JOHANNESBURG: Four matches will be played in Fifa World Cup today. Defending champions Italy will face Slovakia. Paraguay will meet New Zealand. Japan will take on Denmark. Cameroon will meet Holland. It may be mentioned that fate of defending champions Italy in this mega event will be decided today.
PORT ELIZABETH: Four matches will be played in FIFA World Cup today. Sylvania will face England whereas America will take on Algeria in group C. In group D, Germany and Ghana will play against each other and Australia will face Serbia in group D. In the matches played on Tuesday, Argentina and South Korea reached into knock out round. South Korea became the first Asian team reached into the knock round.
JOHANNESBURG: Three matches will be played in FIFA World Cup today (Monday). In the first match, two teams of Group G Portugal and North Korea will play against each other in Johannesburg. The match will begin at 4:30 pm Pakistan Time. In Group H, Chile to face Switzerland in Port Elizabeth at 7: 00 pm Pakistan whereas last match of the day will be played between European champion Spain and Honduras at 11:30 PST. Spain should win today’s match to stay in the tournament.
JOHANNESBURG: Three matches will be played in Fifa World Cup 2010 today. Portugal will take on Slovakia while defending champions Italy will face New Zealand from group F matches. Another match between Brazil and Ivory Cost teams will be played from group G.
JOHANNESBURG: At least three matches would be played today in the Fifa World Cup underway in South Africa. Holland will clash with Denmark in the first face-off, Japan-Cameroon is the second in the lineup and last match would be played between Italy and Paraguay. Defending champion Italy begins its World Cup schedule Monday against Paraguay. The Italian roster has championship experience running throughout, led by defender Fabio Cannavaro and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Returning coach Marcello Lippi has nine players over 30, led by 36-year-old captain Cannavaro and midfielder Genaro Gattuso. “I don”t feel old,” the 32-year-old Gattuso said. “If I”m old, then I don”t know what to think about my grandfather” Lippi has been criticized by some as being too loyal to the players who captured Italy’’s fourth World Cup in 2006. And the Italians have struggled in friendlies, most recently losing 2-1 to Mexico. But Italy was not among the top contenders heading into the last World Cup in Germany, either. Nor does it always start well in tournaments. “The debut is always particularly important,” defender Gianluca Zambrotta said of the game in Cape Town. “We want to finish first in the group and a good start would be ideal.” Paraguay is no pushover. It finished one point behind Brazil in South American qualifying and yielded just 16 goals in 18 matches. In Roque Santa Cruz and Lucas Barrios, it has two dangerous forwards. It has something extra to play for, too. Paraguay President Fernando Lugo recently sent a letter to the team’’s players asking them to dedicate the tournament to former striker Salvador Cabanas, who survived a gunshot wound to the head and is still recovering. “Remember our beloved, stupendous example of gritty Paraguay spirit — Salvador Cabanas,” Lugo wrote. “He is a magnificent example of how the fighting spirit, a strong will and faith helps us respond in the face of adversity.” Cameroon has faced turmoil from within its ranks, not the best atmosphere heading into a World Cup. The Indomitable Lions, who open with Japan at Bloemfontein, nearly lost star striker Samuel Eto”o in a spat with former Cameroon standout Roger Milla. Milla questioned the Inter Milan forward’’s performances for the national team. Eto”o, who is Cameroon’’s leading international scorer with 42 goals, threatened to skip the tournament. “He is my captain, a great player, one of the best players in the world and he wants to do well,” said coach Paul Le Guen, adding that Eto”o “is fit, he is ready to fight and be a good captain for us during this World Cup.” Japan makes its fourth World Cup appearance and never has won a game outside its homeland. Midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, a free kick specialist, leads Japan, which lost its last four friendlies, scoring just one goal in that stretch. Coach Takeshi Okada consistently tinkered with his lineup to find the best balance. “We have to win. The first game is very important, like a final,” midfielder Junichi Inamoto said. The Dutch probably don”t need such an approach as a heavy favorite in Group E ahead of Japan, Cameroon and Denmark, which the Netherlands faces in Johannesburg. Even without injured Arjen Robben (hamstring), the Dutch are potent. They have creative attackers Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel, Rafael van der Vaart, Robin Van Persie and Dirk Kuyt. And they”re not afraid to boast about it. “We should reach the semifinals at least,” Van Persie said. “That’’s a must for us, especially when you look at the 23 players and the clubs they play for.” Still, the defense is suspect and longtime keeper Edwin van der Saar is gone, with untested Maarten Stekelenburg stepping in. The Dutch and Danes won their qualifying groups with a combined one defeat in 18 games, with the Netherlands going unbeaten. Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner (groin) is likely to be missing. “They are a very good team, a very young team with players who play all around Europe at big teams,” said Denmark winger Jesper Gronkjaer. “They are surely one of the favorites to win the World Cup. “It will be a hard task for us, even though we will be going in to win the game. If we can get something out of the game we will be happy.”
JOHANNESBURG: They might be driving some players and supporters to distraction but World Cup organisers on Saturday decreed that the ear-splitting vuvuzela trumpet was the symbol of the tournaement. “Everybody loves vuvuzelas,” Rich Mkhondo, spokesman for the Local Organising Committee said at a press conference. “They are the symbol of the tournament.” The tuneless plastic horns, which generate more decibels than a drum or chainsaw, have split opinion almost as much as they have split ears. Commentators struggled to make themselves heard during the opening matches of the month-long tournament which kicked off on Friday. Many spectators have complained of headaches and some players say they affect their concentration. However FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said they are part of African football culture and South Africa’’s goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune complained they were not loud enough at the hosts” tournament opener against Mexico. “We want more support and louder vuvuzelas when we play our next match against Uruguay in Pretoria on Wednesday,” he said. “We could hardly hear the fans who were quiet at stages during the game.” Mkhondo said that no complaints about the vuvuzela had been lodged while a spokesman for FIFA said that fans had so far respected calls not to blow their horns at sensitive moments. “A few days ago, FIFA asked the fans to respect the ceremonies, speeches and anthems,” said the spokesman Nicolas Maingot. “We have had no problem with that”.
One of the most crucial games of the tournment or at least one of the most anticipated. England has a worldclass squad, though there captain Ferdinand is not playing, yet they are favourites to win the match and also one of the top runners to win the worldcup. USA is no mug and is also