World cup so far!
The Boys are already being separated from the men.
The quarter finals of the fifa world cup kicks off tommorrow with some crunchy and exciting fixtures. Its no surprise that among the 8 team SIX of them are former world champions, France,Brazil,Germany,England,Argentina.
Since 1986 when the Round of 16 replaced a second group stage, the highest number of world champions qualifying for the last eight at a FIFA World Cup had previously been four. The full list is: 1986 (24-team competition) Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany FR 1990 (24) Argentina, England, Germany FR, Italy 1994 (24) Brazil, Germany, Italy 1998 (32) Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy 2002 (32) Brazil, England, Germany 2006 (32 teams) Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy The other two teams making up the Elite Eight in Germany are Ukraine, making their first appearance in the competition, and Portugal, who's previous best achievement was reaching the semi-finals in 1966..
The quarter final pairings will see Jens Lehmann and Juan Riquelme will renew a personal rivalry held over from the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League when Germany meet Argentina and the current world footballer of the year Ronaldinho facing UEFA Champions League finalist opponent Henry. Also Real-Madrid teammates Zidane,Carrlos and Ronaldo will be on opposing sides .

Brazil whips Ghana 3-0,As Ronaldo sets new Record.Brazil rewote the worldcup history book as they secured their place in the last Eight at the expense of ten man Ghana. They took the lead through Ronaldo he opened the scoring with a goal that wrote his name in the record books with 15 goals in World Cup Finals - overtaking Gerd Muller in the all-time list. Adriano added the second moments before the break and Ze Roberto hit the third late on to send Ghana packing.Brazil, world cup,Ghana ,

Last gasp Totti sinks
Aussie Francesco Totti convered a last minute controvercial pernalty to give 10 man Italy a place in the quarter finals.
With the score level at 0-0 Italy defender Marco Materazzi was sent off for a foul on Australia's Marco Bresciano just after half-time in their World Cup second round clash - leaving the Azzurri with only ten men for the remainder of the must win match An injury-time penalty from substitute Francesco Totti took ten-man Italy past Australia and into the last eight of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Kaiserslautern

Spain battle ready
Spain captain Raul and young midfielder Cesc Fabregas will be in the team for the second round clash with France, coach Luis Aragones said on Monday.
The 67-year-old made the decision to help his side starve the former world champions of possession in Tuesday's game.
'A coach has to look at the small details that decide games and one of the things I want to do is to make sure we control the game,' Aragones told a news conference.
'I'm only changing the team in order to strengthen an aspect that will help us win the game.
'My aim is to hit the nail on the head. I'll be the first to admit if I get it wrong, but I don't think I will,' he added.
'For us it is vital to have the ball and with these two it will be easier to do that.'
Raul should start at the expense of forward Luis Garcia, while 19-year-old Fabregas will replace Brazilian-born midfielder Marcos Senna.
Fabregas caught the eye this season with his impressive performances against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals when he outplayed former Arsenal team mate Patrick Vieira who is a key figure in the French midfield.
Raul, who celebrates his 29th birthday on the day of the match, has a score to settle with France after missing a last-minute penalty when Spain lost 2-1 to Les Bleus in the quarter-finals of Euro 2000.
The Real Madrid striker is Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals and will make his 99th international appearance against France.
Aragones was in bullish mood despite the fact that Spain have never beaten France in a competitive match, saying he had no plans to return home just yet.
'My bags are still unpacked and I've even left my shaving kit in the bathroom at (Spain's World Cup base in) Kamen,' he said.
'You could say that this is the most important game of my career, but I don't feel overawed. In fact, I think the bigger the game the less nervous I feel. I think we're better than the opposition and I'm convinced that we'll win.'

RONALDINHO "we fear nobody"
After Brazil had defeated Japan 4-1 to secure a Round of 16 meeting with Ghana, the FIFA World Player for the past two years found the limelight dominated by somebody else. While some egos may have been bruised, the Barcelona star says he could not have been more delighted.
"Having him (Ronaldo) back and scoring twice is just what we needed," he says, eyes smiling. "Nobody here ever doubted his greatness but we all wanted him to score to relieve the tension that we had shared."
With the Real Madrid striker's return to form, the so-called Quadrado mágico (Magic quartet) introduced by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is gradually beginning to hit the right notes. But for Ronaldinho, who so often played conductor as Barcelona swept to European glory this season, working a different beat has not been easy.

