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The Ecstasy, the Agony
Brazil’s Marcelo calls for help as Neymar lies on the pitch after being injured. AFP |
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Argentina beat Belgium to reach first semis since 1990 Argentina’s Angel Di Maria (L) and Lionel Messi (R) congratulate teammate Gonzalo Higuain for scoring a goal. Reuters
Hummels header breaks French hearts
Pride, sorrow for Rodriguez
An unusually large grasshopper lands on James Rodriguez after he scored his sixth goal, becoming an instant hit on social media. REUTERS
short passes
Kvitova hands Bouchard royal thumping
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic kisses the winner’s trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish, after defeating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in the final of Wimbledon in London on Saturday. REUTERS
Back in city, Yograj hits the gym
Too much big talk, result zero
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The Ecstasy, the Agony
He told Brazil's SportTV: “It’s not serious in the sense that it doesn’t
Neymar effect
Since the defeat to the Netherlands in the South Africa World Cup, Brazil have played 60 games. Neymar has missed just six. In those games, Brazil won five times and lost one. In the six matches he missed, Brazil lost to France in February 2011 and beat Iran, Ukraine, Gabon, Egypt and Denmark. Since his debut in August 2010, Neymar has netted 35 times in 54 games, more than anyone else in the squad.
The Independent
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Argentina beat Belgium to reach first semis since 1990
Higuain buried a shot into the corner of the net in the eighth minute at the national stadium to set up a semifinal clash against 2010 runners-up the Netherlands or surprise package Costa Rica, who play later on Saturday. The 26-year-old Higuain reacted brilliantly when an Angel Di Maria pass was deflected towards him off Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen. He swiveled and struck the ball first time as Argentina ended a run of being eliminated in the last eight at the two most recent editions of soccer's global showpiece. “I knew the goal was going to come and it came at an important time,” Higuain, who had not scored for his nation in six matches, said in a television interview.
Belgium, whose best World Cup run was in 1986 when they were knocked out by Diego Maradona's Argentina in the semifinals, had a couple of chances but otherwise offered little in attack despite sustained late pressure that set nerves among the thousands of Argentines thronging the giant arena jangling. Argentina looked the more ambitious in the early stages and Higuain’s beautifully executed goal gave them a deserved lead. They came close to a second in the 28th minute when Lionel Messi, who was a constant threat to the Belgium defense having set the tournament alight in the group stages, threaded a superb ball through for a galloping Di Maria. However, the winger injured himself when his effort was blocked and was replaced by Enzo Perez a few minutes later. Belgium were starting to enjoy more possession without really threatening before Messi flashed a free kick narrowly wide five minutes before the break. With Argentina apparently happy to sit on their lead, Belgium’s best effort of the half came in the 42nd minute when Kevin Mirallas sent a diving header wide from Vertonghen's center. — Reuters
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Selecao keep its date with history
A stunning free kick from Brazil's David Luiz sealed a 2-1 win over Colombia in a bruising quarterfinal on Friday but the hosts will next face Germany without their talisman Neymar. Brazil will also be without their captain Thiago Silva for Tuesday's semifinal in Belo Horizonte. He was booked for an unnecessary challenge on the Colombian goalkeeper and will be suspended. Brazil's victory took them into the last four of the World Cup for the first time since 2002 and the 11th time overall as they bid for a sixth world title. Their clash against the Germans is a repeat of the final in 2002 which Brazil won 2-0. “It will be a big game — a classic in world terms, and it will be very hard,” Luiz said. Colombia's defeat ended their spirited World Cup campaign and meant their midfield sensation James Rodriguez ended the tournament on six goals, the highest tally so far. He left the pitch in tears after being comforted by Luiz. Brazil needed a convincing performance in Fortaleza's Castelao arena and made a perfect start, scoring after seven minutes. Neymar swung in a corner from the left and Silva took advantage of shocking Colombian marking to bundle the ball in at the far post. That settled nerves and the Brazilians took control. Neymar was a constant threat on the left while the powerful running of Hulk kept the Colombian defense on the back foot. But despite their dominance Brazil had to wait until the 69th minute to double their lead. Rodriguez fouled Hulk and Luiz fired home a 30-metre free kick worthy of the great Brazilian deadball specialists of the past like Rivelino and Zico. — Reuters
