2. Van Persie (Netherlands 5 Spain 1)

A stunning goal to match a stunning result as the Netherlands came from behind to thump world champions Spain in Salvador. With Spain leading 1-0 through Xabi Alonso's 27th minute penalty, Van Persie sprung the offside trap to launch himself in the air and meet a raking cross from left wing back Daley Blind. The Dutch captain's diving, looping header caught Spain keeper Iker Casillas in no man's land and dipped below the bar to tie the score at 1-1. "It was a brilliant goal, I have to be fair," said Van Persie.

3. Tim Cahill (Netherlands 3 Australia 2)

Arjen Robben put the Netherlands ahead in the 20th minute in Porto Alegre but Cahill responded for Australia just seconds later in spectacular fashion. From the re-start, Australia fed the ball to Ryan McGowan on the right flank. He launched a long, diagonal cross into the box towards Cahill. Most players would have tried to take the ball down but not Cahill who smacked it first time with his left foot, in off the crossbar, giving the Dutch goalkeeper no chance. Anyone who has played football knows how hard it is to hit a first time volley cleanly. But when the ball is coming to from distance, at speed and from over your shoulder, it takes outstanding brilliance.

4. Messi (Argentina 1 Iran 0)

With 90 minutes played, the frustrated Argentines were being held to a goalless draw in Belo Horizonte by supposedly one of the weakest teams at the tournament. They had enjoyed 76 percent of the possession but managed only four shots on target. Enter Messi, who dropped his shoulder on the edge of the box, jinked past a defender and fired a gorgeous curling left-foot shot into the far corner of the Iranian net. The penalty area was packed with bodies - there were eight Iranian defenders between Messi and goal - but somehow he threaded his effort into the one exposed corner of the net. "When you have a player such as Messi ... it's like water in the desert," Argentine coach Alejandro Sabella said later in the tournament.

5. David Luiz (Brazil 2 Colombia 1)

Brazil were leading 1-0 in the 69th minute of their quarter-final against Colombia when James Rodriguez tripped Brazilian striker Hulk 30 metres from goal in a central position. Centre-back David Luiz stepped up and fired the free-kick into the top left-hand corner of the Colombian net to seal an eventual 2-1 victory. The odd thing about this goal is that Luiz side-footed his shot, any yet he hit it with such power and precision that it dipped and swerved before entering the net. 

Rio De Janeiro, July 11
Argentina and Germany were both back at work on Thursday, secretly hatching plans for Sunday's World Cup final. While their contrasting styles promise a classic battle between Europe and South America, Argentina and Germany have plenty to think about as they put the finishing touches to their preparations.

Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates had a light workout after they returned to their base camp in Belo Horizonte after Wednesday's dramatic penalty shootout win over the Netherlands. Argentina winger Angel Di Maria joined the training session in the hope of being able to play in the final despite suffering a thigh injury just days ago.

Di Maria, the South Americans' most creative player after Messi, hurt a muscle when shooting at goal during the quarter-final win over Belgium. He jogged lightly but is still racing against the clock to be ready, although striker Sergio Aguero's full recovery from a muscle strain has given Argentina a boost.

Germany were also back on the training pitch at their secluded base camp in Santo Andre after taking Wednesday off following their 7-1 thrashing of host-nation Brazil on Tuesday. Defender Mats Hummels was cleared to rejoin his team mates after undergoing treatment for a knee injury that prompted him to miss the second half against Brazil.

With the team only having a gentle run-out, Germany's assistant coach Hansi Flick said Hummels was free to do what he wanted. "All the players will be able to train, whether it's on an exercise bike or on the pitch — whichever they prefer," Flick said. "It's up to each individual to decide what they want to do in training."

Germany's biggest challenge remains how to contain Messi, who has been heavily marked throughout the tournament. The Germans sat down together to watch the second semi-final and were impressed at how the Dutch managed to neutralize Messi. "We’ve also got a plan," Flick told reporters. "But we’re not going to reveal that here to you.” — Reuters

Germany ruled out showboating against Brazil

Germany's players agreed at halftime during their 7-1 World Cup semi-final win over Brazil to refrain from showboating to avoid humiliating the hosts, forward Thomas Mueller said on Friday. Germany took a 5-0 lead at the break in Tuesday's match in Belo Horizonte and Mueller said the players, not the coaches, decided they would not pile on the agony in the second half. "With the score the way it was, we said we should avoid being arrogant and to refrain from humiliating the opponent," he said, adding that they urged everyone to avoid fancy passes or trick shots on goal "or any nonsense like that". "But that's something obvious," he said. "Yes, there was this agreement and it came from the players themselves." Substitute Andre Schuerrle scored twice in the second half.