"I'm playing more centrally and deeper so it means I have less impact in the final third," he admits. "At Barcelona I can go by one man and have a chance to shoot but in my position for Brazil beating two or even three players does not automatically mean I have a sight of goal."
With Adriano as well as Ronaldo up front, it means the player from Porto Alegre must fill the space further behind. "The coach has told me that my role is to get the team playing and to manage more the rhthym of play," he explains. "It's something I'm learning and I'm happy to do it because there are 11 stars on the field and nobody thinks of individual glory. I'm not the only one playing in a different role."

Brazil sets date with Ghana
Brazil made sure of first place in Group F as they came from behind to beat Japan 4-1 through goals from Ronaldo (2), Juninho Pernambucano and Gilberto in Dortmund on Thursday, 22 June 2006.
The world champions can now look forward to a Round of 16 meeting with Ghana in Kaiserslautern on 26 June following their third straight victory at Germany 2006.
For Japan, this was their second defeat in three matches and left them bottom of the section with one point.
The star of the show was Ronaldo, who scored his 13th and 14th FIFA World Cup goals to move level with German legend Gerd Muller as the tournament's all-time leading scorer. He headed Brazil level in first-half injury time to cancel out Keiji Tamada's fine 34th-minute opener for Japan.
Then, after Juninho Pernambucano (53 minutes) and Gilberto (59’) had struck superb goals to seize control of the match for Brazil, Ronaldo had the final word as he made it 4-1 nine minutes before the end.
Harry Kewell's late strike also sent Australia through to the second round after a thrilling Group F decider.
Darijo Srna's precise free-kick gave Croatia an early lead.
Australia were level through Craig Moore's penalty after Stjepan Tomas handled a cross, but Croatia hit back through Nico Kovac's bobbling drive.
Kewell was on hand to fire home from close range to send the Socceroos through, while Dario Simic, Brett Emerton and Josip Simunic all saw red.
Australia's draw sets up a second-round clash with Group E winners Italy as Japan failed to overhaul group winners Brazil
Brazil, world cup,Austria,

Ghana stuns the world qualifies at czech expense.
Ghana booked a place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over the United States. Goals from Haminu Dramani and Stephen Appiah earned the victory which took them past the Czech Republic - who lost 2-0 to Italy. The Czechs fell to goals from Marco Materazzi and Filippo Inzaghi and also had Jan Polak sent off.

The Africans took the lead in the 22nd minute when Haminu Draman robbed Claudio Reyna of possession on the edge of the area and cooly slotted the ball past Kasey Keller.
Clint Dempsey's powerful finish two minutes before half-time gave the US hope of winning the match, but they were soon behind again through Stephen Appiah's penalty, scored in the second minute of added time at the end of the first half.
Try as they might after the interval, the US could not find a way past a stubborn Ghana rearguard and leave the tournament after claiming just one point from their three group games. For Ratomir Dujkovic's Black Stars, however, a match with the winners of Group F in Dortmund awaits.
Ghana, world cup,Italy,

Portugal makes it 3 out of 3
Portugal made it three wins out of three in Group D as they defeated Mexico 2-1 in Gelsenkirchen through goals from Maniche and Simao Sabrosa on Wednesday, 21 June 2006.
While Portugal advanced as group winners to face the second-placed team in Group C - either Argentina or the Netherlands - in a Round of 16 tie in Nuremberg on Sunday, Mexico joined them there after finishing second with four points. El Tri will take on the Group C winners on Saturday in Leipzig.They narrowly edged into the last 16 of the World Cup despite losing 2-1 to Group D winners Portugal.
Angola were close to sneaking into the next phase of the competition at Mexico's expense, but they conceded a late equaliser against Iran to draw their game 1-1 - a result which ended the Africans' dreams.
Portugal, world cup,Mexico,

A-Z of the world cup (contd)

P: Pele is the youngest player to score a goal in a world cup match the legendary Brazilian was 17yrs 239days when he scored against Wales in 1958.

Q: Qualifying for the tournament included 194 countries playing 874games watched by 18.6million spectators. A total of 2,464goals were scored at as average of 2.8 per game.

R: Roger Milla is the oldest player to have ever scored in a world cup match. Milla was 42yrs and 39daays when he scored for Cameroon against Russia in 1994.

S: Smallest player at the tournament based on current information will be four who can stretch themselves to 5-foot-4-bakery kone (Ivory Coast), Christian Lara (Ecuador) Mohammed Al shihoub (Saudia Arabia) and Naelson (Mexico).

T: turkey Hakan Sukur holds the record for the fastest goal scored from the kick off. He scored from the kick off. He scored 11seconds after the third place match against South Korea started in 2002.

U: U.S.A will be making a fifth consecutive appearance at the finals and the seventh overall. To date their best performance was in 1930 where the made the semi finals only to lose to Argentina 6-1.