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Hummels header breaks French hearts
RIO DE JANEIRO, july 5 In a game of few clear chances, Germany keeper Manuel Neuer denied France a chance of an extra 30 minutes when he blocked Karim Benzema's effort deep into stoppage time. "It wasn’t easy today. It was brutally hot, especially in the sun. We did it as a team," said Germany captain Philipp Lahm. "We were well organized. These were two good teams against each other. We got the first goal and they had to come to us. It’s clear that you’re not going to have an easy opponent in the quarterfinal." France coach Didier Deschamps rued a game that got away from his side. "We had our chances. But they had more experience than we did. They had us under control and they controlled that one goal lead well," he said. "It’s unfortunate. But our team isn’t used to big meetings like this. The difference wasn’t that big today between us and Germany. But they advanced." — Reuters
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Fortaleza , july 5 "Thank you Colombia, because you always had faith," he said. "Unfortunately we stop here, but we wanted to carry on. We're sad but we also have to feel proud because we left our skin out there." Rodriguez became one of only 12 players to score in five consecutive World Cup matches, according to FIFA, and only two have made it six in a row. Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said he had tried to comfort his inspirational midfielder after the game. "I tried to calm him down, because personally he deserves huge congratulations," the Argentine told reporters. "He is to be commended, because ... we enjoyed the way he plays and no doubt he will show it to us in the future." Pekerman said a key to Brazil's victory was the early goal, when captain Thiago Silva bundled the ball into the net from a corner in the seventh minute. "It was a quick goal, and that is always key," he said. — Reuters
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Kvitova hands Bouchard royal thumping
London, July 5 Much had been made of Bouchard’s raw power and determination to triumph in what she calls the “Temple of Tennis” but the 20-year-old was unable to cope with sixth seed Kvitova’s more varied attacking style. “I had great tactics from my coach — he always knows how I need to play,” Kvitova told the crowd during the presentation ceremony after hoisting the Rosewater Dish for the second time in four years. “After three years to be back here with the trophy is so special.” Bouchard was watched from the Royal Box by the British princess she had been named after but the occasion of playing in her first major final appeared to overwhelm the 13th seed. Kvitova hit rip-roaring winners left, right and centre to win the most one-sided final since Steffi Graf also dropped only three games against Monica Seles in 1992. Bouchard dropped serve in the fourth game after Kvitova hit a scoring crosscourt winner to end an entertaining rally that had sent both players scampering around the court. Kvitova’s only blip during a 55-minute demolition job was when she first attempted to serve out the set at 5-2. She dropped her serve but then broke her rival in the next game with a thumping return. The crowd tried to lift Bouchard’s sagging spirits with cries of “Come on Genie” but left-hander Kvitova simply went into overdrive in the second, winning it in 22 blistering minutes, and ended her victim’s ordeal with a sizzling backhand crosscourt winner. “You always dream to play your best tennis on the biggest stage and that was a thing of beauty,” summed up former Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport. It was the quickest final since Martina Navratilova took 54 minutes to wallop American Andrea Jaeger 6-0 6-3 in 1983. Errani and Vinci complete career grand slam Italian duo Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci completed a career grand slam after beating Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 6-1 6-3 in the women’s doubles final. The No.2 seeds became the first pair to win all four grand slams since Venus and Serena Williams in 2001. — Reuters
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Back in city, Yograj hits the gym
Chandigarh, July 5 “Yograj Singh is a fighter and this is a new phase,” he said, though he admitted that “it was a tough time”. “I never wanted to ask the world to pray for me, or to gain sympathy. It was a test for me and I have passed it with distinction,” he said. “My family and children supported me throughout. When I was in pain, my wife Satveer Kaur, my kids and well-wishers all prayed for me.” “I’m not a man who likes tears. I didn’t want to tell anyone about my illness. This became news only after my family saw the reports,” he added. “The day Yuvi (Yuvarj Singh) landed to meet me, he broke into tears. I just told him: ‘I’m your father, stop acting like my father! You have a game to play (in the IPL), do well’.” During the treatment, Yograj was in regular touch with Yuvraj and his trainee Manan Vohra. “Manan is an emotional kid. We were in regular touch,” Yograj said. Yograj plans to get back to coaching in a few months, but from Monday he’d be shooting for his upcoming movie.