Neymar cries as he recalls Zuniga challenge

TERESOPOLIS: An emotional Neymar cried as he recalled the challenge that ended his World Cup on Thursday and said he felt blessed not to have ended up in a wheelchair. Colombia defender Juan Zuniga kneed the Brazil forward in the back in the closing stages of the hosts' 2-1 quarter-final victory, ruling him out of the tournament before the team's traumatic 7-1 semi-final defeat by Germany. “I won't say he came to injure me, I don't what was going on in his head but everyone who understands football can see that it wasn't a normal challenge,” Neymar told reporters at Brazil’s base camp just outside Rio de Janeiro. “When you want to foul someone to stop a game or stop a counter-attack, you kick their ankles, you push, you pull, but the way the ball was falling, it wasn't a normal game situation. Many of you say I am a diver and I don't care that you say that. I can defend myself when I can see what's going on around me,” he added.

“But I can't defend myself from what comes from behind. What defends me in that situation is the rules and I couldn't defend myself from that and I was injured. God blessed me,” Neymar said, breaking down in tears. “If it had been another two centimeters I could be in a wheelchair today.” Neymar said Zuniga called him the next day to apologize but he stopped short of forgiving his rival for the challenge. “I don’t hate him, I don’t hold a grudge,” Neymar said. — Agencies

Nottingham, july 11
Indian seamers led by Ishant Sharma pegged England back with some incisive seam and swing bowling reducing the hosts to 352 for nine at stumps to gain upperhand on the third day of the first Test, here today.

England currently are 105 runs behind India's first innings score of 457 with two days of play remaining.

At stumps, Joe Root (78 batting) is battling it out in company of last man Jimmy Anderson (23 batting) having added 54 runs for the unbroken stand. England were in a comfortable position at 131 for one with the young duo of Gary Ballance (71) and Sam Robson (59) helping themselves to well-made half-centuries but things took a different turn in the post-lunch session, when they lost six wickets for 74 runs.

While it was Ishant (3/109), who rocked the top-order with three quick dismissal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's (4/61) controlled swing bowling decimated the lower-middle order although a couple of debatable decisions went in home team's favour. The third pacer of the troika, Mohammed Shami (2/98) added a scalp to his yesterday's wicket of Alastair Cook.

England however redeemed themselves in the final session from a precarious 205 for seven mainly due to Root's (78 batting) responsible effort with the tailenders that got them 147 runs in the final session with the loss of two wickets. Apart from his stand with Anderson, Root also shared a 78-run eighth wicket partnership with Stuart Broad (47). — PTI

Scoreboard

India Ist innings 457

England
Cook b Shami 5
Robson lbw b Sharma 71
Ballance lbw b Sharma 59
Bell c Dhoni b Sharma 25
Root not out 78
Ali c Dhawan b Shami 14
Prior c Dhoni b Kumar 5
Stokes c Dhoni b Kumar 0
Broad lbw b Kumar 47
Plunkett b Kumar 23
Extras: (lb 3, w 2, nb 10) 15
Total: (9 wickets; 106 ov) 352
Fall of wickets: 1-9 2-134 3-154 4-172 5-197 6-202 7-202 8-280
Bowling
Bhuvneshwar 25-8-61-4
Shami 24-3-98-2
Ishant 27-3-109-3
Jadeja 24-4-56-0
Binny 6-0-22-0

Nottingham, july 11
At the conclusion of the Day 2, Stuart Broad had stated that once the ball was more than 50 overs old, it became impossible to penetrate through the batsman’s defence on this pitch. Twenty-four hours on, the Indian bowling proved him wrong by striking five times after the 50th over had been bowled.

They were assisted by a ball change and a relentless durable spell of fast bowling from Ishant Sharma. The leader of the Indian bowling attack started the day with five high-class overs. Right from the first ball the seam was upright, one of the aspects that defines Ishant’s form. Then there was the full length, at times an impossible task for Ishant. Although he went wicketless, the spell laid the foundation of his instrumental spell after lunch which read 7-0-29-3

Throughout the day, Ishant ensured the batsmen were drawn forward, something he has struggled with consistently in his career. He also ensured he made the batsmen play on each occasion. Bowling an immaculate length and line, only 13 balls were allowed to pass out of the 72 balls delivered until tea.

