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Argentina’s sixer scorches Serbs
Dutch topple Ivory
tower
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Italy fear US backlash
Portugal won’t mind narrow win
Saudi veteran Al-Jaber in elite club
Ali way ahead of Pele
Lanka beat England in Twenty20
Zaheer wrecks Essex
Sania loses in doubles too
Indians dominate in marathon
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Argentina’s sixer scorches Serbs
Gelsenkirchen, June 16 Winger Maxi Rodriguez scored twice, Esteban Cambiasso and Hernan Crespo rounded off two other brilliant goals before substitutes Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi completed the demolition with super individual finishes. Argentina went ahead with their first chance of the match when Rodriguez fired home from the left after Javier Saviola, fed by Juan Pablo Sorin with a back heel on the left wing, steered a square ball into the box. With playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme closely marked by Albert Nadj, creation came from all sectors of the Argentine side, notably in a superb second goal just past the hour, netted by substitute Cambiasso. Argentina moved the ball about in the Serb half from wing to wing before Saviola fed Crespo who stepped over the ball and backheeled it for Cambiasso to fire into the roof of the net past a static Dragoslav Jevric. Coach Jose Pekerman had been forced after only a quarter of an hour to revert to his starting line-up from Argentina’s 2-1 win over Ivory Coast last weekend, bringing Cambiasso on when Luis Gonzalez, the only change in the line-up, looked like he pulled a muscle. Rodriguez made it 3-0 before halftime when Saviola robbed the ball from Mladen Krstajic out on the right wing and ran into the box to shoot low. Jevric got a hand to the ball but it ran free for Rodriguez to tap in at the far post for his second. Argentina brought on Carlos Tevez for Saviola and just past the hour Mateja Kezman was sent off for a two-footed tackle on Javier Mascherano. To great acclaim from a vast majority of Argentines in the capacity 52,000 crowd, Pekerman sent on Messi in the 74th minute for his World Cup debut. With 12 minutes left he made his presence felt, breaking down the left and sending a low ball into the box for Hernan Crespo to tuck in. If Serbia thought the agony was over they were cruelly mistaken. First, with six minutes left, Tevez cut in from the left, nutmegged a defender before finishing calmly with a low shot home. Then, with two minutes remaining, Messi brought the huge Argentine fan presence to their feet yet again with a low shot through the legs of the keeper after finding room in the area.
— Reuters
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Dutch topple Ivory tower
Stuttgart, June 16 The Dutch seemed to be cruising after goals from Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooij put them 2-0 in front by the 26th minute, but they were made to fight all the way by the Africans, who are now eliminated. A cagey opening barely hinted at the fireworks to follow, with an Ivory Coast penalty claim the main talking point of the first quarter when Giovanni van Bronckhorst wrapped an arm around Emmanuel Eboue. The Dutch had hardly posed a threat but then produced two moments of quality to leave the Ivorians reeling. After 23 minutes Van Persie’s burst towards the area was brought to a clumsy end by Kolo Toure and the Arsenal striker picked himself up to slam an unstoppable free kick past the flailing arms of goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie. Worse was to follow for the Africans when Arjen Robben teased the defence before slipping a reverse pass for Van Nistelrooij to curl a first-time shot past Tizie. The Ivorians refused to let their World Cup hopes sink under the orange tide and rocked the Dutch back on their heels before halftime. First Didier Zokora shook the frame of the goal with a venemous right-foot blast, then the diminutive Bakary Kone halved the deficit with a contender for the goal of the tournament. Taking the ball off Zokora on the left, Kone raced diagonally towards goal before clipping a rising shot past Edwin Van der Sar after 38 minutes. It was the first goal the Dutch had conceded in 11 competitive matches, ending Van der Sar’s international clean-sheet record at 1,013 minutes. The Dutch had not let in a goal in their previous 10 non-friendly encounters, an all-time European record. — Reuters
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Italy fear US backlash
Kaiserslautern, June 16 “We won’t be underestimating the United States because they have to win against us or they’re out,” said Andrea Pirlo, scorer of Italy’s first goal in their 2-0 win over Ghana which stretched their unbeaten run to 19 matches. Italy coach Marcello Lippi admitted he was surprised by the ease with which the Czech Republic beat the Americans. “I was expecting a closer match because the USA have made giant strides in the last five years,” he said. “They reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup four years ago and came here full of confidence.” Defender Gianluca Zambrotta is in line for a recall for Italy after recovering from the left thigh strain, which kept him out of the Ghana match. Tenacious midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, also absent against the Ghanaians, is making good progress after feeling a recurrence of a right leg injury and could play some part. USA coach Bruce Arena said playing Italy is just the sort of challenge his team needs to show their true character. “This is the moment to shine, to step up and show what you’re about,” he said. Italy, who won the World Cup in 1934, 1938 and 1982, have played the United States eight times, winning six and drawing two. The teams met in the first round of the 1990 World Cup, with tournament hosts Italy winning 1-0 in Rome.
