■ Fans
Drunken fans arrested
Six English fans, one German and one Swede were detained by police in Cologne in the early hours of yesterday for drunk and disorderly behavior ahead of England's World Cup match with Sweden in the city. "Alcohol is starting to take hold now and we expect more people to be detained during the night," a police spokesman said ahead of the Group B match at the Rhein-Energie-Stadion.
■ Ghana
Abedi proud of team
Abedi Pele, one of Africa's finest footballers and the inspiration behind Ghana's team for more than a decade, said he was proud to see the Black Stars finally competing at the World Cup. The three-times African Footballer of the Year said he had waited a long time to see his country perform at the finals. "We were waiting to see Ghana," the 43-year-old told reporters. "We've seen Cameroon and others like Tunisia and Morocco and we were waiting for Ghana. They have not disappointed anybody." The West African nation qualified for their first World Cup after 11 previous attempts.
■ Fans
Fans confident of Cup win
Fans from Portugal, the US and the Netherlands are the most cock-sure over the chances of their teams at the World Cup, a survey found on Monday. Nearly two out three Portuguese expected their team to win the World Cup in Germany, according to an online survey among nearly 5,000 from comScore Networks, a US-based digital media measurement company. In the US, one out of three fans expect their side to walk away with the trophy while 42 percent of the Dutch reckon Marco van Basten's men will win it. Spain, France, England and Germany make up the rest of the top seven of super-confident fans.
■ Brazil
Juninho says hopes too high
Brazil midfielder Juninho Pernambucano said on Monday that the world was expecting too much of his team. After Brazil got the thumbs-down for their performance in Sunday's 2-0 win over Australia, Juninho warned that the world champions would have to suffer if they wanted to win a record sixth World Cup title. "A great amount of expectation was created before the tournament," Juninho told reporters. "They think that Brazil are always going to win playing great football and score lots of goals in every match," he said.
■ Crime
Thief gets nasty surprise
A thief who stole a woman's World Cup ticket was arrested after taking her place in the stadium -- and finding himself sitting next to her husband. Munich police said the stolen ticket was in a handbag that was snatched from the woman as she made her way to Sunday's game between Brazil and Australia. "The audacious thief found the ticket and sat down in her place," they said in a statement. "However, the victim's husband then sat next to him in the stadium and alerted the police, who arrested the man," police said.
■ Australia
Kewell cleared to play
Harry Kewell will not be suspended over his outburst at a referee after Australia's World Cup loss to Brazil, clearing the Liverpool winger for tomorrow's crucial match against Croatia. The decision by FIFA's disciplinary committee came after German referee Markus Merk said that Kewell had insulted him during a finger-wagging episode lasting several minutes on Sunday. "The FIFA disciplinary committee decided to close the investigation because of inconsistent reports by the referee," FIFA communications director Markus Siegler said yesterday.
■ Garbage
S Koreans surprise cleaners
Street cleaners in the World Cup city of Leipzig got a pleasant surprise on Monday morning when they discovered South Korean fans had done their work for them. After celebrating the team's 1-1 draw with 1998 champions France in the eastern German city late on Sunday, the fans cleared plastic cups and waste paper into garbage bags before the cleaners arrived for work at 5am. "It was great. It made our work much easier," said Ute Brueckner, a spokeswoman for the city cleaning service. The cleaners finished their work about two hours earlier than normal thanks to the Koreans' help, she added.
■ France
Cisse needs African healing
France striker Djibril Cisse should return to Africa to seek traditional healing after a broken leg stopped him from playing in the World Cup, his father said on Monday. "I think he should turn to his roots to get his form back and to be at peace with himself," Mangue Cisse told Senegal's official news agency APS. "We are Africans and there are things known only to us," the father of the Liverpool striker added. Cisse, who is from Ivory Coast, missed the Euro 2004 tournament because of injuries and had to skip this year's World Cup after he broke his leg during a warm-up game against China a day before his team left for Germany. "You should recognize that he has a lot of problems and the solution can be found here in Africa, notably in Ivory Coast close to his family," said his father, who played soccer for Arles in the French second division.
■ England
Relax, Blair suggests
British Prime Minister Tony Blair swapped politics for soccer in a guest appearance on a call-in radio show for World Cup fans on Monday. The secret for England's success in Germany was for the players to relax, Blair advised. "They just need to get out there and enjoy their football," he said. Asked about England's two unimpressive victories so far in Group B, Blair said: "If you don't play good football, then you won't win [the trophy] because in the end you're up against sides who are too good."
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set