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 Argentina's
Lionel Messi in action during an exhibition soccer match against
Angola.
Photo: Francesco Pecoraro
Messi adds the spark
ARGENTINA Livewire forward Lionel Messi lifts the team whenever
he comes on, coach Jose Pekerman said after Argentina's 2-0 win
over Angola in a World Cup warm-up. "Messi gives the team a
leap upwards when he comes on," Pekerman said. Messi, who has
recovered from a thigh injury, came on for the last half hour with
the score at 2-0 after first-half goals from Maxi Rodriguez and
Juan Pablo Sorin. The 18-year-old set up Rodriguez for a shot that
hit the underside of the bar, bouncing down without crossing the
line.
Zokora sees red
IVORY COAST Ivory Coast served notice that it would not be intimidated
in a bruising 1-1 draw with Chile in Vittel, France. Ivory Coast's
Didier Zokora, said to be a target for Manchester United and Arsenal,
was sent off in a match that had six yellow cards and one red, with
both teams scoring penalties. Two late, heavy tackles by Zokora
earned him yellow cards. Arsenal centre-half Kolo Toure believes
Zokora's red card will have no great relevance in Germany. "The
pitch was very slippery with a lot of rain," Toure said. "He
will be fine at the World Cup … We saw some great things but
also some nasty stuff. It was a good warm-up game against a good
Chile team. They posed us a lot of problems but their game is close
to that of Argentina and we needed that," he said.
Freak goal may be costly
POLAND A freak goal from goalkeeper Luis Enrique Martinez helped
Colombia to a 2-1 win in Poland's last home friendly in Chorzow
before the World Cup. Polish fans booed their team for much of the
second half. "It's not yet time to talk about a crisis because
we are still at the preparation stage," coach Pawel Janas said.
West Brom keeper Tomasz Kuszczak's hopes of earning a starting place
for Germany nosedived when he allowed Martinez's punt to bounce
over his head into the net in the 63rd minute. Janas said Celtic
keeper Artur Boruc was also at fault for the first Colombia goal
by Elkin Murillo, a deflected free kick on 20 minutes. Ireneusz
Jelen strengthened his case for the finals with a last-minute goal
for Poland.
Lokvenc a late saviour
CZECH REPUBLIC Substitute Vratislav Lokvenc struck eight minutes
from time to earn a depleted Czech Republic side a 1-0 victory over
Costa Rica in its warm-up. Striker Lokvenc, a 71st-minute replacement
for captain Jan Koller, headed in a cross by Libor Sionko. The Czechs
struggled to break down a solid Costa Rican defence until the second-half
arrival of midfielder Karel Poborsky, their most-capped player.
Poborsky, making his 115th appearance, showed his quality after
coming on as a substitute. Koller, in his first international start
since knee surgery, had a first-half shot cleared off the line by
Michael Umana. It was no surprise the home side, missing experienced
performers like Vladimir Smicer, Tomas Glasek, Tomas Rosicky, Pavel
Nedved, Petr Cech and Tomas Ujfalusi, toiled. Only when Poborsky
began to supply Koller did the Czechs carry any real threat.
Eagles on target
TUNISIA Tunisia boosted its confidence by coasting past Belarus
3-0. The Carthage Eagles harried the visiting defence from the start,
coming close to scoring four times before a foul on striker Ziad
Jaziri by the Belarus goalkeeper in the 35th minute earned a penalty
converted by Hamed Namouchi. The 20,000-strong crowd had to wait
only three minutes into the second half before striker Silva Dos
Santos scored a second after a precise pass from Riadh Bouazizi.
Coach Roger Lemerre brought off Jaziri and Dos Santos before Tunisia
completed victory when Issam Jemaa took advantage of a defensive
error in the last minute. "I was pleasantly surprised by the
liveliness of my players," Lemerre said. "It was a good
test to prepare for the World Cup."
Del Horno ruled out
SPAIN Spain has asked FIFA for permission to bring in a player to
replace injured defender Asier del Horno. The Chelsea full-back
damaged the area around his Achilles tendon in training last week.
National team doctor Genaro Borras said that a scan on Tuesday indicated
Del Horno would be out of action for 10 days and would need another
10 to get back to full fitness after that. Candidates to replace
him are Deportivo Coruna's Joan Capdevila and Getafe's Mariano Pernia.
Chickenpox concerns
TOGO Togo's preparations have been hit by cold weather and a chicken-pox
scare in Germany, according to the country's team doctor. Togo was
forced to train on an artificial pitch at Wangen Im Allgau because
of driving hail and cool temperatures, but it was the discovery
of the potentially contagious chickenpox that caused most worry.
Striker Richard Forson, who plays for French amateur side Poire-sur-vie
was the first struck down with the virus. "Forson was really
ill, he had a fever and was bed-ridden," said Togo's doctor
Joachim Schubert. He said the player could start training in two
or three days. "We don't yet know if the other players had
chickenpox when they were young and hence whether they have been
immunised against this contagious virus," added Schubert, although
none of the others has come down with the virus.
La Volpe explodes
MEXICO Coach Ricardo La Volpe, has laid into the Mexican media,
swearing and angrily accusing them of knowing nothing about soccer.
La Volpe was upset by an interview in a Mexican newspaper that quoted
forward Francisco Fonseca complaining about being left on the bench
for the friendly against France on Saturday, which Mexico lost 1-0.
"You know nothing about football, nothing," La Volpe told
reporters in the Dutch town of Noordwijk, where Mexico was preparing
for a friendly against the Netherlands today. "Don't break
my balls between now and the World Cup," La Volpe, who has
courted controversy in his three years in charge, said.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer-world-cup-2006/soccer-roundup/2006/05/31/1148956418108.html
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