Dravid not in favour of tinkering with the bowling
attack. (
The Black Stars, who stunned the Czech Republic 2-0, will reach the second round, and a possible showdown with reigning champion Brazil, by defeating the Americans in the Group E match, one the Americans must win for any chance to advance.
With its mind already on the second round, Brazil will try to polish its previous performances against Croatia and Australia. Despite winning both matches, the defending champions failed to impress and were heavily challenged.