Pretoria, July 10
The world’s most impressive passing team, Spain, face an explosive Netherlands attack in a highly anticipated World Cup final on Sunday with the only certainty being a first-time world champion.

Despite their great traditions, generations of top players and leading clubs, neither the Dutch nor the Spanish have ever had their hands on the game's top prize.

European champions Spain have never previously gone beyond the quarterfinal stage while the Dutch emerged from their glory years in the 1970s having lost in two successive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978.

Spain's mesmerising passing game this time was too much in the semifinals for a Germany team that had impressed so many with their crushing wins over England and Argentina but succumbed to a 1-0 defeat.

The Netherlands showed their power in the final third in their 3-2 semi-final victory over Uruguay with the impressive Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben scoring after arguably the goal of the tournament from captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

But Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk is well aware of the quality of opposition his team now faces.

"Spain were the better team against Germany and really deserved to win. They are the best team in the world at this moment," he said.

The Dutch head into the final with a remarkable run of wins - they have won now 14 competitive matches in a row, including all their World Cup qualifying matches, yet they can hardly be considered favourites against a Spanish team which has lost just twice in their last 53 matches.

"It doesn't interest me who is favourite for the final, I just don't care what the whole world is saying," said van Marwijk.

"We will just go out and play our own game -- we see it as a great challenge to play them," he said.

Incredibly given their pedigree, it will be the first competitive meeting between both countries since November 16 1983, when they played in a European Championship qualifier in Rotterdam, the Dutch coming out top 2-1 thanks to a winner from Ruud Gullit.

The Dutch squad is completely fit and even Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong, who both were suspended for the semi against Uruguay, are available again.

Spain's success has come despite the lack of form of their leading striker Fernando Torres but David Villa's five goals have made up for the Liverpool forward's problems and dangerous winger Andres Iniesta is hitting his stride at just the right time.

Spain lost their opening game of the tournament to Switzerland but have gradually eased through the gears to find their best form for when it really matters.

Although Spain's brand of quick, short passes and retention of possession does not make for wide open games, it lends itself to fascinating tactical battles and -- as Germany found to their cost -- the counter-attacking approach is hard to apply.

The Dutch also like to break with speed and numbers but they may well have to engage in more of a midfield chess game if they are to avoid the fate of the Germans.

"We will try not to let the win over Germany blind us to the task in hand. We'll focus on the job we have to do because we want more," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

"Holland is a country with a great football tradition and these are two teams who are so keen to be world champions for the first time."

Sunday's game will also mark the first time that a European team has won a tournament held outside of their own continent. — Reuters

Johannesburg, July 10
Although Sunday's World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain will be the 18th final in the history of the competition, history will be made when the two teams play at Soccer City in Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

For the first time, a European country will win the World Cup outside Europe, and for both countries, a victory will be the first time that they manage to achieve success at the highest stage in world football.

The first World Cup final in 1930 saw the hosts Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in a game that saw two balls being used as both sides insisted on playing with their 'own' ball.

Four years later, Luis Felipe Monti played in his second World Cup final, but this time, the Buenos Aires-born player ended up on the winning side.

However, the defender did not represent his native Argentina, but was playing for the 1934 hosts Italy, who beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 after extra time.

In 1938, the Italians became the first champions to successfully defend their title as they beat Hungary 4-2 in the final, which was played in Paris.

The Second World War then caused a 12-year interruption and when the World Cup finally resumed in Brazil in 1950, the hosts were the overwhelming favourites.

It was the first - and to date the only - time that no final was played and Brazil needed only to draw their final game in a four-team round robin against Uruguay to win the World Cup for the first time. But the 1930 champions Uruguay pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory for their second title.

Four years later, it was the turn of Germany who stunned the overwhelming favourites Hungary 3-2 in what was to be known as the miracle of Berne.

Brazil finally won their first title in 1958, when a 17-year-old Pele first grabbed the world's attention. He scored twice in Brazil's 5-2 victory in the final against Sweden.

Pele was injured four years later and missed the final when Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 3-1.

