JOHANNESBURG: Humiliated defending champions Italy joined former winners France on the World Cup scrapheap on Thursday and Japan ensured Asia has two qualifiers for the last 16. This shock-riddled World Cup delivered another twist when four-time world champions Italy slumped 3-2 to a

POLOKWANE: Paraguay topped Group F at the World Cup on Thursday after a drab 0-0 draw with surprise packets New Zealand.The polished South Americans who harbour dreams of at least a quarter-finals place ended with five points and were joined in the round of 16 by Slovakia, who stunned

PARIS: Football star Thierry Henry met Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee palace on Thursday as the president demanded answers over the French teams humiliating exit from the World Cup.Henry flew in from South Africa and was taken in a limousine provided by the French presidency to meet with

ATHENS: Veteran German coach Otto Rehhagel is to be asked to step down after nearly nine years as Greek coach, the Greek Football Federation (EPO) president said on Thursday.The 72-year-old guided the Greeks to a shock victory in Euro 2004 and qualified them for both Euro 2008 and the

JOHANNESBURG: Mexico say they will look to learn lessons from the past when they play Argentina in their second round match at the World Cup in Johannesburg on Sunday.Mexico lost to Diego Maradona`s two-times champions at the same stage of the last World Cup in Germany to an extra-time

JOHANNESBURG: World Cup organisers have congratulated Ghana for qualifying for the last 16 of the World Cup where they will likely be the sole African representative. The Ghanaians went through despite losing 1-0 to Germany, edging out both Australia and Serbia in a tight Group D and

JOHANNESBURG, June 24, 2010 (AFP) - Mexico say they will look to learn lessons from the past when they play Argentina in their second round match at the World Cup in Johannesburg on Sunday. Mexico lost to Diego Maradona`s two-times champions at the same stage of the last World Cup in

KARACHI: Veteran batsman Misbah-ul-Haq expressed disappointment Thursday at being dropped from the England-bound Pakistan squad, defending his averages as among the best. "It is very disappointing," Misbah told AFP. "You find yourself in the eleven and suddenly you are not even in a

LONDON: Nicolas Mahut and John Isner will drag their weary bodies back onto court at Wimbledon on Thursday to resume the longest match in tennis history as Queen Elizabeth II makes her first visit since 1977. A string of tennis records were blown away as Mahut and Isner came off court on

MUMBAI: Cricket great Sachin Tendulkar is to be given an honorary rank in the Indian Air Force in recognition of his contribution to the nation and to encourage young people to join up. Tendulkar, one of India`s greatest ever batsmen, said he was pleased to be honoured by the air force.

DURBAN: Pride not pragmatism will be the watchword when soccer powerhouses Brazil and Portugal meet in a mouthwatering World Cup clash on Friday (1400) to decide the winners of Group G. Although whoever tops the group could meet Spain in the second round, any suggestion that either side

PARIS: Frances shamed World Cup squad faced the wrath of President Nicolas Sarkozy, the press and a furious public on Wednesday after a disastrous exit from the tournament in South Africa.The players were due to fly back to a humiliated country that has largely written them off as spoiled

JOHANNESBURG: FIFA will not take action against Spain striker David Villa after he raised his hand to the face of a Honduras player during the teams` World Cup match Monday. FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola says its disciplinary committee found no grounds to open a case. Villa appeared to

DUBLIN: As France crashed out of the World Cup Tuesday seven months after a disputed Thierry Henry handball dashed the Republic of Ireland`s hopes of getting to the championship, there was no sympathy from the country`s former assistant manager. Liam Brady, who also won 72 caps for his

LONDON: Australia`s French Open finalist Samantha Stosur was brought back down to earth with a bang as she crashed out of the Wimbledon first round on Tuesday. Stosur, the sixth seed, was beaten in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 by Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi, just weeks after reaching her

LONDON: Andy Murray admits he is already benefiting from the Wimbledon feel-good factor after putting an end to his recent dismal run. Murray has been stuck in a rut since losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final in January and has failed to get past the quarter-finals in his

DURBAN, South Africa: Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback said he was disappointed to see his side crash out of the World Cup on Tuesday, but remained upbeat about his players` performance. The Super Eagles drew their final match 2-2 against South Korea, not enough to salvage two opening losses

LAATZEN, Germany: Fabian Moritz is not your average German football fan: he does not mind the relative goal drought at the World Cup and he wants England to do well. The 19-year-old may have just flunked his school leaving exams, but his remakes of World Cup matches using Lego figures

NEW YORK: Former US president Bill Clinton is ready to catch World Cup fever and plans to cheer on the US team against Algeria in Pretoria, South Africa, his New York-based foundation said on Tuesday. After attending the match on Wednesday, Clinton will visit Tanzania and Malawi to check

DURBAN, South Africa: South Korea has been a regular at the World Cup. All but one of its previous seven appearances ended disappointingly in the first round. There was, however, the 2002 tournament it co-hosted with Japan, when the South Koreans went to the semifinals.On Tuesday, they