Croatia look to upset odds against red-hot Brazil ARENA CORINTHIANS—The Croatians face a daunting task against a nation which has won its opening match at the previous eight editions of the World Cup. After the construction delays and street protests marred the build-up, the World Cup finally kicks off on Thursday when Croatia take on tournament favourites Brazil in the Group ‘A’ opener here at the Arena Corinthians. Brazil are the favourites to win the group which also has Mexico and Cameroon but Croatia arrive at the World Cup with belief they can upset the hosts in the high-profile opener. “It’s the kind of game you dream about,” Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic said at a promotional event on Tuesday. “Brazil are my favourites for the tournament but we have quality players too. We can qualify, we have nothing to lose.” Quality players they certainly have. Bolstered by the presence of playmaker Luka Modric from last season’s Champions League winners Real Madrid and Sevilla’s Europa League winning schemer Ivan Rakitic in midfield, Croatia also have the towering presence of Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic upfront. Mandzukic, however, will be missing from the opener after having picked a red card in their final World Cup qualifier. And Modric stressed the need for teamwork instead of relying on individual talent. “As individuals, we have made a huge step forward and we will see in this tournament how we have progressed as a team,” Modric said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We had a lot of problems in qualify-
June 13 Matches Group-A Mexico vs Cameroon Group-B Spain vs Netherlands Chile vs Australia
ing. But I think that in this World Cup we could go far and our first goal is to get to the second round.” Apart from Mandzukic, Croatia coach Nico Kovac will also be missing former Bayern winger Daniel Pranjic who picked up an ankle injury in their final warm-up game against Australia at the weekend. Brazil, seeking a sixth World Cup
crown and a first on home soil, have no concerns about suspensions or injuries although Neymar gave them a scare when he fell awkwardly during a training session on Tuesday. Barcelona star Neymar it is who will carry the enormous weight of expectation of the host nation which has suffered numerous embarrassments ahead of the World Cup which was awarded to it seven years ago. The biggest one is the unfinished Arena Corinthians where three workers have already died during its construction. A victory in the opening game, though, would make the Brazilians forget about the construction delays or the cost overruns for the World Cup which
have led to massive protests over the continent-sized country. “We players in Brazil know we have the conditions and an obligation to win this world title in Brazil, simply because this country breathes football,” striker Fred, who will partner Neymar upfront, said earlier this week. Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led the Selecao to their last World Cup triumph in 2002, left out World Cup veterans Ronaldinho and Kaka, preferring a younger squad which has only five players from the squad which featured at the last edition including goalkeeper Julio Cesar, defenders Thiago Silva, Maicon and Dani Alves and midfielder Ramires. But with the talents of Neymar and exciting Chelsea duo of Willian and Oscar, Brazil believe in their chances — especially with the backing of the home fans. “We know that we will have the fans behind us, and together I think we have a great chance of reaching our final goal, which is to win the World Cup,” Brazil’s holding midfielder Luiz Gustavo said. However, they hope that the presence of Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura for the opener doesn’t harm their chances. Nishimura officiated their quarter-final match at the last World Cup in South Africa where he sent off Felipe Melo in a match Brazil eventually lost 2-1. “All sorts of things can happen in 90 minutes. Sometimes referees can make mistakes so it is up to us to do our best to overcome anything that goes against us,” Ramires said at a press conference on Tuesday.—AFP
Japan captain Hasebe ready after injury T OKYO —Japan captain Makoto Hasebe ing,” the Eintracht Frankfurt defensive
Azhar honoured by British Asian Trust KARACHI —Pakistan cricketer Azhar Mahmood has been honoured by a leading Anglo-Asian charity set up at the suggestion of Britain’s Prince Charles. All-rounder Mahmood has become an official ambassador of the British Asian Trust, the first Pakistani cricketer to be given such an appointment. He joins fellow cricketers in India’s Rahul Dravid and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan in supporting the work of the Trust, which was set up at the suggestion of Prince Charles — the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and heir to the British throne —
has declared himself “ready to go” for his
team’s World Cup Group C opener against Ivory Coast in Recife at the weekend, shrugging off worries over a knee injury. “There is no problem (with the knee) and I have been taking part in full train-
midfielder said after Wednesday’s workout at Japan’s World Cup base camp in Itu, near Sao Paulo. “Obviously it is the coach that decides but I am ready to go,” the 30-year-old said about the chance of his making the first team for the match which kicks off at 11pm local time on Saturday (0200GMT Sunday), according to Kyodo News. Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has shown great faith in Hasebe since taking over the Blue Samurai after the 2010 World Cup, depending on him to help fulfil the goal of at least a quarter-final spot in a team studded with talent, including Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa and AC Milan midfielder Keisuke Honda. Hasebe suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee playing for his former club Nuremberg in a January friendly. He underwent surgery twice on the knee but played the full 90 minutes in Nuremberg’s final game of the season and played the second half in Japan’s 1-0 friendly win over Cyprus at home on May 27. But he sat out Japan’s last two warmup matches in which they beat Costa Rica and Zambia at their training camp in Florida.—AFP
