On the pitch

13 Jun 2006

Australia pull off remarkable 3-1 win over Japan

Australia scored three goals in eight minutes of madness to pull off a dramatic 3-1 win over Japan in an extraordinary Group F match in Kaiserslautern on Monday.

Everton midfielder Tim Cahill was the hero poking home the equaliser on 84 minutes after Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura had given the Asian champions a controversial first-half lead.

Australian 'keeper Mark Schwarzer was blatantly impeded as he came for the ball alllowing Nakamura's chip to float into the unguarded goal.

In the end it didn't matter as Cahill scored Australia's first ever World Cup goal to level the match and then put the Soceroos ahead with a deadly shot off the post five minutes later.

John Aloisi sealed a dramatic victory when he raced through the Japan defence and put Guus Hiddink's side top of the group deep into injury time. Final score Australia 3 Japan 1.

Borgetti out of Angola clash

Mexico's all-time leading scorer Jared Borgetti was ruled out on Tuesday of their second group match at the World Cup finals against Angola.

The 32-year-old Bolton Wanderers striker is also in doubt for the final group clash against Euro 2004 finalists Portugal on June 21 because of a left calf injury which saw him leave the pitch in the 51st minute of the 3-1 victory over Iran on Sunday.

However scans on Tuesday also revealed a problem with his left thigh.

"He (Borgetti) has pulled a muscle in his left thigh which will require rest for between a week to 10 days," said team doctor Joseé Luis Serrano.

This is Borgetti's second World Cup, he played in all four of their matches at the 2002 edition where they went out to bitter rivals the United States in the second round.

Hope remains for Koller

Czech striker Jan Koller's future participation in the World Cup hung in the balance on Tuesday as team doctors said his torn thigh muscle could take between 10 days and six weeks to recover.

Team doctor Jiri Foucek said it was impossible to make a decision on Koller until the 33-year-old started having treatment.

"Everything is possible. He could be out of action for between 10 days and six weeks," Foucek said.

"We hope he will be available to play in the quarter-finals."

To get that far, the Czechs will have to play another three matches.

Koller, his country's leading goalscorer with 43 goals in 69 appearances, had said the injury was "simply a tear" and was hopeful of playing again in what is likely to be his last World Cup.

Italy beat Ghana 2-0

Italy began their World Cup campaign with a solid 2-0 victory over Ghana on Monday.

Andrea Pirlo's rasping 40th-minute drive put Italy ahead before substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta settled an intriguing Group E contest of contrasting styles with a breakaway goal seven minutes from the end.

Italy twice hit the woodwork in the first half and Ghana keeper Richard Kingston made a series of excellent saves to keep the four-time African champions in the game before Iaquinta struck the winner.

Kader puts Togo in front at half

Mohamed Kader fired Togo into a 1-0 first-half lead over 2002 semi-finalists South Korea as the unfancied African side threatened to upset the form book.

Kader chested down a long through ball on 31 minutes before unleashing a fizzing right foot shot that bounced in off the post and gave the Korean keeper Lee Woon-Jae no chance.

South Korea came back into the match with some late first-half pressure but are now chasing the match.

Last minute decision on Shevchenko

Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin will make a last-minute decision over whether or not star striker Andriy Shevchenko will play in Wednesday's opener against Spain. "We will only decide tomorrow," said Blokhin.

"All the rest of the squad are available to play, Shevchenko is the only problem for us."

Shevchenko, who recently moved to English champions Chelsea from AC Milan, played 30 minutes in last week's friendly win over Luxembourg.

But since then, and despite taking part in Ukraine's training sessions for what will be their first World Cup appearance, the influential striker has admitted he is not fully fit following a recent knee injury.

If Shevchenko recovers in time, it could provide a psychological advantage against Spain, who have won only two opening round World Cup matches in their past 10 appearances.

Rooney unlikely to be risked for Trinidad

Wayne Rooney is unlikely to play in England's match with Trinidad and Tobago, reports said Tuesday, following speculation he was set to make a dramatic comeback.

British newspapers have reported that Rooney was expected to make a shock appearance from the substitutes bench in Thursday's Group B game in Nuremberg, where a victory will see England advance to the last 16.

But reports on Tuesday said Rooney's return was unlikely as medical experts who said his foot injury had healed will not fly to Germany to re-assess the player's condition until Friday.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is furious with England counterpart Sven-Goran Eriksson over the Swede's refusal to rule Rooney out of the tournament until the second round.

Rooney meanwhile has been training hard and is expected to play a full part in Tuesday's session at England's idyllic Mittelberg training ground.

Rosicky inspires Czech rout over USA

Tomas Rosicky scored two classy goals and Jan Koller added a crushing header as the Czech Republic got their campaign off to a flyer with a 3-0 rout over the USA.

One of the only black marks on a sparkling display was a first-half injury suffered by Koller who was carried off on a stretcher and obviously in some distress.

Before his misfortune, Koller set the ball rolling with his fifth minute opener which set the stage for a magnificent long-range effore from Rosicky who blasted the ball past the despairing dive of Kasey Keller.

To cap a miserable night for the Americans who hoped to do justice to their world ranking of number five by FIFA, Rosicky broke clear on 76 minutes following a deft flick from Pavel Nedved and again left Keller grasping at air as he shot home.

Totti fit to face United States

Italy striker Francesco Totti will be fit for their second Group E match against the USA on Saturday, team doctor Enrico Castellacci confirmed Tuesday.

The AS Roma captain considered Italy's key player was substituted early in the second half of Monday's 2-0 win over Ghana after taking a knock on the knee.

"Totti bruised his left knee, but he's had a scan and there's no problem," Castellacci said.

The attacking midfielder only recently returned to action after breaking his left ankle in February.

Castellacci said that Gianluca Zambrotta will also be available while tenacious midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, also absent against Ghana, is making good progress after feeling a recurrence of a right leg injury.

Vidic withdraws from Serb squad

Serbia and Montenegro defender Nemanja Vidic will play no further part in the World Cup after injuring knee ligaments in training.

Vidic, 24, collapsed during a session at the team's base in Billerbeck on Monday and will be out of action for several weeks.

Under FIFA rules, he cannot be replaced which means the Serbs will have to continue with just 21 players instead of the regulation 23.

Dusan Petkovic, son of manager Ilija, refused to travel with the squad to Germany amid claims of nepotism.

Vidic, who joined Manchester United in January, was a key part of the Serb defence which conceded a single goal in 10 qualifying matches.