But France coach Jacques Santini singled out Thierry Henry as the new team boss.

Deaths on the pitch are a rare occurrence in professional soccer, with only a handful of cases recorded around the world over many years.

Cameroon captain Rigobert Song said on Friday he still could not believe what had happened to his great friend "Marco".

France beat Turkey 3-2 while Cameroon got past Colombia 1-0 in the Confederations Cup semis.

Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe died on Thursday after collapsing during his country's Confederations Cup semi-final against Colombia.

Turkey lined up a semi-final with holders France after knocking the world champions out.

Playmaker Giovanni Hernandez rifled home the winner in a 1-0 victory over Japan in Group A.

Brazil's narrow victory, after they were denied by a fine display from U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, means group leaders Cameroon, who earlier beat Turkey 1-0 in Paris, are now in the last four.

A late goal by striker Samuel Eto'o gave the African champions a 1-0 win in the Confederations Cup.

If the Confederations Cup, which kicks off on Wednesday, follows the script, the two will meet at the Stade de France on June 29 in a repeat of the 1998 W'Cup final.

France are joined in second place by Spain, with Germany still fourth.

It switched places with France, which is now in the third place in the latest rankings published on Wednesday.

FIFA claimed the newspaper made libellous comments against the organisation and its president Sepp Blatter.

Thierry Henry scored twice to bring up his 100th goal for Arsenal as the English champions romped to a 4-0 victory at Birmingham City on Sunday.

Alex Ferguson fears Man U will struggle to break down Middlesbrough because of the work Steve McClaren has put in.

The result keeps Real Madrid in third spot in the Spanish first division standings, a point behind Valencia and five adrift of leaders Real Sociedad.

The Pink Panther made a brief appearance, as did Catwoman, but it was the name of Serena Williams that was engraved on most of the 2002 tennis silverware.