Saturday's World Cup round-up

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has rivalled Eric Cantona in the oddest football soundbite stakes with a beauty about maintaining the balance between attack and defence.
Ahead of his side's last-16 match with South Korea, he said: "There's a saying among coaches that football is like a short blanket: it covers your head or it covers your feet, and if it covers your head, your toes are in the air."

France striker Thierry Henry has hinted he feels karma may have had a role in his country's disastrous World Cup campaign.
Henry helped secure France's place in the tournament when his handball went unpunished and led to the goal that beat the Republic of Ireland in a play-off. 
But after France finished bottom of their group in South Africa, with only one point from three games, Henry said: "They always say you get what you deserve." 

United States coach Bob Bradley believes his side can capitalise on finishing top of their group, ahead of England, by reaching the final.
Bradley's side take on Ghana in the round of 16, with the winner facing either Uruguay or South Korea in the quarter-finals.
"If we continue to build on the successes so far we can go to the end," Bradley said.
"We try hard not to get ahead of ourselves but at the same time everybody has this idea that if everybody gives their best effort, if everybody puts everything they have into it and if things go our way then we can travel far."

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Monday's World Cup round-up

Euro 2008 champions Spain have been warned by goalkeeper Jose Reina that they cannot afford to "live off the past" as they prepare for Monday's make-or-break World Cup match against Honduras.
He said: "This side has been playing for five years together, I think we've been doing things well and doing a good job but we can't live off our past - we have to prove again more than ever that we can be in that group of teams who can win the World Cup and we have to recover from the defeat by Switzerland."

New Zealand Herald correspondent Michael Brown has called his country's 1-1 draw with Italy "mind-blowing".
He wrote: "Little, old New Zealand with just 25 professional footballers - Italy has 3541. A country which had played just four World Cup matches before this morning drew with one which has won four World Cup titles. Crazy." 
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said of the result: "The All Whites have surprised everybody and stunned the footballing world." 

North Korea will broadcast its World Cup match against Portugal live on Monday evening, its official television station said.
The Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station aired only recorded footage of the team's first group match against Brazil and the last time a North Korea game was shown live to the nation was the World Cup qualifier against Iran in June 2009.

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has come out in support of his Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka after he was kicked out of France's World Cup squad.
Anelka was sent home after a verbal assault on France coach Raymond Domenech 
Drogba, quoted on news24.com in South Africa, said: "He has been a team-mate for two-and-a-half years. Yes, I support him. I wish him good luck, it's a difficult time for him. He is very strong mentally, he's a competitor. I was surprised he was kicked out of the team." 

Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has criticised the France team - only a week after he launched an attack on England.
In a column for a South African newspaper, the ex-Germany skipper and World Cup winner said: "Everyone must have realised that there was something wrong with the French team following their 2-0 defeat to Mexico. Everyone in the team seemed to be playing for themselves. They were lifeless."
Beckenbauer caused controversy last week when he attacked England over their playing style after the 1-1 draw with the United States.
But after England's 0-0 draw with Algeria he said: "I am not going to criticise England this time because all the bigger teams have taken a step backwards."

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Sunday's World Cup round-up

Graham Taylor is convinced goalkeeper David James' terse responses to questions about Fabio Capello's selection policy were a clear indication that all is not well in the England camp.
Former England boss Taylor said: "I know David very well because we signed him as a young player at Watford many years ago. He is very articulate and he was giving us a message there, make no mistake. That was a message that all is not right."
Although he has vowed not to resign and has stood by some controversial team selections, under-fire Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen is facing media criticism following the Indomitable Lions' early exit from the World Cup. 

After it was suggested to the Frenchman that his tactics were to blame for defeats against Japan and Denmark, Le Guen simply replied: "I will not resign but you have given your opinion and I respect that. Either you trust me or you don't, but that's the way things are."

A top public university in Bangladesh has closed indefinitely after students clashed over whether to cancel classes in order to watch the World Cup. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology reportedly asked students to leave dormitories to calm the situation, after at least five people were injured in violent disturbances.

One group had demanded an early summer vacation so they could watch football on television without any tension. They asked other students not to attend classes or take tests and locked the university's main gate, prompting clashes with senior students who wanted classes to continue.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes a fear of failure and the absolute necessity to get through the group stage has contributed to the poor performances of top European sides at the World Cup.
Wenger said: "The biggest teams who have the highest level of expectation cannot express that talent yet. One reason is caution, fear of failure, response to huge demands. These teams will just get through, most of them, then you will see them really play." 