V: Vava was the first player and to date remains the only player to score in consecutive finals. He archived this feat in 1958 (against Sweden) and 1962 (versus Czechoslovakia). Two other players Pele and Paul Breitner scored in two finals but not consecutively.

W: World cup viewing around the world is always a contentious point but one thing is clear: it blows away any other sporting event one estimates puts the cumulative audience at 30billion over the month of the competition who knows how accurate that is but one thing is for sure large areas of the globe will come to a stand still between june9 and july9.

X: Xtra time will be played in the round of 16 and beyond If teams are tied after the completion of normal time. The teams will play two 15min halves with no golden goal or silver goal deciding the winner this time. If still tied, it will down to the dreaded penalty decider.

Y: youngest player to ever appear at a world cup was Norman Whiteside of Northern Ireland who was 17 years and 42 days when he lined against Yugoslavia at the 1982 event in Spain.

Z: Zoff (Dino) the oldest player ever to play in a world cup final. The Italian goalkeeper and captain was 40 years and133 days when he helped his country beat West Germany
3-1 in 1982.
Pele, A-Z,Worldcup,

England aviods Germany, sets date with Ecuador
England limped their way to a second-round clash with Ecuador as they drew 2-2 with Sweden, At the expense of Michael Owen's whose World Cup was left hanging in the balance.
The 26-year-old Newcastle striker twisted his knee laying off a ball and was stretchered away in agony.
Steven Gerrard looked to have won the game in the 85th minute when heading home a Joe Cole cross only for Henrik Larrson to conjour an ugly leveller in the last minute.
This result sends both teams through to the Round of 16 from Group B. Group winners England will face Ecuador while Sweden must play hosts Germany.

England, world cup,Sweden,

WORLD CUP Day12
Germany sealed top spot in Group A in impressive style, with a Miroslav Klose brace and Lukas Podolski's first goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ sealing an emphatic 3-0 win over Ecuador.
Both these sides had already qualified for the Round of 16 prior to this match, but it is Jurgen Klinsmann's side who will march on to the next phase in more confident mood after a performance that simply oozed self-assurance.
The sell-out crowd of 72,000 at Berlin's Olympiastadion were certainly treated to a terrific showing from their side, for whom Klose - now tournament top scorer - was particularly impressive up front.
Ecuador, meanwhile, opted to rest a number of the players who had helped secure victories over Poland and Costa Rica in the South Americans' previous two matches, and did not look as potent without the likes of key striker Agustin Delgado.
Germany will now face the second-placed side from Group B in Munich on 24 June, while Ecuador will go head-to-head against the winner of that section in Stuttgart the following day.
The match:
Also on the day Poland rescued some pride with a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica as both sides said goodbye to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Hannover on Tuesday, 20 June 2006.
With both sides already eliminated after two defeats, they went into this Group A match aiming to end on a high at least, and it was Costa Rica who started the better as they took a 25th-minute lead through Ronald Gomez's free-kick. However, Batosz Bosacki drew the Poles level eight minutes later and same player headed the winning goal in the 66th minute.
world cup, Germany,Poland,

Worldcup Day 11
Fernando Torres scored a brace as Spain fought back from a goal down to beat Tunisia 3-1 in their Group G match in Stuttgart. Jaouhar Mnari put the African side ahead in the seventh minute but substitute Raul hit an equaliser after the break before Torres rounded the keeper and added a second from the penalty spot to register a 3-1 Tunisia and consequently book their place in the Round of 16. The African team got off to a great start when Jaouhar Mnari opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Roger Lemerre’s side held the lead until half-time when his counterpart Luis Aragones made a bold double substitution. Luis Garcia and Marcos Senna were replaced by Raul and Cesc Fabregas and the pair were extremely influential in Spain’s equalising goal. With 71 minutes gone, Fabregas’ shot was parried by Ali Boumnijel and into the path of Raul who gratefully slotted the ball home. A brace from Fernando Torres, taking his tally in the tournament to three, gave Spain the victory. It leaves them on top of Group H, three points clear of their nearest challengers Ukraine and five points clear of Saudi Arabia and Tunisia
world cup, Torres,Spain,

WORLD CUP Day 11
Switzerland surged to top of Group G with a convincing 2-0 win over Togo in Dortmund on Monday, 19 June which leaves the Helvetians leading the section on goal difference.
Victory was secured by goals from Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta in the 16th and 88th minute respectively, the second of which took Kobi Kuhn's side clear of Korea Republic by a single goal. All the Swiss now need is a point against Dick Advocaat's Taeguk Warriors to guarantee their place in the last 16.