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Too much big talk, result zero
New Delhi, July 5 The formation of the committee had been necessitated after India finished a disappointing ninth in the World Cup. Batra had wasted no time in announcing the committee, that too when India were to take on South Korea in the play-off for 9th position. Such was the urgency to evaluate India’s below-par show that Batra had even shot off a letter to the coaching staff in The Hague that “we should only be thankful to goalkeeper Sreejesh that we did not finish at the bottom of the pool to play for 11th and 12th positions.” The tone and tenor of the letter had suggested that some drastic changes were on the anvil. But, the outcome of the meeting proved nothing more than a damp squib and the tall claims fizzled out in the end. Committee members — Harbinder Singh, Ajit Pal Singh — chief coach Terry Walsh and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans told media persons nothing new after two days of hectic discussions behind closed doors. “We did a thorough postmortem of the World Cup performance. We are getting a little impatient with the performance but there is no quick solution,” Ajit Pal said. “We analyzed the positives along with the negatives. The penalty-corner conversion is an area of concern and it has been taken into consideration. We will be working on it for the upcoming tournaments. The outcome was not what we had hoped but we have to show some patience.” What Ajit Pal did not tell was how much patience? Oltmans, though, had a reply for it, what was not clear from his answer was whether he would be there for that long to witness the transition. “We are in the middle of a transition phase. We are striving to reach the highest level but the process of change will take at least 5 years. It will take time to witness a spike in our performance,” he said. Coach Walsh said, “It has been a productive two days with a lot of information flowing and we are now better aware of what everyone needs to do in the future.”
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Lewis makes wrong call, Nico on pole in British GP Strauss makes derogatory Pietersen remarks: reports Tour de France: Kittel
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Brazil may have sealed their place in the World Cup semi-finals, but they will have to play the rest of the tournament without their star striker Neymar who was carried off on a stretcher towards the end of their 2-1 victory over Colombia.
Brasilia, July 5
Fortaleza , july 5
London, July 5
Fortaleza , july 5
need surgery, but he'll need to immobilize it to recover. Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play,” said Lasmar, adding that he expected the recovery period to take at least a few weeks. The Brazil football confederation (CBF) confirmed in a statement that Neymar is likely to be absent for around a month. Neymar returned to Brazil's training camp in an ambulance after being ruled out of the World Cup Neymar flew back to Rio de Janeiro with the rest of his Brazil teammates following their 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Colombia in Fortaleza on Friday and rode the rest of the way to the team's camp in the mountain city of Teresopolis by ambulance. The squad isn't expected to leave the training camp until Monday.
Brasilia, July 5
“We were able to reach a semi-final which we haven't achieved for many years. Now we need to play well and try and reach the final,” he added. “We gave our all, it's a World Cup, it doesn't happen every day. There are two matches left to achieve this beautiful dream.”
Fortaleza , july 5
Colombia striker James Rodriguez, the poster boy of the World Cup who has eclipsed even home favorite Neymar, was inconsolable after the game. But once he had calmed down, he paid tribute to the support back home.
Petra Kvitova produced a majestic performance to end Eugenie Bouchard’s hopes of becoming the first Canadian to win a grand slam title with a 6-3 6-0 win in the Wimbledon final on
Saturday.