Australia forward Harry Kewell is adamant he did not deserve to be sent off for handling the ball on the line during his team's 1-1 draw against Ghana.
Kewell told the Sydney Morning Herald: "Everyone that's seen it is saying: 'Fair enough, it's a penalty'. But was it deliberate? Of course not." And coach Pim Verbeek added: "What is he supposed to do, cut his arm off?"

Television viewing figures suggest the United States public have embraced the World Cup. Twice as many Americans are believed to have watched the first five games of the tournament compared with four years ago.

Slovenia's Robert Koren insists his side will not play for a draw against England on Wednesday, even though a point would be enough to take them through to the last 16 - probably at the expense of Fabio Capello's men.
Koren, whose club future is in doubt now his West Brom contract has expired, said: "We will do everything in our power against England. We will try to win."

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Saturday's World Cup round-up

Reports in the American media suggest the referee who disallowed a last-gasp goal for the United States in their 2-2 draw against Slovenia may have taken charge of his last match at this World Cup.
Fifa sources have apparently suggested that Malawian official Koman Coulibaly's performance in the Group C encounter is to be assessed by the governing body's refereeing committee, and he may not be assigned any more games in the competition.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will have an operation after the World Cup on the back problem which could rule him out of the rest of the tournament. It means he could miss up to four months of the Italian domestic season.
Buffon, who was substituted in his team's opening group match against Paraguay, has a herniated disc and will not feature against New Zealand. The 32-year-old has delayed surgery in the hope of playing some further part in South Africa. 

Didier Drogba is being tipped to start for the Ivory Coast in their match against Brazil on Sunday after making a steady recovery from a fractured elbow.
"Do not be surprised if Drogba starts," said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who brought the Chelsea striker on as a second-half substitute in the 0-0 draw with Portugal.

Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar has defended coach Dunga's abrasive style - and likened him to Jose Mourinho, who led Italian side Inter Milan to the treble last season.
Julio Cesar, who played under Mourinho at the San Siro, said: "Dunga is only putting in place a work philosophy. Mourinho did exactly the same as what Dunga is doing now. We won everything with this work philosophy." 

France midfielder Jeremy Toulalan has admitted that his side have failed to operate as a team in South Africa, despite having a number of talented individuals.
The French, beaten by Mexico in their last match, are struggling to make the second round and Toulalan said: "The difference between us and Mexico is that they are playing as a team, and we have 11 individuals. We have high-quality players. What we missed was being a collective on the pitch."

Germany coach Joachim Loew remains convinced his team will still progress to the second round despite the shock defeat against Serbia that means a loss against Ghana could eliminate them from the competition.
"It is obvious that we are going to be under more pressure now, but we will make the round of 16," insisted Loew, who admitted to being "devastated" by the Serbia result. 

Manchester City's Roque Santa Cruz believes Paraguay are capable of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in the country's history.
"We want to go at least to the quarter-finals. In Paraguayan history it's never been done," declared the striker, who came on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Italy.

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Monday's World Cup round-up

Adidas, maker of the Jabulani World Cup ball, has rejected claims that it was to blame for England goalkeeper Robert Green's error that led to England drawing 1-1 with the United States on Saturday.
Adidas's Thomas Schaikvan said: "We are happy with the ball's performance and we don't think it had anything to do with the goal England conceded. On the contrary, if you look at the games so far, some goalkeepers have been the stars of the tournament.
"The Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and United States goalkeeper Tim Howard won the man-of-the-match award in their games, and the South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was also excellent against Mexico."

Meanwhile, Howard believes the draw with England was a better result than the United States' famous World Cup win in 1950. That 1-0 shock was an isolated success, with the US not appearing in the World Cup for another 40 years, but Howard said the result was evidence of progress.
"It is a better result than 1950," he said. "We are better positioned than we were then. We expected to put a performance in and get at least a draw, which tells you how far we have come." 

France's Florent Malouda has denied that a bust-up with coach Raymond Domenech cost him a starting place against Uruguay:
"It may appear surprising to you, but it was a defensive choice. That's how the manager presented it to me," Malouda said. "I learned of it at 4pm after the meal. It didn't affect my digestion, the pancakes were very good, but there was real disappointment."

Italy coach Marcello Lippi has hailed countryman Fabio Capello as "a winner" and tipped England as one of the teams that can win the World Cup.
"England are one of the great threats. It is not because Capello is Italian that is important. It is because he is good, he is a winner," said Lippi. 
"I have said before that the favourites are Brazil and Spain. 

"But personally I also feel Argentina, Germany, Italy, France and England can all win and be careful of Holland. They have all come here because they want to win."

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