— AFP
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Portugal won’t mind narrow win
Frankfurt, June 16 “In many ways, this is the most difficult of the three games,” said
Scolari, whose team face Mexico in their final match. “There are several details, things which put the Iranians apart, things which Angola and Mexico don’t have,” added the Brazilian, known back home as Big Phil. “I sense that there is less nervousness in our team than there was before the first game but I also feel there’s a little more respect for Iran. The players expect more difficulties than in the first game. “I think Iran have an excellent team and, as far as I’m concerned, if we win half-nil, 1-0 or 2-1, that will be enough to reach our target.”
Scolari played down talk about the possibility that he will leave his job after the World Cup and remarks by leading players in the Portuguese media that it will be a step back for Portugal if he goes. “I joked with Costinha and (Luis) Figo that they are crawlers for saying those things,” said
Scolari, who led Brazil to the world title in 2002. Meanwhile, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has a good chance of facing Iran after re-joining his team mates for training today, Scolari said. Ronaldo took part in a light one-hour training session at Frankfurt’s
Waldstadion, with no apparent ill-effects. Ronaldo, who appeared upset when he was substituted during the match against Angola and who completed just 15 minutes of training on Wednesday, trained separately yesterday after complaining of aching muscles.
— Reuters
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Ljungberg sends Paraguay home
Berlin, June 16 Ljungberg headed the ball into the bottom corner in the 89th minute after a right wing cross was headed back across goal by substitute Marcus Allback to hand Sweden the points. Ljungberg almost added a second in injury time with a long-range shot that Aldo Bobadilla pushed away for a corner as Sweden looked to finish off the plucky South Americans. Bobadilla had produced several quality saves to keep Paraguay in the game but it was in vain as Sweden moved on to four points behind England who top the group after qualifying with six points by beating Trinidad & Tobago. Before the goal Allback had come closest to breaking the deadlock but his shot on the turn 10 minutes from time was well saved by Bobadilla, who was in outstanding form. Roared on by a huge contingent of yellow-clad supporters among the 72,000 crowd at the Olympiastadion, the Swedes had piled on the pressure at the outset. Midfielder Kim
Kallstrom, promoted to the starting line-up after a strong performance as a substitute in Sweden’s first match against Trinidad, which ended goalless, was a frequent threat to the South Americans’ defence. In the best moment of the first half, he forced an outstanding diving save from Aldo Bobadilla with a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area. Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had an excellent opportunity to give Sweden the lead just before halftime but his weak shot from close range was easily gathered by Bobadilla. The Paraguayan keeper faced a tougher test in the 54th minute when Henrik Larsson curled a free kick round the wall but the Bobadilla got down quickly to push the ball wide. Allback, a halftime substitute for
Ibrahimovic, lobbed Bobadilla five minutes later only for Denis Caniza to hook the ball away just before it crossed the line. —
Reuters
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Saudi veteran Al-Jaber in elite club
Munich, June 16 But 33-year-old Sami al-Jaber can now sit comfortably in that company after his goal in the 2-2 draw with Tunisia made him only the fourth player in history to score goals in World Cup finals 12 years
apart. Pele grabbed six goals in 1958, one in 1962, one in 1966 and four in 1970. Maradona found the target twice in 1982, five times in 1986 and added one more in 1994 with Germany’s Uwe Seeler also making the list with two in 1958, two in 1962, two more four years later and three in
1970. Jaber’s record is one each in 1994, 1998 and 2006. Jaber won his 161st cap on Wednesday and scored his 44th international goal.
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Ali way ahead of Pele
Berlin, June 16 Many would be surprised to know that the only player who has scored a century of international goals is Iranian captain Ali Daei. The 37-year-old Daei is the world’s top international scorer with 109 goals from 147 matches. Daei has scored more goals than both Pele and Ferenc Puskas in an international career stretching back to 1993. After making his debut against Pakistan in 1993, the six-foot-five (1.92m) Daei has been a vital part of several campaigns for Iran. The player made history in November, 2004, when he became the first man to reach 100 international goals, outstripping such legends as Puskas, who plundered 84 from 89 matches, and Pele’s tally of 77 in 91 games for Brazil. He has since moved on to 109 from 147 matches, albeit with many against minor opposition. In the goals’ list, he is followed by Stern John of Trinidad and Tobago (65) and Brazil’s superstar Ronaldo (59). Despite his iconic status in Asian football, calls have been growing for the craggy-faced skipper to step aside with some commentators complaining he is past his best. But Daei insists he is as fresh as ever, compiling nine goals in qualifying to prove his point. So, even if there is nothing special about Asian football there is still something about the players from world’s largest continent.