Also Andriy Rusol scored Ukraine's first-ever World Cup goal to give his side the lead against Saudi Arabia in their Group H match in Hamburg. Serhiy Rebrov added a stunning second and Andriy Shevchenko opened his world cup scoring with a header close range account made it 3 -0 after the break.
Kalinichenko was denied a deserved goal when he hit the bar with a shot, but six minutes from time he put their goal difference back on level terms when he sidefooted home from a Shevchenko centre.

world cup, Togo,Switzerland,

A-Z OF THE WORLD CUP (contd)

H: Helmut Schoen of West Germany, between 1966 and 1978, set a new record for most games as a coach at the world cup finals. He was in charge for 25 games and also accumulated 16 wins-also a record.

I: illija Petkovic coach of Serbia Montenegro since July 2003, places an emphasis on strong defending. During the qualifying competion his side only conceded one goal in 10games and was also unbeaten.

J: jurgen klinsman the coach of the host team Germany goes into the tournament under intense pressure. But should Germany win, he will join the likes of fellow country man frank Beckembeur and Mario zagallo, (Brazil) as winners of the mundial as a coach and as player.

K: Kranjcar- father Zlatko as coach and son Niko in the midfield will provide Croatia with a unique family combination.

L: largest margin of victory as been by 9goals and it has happened 3times: Hungary beat South Korea 9-0 in 1954; Yugoslavia beat Zaire in 1974 by the same margin and Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.

M: Most goals in a game occurred in 1954 when Australia beat the host nation Switzerland 7-5.

N: Nikola Zigic of Serbia Montenegro stands 6-foot-8 and along with Australia goalkeeper Zeliko Kalac and Czech striker Jan koller, will be the tallest player at the summer’s competition sixteen of Zigic’s teammates are listed as 6-foot or above.

O: only once has a non-European team country won the cup when it has being held in Europe. It happened in Sweden in 1958 when Brazil won the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time.

A-z of World cup, FIFA,Jan koller,

WORLD CUP DAY 10
Brazil qualifies France unsure
yesterday's matches kicked off with a game of frustration for Japan and Croatia as they played out a goalless draw in Nuremberg. The pivotal moment of the match came in the 22nd minute when Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi saved Darijo Srna’s penalty. This result has left Japan rooted to the foot of Group F with one point and Croatia in third place ahead in the group table only on goal difference. This stalemate does neither side any favours but will be a breath of fresh air to both Brazil and Australia. The world is still waiting for Brazil to catch fire but why should it worry? The statistics show two wins, no goals conceded, six points and a place safely guaranteed in the Round of 16. This comes after a Brazil-Australia match which saw the former 5 times World Cup champions unconvincingly victorious with a 2-0 win courtesy of Adriano and Fred. Australia can only pray that provided Japan fail to beat Brazil, they are able to secure at least a draw against Croatia. While Korea Republic fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with France as Park Ji-Sung cancelled out Thierry Henry’s first-half opener in Leipzig this evening. The point salvaged here put the Koreans top of Group G, at least until the end of Monday’s match between Togo and Switzerland in Dortmund. Tomorrow’s match kicks off with Togo battling Switzerland for their first World Cup victory, Ukraine hoping to thrash Saudi Arabia, while Spain faces former African Champions, Tunisia. Who do you think will be victorious and who will be vanquished?
UNILAGFACES

France, Brazil,Italy,

Ghana makes history
Ghana made Africans proud and made history by providing the biggest shock of the 2006 World Cup so far, as they comfortably beat the world's second-ranked nation the Czech Republic 2-0 to keep alive their hopes of a place in the last 16.They took all three points and boosted the pride of Africa with a truly thrilling 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Cologne. The west Africans dominated the European side from start to finish, scoring early through Asamoah Gyan and then sealing matters through Sulley Muntari eight minutes from time. Gyan had also missed a penaltyafter an incident that saw Tomas Ujfalusi sent off.

Portugal on the other hand booked their ticket to the knock-out stages of the World Cup following a well-deserved 2-0 victory over brave Iran.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side missed out on half a dozen clear-cut scoring opportunities before Deco opened the scoring with a wonder strike from 20 metres out in the 63rd minute.

Italy moved a point clear at the top of Group E after drawing 1-1 with the USA in an incident-filled match in Kaiserslautern on Saturday, 17 June 2006.
Alberto Gilardino headed Italy into a 22nd-minute lead but their lead last only five minutes until Christian Zaccardo turned the ball into his own net. That was the end of the scoring but a minute later the Azzurri lost Daniele De Rossi to the first of three red cards.
The USA's Pablo Mastroeni also saw red in the 45th minute and Eddie Pope followed suit two minutes into the second half. The result left both sides in contention before their final games, with Italy top on four points and the USA bottom with one.

