Images of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Samuel Eto'o are still festooned on posters all over South Africa -- but sadly for them that's their only involvement as the World Cup reaches its final stages.
The referees at the centre of controversy in the Germany v England and Argentina v Mexico second round matches have not been retained for the remainder of the tournament, FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday.
Fabio Capello is to seek reassurances from the English Football Association that they want him to remain as England coach after his team's humiliating exit from the World Cup after a poor campaign Sunday.
England insist their dire World Cup start is behind them and they can go on to win the tournament having salvaged their campaign with a sprightly 1-0 win over Slovenia on Wednesday. After two dour draws in their opening matches, England progressed in second place in Group C behind the United States, who came top by virtue of goals scored, after a much-improved, at times panicky, performance in Port Elizabeth.
England are the favourites to win their World Cup last 16 clash against Germany and, despite their poor form in the tournament so far, they will improve rapidly, the German camp said on Thursday. 'They have so many stars in their team and in our match they are the favourites,' said Germany assistant coach Hansi Flick. 'They play modern football, have gained a lot in tactical matters under Fabio Capello and can beat any team.'
Coach Fabio Capello, who is often accused of being too strict, has eased his rules to allow players to relax with beer. This is said to have been behind England's success against Slovenia in the World Cup.
Former President Bill Clinton got to his feet to celebrate his team's last-gasp goal against Algeria at the World Cup on Wednesday and gave the players a speech about the American spirit afterwards.
England supporters breathed a sigh of relief after the country's stuttering team clawed their way into the World Cup second round on Wednesday.
A tearful Landon Donovan said his dramatic added time winner for the United States made him "believe in good in the world" again after coming through a painful divorce and heavy criticism in recent years.
The United States squeezed into the last 16 of the World Cup with a goal in time added on to beat Algeria 1-0 on Wednesday. Landon Donovan scored a dramatic late goal just as the US seemed to be about to go out of the tournament.
Jermain Defoe rescued England's stuttering World Cup campaign with a first-half strike that was enough to beat Slovenia 1-0 in Group C on Wednesday and book a place in the second round.
Millions of England football fans will take a break from work on Wednesday to watch their must-win match against tiny Slovenia, praying their side lifts its game to avoid being dumped out of the World Cup.
European soccer powers Germany and England fight to stay in the World Cup on Wednesday after disgraced France were humiliated and South Africa became the first hosts to fall before the second round.
Slovenia winger Valter Birsa said he expected England to fire on all cylinders after two poor performances when the two teams meet in their crunch Group C match in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
Central defender John Terry has apologised for suggesting there was player unrest in England's World Cup squad in South Africa after he was criticised by hardline manager Fabio Capello for speaking out.
England's John Terry made "a very big mistake" talking to the media about player unrest in the squad, hardline coach Fabio Capello said.
England's short-tempered striker Wayne Rooney apologised on Saturday for his outburst at fans who booed the team's abject 0-0 draw with Algeria.
English media launched a scathing attack on the national team on Saturday, branding the performance in a 0-0 draw with Algeria which left their World Cup hopes in the balance as 'useless' and a 'shambles'.
FIFA has changed its rule on yellow-card amnesties at the World Cup to reduce the chances of big name players missing out on the July 11 final.
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.
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.
Even as the vuvuzelas make most of the noise at the ongoing World Cup in South Africa, it is the Jabulani that has players on the field in a tizzy.
Sports Authority was sued on Thursday by the U.S. Soccer Federation, which accused the sporting goods retailer of running television and Internet advertisements tied to the World Cup without permission.
United States coach Bob Bradley praised his team for the way they fought back for a 1-1 draw against England albeit helped by a goalkeeping clanger in their opening Group C game on Saturday.
Denmark are prepared to launch their World Cup campaign without Nicklas Bendtner as coach Morten Olsen conceded on Friday it was a dream to think the striker will be fit to play their opener. Bothered by a nagging groin injury Bendtner has not played since May but had shown signs of returning to match fitness this week when he began training again with the squad.
Top seeds Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand cruised to the pre-quarterfinals even as three other top Indian shuttlers bite the dust at the India Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Chennai on Wednesday.
Experienced striker Brian Ching was surprisingly left off the United States World Cup squad on Wednesday when coach Bob Bradley named his final squad of 23 for South Africa.
The United States were given an early World Cup wake-up call when they were beaten 4-2 at home by the Czech Republic in their opening warm-up game on Tuesday.
England's bid for glory at the World Cup will be hurt by the exhaustion of their players after a long season of fast-paced Premier League football, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said on Tuesday.
David Beckham has talked with England manager Fabio Capello about the possibility of a coaching role at the World Cup in South Africa, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder said on Friday.
Injured United States striker Charlie Davies was ruled out of this year's World Cup after failing to make the preliminary squad named on Tuesday.
Uncapped Manchester City mid-fielder Adam Johnson and Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Michael Dawson were surprisingly named in England's provisional 30-man World Cup squad on Tuesday.
A search of Ardebili's computer had revealed email communication between Ardebili and Vikramaditya, culminating in Vikramaditya forwarding a price quote and bank account information to Ardebili for various items, including digital microwave radios, the statement said.
Wayne Rooney's ankle dominated the sports pages on Wednesday with England and Manchester United supporters waiting anxiously for news from Old Trafford about their talismanic striker.
England is hungrier than any other country and it would be the toughest challenge of his life to take the side in the football World Cup finals in South Africa in June-July, feels manager Fabio Capello.
World Cup title hopefuls Spain, England and Argentina seized morale-boosting victories in warm-up matches on Wednesday.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had an appointment with senior journalists from East European countries on Tuesday, which included Poland, Denmark, Croatia and Slovenia.
Bayern Munich continued their winning run on Saturday by beating fading champions VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 to draw level on points with Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga.
Tickets for the World Cup semi-finals and final, as well as two of England's first round matches in South Africa, have sold out, FIFA said on Friday. FIFA said there were no more tickets for England's matches against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12 and Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on June 23.
Somdev Devvarman kept the Indian hopes alive and is now just one step away from the Australian Open singles main draw after his three-set win against Germany's Tobias Kamke at Melbourne on Friday.
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