The Word on the Street
10 Jun 2006Brazilian reserves stake a claim
World Cup favourites Brazil have their reserves champing at the bit on the evidence of a warm-up Saturday which saw the B team win 3-0 against Carlos Alberto Parreira's first choices.
With Tuesday seeing the five-times champions go up against Croatia in their Group F opener there was every incentive for those who usually watch from the bench to shine and Lyon playmaker Juninho scored twice with clubmate Fred also on the scoresheet.
England fans pack Frankfurt
Tens of thousands of England fans in high spirits but behaved well during their country's opening match of the World Cup in Frankfurt on Saturday.
Two hours before the match, there was no sign of the scuffles which broke out on Friday night when riot police moved in to arrest 20 fans, although only a handful of Englishmen were among them.
An estimated 40,000 England fans were in the city, but with only around 15,000 able to attend the match at the stadium which is situated on the outskirts, many fans headed for a giant screen set up in the city centre.
An AFP reporter estimated that up to 30,000 people were in the public viewing area, where a predominantly English crowd mixed with Germans.
England held on for a 1-0 win.
Germany has the jitters
Germany welcomed their 4-2 win over Costa Rica Saturday but have a severe case of nerves on account of their wobbly back-line Saturday's press revealed.
"Dream goals but our defence is a nightmare," headlined top-selling Bild.
"The defence is torturing us," it added.
"Successful start glosses over mistakes," concluded Die Welt. "Once again the defence showed huge weaknesses against the harmless central Americans."
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung agreed, saying: "Lots of goals and lots of mistakes in opener."
"Costa Rica show the German team their attack is good enough but their defence isn't," Opined local newspaper the Munchner Merkur.
Japan praises its Ecuador-Poland ref
Japanese media Saturday hailed the performance of the country's referees at the World Cup, in contrast to the boos they received from Polish fans over their calls in the Ecuador-Poland match.
"All the three cautions given to such plays as dangerous tackles were appropriate," the Yomiuri said, praising Toru Kamikawa, who also refereed in the 2002 World Cup.
Kamikawa "presided with dignity", while (linesman) Hiroshima judged "with confidence," said the Mainichi Shimbun.
"At moments his calls against Poland were booed by the fans, most of whom were cheering for Poland. But (Kamikawa) calmly refereed for the 90 minutes," the Asahi Shimbun said.
Mourning Mexican flies back
Mexico goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez has flown back to join his country's World Cup squad after the funeral of his father, officials said on Saturday.
He had returned home after his father Felipe, 55, had collapsed and died as he was preparing to travel to the tournament to watch his son in action.
Oswaldo Sanchez boarded a flight to Germany on Friday shortly after attending the funeral.
The Mexican Football Federation said coach Ricardo Lavolpe would decide shortly before Sunday's Group D match against Iran in Nuremberg whether he was in a fit state to play.
Polish press in agony
Poland "played like a local league side" and has "already lost the World Cup" after the 2-0 loss to Ecuador in its opening match, the Polish press lamented Saturday.
"We've already lost the World Cup," cried the Dziennik daily on its front page.
"We've been battered and destroyed," it addaed.
"Fear in their eyes, no ideas or technique, no speed in their legs," deplored the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
Zycie Warszawy recalled "the return of the South Korean horror", when Poland exited the World Cup 2002 in the first round after losing three matches in a row.
Swedes braced for mass support
Sweden kicked-off their World Cup campaign against Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday with around 15,000 fans expected to see them take on the smallest nation ever to play at the finals.
However in a shock result they were held to a 0-0 draw.
Lennart Petersson, the head of the Scandinavian country's 22-strong police contingent posted to Germany for the duration of the tournament, estimated that the crowd would be around the 15,000 mark.
Four Swedes, known to authorities as having been responsible for causing fights at football fixtures, had been stopped from entering Germany.
Thugs clash in England
Football thugs caused trouble in two English cities Saturday, marring celebrations across the country as England edged Paraguay 1-0 in their opening match at the World Cup finals in Germany.
Hundreds of fans were caught up in the violence at outdoor showings of the tense match on screens in London and Liverpool, northern England.
Sixteen people, including six who were taken to hospital, suffered minor injuries when a brawl broke out at Canary Wharf, east London, a spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service told AFP.
Up to 6,000 fans gathered outside to watch the game on two big screens when the trouble kicked-off during the second half, police said.
Trinidad and Tobago celebrates draw
Trinidad and Tobago celebrated Saturday as the country's team made their debut on the World Cup stage with a nil-nil draw against Sweden.
Supporters ran into the street as the referee's whistle blew after the last seconds of the game, as if Trinidad had won the World Cup title.
One ecstatic female fan said, "This was what they needed. If they carry the same energy, the same spirit, the same drive, this should carry them through."
Traffic snarled into and away from the nation's capital, Port-of-Spain, 30 minutes before the game, as fans hustled to reach to their game destination.
Alcohol was sold out in many stores, while local beer companies hosted World Cup games at popular bars where gargantuan projector screens were set up for supporters.
World Cup to aid Italy clean up
Juventues striker Alessandro Del Piero feels a good World Cup for Italy would help pave the way to righting the wrongs of the scandal-plagued domestic game in the football mad nation.
"Italian football is going through a very difficult time and there is great responsibility on the players to help repair it's image," he said.
"A good World Cup for Italy can help clean up the game and will go some way to restoring its reputation. However, it's not just up to us as a team to wipe the slate clean."
Four top sides in Italy are under investigation for alleged match fixing and the Juventus board and the national federation boss have been forced to resign.