Right from the start of the tour, the Indian bowlers would have been aware the English top order is crease-bound and plonking the front foot down the track is not a natural habit. It was a weakness that needed to be exploited. Sharma did exactly that, trapping both Ballance and Robson in front.

The Indian bowlers also proved Broad theory of short bowling was a myth by inflicting two dismissals with the lifting ball. Bell and Ali were victims of the short ball that was used sparingly. Sharma had resisted the temptation of pounding the ball into the pitch all day, except for a deliberate tactic against Broad. So, he used the ball sparingly and it worked wonders for him. First he rapped Robson on the gloves and later caught Ian Bell by surprise and he dabbed it into the gloves of Dhoni.

It took a while for Shami and Kumar to find their groove but once they did, all of a sudden the pitch looked a different proposition. England batsmen went into their shell and the pressure built, which lead to three more wickets. England found themselves in a hole as they went to tea at 202 for 7.

But as it often the case with India overseas, it is the last three wickets that can be the most daunting task. India will need to keep executing their plans meticulously if they are to knock over England twice in the match.

New Delhi, July 11
India finished a disastrous ninth in the recently-concluded Hockey World Cup at The Hague, a rung below their eighth-place finish in the previous edition. The hopeless show resulted in some knee jerk reactions and even led to calls of change in the coaching staff which led to the Sports Authority of India issuing a deadline for coaches till Asian Games to deliver or perish. But what many failed to read was the team showed signs of improvement at the World Cup. There are areas like penalty corner conversion and conceding last-minute goals which need to be looked at, but overall the team was on its way up.

With Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Incheon Asian Games slotted this year besides the qualifiers for the Rio Olympics, it's important to have stability in the coaching staff. Chief coach Terry Walsh says he does not a “magic wand” to improve India's standing at the world level and that a “system needs to be put in place” rather than looking at short-term goals. Walsh is also of the view that it’s not realistic on the part of hockey lovers to expect a gold medal.

New Delhi, July 11
The Supreme Court on Friday did not take up for hearing some issues raised by veteran cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who was appointed as an interim president of BCCI for managing IPL-7 as one of the recently-appointed judges had appeared for a party as a lawyer.

When the matter came up for hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice R. M. Lodha and Justices P. C. Ghose and Rohinton Nariman referred the issue raised by Gavaskar in his June 9 letter before the bench which was dealing with the main matter.

Justice Nariman, before his elevation as the judge, had appeared as senior advocate for N. Srinivasan. The matter will now be heard by a bench in which justice FMI Kalifulla will be one of the judges. It is learnt from those associated with the matter that Gavaskar has sought a direction from the apex court about his future role as the IPL for which he was appointed has ended this season. Meanwhile, Gavaskar issued a statement to categorically deny media reports that he had approached the Supreme Court seeking compensation from the BCCI for discharging his duty as Board President for IPL.

“The story about me writing to the Honourable Supreme Court of India complaining about BCCI not having compensated me is totally false and utterly mischievous. I have done no such thing and expect a retraction from whoever came up with this story,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying in a media release. — PTI

Arras (France), July 11
Italian Matteo Trentin gave his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team something to cheer about when he won the seventh stage of the Tour de France on Friday as top American contenders Tejay van Garderen and Andrew Talansky took tumbles.

Slovakian Peter Sagan was second and France's Tony Gallopin finished third. Italian Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. It was a moment to savor for the OPQS team after their British sprinter Mark Cavendish pulled out injured after a crash on the first stage. “I am very happy to have won this after the hard luck we had for the last six days and especially Mark Cavendish's crash,” said Trentin after the 234.5-km ride from Epernay.

"We came to the Tour for Mark to take the yellow jersey in his mother's home town and it ended in a crash. The next morning, he gave us a very good speech, telling us that we should win a stage, that we could do it. We did it at last.” — Agencies

BRIEFLY

State level tennis meet begins at Karnal
Karnal: The Karnal District Tennis Association is organising a three-day state level Alpha Cup at Alpha city here today. The opening ceremony was attended by the players, officials and large number of spectators.

Honey Singh to promote 'World Kabaddi League'
New Delhi: Rapper Honey Singh announced to promote 'World Kabaddi League' (WKL) to be held in London next month, apart from endorsing the League by owning a team called 'Yo Yo Tigers' for which he will be soon composing a song. In sync with his name, 'Yo Yo Tigers' will host the Toronto leg.