The 1966 final between hosts England and Germany will forever be remembered for the so-called Wembley goal that saw a goal being awarded for a Geoff Hurst shot that might - or might not - have crossed the line. It was England's third in a 4-2 victory.

In 1970, Pele was again in the starting line-up as Brazil trounced Italy 4-1 in the final - which is still widely considered as the best-ever final.

The next two editions saw home victories with Germany beating Netherlands 2-1 in 1974, while the Dutch also lost four years later against Argentina, who won 3-1.

Italy won their third title in Spain in 1982, when Paolo Rossi inspired the side to a 3-1 victory against West Germany, who also lost the 1986 final to Argentina by the same score.

In 1990, the two countries met again in the final, but this time, the Europeans prevailed as a penalty scored by Andreas Brehme five minutes from the end gave West Germany their second title against Argentina, who ended the game with just nine men.

The 1994 final was the first time that the championship match ended goalless as Brazil and Italy failed to break the deadlock in 120 minutes.

Brazil won the resultant penalty shoot-out 3-2, with Roberto Baggio missing the decisive penalty for Italy.

Brazil's hopes of becoming the first country since they themselves managed in 1962 to successfully defend the title were scuppered by two goals from Zinedine Zidane for hosts France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final.

There was some controversy ahead of the match as Brazilian superstar Ronaldo was initially included in his side's line-up, but then failed to take to the field.

The first World Cup co-hosted saw Brazil secure their fifth title with a 2-0 victory against Germany in South Korea/Japan.

2006 in Germany saw the second time a final had to be decided on penalties, with Italy prevailing 5-3 against France after the two sides finished 1-1 after extra-time.

Zidane, who eight years earlier had been his side's hero, became the villain this time around after being sent off for a head-butt.

And so the focus turns to Soccer City, where Spain and Netherlands will compete in the World Cup's 18th final, with probably only Paul the psychic octopus knowing at this stage which country will become the eighth country to win the World Cup. — DPA

Cape Town, July 10
Spanish forward David Villa, who is on the verge of leading Spain to World Cup glory, had faced a right leg amputation as a four-year-old after a horrific break in his femur.

Villa suffered the accident while playing football, when a much older kid fell on his leg. Doctors feared that they might have to amputate the leg, but miraculously, Villa escaped the worst. However, he had to spend six months in plaster.

His father, Jose Manuel, a miner, said that after Villa recovered from the horrific accident, he used to spend two hours teaching his right-footed son to kick the ball with his left foot.

"When I came home from the mine, we always spent two hours together. I would pass the ball to him and he would kick it with his left foot," The Sun quoted Manuel, as saying. "I think for that reason he is now equally good with both feet," he added.

Talking about his father's contribution in his evolution as a world-class footballer, Villa said, "My dad would be there throwing me the ball over and over, making me kick it with my left leg when my right was in plaster after breaking it." "I can barely remember a single training session when my dad wasn't there. I have never been alone on a football pitch," he added. — ANI

Pretoria, July 10
Referees were right 96 percent of the time at the World Cup, according to a study by FIFA's referees' committee.

The study looked at key decisions such as free kicks, penalties and goal decisions but did not examine minor rulings such as throw-ins.

The data was collected by video examination carried out by referees committee members and FIFA instructors, Jose Maria Garcia-Aranda, head of refereeing for the sport's governing body, told Reuters.

It marks the first time that FIFA has released such data on refereeing performances and while there is no way to compare with previous tournaments, Garcia-Aranda said he was confident decision making had improved. — Reuters

New Delhi, July 10
Asian Youth silver medallist Devendro Singh sensationally out-classed his rival within the first three minutes of his bout while former Commonwealth champion Sunil Kumar toiled hard for his opening win in the 57th Senior Men’s National Boxing Championships here today.

Sunil came back from 0-3 down to pull off a 6-3 triumph over Bahadur Singh of Uttarakhand, who frustrated the Haryana boxer by keeping a tight guard for almost half the bout before being outwitted in the closing stages.

18-year-old Devendro, on the other hand, outclassed Pondicherry's Mathan Kumar under three minutes.

