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Inspired Italy show Czechs the door
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Elephants depart on winning note
All at stake for Ukraine, Tunisia
France look to avoid early exit
India face Holland today
Indians played on empty stomachs
Windies make steady start
Sachin hits ton
Booking charges for stadia reduced in Punjab
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Ghana garner glory
Nuremberg, June 22 The US struck the post midway through the second half, but otherwise, with a lone striker for much of the match, caused the Ghanaian defence few problems. The Africans, who lost 2-0 to Italy in their first match, finished second in Group E and are likely to play Group F leaders Brazil for a place in the quarterfinals but will be without midfield inspiration Michael Essien. His crunching tackle on Reyna in the first half brought his second consecutive yellow card of the tournament. Ghana were the more combative for most of the match, although they struggled to find their rhythm early on against a United States team missing key centre back, Eddie Pope, and holding midfielder Pablo Mastroeni through suspension. They also lost captain Claudio Reyna towards the end of the first half. Ghana took the lead in the 22nd minute when midfielder Haminu Draman dispossessed Reyna and strode into the penalty area to curl the ball past a diving Kasey Keller. Reyna appeared to pick up a leg injury in the process. Midfielder Dempsey fired the U.S. back on level terms two minutes from the break after DaMarcus Beasley cracked in a low cross from the left following a defensive mix-up among three Ghanaians. But within four minutes Appiah had cracked the spot kick into the top left corner after Razak Pimpong had been pushed in the area. US coach Bruce Arena threw on forward Eddie Johnson to join striker Brian McBride for the last half hour, a move that kick-started a series of U.S. assaults on the Ghanaian goal. McBride struck the post in the 66th minute with a header from an Eddie Lewis cross. Oguchi Onyewu rose above the Ghanaian defence from a corner only a minute later, but his header passed just above the crossbar.
— Reuters
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Inspired Italy show Czechs the door
Hamburg, June 22 Substitute Filippo Inzaghi rounded goalkeeper Petr Cech to roll home the second in the 87th minute as the Czechs threw everyone forward. The Czechs sorely missed injured forward Jan Koller and suspended striker Vratislav Lokvenc and it was left to midfielder Pavel Nedved to provide the attacking inspiration. Twice in the early stages Nedved tested his Juventus club-mate, Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon with long-range efforts. Buffon dealt well with a dipping drive but could only parry out another Nedved effort, although the Italy keeper did well to smother Marek Jankulovski’s follow-up. Italy’s problems increased in the 17th minute when they were forced into a change, Alessandro Nesta, suffering from what appeared to be a recurrence of his troublesome muscle injury, limping off to be replaced by Materazzi. Nine minutes after entering, the big central defender headed the Azzurri in front with his first goal for the national side leaping superbly above Polak to power a header past Petr Cech. The Italians grip on the game got tighter just before the break when Polak was dismissed for a second bookable offence for a foul from behind on Totti. That left Karel Brueckner’s side down to 10 men for a second half in which they needed to score twice to keep themselves in the World Cup and the Czech coach made a switch at the break bringing on attack-minded Jiri Stajner for midfielder Karel Poborsky. Totti, still looking far from his best, was given space for a long-range effort that Czech pushed round the post in the 53rd minute. At other end Nedved forced Buffon into action again after latching on to a through ball from Stajner and then minutes later produced a thundering drive, which had the Italy keeper at full strength.
— Reuters
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Argentina go Dutch
Frankfurt, June 22 Argentina had a raft of chances throughout the match, and Dutch coach Marco van Basten had two fine first-half clearances by defender Khalid Boulahrouz and one outstanding save late in the game by Edwin van der Sar to thank for a clean sheet. Argentine strikers Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, along with midfield duo Maxi Rodriguez and Juan Riquelme, caused havoc in the Dutch defence early on with their tight combinations of fast, accurate passing and blistering counter-attacking speed. Teenager Messi made his mark in the eighth minute, playing a dangerous through ball into the area, which Boulahrouz just managed to get his foot to ahead of the onrushing Esteban Cambiasso and Nicolas Burdisso. Man-of-the-match Tevez had a chance just after the quarter-hour, turning inside Phillip Cocu and unleashing a powerful left-footed shot just past the outside post of captain van der Sar, who was winning his 112th cap to draw level on all-time appearances for the Oranje with Frank de Boer.
