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Dutch shoot and scoot...
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The Neymar tackle most foul, says Ronaldo
Brazil's star Neymar flashes the V sign before his departure for his home.
Djoker has the last laugh: Novak Djokovic of Serbia claimed his second Wimbledon title after coming out on top in a battle of wills against seven-time champion Roger Federer of Switzerland on Sunday. He won the gripping encounter 6-7(9), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4. Reuters
Hamilton wins at home after Rosberg retires
Fletcher looks back, says India may have been overconfident
Angel di maria set to miss the remaining action
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Dutch shoot and scoot...
SALVADOR, july 6 Heavy favourites for the clash, the Dutch dominated but were frustrated by the woodwork and a string of fine stops from Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas before Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal sent on Krul late in extra time for the shootout. It was an inspired move as Krul plunged to his left to keep out two Costa Rican kicks while Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt held their nerve to score from the spot and give the Dutch a 4-3 shootout win. The Netherlands, who have reached the final three times but never won the World Cup, will play Argentina in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. Hosts Brazil play Germany in the other semi-final. “You sit on the edge and think it might go to extra time and penalties and you have to take the team from the quarter-finals to the semis,” Krul said. “It’s a dream, it’s unbelievable.” Returning to the scene of their campaign opening 5-1 mauling of defending champions Spain, the Dutch were a world away from that rampant display in a cagey first 90 minutes of probing play, although they almost broke the deadlock in a late flurry. After being held by a Costa Rican defence that had conceded just twice in Brazil, Sneijder almost got the breakthrough eight minutes from time only for his free kick to hit the post. The Dutch arrived in Salvador as the World Cup's top scorers having rattled in 12 goals in four games, and as extra time began they looked keen to avoid penalties, having won just one of their five previous shootouts in major tournaments. With spotkicks almost upon them, Van Gaal replaced Cillessen with Krul. Krul had reportedly been working specifically on saving penalties and he looked confident. “We found among the keepers that Tim Krul was the best to save penalties because he has a longer reach,” Van Gaal said. — Reuters Cost Rica, take a bow!
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The Neymar tackle most foul, says Ronaldo
RIO DE JANEIRO, july 6 Neymar later spoke for the first time of his feelings, saying he “didn't have words to describe what has been going through my head and heart”. Watched by his father and the president of the Brazilian football federation, Jose Maria Marin, he had to be stretchered into a helicopter out of the Brazil training camp. He could be out of action for three to six weeks. Fifa have already confirmed they will look into the incident in which Zuniga's knee went into Neymar's back. The referee appeared to miss it, with no free-kick being awarded or yellow card given. Ronaldo was scathing about the tackle. “It was a very violent, unlawful tackle,” he said. “We have to demand sanctions be given to violent players. I am in favour of very severe sanctions to those who don't want to play football and just want to do such violent tackles. It was an evil tackle.” In response to the comments, Zuniga said: “I feel burdened by this situation. It resulted from a normal play and there was no bad intention, evil or recklessness from my part. I want to send a special salute to Neymar.” But Cannavaro disagreed about intent, saying: “I believe it was a situation that could have been avoided. I didn't like that high knee. It was a foul with intention to cause harm. It will be very hard for Fifa to accept because it is a very evident foul.” Neymar, however, was defiant ahead of Brazil's semi-final against Germany, saying his World Cup dream was “interrupted by one play but it will continue and I think my team-mates will do whatever possible so I can fulfil my dream of being a champion.” Meanwhile, Brazil coach Felipe Scolari has revealed that Neymar could not feel his legs after suffering the injury. “He said 'I can't feel my legs'. Neymar was our benchmark because he is a player who makes a difference. We're in a situation where we've lost something we don't want to miss, especially for the semi-final and final.” — Reuters
Argentina fans mock Neymar, celebrate with spinal cord skeleton Argentina's ongoing rivalry with Brazil shows no signs of abating after fans were seen mocking the host nation's injured star Neymar. A film has emerged showing fans of the South American side celebrating with a spinal chord skeleton, undoubtedly a reference to the broken vertebra suffered by World Cup poster boy Neymar in Brazil's quarter-final outing against Colombia. However the Brazilian forward has garnered more sympathy from Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, who rose above his country's bitter rivalry with Brazil to comment that “football had shed a tear” following Neymar's injury.