The Manipuri teen, who idolises statemate and former world youth champion Thokchom Nanao Singh, led 3-0 before landing the decisive right hook that left his opponent dazed and the referee convinced that Devendro was just too good for his rival.

“I enjoy playing at the senior level and take inspiration from Nanao who is also my room-mate at the Army Sports Institute in Pune,” said Devendro, who came into the event after winning a gold medal in the National Youth Championships in Chennai, last month.

Well aware that a medal here could help him get into the core group of boxers for the Commonwealth Games, Devendro said he was aiming to cause some upsets in a competitive category.

It was smooth sailing for the other favourites as well on a day which featured just 12 bouts and that too only in the light fly weight 49 kg category.

Prominent among them was the Commonwealth champion Amandeep Singh of the Railways Sports Promotion Board, who hardly broke a sweat to clinch it 7-0 against Tripura’s Manoj Kumar.

Former World Cadet champion Vipin Kumar, who had faded into oblivion after a fracture in his left hand, won 7-3 against Kripa Shakar of Madhya Pradesh. Vipin is representing Uttar Pradesh.

“The fracture just ruined everything for me. This Championship would give me a chance to resurrect my career,” Kumar said. Among others, Himachal Pradesh's Baljinder won 5-4 against Assam's Bikas in a hard-fought bout. Services Sports Control Board's Sanjay Kolte, a former international medallist, out-classed Gujarat's Patra Pratap. — PTI

New Delhi, July 10
Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal, Soumyadeep Roy and A Amalraj entered the men’s singles second round but it was curtains for their women counterparts in the opening round itself as India made a mixed start at the Egypt Open table tennis tournament in Cairo.

Soumyadeep thrashed Russian Shibaev Alexander 4-0, while Sharath Kamal trounced Barbolin Illia of Belarus 4-0 but it was the 24-year-old Amalraj who made some heads turn when he beat Mikhail Paykov of Russia 4-1 in the main draw of the men’s singles event yesterday.

However, it was curtains for Sourav Chakraborty, Karia Devesh, Abishek Ravichandran and Sanil Shetty in the men’s singles.

Lashin El-Sayed of Egypt beat Sourav 4-2, Devesh lost 0-4 to Leung Chu Yan of Hong Kong, Abishek was spanked 0-4 by Saive Jean-Michel of Belgium, while Sanil succumbed to a 0-4 defeat to Jiang Tianyi of Hong Kong.

The Indian women were even worse as none of them could reach the second round.

Former National champion Poulomi Ghatak suffered a 0-4 defeat to Ni Xia Lian of Luxemburg, while Li Xue of France cut short Madhurika Patkar's campaign with a 4-1 win. Former national champion Mouma Das also became a first round casualty after losing 0-4 to Reiko Hiura of Japan.

In men’s doubles, Sourav Chakraborty and Soumyadeep came together and notched up a 4-1 victory over Al-Mohannadi Ahmad and Almughanne Fahed of Qatar to move into the next round.

Sharath Kamal and Sanil also put up a spirited fight but couldn’t get past Jiang Tianyi and Leung Chu Yan of Hong Kong, losing 2-4 in another match.

Devesh and Abishek also failed to cross the first hurdle and lost 2-4 to Omar Assar and Emad Moselhi of Egypt.

In women’s doubles, Neha Aggarwal and Soumi Mondal kept Indian hopes alive with a 4-2 triumph over the Egyptian pair of El-Sokary Sara and Dina Meshref. — PTI

Silverstone, July 10
Sebastian Vettel led an ominous Red Bull one-two in final free practice for the British Formula One Grand Prix today while rivals McLaren struggled to get up to speed. Vettel, winner at Silverstone in a Red Bull one-two last season, lapped the longer reconfigured circuit in one minute, 30.958 seconds.

Australian Mark Webber, showing no after-effects of the huge 300kph crash he suffered in Valencia two weeks ago, was just 0.034 slower with Ferrari’s double world champion Fernando Alonso the third fastest. While Sunday’s race is a local one for Red Bull, whose factory is at nearby Milton Keynes, the spotlight has been mainly on Britain’s two world champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Both found McLaren’s new ‘blown diffuser’ exhaust system an unexpected handful on Friday and the team reverted to the old setup for final practice and the all-important qualifying later today. Championship leader Hamilton, who is six points ahead of his team mate, was seventh quickest while reigning champion Button cannot have been happy with 12th. Button has never stood on his home podium in a decade in the sport but is hoping to end that long wait in front of a near-capacity crowd.