— AFP
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Elephants depart on winning note
Munich, June 22 Aruna Dindane scored the other two goals for the Elephants, one from the penalty spot. Nikola Zigic and Sasa Ilic scored for Serbia-Montenegro. Ivory Coast was trailing 2-0 when Dindane scored the first penalty in the 37th minute. He then added a header in the 67th to
equalise. Normally defensive-minded Serbia-Montenegro opened the game against the potent Ivory Coast attack with only one forward in
Zigic, and that was enough to grab a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. Zigic made the goal look easy after Dejan Stankovic spotted the tall forward on a run up the middle and hit him with a bending 35-meter (yard) pass. Zigic easily cut inside defender Blaise
Kouassi, sidestepped goalkeeper Boubacar Barry and skidded the ball into the open net. Barry, making his World Cup debut, is normally a
backup. Kouassi also was a new insert in the starting line up by coach Henri Michel, who had switched out half of his back line from the previous game against the Netherlands. It was the first time Serbia-Montenegro had scored in the World Cup after losing 1-0 to the Netherlands and 6-0 to Argentina. They exploited yet another blunder by an Ivory Coast back line that was plagued by costly mistakes throughout the tournament, no matter who was
playing. Cyrille Domoraud, another new insert in the Ivory Coast line up, badly misplayed a long free kick in front of his own net. Ilic was right there to pick up the gift, beat Barry and score easily while opposing defenders flailed their arms and shouted at one another. It marked the third time in three games that Ivory Coast had found itself trying to climb out of a 2-0 first-half deficit. This time, the Elephants would have to do it without striker Dider
Drogba, who was suspended for receiving yellow cards in each of his first two games. But both teams’ defences were exceedingly generous in the first half. In the 35th minute, Dudic was caught senselessly punching out an Ivory Coast cross into the penalty area, giving the Elephants a penalty shot. Dudic offered an embarrassed smile as Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez gave him a yellow card. Serbia had to play the second half a man down after Albert
Nadj, who had only come in in the 16th minute to replace injured Mladen
Krstajic, received his second yellow card following a hard tackle on Kader Keita at the end of the first half.
— AP
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All at stake for Ukraine, Tunisia
Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin is looking to restore some humility to his team following its 4-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia on Monday. His side was similarly beaten 4-0 by Spain only five days earlier. The World Cup newcomers simply need to draw with the Africans to lock up runner-up position in the group behind Spain, which is already through. Tunisia must beat Ukraine to have a chance of qualifying. Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre said Tunisia had ‘suffered enormously’ in Monday’s 3-1 loss to Spain, but had taken great heart from its performance. Tunisia drew 2-2 with Saudi Arabia and showed improvement against the Spanish, despite the loss. Lemerre now needs to coax a full 90 minutes out of his players. His team led both of its previous games, but allowed late goals in each. “We have to concentrate better, show more ability and engage them more offensively,” the former France coach said. Though Ukraine has recovered defender Vladyslav Vashchyuk, who missed Ukraine’s match against Saudi Arabia due to red card received against Spain, it still has defensive worries. Saudis to play
for pride
Kaiserslautern: Spain coach Luis Aragones is set to prepare for their World Cup second round clash against France, Korea or Switzerland by resting all his key starters against Saudi Arabia here tomorrow. The ‘Sons of the Desert’, who sit bottom of Group H on one point, will be playing mainly for pride having thrown away victory in a 2-2 draw with Tunisia before their crushing 4-0 defeat to Ukraine. And after yesterday’s training session before their trip south to Kaiserslautern, it appears Aragones is ready to relegate the 11 players who started their first two group matches to the substitutes bench. The wily 67-year-old tactician has steered Spain on a 24-match unbeaten run but after a first-half hiccup he was forced to rejig his recently favoured 4-3-3 formation in the Stuttgart clash against Tunisia on Monday. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia coach Marcos Paqueta knows that anything other than an unlikely victory over Spain could spell the end of his short stint in charge of the national team. The Brazilian was only recruited in December to replace Argentine Gabriel Calderon, who had guided the Sons of the Desert through the qualifying campaign in style.
