NELSPRUIT: Italy’s confidence is so brittle that the holders are talking about the threat posed by New Zealand in Sunday’s Group F World Cup clash rather than boldly predicting how they will destroy the 78th-ranked team. The Azzurri’s 1-1 draw with Paraguay in Monday’s group

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa: Paraguay aim to extend the South American dominance gripping the World Cup when they face Slovakia on Sunday (1130 GMT) looking for goals but are wary of being caught out on the counter-attack. South American teams, led by the impressive Argentina, have so far

CAPE TOWN: England delivered one of their worst tournament performances for years when they were held to a goalless draw by Algeria on Friday to leave their World Cup qualification hanging on the final matches. However, any repeat of their ragged, disorganised error-strewn display in

LONDON: Enthusiastic tennis fans will not be allowed to shatter the traditional tranquillity of the All England Club with vuvuzelas, despite the popularity of the plastic horn at the World Cup this year. Wimbledon security has been told to confiscate -- in the politest possible way --

BASSETERRE, St Kitts: Captain Graeme Smith cracked his 21st test century to put South Africa in complete control on the first day of the second test against West Indies on Friday. The left-handed opener elected to bat after winning the toss and powered his way to 132 as the visitors, 1-0

JOHANNESBURG : The United States fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Slovenia on Friday but were left furious by a disallowed effort that would have handed them victory. The U.S. were staring almost certain elimination in the face when 2-0 down at halftime and their battling

JOHANNESBURG: Germany`s status as an early World Cup favourite slumped on Friday as they lost to Serbia, missing a penalty that could have saved them and joining a retreat of Europe`s big soccer powers. The Germans` shock 1-0 defeat, which revives Serbia`s chances of qualifying for the

POLOKWANE, South Africa: Mexico recorded their first victory over France and left the former winners facing a possible embarrassing early World Cup exit after a 2-0 win in their second Group A game on Thursday. Substitute forward Javier Hernandez beat an offside trap, raced into the box

PEBBLE BEACH California: U.S. Golf Association officials defended the quality of the Pebble Beach greens after players criticised the hard and fast putting surfaces following Thursday`s U.S. Open first round. World number one Tiger Woods, who failed to make a single birdie and took 34

JOHANNESBURG: Cameroon’s World Cup campaign is in danger of imploding after senior players asked coach Paul Le Guen to reconsider his team selection for their Group E match against Denmark on Saturday (1830 GMT). Cameroon lost 1-0 to Japan and Denmark were beaten 2-0 by the Netherlands

RUSTENBURG, South Africa: Ghana hope to have more than birthdays to celebrate on Saturday when they seek to clinch their passage to the World Cup second round with a decisive Group D triumph over Australia. After goalkeeper Richard Kingson marked his 32nd birthday last Sunday with a fine

DURBAN: The Dutch have good reason to give Japan plenty of respect before their Group E match on Saturday and not just because of the Blue Samurai’s surprise victory over Cameroon in their World Cup opener. The Dutch, who will be looking for vast improvement on their laboured 2-0

LONDON: There has been an unhealthy amount of gloom hovering around Andy Murray in recent weeks but thankfully for the British number one Wimbledon provides the perfect stage for him to switch on his A game. The Scottish world number four suffered a crushing defeat to Tomas Berdych at

LONDON: One lingering regret haunted Kim Clijsters during a 2-1/2 year maternity break from the women`s tennis circuit. Although she has long been in love with Wimbledon`s lush green courts, the 27-year-old Belgian had never gone further than the semi-finals in seven appearances.

CAPE TOWN: England face Algeria on Friday with bigger issues at stake than whether they can beat the north Africans to regain control of World Cup Group C. If Fabio Capello’s team have any ambitions of advancing beyond their usual quarter-final terminus then beating Algeria, who lost

JOHANNESBURG: When the United States faces Group C leader Slovenia on Friday, the pressure is on the Americans. Cushioned by three points from their opening win against Algeria, the Slovenes can afford to lose and still have a chance of advancing to the second round—albeit from a tough

LONDON: Champion Roger Federer will be number one seed for next week`s Wimbledon championships despite being overtaken in the world rankings by Rafael Nadal. Federer, who claimed a sixth Wimbledon title in the absence of the injured Nadal last year, has benefited from the All England

SANTIAGO: Police used tear gas and water cannons to subdue rowdy Chile fans and arrested 81 people in the capital Santiago on Wednesday after the country`s first World Cup win in nearly 50 years, officials said. Police said they detained the supporters mainly for public disorder in

PORT ELIZABETH: Serbia know there is little room for error after losing their first World Cup match and have warned Germany they will be no pushovers when they meet in their next Group D game (1130 GMT) on Friday. Germany thrashed Australia 4-0 in their opener while Serbia lost 1-0 to

RUSTENBURG, South Africa: Misfiring England striker Wayne Rooney may not have found the net for the national team in nine months, but he has retained an utter, if not blind belief, in his potential to score this week. The 24-year-old Manchester United forward told reporters on Wednesday