A record-equalling 85,000 turned up on Friday and the grandstands were again full of fans wearing McLaren’s ‘rocket red’ caps and shirts.

They may be disappointed on Sunday, with Red Bull threatening a third one-two of the season.— Reuters

Bhopal, July 10
Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Punjab and hosts Madhya Pradesh have entered the quarterfinals of the 63rd Rangaswami Cup Senior National Men’s Hockey Championship being played at the Aishbagh Stadium here.

Mumbai qualified by crushing Manipur 4-1 while Tamil Nadu made its place in the last eight by defeating Maharashtra 2-1 yesterday.

Punjab, Chandigarh, and hosts Madhya Pradesh State Hockey Academy (MPSHA), Bhopal have already entered the quarterfinals earlier.

The sixth team for the quarter-finals would be decided from Karnataka and Haryana after their this evening’s fixture while one team each would come from Pool A and Pool H in which matches will begin today. Pool A contains Delhi, Jharkhand, Pondicherry and Tripura while Orissa, Uttarakhand and SAIL are in Pool H.

For Mumbai, Jaiyesh Jadhav, Alden and Gursev Singh converted penalty corners in the 44th, 52nd and 58th minutes while Amit hit a brilliant field goal in the 49th minute and took a lead of 4-0.

The lone goal for Manipur was scored by RK Anandjeet through penalty corner in the 66th minute and reduced the margin 4-1.

Till breather, no team was able to open their account.

In another fixture, the lone field goal for Mahrashtra was hit by Santosh in the 32nd minute and took a lead of 1-0. However, in the second half, Tamil Nadu played an attcking game and scored two field goals in a span of three minutes through Adam Sinklaiyer and R Sathyarajan in the 57th and 60 minutes and ensured their team's victory.

In other matches, Rajasthan trounced Madhya Pradesh 5-1 and Haryana crushed Andhra Pradesh 10-1. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Colombian singer Shakira holds the Jo’bulani football that will be used for the final during a press conference in Soweto on Saturday. — AFP

Cavalli to dress Shakira for final
London: Pop star Shakira will dazzle in a special Roberto Cavalli outfit while performing at the closing ceremony of the World Cup.

The outfit features a silk-fringed skirt covered in pink flowers and ethnic prints, while a separate top is embroidered with multi-coloured pearls. The look will be accessorised with leather bracelets ornately decorated with floral silk, reports contactmusic.com.

Shakira will groove to her song "Waka Waka - This Time For Africa", the official anthem of the soccer event, just as she did at the opening ceremony.

This would be the third time that the Italian fashion designer will dress Shakira for the event. He was also the man behind two of the dresses she flaunted at the opening ceremony. — IANS

Psychic support grows for Spain
Johannesburg: Jabulani, an octopus at an aquarium in Cape Town, is South Africa's own version of the psychic German octopus Paul. The octopus at the Two Oceans aquarium in Cape Town was put to the test on Friday morning by the aquarium staff. Jabulani picked the Spaniards as winners of Sunday's final in Johannesburg, Xinhua reported citing Talk Radio 702. — IANS

Sydney: Harry, a 700-kg crocodile living in a Darwin crocodile park on Saturday backed Paul the octopus in picking Spain to win the World Cup. The crocodile took less than a minute to decide and launch itself out of the water to eat a chicken dangling under a Spanish flag rather than one hanging from a Dutch flag. — DPA

Platini discharged from hospital
Johannesburg: French football legend and UEFA President Michel Platini was released from hospital Saturday morning after being rushed there Saturday evening having complained of feeling unwell, FIFA and UEFA announced in a statement. The 55-year-old, president of UEFA since January 2007, had taken ill during dinner at Johannesburg's Le Pigalle restaurant. — AFP