World cup Day

Argentina turned in the performance of the World Cup so far as they destroyed Serbia & Montenegro 6-0 to send them crashing out of the tournament. Argentina, who took a 3-0 lead into the second half, doubled their tally in Gelsenkrichen in 10 scintillating minutes with goals from Hernan Crespo, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi.
Also Goals from Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooy were enough to seal a place in the last 16 for Holland and condemn Ivory Coast to pack their bags for home.

The World Cup will be poorer for their departure.
Ten-man Angola restored some pride to a flagging African World Cup campaign by holding Group D leaders Mexico to a goalless draw on Friday evening in Hanover.

A-Z of the world cup

A: Attendance at this summer tournament should impressive but one record will not be broken.174000 spectators watched in 1950 as Brazil 2-1 lost to Uruguay in the maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

B: Bert patenaude became the first player to score a hat trick in the world cup when he scored three for the USA against Paraguay in 1930.

C: Coaches will be in the spotlight as much, if not more than the players Bora Miliutinovic holds the all time record after he coached five different countries at the finals between 1986 and 2002.

D: Dull world cup for Czech Republic midfider, Vladimir Smicer who was ruled out out of mundial for sustain a leg injury in the team’s camp.

E: Expulsion for red card is bound to be points of controversy during the tournament. The fastest expulsion was Uruguay’s Jose Bastia he was sent off after 52 seconds during the game against Scotland in 1986.

F: first goal scored in a world cup final was by Frenchman Lucien Laurent against Mexico in 1986.

G: Gerd Muller of West Germany is the all time leading goal scorer in the world cup finals with 14 goals; however, Ronaldo of Brazil stands a chance of overtaking him in this year’s mundial having scored a combined 12 goals in1998 and 2002.

World cup Day 7
Ecuador cruised into the knockout phase of the World Cup finals for the first time in their history courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win over Costa Rica. Goals from Tenorio, Delgado and Kaviedes were enough to secure an emphatic .

England also overcame a tenacious Trinidad & Tobago side to reach the last 16 of the World Cup finals. Late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard secured the points for England, but for large parts of the game they looked a pale shadow of the team who had been tipped as potential winners of the tournament.
Sweden also took a huge step towards reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup when they overcame a defiant Paraguay side 1-0 in Berlin.

ECUADOR JOINS GERMANY.
Ecuador comfortably beat Group A rivals Costa Rica 3-0 to qualify for the second phase of the World Cup for the first time in their history.

Carlos Tenorio opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Agustin Delgado added his team's second shortly after the re-start.
Substitute Ivan Kaviedes wrapped up a wonderful afternoon for Ecuador as he struck his team's third in injury time to send their supporters at the Hamburg Arena into raptures.
They now join Germany as qualifies for group A
The three-time World Cup winners secured victory with an injury-time strike in Dortmund last night, Oliver Neuville converting a right-wing cross from fellow substitute David Odonkor.

WORLDCUP DAY6
Spain thrashed Ukraine 4-0 in the searing heat of Leipzig to take a firm grip on Group H. Liverpool's Xabi Alonso opened the scoring with Fernando Torres completing the rout after David Villa had scored the other two. Villa's second was from the penalty spot after Vladislav Vashchuk was sent off for a dubious foul.
Other games of the day saw a stoppage time header from Radhi Jaidi earned Tunisia a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia after a thrilling finish to their World Cup Group H opener on.Al Jaber, who has played for the Saudis in three previous World Cups, tucked the ball home just two minutes after coming on as a substitute. Before jahid made it all square in the 93min

Hingis forced to battle past Peer
The French Open is the only Grand Slam Hingis has not wonMartina Hingis overcame some stubborn resistance from Shahar Peer to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Israeli Peer had levelled the match at one set all on Sunday evening before poor light caused play to be suspended.
And the 19-year-old continued to thwart 12th seed Hingis in the deciding set when play resumed on Monday.
Hingis was broken when serving for the match but finally closed out a 6-3 2-6 6-3 victory and now faces second seed Kim Clijsters for a semi-final place.
Swiss player Hingis broke Peer straight away in the third set after a 14-minute marathon game but the 31st seed responded immediately with a break of her own.
Hingis, 25, was dragged into countless long rallies but broke twice more to leave herself serving for victory against her teenage opponent, who had knocked out sixth seed Elena Dementieva in the previous round.
But Peer, who had been aiming to become the first Israeli woman to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, clawed back a break before surrendering her own serve again to allow Hingis to go through.