Germany goalkeeper Neuer fit to face Portugal
in 2007 to help disadvantaged people across South Asia. “But it is through the British Asian Trust that I am looking forward to getting involved in the very best work being done across South Asia, tackling the most difficult issues, and achieving incredible things,” added Mahmood, who has played for team right across the sub-continent. Since its creation, the Trust has supporting 30 ‘high impact’ charities facilitating access to livelihoods, education and health and reckons to have touched the lives of over a million people.—AFP
SANTO ANDRE (Brazil)—Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be fit to face Portugal in their World Cup opener having fully recovered from a shoulder injury, the team’s goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke confirmed Wednesday. Germany kick-off their Group G campaign in Salvador on Monday, but the 28-year-old Neuer had been a concern after receiving intense treatment since injuring his shoulder for Bayern Munich in the German Cup final four weeks ago. “He’s doing really well and he’s completely ready to play,” said Koepke. Germany’s goalkeeping coach said they had not been taking any risks with Neuer’s injury, but “Manuel has confidence in the shoulder and things are good for the first World Cup match”. Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller deputised for Neuer in Germany’s warm-up matches against Poland, Cameroon and Armenia, but Neuer is now ready to regain his place. “We wouldn’t take a risk on him, when he plays he will be 100 percent ready to play,” said Koepke. Germany head coach Joachim Loew has all of his 23-man squad available. On Wednesday, he put them through their paces at 1300 local time (1600 GMT) at their Santo Andre training base in 26 degree temperatures and 82 percent humidity to simulate the conditions they will face against Portugal. “It’s about sleep patterns and also getting
used to food intake,” explained Koepke with the Portugal match to kick-off at 1300 local time in Salvador. “We want the players to find out what is
right for them. They can get brunch from 0700 until 1030, to test out what and how much they can eat, so they are ready for a 1300 kick-off. “On Friday, we will do it again, then on Monday it will be the real thing.”—AFP
Host of the opening ceremony, São Paulo is the largest and wealthiest city in Brazil.
Badminton: Wang Yihan out of Japan Open T OKYO —China’s former world badminton champion Wang Yihan crashed out in the second round of the Japan Open Thursday at the hands of Japanese giant killer Sayaka Takahashi. Second-seeded Wang, the 2011 world champion and the runner-up to compatriot Li Xuerui at the 2012 London Olympics, bowed 21-13, 21-16 to Takahashi in 38 minutes. Takahashi, currently ranked 12th in the world, beat world number-one Li 21 in the quarter-finals of the German Open last year. “I went out feeling I had nothing to lose,” said the 21year-old Japanese, who also upset Thailand’s 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon at the 2013 and 2014 Asian championships. “I still cannot believe it because (Wang) is a player with such an awesome record.” Wang, 26, gave up an early lead to be caught by Takahashi at 8-8 in the first game.The world numberthree lost six straight points after trailing 13-15. In the second game, Takahashi led all the way from 5-all and broke away to victory by losing only one point after 16-15. It was their only second-ever encounter; Wang took the first one 2-1 at the 2013 Hong Kong Open. Takahashi will play Taiwan’s sixth-seed Tzu Ying Tai in the quarter-finals. Top-seeded Li, who struggled in beating defending champion and 17-yearold Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the first round, was to face her compatriot Eriko Hirose late Thursday.—AFP
Blatter loses Platini support S AO P AULO —World football was plunged into open warfare on Thursday as UEFA president Michel Platini said he would no longer support his FIFA counterpart Sepp Blatter ahead of an election next year. “I am supporting him no longer, it’s finished,” said Platini. “He knows it, I told him. I think FIFA needs a new breath of fresh air.” Platini, who is yet to decide whether to contest the FIFA presidential election himself, said that while he respected the 78-year-old Swiss world football needed a new leader. Blatter, who has been under pressure over the controversy-plagued 2022 Qatar World Cup, had declared to the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo on Wednesday that he was ready for a new mandate despite having said in 2011 he would not seek re-election for a fifth term.—AFP
Around 500 Pakistanis to witness FIFA World Cup ISLAMABAD—Around 500 excited Pakistani fans are travelling to Brazil to witness the biggest sporting carnival- the 2014 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Football World Cup, Brazilian Ambassador in Pakistan Alfredo Leoni said on Thursday. “We have issued visas to around 200 people from Pakistan, while the rest of Pakistanis are travelling to our country from other parts of the world,” Leoni told Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA) here at Brazilian Embassy. A RISJA delegation led by its chairman, Syed Ehtesham-ul-Haq and President Nasir Raja called on Brazilian Ambassador and presented him a souvenir in connection with FIFA World Cup that rolls into action in Brazil on Thursday. “Here in Pakistan, we’ve given 100 per cent waiver on visas to Pakistan fans to help them enjoy football extravaganza in our country,” he said. Leoni praised Pakistan for supplying the balls for the World Cup and added that he was optimistic that the friendship and economic ties between the two countries would bolster in the years to come.
