Arjen Robben became the latest World Cup injury scare despite the Netherlands crushing Hungary 6-1 on Saturday, while hosts South Africa boosted their hopes with a 1-0 warm-up victory over Denmark.
Robben limped off with a left hamstring injury after scoring twice in an impressive Dutch display in Amsterdam, with teammates fearing he could be the latest big star to be ruled out of the World Cup.
After scoring twice in the Dutch triumph in Amsterdam, Robben went down injured trying some fancy footwork. After hobbling off the field he went to hospital for a scan.
PHOTO: AFP
“He felt a sharp pain, that can’t be good,” Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said. “Treatment for these injuries has improved hugely, so I’m not giving up hope yet.”
England defender Rio Ferdinand and Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel have been ruled out with knee injuries and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has had surgery on a broken arm to try and keep him at the World Cup. The star-studded casualty list also includes England’s David Beckham, Germany’s Michael Ballack and Ghana’s Michael Essien.
After Balazs Dzsudzsak gave non-qualifiers Hungary a sixth-minute lead in Amsterdam, the Dutch turned on the sort of attacking swagger they are renowned for.
Robin van Persie equalized in the 22nd minute and Eljero Elia scored a memorable solo goal for the fifth. Wesley Sneijder and Mark van Bommel also hit the target.
The Dutch, who also beat Ghana 4-1 on Tuesday last week, appear to be building up to top form ahead of World Cup games against Denmark, Japan and Cameroon in Group E.
The South Africans are also improving ahead of the World Cup opener against Mexico at Soccer City on Friday. Katlego Mphela scored a 75th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory at home to Denmark at Atteridgeville. The hosts also face former World Cup winners France and Uruguay in Group A.
World Cup holders Italy came from behind to draw 1-1 with Switzerland in Geneva.
Gokhan Inler gave the Swiss a 10th-minute lead, but Fabio Quagliarella equalized four minutes later for an Italian side that begins its defense against Paraguay next Monday. Switzerland begin in Group H against tournament favorites Spain on June 16.
Two goals by Edson Buddle in only his third game for the national team helped the US to a 3-1 victory over Australia in the South African town of Roodeport.
Tim Cahill equalized for the Australians, before Buddle and Herculez Gomez made sure of victory for the US, who meet England in their first game in Group C on Saturday in Rustenburg.
At the finals, the US and England will face Slovenia and an Algeria side who ended a run of four losses with a 1-0 warm-up victory over the United Arab Emirates with a second-half penalty by Karim Ziani.
The Australians face Germany, Ghana and Serbia in Group D, one of the toughest at the finals.
In a seven-goal thriller in Belgrade, Serbia beat Cameroon 4-3 after twice falling behind to goals by Pierre Webo.
There were six goals before halftime, with the Serbs scoring through Milos Krasic, Dejan Stankovic, Nenad Milijas and Marko Pantelic. Cameroon’s Eric Choupo-Moting scored the only goal of the second half, but the Serbs held on to win.
Ghana’s World Cup hopes have been hit by the absence of midfield star Essien, who has been ruled out with a knee injury, but the team warmed up for the competition with a 1-0 victory over Latvia at Milton Keynes, England, substitute Quincy Owusu-Abeyie scoring the winner with a minute to go.
Slovakia prepared for their Group F games against New Zealand, Paraguay and World Cup holders Italy by beating non-qualifiers Costa Rica 3-0 in Bratislava. A 16th-minute own-goal by Douglas Sequeira put the Slovaks on the way, Robert Vittek added a second just after halftime and Stanislav Sestak scored the third from the penalty spot.
However, Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel picked up an ankle injury in the early stages and went to hospital for a scan. He will still travel to South Africa.
Honduras went down 3-0 to non-qualifiers Romania after goals by Daniel Niculae, Gheorghe Florescu and Mirel Radoi. More worrying was losing midfielder Wilson Palacios to a shin injury which required a hospital trip for tests.
Honduras open their World Cup campaign against Chile on June 16 and also play Switzerland and Spain in Group H.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
RSS