— Agencies
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France look to avoid early exit
The West Africans, who have been the focus of attention because of pay disputes, quitting coaches and returning, and player boycotts, already are eliminated, but motivated by the thought of demonstrating they are more than a distraction. Besides needing a victory to advance, France’s inspiration could come from Zinedine Zidane, who is suspended for the match and could end his career watching if the French fail. “We know Zizou is right behind us,” said France defender Mikael Silvestre, who will replace the suspended Eric Abidal at left back. “I am not pessimistic,” France coach Raymond Domenech said. “I am looking ahead to the future. We are here to qualify.” Domenech’s team does not share the same optimism. Midfielder Patrick Vieira, who will take Zidane’s captain’s armband and earn his 90th cap on his 30th birthday, says he won’t dismiss Togo’s chances. “Togo is a physically strong team that plays with a lot of heart,” Vieira said. “If we think it will be 7-0, we’re in for a shock. A lot of them play for French teams. They would like nothing more than to knock the French out at the World Cup.” Togo’s World Cup debut has been a tempestuous stay that has resulted in mocking jokes. “We will try to save the honour of our country by winning one if not three points,” striker Emmanuel Adebayor said. “We want to do it for ourselves, our families and for Africa.” Hanover: South Korea will have to conjure up more of their 2002 magic to pull a last 16 place out of the hat with victory over Switzerland in their Group G crunch match here tomorrow. A comeback 2-1 win over Togo and a much-acclaimed 1-1 draw with 1998 world champions France could be to no avail because of Switzerland’s marginally better goal difference which gives them the luxury of just needing a point from the final group fixture. If the Koreans lose to the powerful, clockwork-like Swiss and France beat trouble-plagued Togo by two clear goals, the surprise 2002 semi-finalists will go out. But a win will see them top the group such are the muddling permutations. South Korea, who humbled Portugal, Italy and Spain during their glory run four years ago, could still qualify in second place if they draw with Switzerland but the players are refusing to dream that Togo can achieve a result against the fading but still flair-filled French. Other final-day scenarios could result in the drawing of lots to determine whether France or South Korea progress to the second round but neither side want to rely on lady luck for their World Cup survival.
— AP, AFP
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India face Holland today
Semifinals
Kuala Lumpur, June 22 In the semifinals to be played tomorrow, India would take on the Netherlands, who finished second in Pool B, while Australia meet New Zealand. The goal-less draw between the Dutch and the Kiwis smacked of a pre-meditated plan to keep out the Pakistanis, who lost to Argentina earlier in the day. The Pakistani team watched helplessly from the stands the charade that the Kiwis and the Dutch enacted. With each passing minute, their hopes ebbed and the draw pushed Pakistan to third place on goal difference. Holland and Pakistan finished with four points apiece, while the Kiwis topped the pool with five. Argentina, the perennial dark horses, overcame Pakistan 2-0 with Juan Saladino scoring both goals in the 47th and 48th minutes in a game interrupted by heavy showers. Thus, all eyes, especially those of the Pakistanis, were on the Holland-New Zealand game in which both teams dished out mediocre hockey. Towards the close, the teams shed all pretence of a contest. Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans said he was happy at his team moving to the semifinals, where he expected a “tough match” against India tomorrow. Pakistani coach Asif Bajwa admitted that on the day, Argentina were the better team. “There are always a difficult side to play. They beat us at the 2002 World Cup here, and today, once again we lost to them,” he said with a wry smile.