He said football is the world’s most popular sport and the fact that FIFA chose Pakistan to manufacture footballs for the World Cup tournament is not only an honour for Pakistan but also for him. “Though Pakistan is 164th ranked soccer team, it has left all others behind in production of quality balls. I feel proud to be Ambassador in a country whose 100 per cent balls would be used in the FIFA World Cup,” he added. Pakistan produces around 70 per cent of the total number of hand-made soccer balls in the world. Around the time of the World Cup the production jumps to more than 60 million balls. The central Pakistani city of Sialkot is the hub of the country’s football manufacturing industry. Apart from producing footballs, cricket bats, and badminton rackets for domestic consumption, this small town also exports to the rest of the world. Syed Ehtesham and Nasir Raja said that Brazil is amongst the top favourites in the 32-nation event and expressed their good wishes for Brazilian team and the nation. Brazil has come a long way since 2010 with a young squad eager to dominate in the international arena.—APP
Aussie women’s cricket skipper Fields retires SYDNEY—World Cup-winning captain Jodie Fields, whose toughness steeled Australia for its recent successes and the path towards professionalism, has retired from international cricket. Fields overcame horrific hamstring injuries – she twice ripped the tendons from the bone – to captain her country to the World Twenty20 title in 2012 and the 50-over crown the following year. A wicketkeeper and stoic middle-order bat, she brought a professional approach to the Southern Stars well before she and her teammates were paid as professionals. Over the past 12 months, Fields has been dogged by illness and injury; appendicitis and a broken thumb that caused her to miss most of last summer’s Ashes. Women play so few Tests that Fields played only four of them during her eight years at the top level.
But she played 67 ODIs and 37 Tw e n t y 2 0 internationals. Meg Lanning was promoted to the captaincy in Fields’ absence and made a breathtaking start, leading Australia to its third consecutive W o r l d Twenty20 title in Bangladesh.—AFP
Mark Craig’s parents proud and delighted with son’s superb performance BIPIN DANI OBSERVER CORRESPONDENT M UMBAI —Nick and Nicki Craig are in the business of manufacturing doors in Auckland. “Not just doors …….Great doors”, they said when heard about their son’s superb performance in his debut Test in Jamaica against West Indies on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Craig won the Man of the Match award for his superb bowling (he took four wickets in the second innings to finish with 8 for 188 in the Test. It is the best match performance by any New Zealander on his debut) which enabled his side to win the first Test inside four days. Speaking exclusively over mobile from Auckland, the father, Nick Craig says, “both his Mother and I are very proud of all he has achieved in his cricket life. He is a new member of a very good New Zealand team and they have all done the most unbelievable job in winning this first Test in Jamaica”. The 28-year-old off-spinner also hit the six to the very first ball he faced in Tests. “He was greatly encouraged by
his skipper Brendon McCullum to not leave anything in the tank and go for it. As an Auckland U17 player he opened the batting with Martin Guptill”, the elated dad added. “We, as his parents, and his two sisters were extremely proud and delighted”, he added. “Mark Craig has come a long way from the time of his illness (Fatigue Chronic Syndrome) and as long as he looks after himself does not suffer from the illness on a day to day basis”, the father added. Giving more credit for his Nicknamed son, Pidgey, to the mentor, Dipak Patel, the father says, “his coach and mentor there is Dipak Patel. Dipak is still a strong role model and mentor to Mark”. “Mark is a twin with a twin sister, Rachel and they have an older sister Justine. He lived in Auckland growing up and played age group cricket for Auckland and his club in Auckland was Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club. Mark then went to Dunedin for University. He plays for Albion Cricket Club in Dunedin along with Brendon and Nathan McCullum and Nick Beard and Neil Wagner”, the senior Craig signed off.