— PTI |
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Lanka beat England in Twenty20
Southampton, June 16 England’s Paul Collingwood, with four for 22, returned the best figures in the seven-match history of Twenty20 international cricket but it was not enough to give his team a win. Opener Marcus Trescothick then took England to the brink of victory with 72 off 57 balls including one six and nine fours. But when he was alertly run out by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, England still needed 12 off eight balls. That became nine off the final over, bowled by paceman Dilhara Fernando. The target ultimately came down to five off one ball with Tim Bresnan, on his senior England debut, facing. It was too much for the 21-year-old Yorkshire bowler, who finished on six not out with wicketkeeper Geraint Jones unbeaten on 14. Sri Lanka, who had been 75 without loss, collapsed after a rapid opening stand between Jayasuriya (41) and Upul Tharanga (34), before Collingwood struck. Sri Lanka’s victory was all the more creditable as they had omitted their two most experienced bowlers in off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and left-arm quick Chaminda Vaas, the heroes of their 1-1 drawn Test series against England concluded earlier this month.
— AFP
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Zaheer wrecks Essex
London, June 16 Replying to Worcestershire’s mammoth 650 for 7 declared, Essex were tottering at 186 for nine with the Indian left arm seamer claiming all wickets at close on the second day yesterday. Zaheer started the rot after 18-year-old Varun Chopra and Mark Pettini put on a 117-run opening stand and pushed Essex from 132 for one to 150 for eight in no time. It was Zaheer’s best figures in first-class cricket in which he has taken 343 wickets at 27.81 from 86 matches. Essex now need 262 more runs to avoid follow on with one wicket in hand.
— PTI
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Sania loses in doubles too
Birmingham, June 16 Seeded third, the Indo-Italian duo blew off the advantage after winning the first set and went down 6-4, 2-6, 2-6 to Elena Vesnina of Russia and Zi Yan of China in one hour 44 minutes. The third seeds lost the plot after winning the first set and nothing went right thereafter. Vesnina and Yan staged a brilliant comeback in the second set, breaking their fancied rivals twice and averting any such setback to take the set. In the decider, it was the same story with the third seeds throwing away three break points as their big serving rivals showed them the door. Sania had earlier made an exit from the singles event with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-7 defeat inflicted by American qualifier Meilen Tu in the third round. —
UNI
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US Open
New York, June 16 Jyoti Randhawa, the other Indian in the fray frittered away a solid start and stumbled to a 77 for a tied 90th position. Scottish sensation Colin Montgomerie was all smiles after firing four birdies against three bogeys as he led the first round with a 69. Defending champion Michael Campbell was in tied 52nd spot after a 75. Former Asian Tour regular Ted Purdy, however, struggled with a 78 as he was in joint 112th position. Korean star Choi Kyung-ju was three strokes behind Jeev when he shot a 76 in joint 68th spot alongside 21 other players that included golf icon and world No. 1 Tiger Woods. Jeev, the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit leader, fired one birdie, two bogeys and was tied alongside local talent Kent Jones, Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Skip Kendal and Tim Herron, Aussies Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling and Robert Allenby, Irishman Padraig Harrington, and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland. The Indian stalwart earned his spot in the year’s second major when he qualified in England earlier this month. Jeev kept his cool under the challenging conditions at Mamaroneck when he teed off on the 10th hole. He shot a double bogey at the lengthy par five 12th hole and dropped a shot on the 16th hole. The 34-year-old struck another bogey on the third hole but returned with a birdie on the fifth hole. His solid putts on the greens saw him par the remaining four holes. “I am happy with the way I played as I putted really well today,” said Jeev. “The course is tough, even the greens are difficult but it is the same for everybody playing here. My first round was a bit edgy but the highlight for me today was how well I chipped and putted,” he said.
— PTI
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Indians dominate in marathon
Durban, June 16 The event, which was started 81 years ago by returning soldiers and was restricted to whites up to early 1980s, attracts more than 12,000 long distance runners of all racial groups and athletes from around the world. Indian-origin athletes make a significant percentage of the runners every year and this time also Indian surnames featured prominently in the event. The Naidoos led with 104 surnames, followed by the Govenders with 76, and the Pillays (49). One of the veteran Indian-origin long distance runners is 60-year-old Nat Padaychee who is featuring in his 21st Comrades Marathon. He said when he ran in the first marathon in 1985 he promised himself not to take part again but he could not give up running.
— PTI
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