— PTI
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Indians played on empty stomachs
Kuala Lumpur, June 22 The match was halted seven minutes to half time due to torrential downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning with India ahead 2-0. After a three-hour break, the match resumed and India went on to win 3-0 to qualify for the semifinals. During the extended break, Bhaskaran and physio Ravi Kankamedala waded through shin-deep water in search of snacks for the players. “The players had their lunch at 12 noon and some of them had eaten only fruits. So, with the extended stoppage, they were obviously hungry and thirsty,” Bhaskaran told PTI this morning.
— PTI
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Windies make steady start St Kitts, June 22 The postponement was caused by a sharp shower a couple of hours before the scheduled commencement and slightly deflated a day of celebration, for it had been declared a national holiday by the government to mark the start of the maiden Test match in this territory. However, half an hour into the proceedings came the stoppage. But even before the match got under way at the beautifully designed arena here at Warner Park, it was a carnival atmosphere, with massive speakers providing a foretaste of next week’s music festival on this island and the spectators blending into the melody and the mandatory punches in aesthetically erected marquees. Chris Gayle joined in the festivity by blasting Sreesanth for a four and six to long-on in one over to reach a personal milestone of 4,000 runs in Tests. The exclusion of Irfan Pathan was unexpected for he’s the only swing bowler in the Indian squad. While, admittedly, the ball doesn’t deviate much in the air in the Caribbean, he is still capable of obtaining an early breakthrough and to also make the old ball slant the other way. The return of Harbhajan Singh was, of course, welcome. Spinners, including Dave Mohammed this season, have been more often than not the highest wicket-takers in domestic cricket in the Caribbean in the past 30 years, which is testimony to West Indian batsmen’s inherent weakness against slow bowling. Local experts are unanimous in concluding that India would have been two up in the series by now, if either Harbhajan or Ramesh Powar featured in the first two Tests. The marginally more experienced Sreesanth replacing VRV Singh was rational. Marlon Samuels’ inclusion in the West Indies side was no surprise. With a hundred to his name in his only previous Test appearance against India he was a near certainty once he was short-listed. His selection also enabled Brian Lara to bat first after winning the toss, as the Jamaican also provides a spin option and, in fact, caused definite problems for the Indians in the one-day series. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) Gayle not out 52 Ganga not out 23 Extras (lb-2, nb-3) 5 Total (no loss, 25 overs) 80 Bowling: Patel 7-2-16-0, Sreesanth 8-3-23-0, Kumble 6-2-11-0,
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Sachin hits ton
Cambridge, June 22 The innings included several perfectly executed pull shots, suggesting Tendulkar’s shoulder is in good shape, although the most he would say was that it is “getting better.” Tendulkar needed just 91 balls to bring up his 100 and powered on in a similar vein before being caught at mid-on while trying to pull a full toss from medium pacer Ben Jacklin. The knock included 25 boundaries and three sixes. Tendulkar is due to play four more matches for Lashings, a charity fund-raising select that features former internationals such as West Indies duo Richie Richardson and Courtney Walsh.
— AFP
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Dalmiya calls CAB meeting
Kolkata, June 22
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Booking charges for stadia reduced in Punjab
Chandigarh, June 22 Giving this information here today, Sports Director Pargat Singh said with a view to encourage the students, 75 per cent concession would also be given to the government and government-aided schools for using stadia for training/competition purpose. The students of private schools will be given 50 per cent concession in booking rates, besides further reducing the charges of sports hostel accommodation, locker facilities and identity card fee. The booking charges for a stadium, for not related to the particular sports discipline, would be Rs 50,000, and if used for entertainment programme along with the sports competitions, Rs 1 lakh has been fixed.
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Hamburg, June 22
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