On the pitch

11 Jun 2006

Raul hurt again

Spain captain Raul caused a further scare ahead of their Group H opener against Ukraine in Leipzig in midweek when he left training early on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Raul, who was involved in an injury scare last week, walked off after apparently injuring his foot while scrambling for a ball in an 11-a-side training match.

The Real Madrid and Spain icon said while leaving the pitch at the interval that he had received two knocks, one on his left thigh and another on his right ankle.

Spain coach Luis Aragones meanwhile left out Raul from the side which contained all of the likely contenders to start against Andriy Shevchenko and co in a 4-3-3 formation.

Robben hands Dutch crucial win

Chelsea winger Arjen Robben scored a brilliant first-half goal which was enough to give the Netherlands a valuable 1-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro in Group C action on Sunday.

The lively Robben latched onto a defence splitting pass from Robin van Persie after 18 minutes, broke in a alone and cooly slipped the ball past exposed Serbia and Montenegro keeper Dragoslav Jevric.

The result means both the Netherlands and Argentina sit top of the group on three points while Serbia and Ivory Coast now have an uphill battle to reach the knockout phase.

Shevchenko remains doubtful

Ukraine's former European player of the year Andriy Shevchenko cast doubt on Sunday on his being fit to play in their Group H opener against Spain.

"I do not know if I will be 100 percent against Spain," admitted Shevchenko.

"I am going to do everything in my power to play."

Shevchenko revealed that coach Oleg Blokhin was also not rushing him back in to full pace at training.

"He says to me all the time 'Slowly, slowly, we need you'. He is putting the brakes on me."

"We could be world champions," added Blokhin. "A soldier who does not want to become a general is not a good soldier," said Blokhin, paraphrasing Napoleon, who declared that 'in every soldier's backpack lies a marshal's baton'.

Germany welcome back Ballack

Germany captain Michael Ballack is fit to play in the hosts' next World Cup group game against Poland on Wednesday, manager Jurgen Klinsmann said on Sunday.

"The other players had a day off today but Michael Ballack did some light training and the medical team informed us that he is fine," said Klinsmann.

"We expect him to train again on Monday and then play against Poland."

Klinsmann also denied that there had been a disagreement with his captain over whether he was fit enough to take part against Costa Rica.

There was no misunderstading with Michael," Klinsmann maintained. "Michael said he wanted to play but the doctors said he was a risk with his calf troubling him.

Total recall for Sweden keeper

Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, who briefly blacked out after a freak training ground accident, could be recalled for his team's World Cup clash against Paraguay next Thursday.

Isaksson was hit in the face by a ball leaving him sick and confused and was therefore forced to miss Saturday's Group B clash with Trinidad and Tobago which finished 0-0.

He was replaced by back-up Rami Shaaban.

"Andreas returned to training with a light workout and I hope that he will be available again to face Paraguay," said Sweden coach Lars Lagerback.

Hislop spares thought for pal

Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has revealed the driving force behind his World Cup heroics.

And Hislop will be driven on by the memory of former Trinidad team-mate Mickey Trotman, who died in a car crash while preparing for a World Cup qualifier against Honduras in 2001.

"The World Cup has brought a smile to everybody's face in Trinidad and the highlight for most people will be when we play England.

"But while this is a time to celebrate a great achievement, for me there will also be a moment or two for tears and sadness when I remember Mickey Trotman.

"What happened was a tragedy, not just because he was a talented footballer who would have loved to play in the World Cup, but because he was a fantastic guy.

"So we won't be afraid of England. Fear no longer exists in football when you have seen life and death like that."

Viduka covets first-ever Aussie goal

Australia's players are taking bets on who will become their country's first-ever goalscorer at the World Cup and skipper Mark Viduka hopes it will be him on a winning side.

The Australians didn't score a goal in their group losses to East and West Germany in 1974 before a scoreless draw with Chile back then, so Monday could represent a slice of Australian football history.

"It could be anyone. Actually, the other day the boys were taking bets on who was going the first. 'Spider' (goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac) was the bookmaker," Viduka said Sunday.

"It would be great if it was me, but it would be great if we won the game and got the three points."

Bravo to the double as Mexico open with win

Mexico struck twice in three second-half minutes to break open a tight match against Iran and sew up maximum points with a 3-1 win in the opening match in Group D.

Omar Bravo was the hero for the Aztecs with a brace including the go-ahead goal on 76 minutes after some dreadful defending from the Iranians.

Iran defender Yahya Golmohammadi had cancelled out Bravo's opener and the two sides were locked at 1-1 for most of the second-half before the Central American side seized the lead for good with 14 minutes left.

Following Bravo's opportunist strike, Zinha then headed home three minutes later following a swift break down the right to shatter the resistance of the Iranians.

Group favourites Portugal are in action later Sunday against Angola.

Lippi drops Totti hint

Italy coach Marcello Lippi hinted Sunday that Francesco Totti would start their opening World Cup match against Ghana, despite him being only 70 per cent fit.

"I've evaluated his condition and I've seen him improve - he will be there," Lippi said ahead of Monday's Group E game.

Totti, who has played just one full match since breaking his left ankle in February and admitted on Friday that he was only 70 per cent fit, is expected to start in the hole behind strikers Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni.

Angola 0 Portugal 1 at half-time

Portugal led Angola 1-0 at half-time in their World Cup Group D match in Cologne on Sunday after Pauleta slotted home a Luis Figo pass in the 4th minute.

World Cup over for Villar

Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament after injuring his calf in the early stages of Saturday's 1-0 defeat against England.