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Prized Possession
The Serb, who has now won seven grand slam titles, denied Federer the opportunity to win a record eighth All England Club trophy but was pushed all the way by the Swiss who faced a match point in the fourth set before forcing a decider. Djokovic eventually wrapped up the contest that will go down as one of the greatest Wimbledon finals in three hours and 56 minutes, falling to the ground in celebration before climbing to the players' box to greet his camp with an emotional embrace. "Going into a match with Novak, you know it's going to be tough. I can only say congratulations to him. It was an amazing match and an amazing tournament. It's well-deserved." The Djokovic serve had seemed impregnable in the early games of the match. He held three times for the loss of a single point, while he was also able to apply gentle pressure on his opponent with some stinging returns. The Stefan Edberg effect on Federer's game seemed to be in evidence as the Swiss made frequent forays to the net, with limited success, but both players held their nerve to take it to the tiebreak. Federer, chasing a record eighth title, raced into an early 3-0 lead but was then pegged back and saved two set points before coming out on 9-7 when Djokovic netted a backhand after 51 minutes of scintillating play. — Reuters |
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Hamilton wins at home after Rosberg retires
SILVERSTONE, July 6
Hamilton, who last won at Silverstone in his 2008 championship year, now has 161 points to Rosberg's 165 with 10 races remaining and his title hopes fully restored. It was his fifth win of the year. Finland's Valtteri Bottas finished second for Williams, 30.1 seconds behind Hamilton, for his second successive podium with Australian Daniel Ricciardo third for Red Bull and a further 16.3 seconds down the road. The race was red-flagged almost as soon as it started after Ferrari's 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen had a big crash that left the Finn limping to the medical centre with a sore ankle but otherwise unscathed. It was the first time a race had been halted on the opening lap since Monaco 2000. When it re-started behind the safety car after an hour's delay to fix damaged barriers, Hamilton went from overnight devastation to delight as Rosberg finally suffered some of the misfortune that had plagued his team mate. The championship and race leader reported a gearbox problem after 20 of the 52 laps, and just after Hamilton's race engineer had informed the second placed Briton it was "Hammer time' - time to for a full-on charge. Nine laps later, Rosberg slowed, pulled over and parked up on the grass as Hamilton sped past. "It was just slowly but surely," said Rosberg. "It started on lap 20 and then it just got worse from there. There was nothing I could do or that they could suggest to save the gearbox. "I was very much in control until then," added the German. That's why it's all the more disappointing." Hamilton's joy as he took the chequered flag was a complete contrast to the despair he felt on Saturday evening after gifting pole to Rosberg. "England!," he shouted as he took the chequered flag to give his compatriots something to celebrate after a sporting summer of disappointment. "I couldn't be happier. I'm sorry about yesterday, but a fantastic job today, as ever." Rosberg had secured the top slot on the grid after Hamilton aborted his final lap. — Reuters
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Fletcher looks back, says India may have been overconfident
London, July 6
India lost Test series in New Zealand 0-1 and with identical margin in South Africa. Despite Indian team putting up strong performances and coming close to winning twice, Fletcher thinks that the Indians ‘complicated’ their game, which was a big mistake. “They are small mistakes that add up and suddenly become a worry. For me the biggest mistake was that they made their game complicated. The batsmen, for instance, tried to bat a little too differently than they would in India. The only actual difference was they had to get used to a bit more bounce. Because of this bounce, when it comes to the short ball you just have to make up your mind whether you're going to play or leave it. In India you can play it on a consistent basis. For the bowlers the length changes a little — you have to bowl a bit fuller when you go overseas. And it's not an easy thing to do, especially for a young bowler. You've been groomed and trained your brain to bowl a certain way and even if the difference is only 6-12 inches, it's not easy to make the change instantly and that too under pressure. We see experienced international players' games altering under pressure. Now here is an inexperienced side with players who are still learning their game and they will take time to get used to the varied challenges,” he said. The last time India toured England (2011), the team had stalwarts such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. The current lot is young and features only four cricketers who have played Tests in England before. For Fletcher, dealing with the older lot was easy and says that it's the youngsters who are a bit tricky because if you introduce changes in their game, they might get confused. “You've got to alter your methods. Fortunately for me, I went through a similar phase with England where the older players were left out or retired and a whole new generation of cricketers came in. The major difference is that with the older ones you just sit back and let them come to you. No matter how good and experienced one is, bad habits sometimes creep in and you've got to help tem get rid of those small bad habits without being too overbearing. The younger players are a bit reluctant because they don't understand their game fully. So, you've got to go to them and talk to them. However, you have to make sure you send the message very clearly because otherwise they can get confused and start making their game more difficult,” he said. India will be missing the services of Zaheer Khan in England who has been their spearhead for the past few years. In his absence, Ishant Sharma will be the de facto leader. Fletcher has acknowledged that the bowlers lack experience but they have variety. “The bowlers are pretty inexperienced, we haven't really got anyone to lead the group and we haven't taken 20 wickets in a Test since quite a while now. But for once we have a good variety in our pace attack. They are still pretty inexperienced but experience can also come from learning quickly, and we hope they have done that. It will be so very crucial for them as a unit to stay disciplined and not try too much. It's just about ensuring that we get their minds right,” he said. — Agencies