Villar who plays his club football for Argentine club Newell's Old Boys went off in the 8th minute after an innocent looking collision with Michael Owen.

Villar was replaced by Aldo Bobadilla who kept a clean sheet for the rest of the match with England hanging on for the win.

Beckham blames the heat

The heat was to blame for England's lacklustre opening 1-0 win over Praguay in their Group B World Cup match here on Saturday according to captain David Beckham.

"I think it was hot for both teams. We were good at times but we gave the ball away too much.

"We got what we wanted (the three points). The performance can be better and we've got to work on that.

"We let them pass the ball around too much, but exhaustion came into that. Usually we are strong and our fitness levels are high."

"We will be alright. It was a 3 o'clock kick-off in the summer and that played a part. But we know we can perform better.

"I don't think we lost our shape too much, South American teams play the ball well through the midfield. That played a big part."

Bereaved Sanchez to start against Iran

Mexico's first choice goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez will start their World Cup opener against Iran after a lightning trip home following the death of his father, the team's coach said on Saturday.

Ricardo Lavolpe said Sanchez looked in good form for Sunday's match despite his sudden bereavement and two long-haul flights in a matter of days.

"He looks relaxed and fit out there," said Lavolpe.

Sanchez, whose 55-year-old father Felipe died of a heart attack this week, said he was feeling motivated and ready.

"I'm very motivated," Sanchez said. "I got a lot of support from the people in Guadalajara. Tomorrow's a big game and I'm ready to play."

England struggle to 1-0 win

England widely regarded as one of the tournament favourites struggled to a disappointing 1-0 win over Group B rivals Paraguay in baking conditions in Frankfurt.

The only goal of the match came after 4 minutes when a probing David Beckham free-kick was inadvertently headed past his own goalkeeper by Carlos Gamarra.

Despite the early boost, England failed to add to their lead and faded badly in the second-half under the sizzling conditions.

Only some desperate last-minute defending protected their advantage and England will need to improve dramatically if they are win their first world title since 1966.

Japan like it hot

Asian champions Japan claim that the sweltering weather, which made England struggle to a scrappy 1-0 World Cup win over Paraguay, would benefit their players when they take on Australia on Monday.

"Well, it was much more terrible during the Asian Cup," said Japan coach Zico.

"I don't see any problem about the heat because we have ample stamina," added Japan captain and central defender Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, 29.

"It certainly is hot. But we will be alright because everyone of us have experienced it before," Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi said.

Shut up about politics: Iran coach

Iran coach Branko Ivankovic on Saturday said he had no message from the country's controversial president and told journalists to stop asking him about politics.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's outspoken views on the Holocaust have come into sharp focus ahead of Iran's opening match in the former Nazi stronghold of Nuremberg.

"The president of Iran is a football fan and of course he is interested in what their team will do during the World Cup, just as many presidents. I don't have any special message from him," said Ivankovic.

"These political questions are not for me. I think it's not for me and it's not for people here. Please just ask about my team against Mexico," he added.

Trinidad hang on for shock draw

World Cup debutants Trinidad and Tobago caused the shock of the tournament so far when they held European giants Sweden to a 0-0 draw in Dortmund.

Shaka Hislop who only found out he was starting in goal minutes before kick-off when Kelvin Jack got injured turned in a heroic performance as the Scandinavian side failed to find a way through the well organised Trinidad defence.

The tiny Caribbean country even survived the second-half sending off of Avery John as they held on for the most famous result in their history.

The result leaves England top of Group B after their 1-0 win over Paraguay earlier in the day with Sweden and Trinidad level on one point.

Vieira to stand tall: Domenech

Juventus midfielder Patrick Vieira was tipped to emerge as one of the stand out players of this World Cup by his France coach Raymond Domenech Saturday in reaction to criticism of him at home.

"I'm lucky not to have read anything at our hotel, absolutely nothing," Domenech said.

"I only found out on arriving here that there'd been questions about him.

"That surprised me for I believe Patrick is going to be one of the major players of this World Cup.

Some observers felt Vieira was ill at ease in his role on the right of midfield against China on Wednesday.

We can build on defeat - Santa Cruz

Paraguay can't afford to waste time being miserable and need to pick themselves up for their next game after losing to England, star striker Roque Santa Cruz says.

Cruz said they could build on the 1-0 loss.

"We can't afford to waste any time being miserable about the defeat," he said.

"I think we played well, and we've also got some good players in our squad. We improved in the second half, and we can build on that."

Paraguay coach Anibal Ruiz felt his side were unlucky to go down to an own goal by captain Carlos Gamarra, and believes they can still qualify for the knockout round despite propping up the table.

"I told the players in the dressing room they had played a good game but not a great game as we did not win," he said.

"I think we are capable of getting two good results in the next games."

Argentine hang on to edge Ivory Coast

First-half goals from Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola did the damage for Argentina as they held off the challenge of a spirited Ivory Coast side to win 2-1 in Hamburg on Saturday.

The two-time champions seize the lead in Group C ahead of Sunday's second fixture between Holland and Serbia and Montenegro.

Crespo pounced on a loose ball during a goalmouth scramble after a Juan Roman Riquleme free kick in the 24th minute.

Saviola then slotted in a low shot - from a defence splitting pass by Riquelme - past the hapless Jean-Jacques Tizie 14 minutes later after a huge gap appeared in the west African defence.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba gave the western African side a life-line with a goal in the 82nd minute from close range but the effort was in vain as Argentina held on.