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Celebrations gone horribly wrong Three Costa Rican fans were stabbed and several others arrested when a mass brawl erupted during the screening of their quarter-final match against the Netherlands in the country’s capital last night. As the Costa Rican team fought bravely but eventually lost out on penalties to the Dutch in Salvador, in San Jose’s Democracy Square there was scenes of violence and hostility as a fight broke out between two groups of fans. Images taken just after the incident show some fans fighting with police, while others show bloodied men being treated by doctors. One man is even pictured with a knife sticking directly out of his back. The reasons behind the brawl are unknown but it is believed that heavy drinking could have had some part to play. The police had to form a hastily put together human barrier to ensure that the victims could be treated . One man was found with a knife sticking directly out of his back.— Reuters
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short passes Ángel di María’s World Cup finals appear to be over as his right thigh muscle he tore during Argentina's quarterfinal victory over Belgium is unlikely to heal in time for the semifinals.The Argentina manager, Alejandro Sabella, initially expressed hopes the injury would not prove too serious during his post-match media briefings, claiming he would undergo scans on Sunday. However, the severity of the tear became clearer with local media reporting that the Argentina forward was now resigned to missing the remainder of the finals. Di Stefano in coma after heart attack
Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano, one of the greatest players in history, is in a coma in hospital after suffering a heart attack, officials said. Rescuers battled for nearly 20 minutes to revive the 88-year-old after his heart and breathing stopped while he was eating with his family near the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in central Madrid yesterday. “He had suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest,” said a source at Madrid Emergency Services. Average Cup attendance is second highest ever The average attendance at the 2014 World Cup is now the second highest of all time with an average gate of 52,762 overtaking the 52,491 at the 2006 tournament in Germany, FIFA said on Sunday. The record average attendance was set in the United States in 1994 at 68,991. “We think that record will stay for quite some time due to the huge capacity of the stadiums in the U.S.” said FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer. The total attendance after 60 matches with four still to play stands at 3,165,693, meaning an average of 98.3 per cent capacity across the tournament. —Agencies
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Brazil's double World Cup-winning striker Ronaldo has branded the tackle by Colombia's Juan Zuniga which put Neymar out of the World Cup as “evil” and “violent” while another former World Cup winner, ex-Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro, said it was made “with intention to cause harm”. He added that Zuniga must be punished when Fifa review the incident.
Three Costa Rican fans were stabbed and several others arrested when a mass brawl erupted during the screening of their quarter-final match against the Netherlands in the country’s capital last night. As the Costa Rican team fought bravely but eventually lost out on penalties to the Dutch in Salvador, in San Jose’s Democracy Square there was scenes of violence and hostility as a fight broke out between two groups of fans.
Costa Rica exit the World Cup proudly unbeaten in open play with a first ever quarter-final appearance, the scalps of two former champions and some tidy football that mocked their underdog status. “Costa Rica's heart broken, but soul intact,” read one of the Sunday headlines at home as the small Central American nation hailed its over-achieving heroes. Many eyes had been on Spain and their slick-passing brand of 'tiki-taka', but soon it was the 'Ticos' who caught attention with stunning victories over Uruguay and Italy. 'Tico-taka', as some dubbed their style of stalwart defending and nippy counter-attacks, carried them comfortably through a 0-0 draw with England to top a group they were expected to struggle in.
London, July 6
"I don't know how I managed to do it," said a teary Djokovic, who had lost his last three grand slam finals. I want to dedicate this win to a few people, first of all to my future wife and our future baby. I am going to become a father soon and I am still preparing for that. "To my family and my team for sacrifice a lot of their lives to allow me to live the dream and to my first coach Jelena Gencic, who taught me everything about playing tennis and how to behave. Unfortunately she passed away last year but this is for her." Federer was magnanimous in defeat and even slightly disbelieving of his own resolve having forced a decider after looking down and out at 5-2 down in the fourth set. “It was a great final. I can't believe I made it to five, it wasn't looking good for a while," he said.
“With these young boys I felt they could have been a little over-confident when they went to South Africa and New Zealand because they had done so well in India. As the series went, it made them realize that playing away from home is very difficult. They believe that they have learnt from those tours and so there is positivity in the camp but the over-confidence has gone,” Fletcher told bcci.tv.
