Germany, France spoilers on Africa's day

RIO DE JANEIRO: European powerhouses Germany and France block the way for Nigeria and Algeria to make some World Cup history on Monday.

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Africa has never had two teams in the last 16 and if both can pull off upset wins, they will meet in the quarterfinals and an African nation will be guaranteed a first ever place in the semifinals.

French coach Didier Deschamps and Germany's Joachim Loew know however that if they win, their sides will clash in the quarter finals.

France take on Nigeria in Brasilia at 1600 GMT while Germany play Algeria, with the North Africans also playing for revenge, in Porto Alegre at 2000 GMT.

Deschamps insists that he is concentrating on getting Karim Benzema, and the rest of the potent force that scored eight goals in Group E, ready to face the African champions.

Several players were rested for the Ecuador group game, when France were held to a 0-0 draw.

So Mathieu Valbuena should return and Laurent Koscielny could line up in central defence alongside Raphael Varane as Mamadou Sakho is doubtful due to a thigh injury.

Yohan Cabaye will return after missing the Ecuador game due to suspension, but Paul Pogba's place is under threat from Moussa Sissoko.

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi insists that his side's dispute over bonuses is history now that their cash has been paid, and they are now concentrating on reaching the quarterfinals for the first time.

CSKA Moscow winger Ahmed Musa, who scored twice in the 3-2 defeat by Argentina, said: "We need to defend well, take our chances up front and learn from the Argentina game."

Germany have played Algeria twice -- at the World Cup in 1982 and in a 1964 friendly -- and lost both games, but it is Vahid Halilhodzic's Algeria who have revenge on their mind.

The Desert Foxes have "not forgotten" 1982; when West Germany lost 2-1 to Algeria and then played out a 1-0 win over Austria that ensured the European neighbours qualified for the second round. The game has gone down in football history as "The Shame of Gijon", after the Spanish city where it was played.

Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda says the north Africans are equally interested in claiming a major scalp.

"We are a little bit optimistic," said the Udinese midfielder cautiously. "Germany are the best team here, we need the perfect game and it would be a sensation if we can reach the quarter-finals."

Loew rejects talk of revenge as barely anyone in the German squad was even born when the shame game was played. His side, minus Lukas Podolski who has a thigh injury, will start as favourites but he has also warned them against complacency.

"Anyone who thinks that an easy opponent is waiting for us in the next round is making an enormous mistake," said Loew after Germany finished as Group G winners.

Team captain Philipp Lahm has also said Germany must prove on the field that they are worthy of the reputation of being Europe's best hope at the World Cup.

"We have had great teams in the past and this squad has great potential, but we have to take it a round at a time and play aggressively," he said.

"I think we are the better team, but we have to prove that on the pitch."

The winners of the two games will meet in the quarterfinal in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

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Robben sorry, but insists it was penalty

FORTALEZA: Dutch striker Arjen Robben has apologized for diving in a bid to get a penalty against Mexico but insisted he did not fake the foul that led to his side's winning penalty kick.

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Mexico's coach Miguel Herrera launched a furious attack on match referee Pedro Proenca for giving the injury time penalty that Jan-Klaas Huntelaar hit home to seal a 2-1 comeback victory.

Robben was at the centre of both incidents in the World Cup last-16 clash in Fortaleza.

"I really have to say and at the same time apologise in the first half I took a dive and I really shouldn't do that," Robben told Dutch broadcaster NOS as he celebrated the victory.

"That was a stupid, stupid thing to do but sometimes you're expecting to be struck and then they pull their leg away at the last minute."

But the Dutch striker insisted Proenca was right to point to the penalty spot after he was challenged by Mexico's veteran captain Rafael Marquez. "I was fouled," he said.

Mexico had been leading until the 88th minute when Wesley Sneijder scored and then Huntelaar put away the penalty.

And Herrera said referee Proenca should take no more part in the World Cup.

"The determining factor was the man with the whistle. He put us of the World Cup," he said.

"Although the first goal was down to our mistake, we had the chance to reconsider during the break before extra time, but at the end when the referee invents a penalty you go out of the World Cup.

"At the very least they can look at this and this gentleman ought to be going home like us."

Herrera claimed his side had been the victim of poor refereeing in three of their four games in Brazil and a European referee should never have been allocated the game in the first place.

"Out of four matches, we had three where the referee was disastrous.

"I don't understand why they had someone from the same confederation. Why not an African, Asian or South American referee? All the doubtful decisions went against Mexico."

Giovani dos Santos' strike early in the second-half appeared to have Mexico on course for their first quarter-final appearance at a World Cup on foreign soil.

The Dutch goals stunned the Mexicans however and Herrera admitted his side had lacked experience in how to see the game out.

"Maybe we were missing what teams like Argentina, Uruguay and those with experience of winning do.

"We had four minutes to go plus stoppage time and we should have put the ball in the corner, do what other teams do and perhaps we would have been faced with a different result."

Dutch boss Louis van Gaal admitted that cooling breaks offered to the players for the first time in a World Cup match after half an hour of each half allowed him to have a greater influence on the game.

"It is true it helps having these breaks because first I had switched to 4-3-3 and we created a lot opportunities, (Guillermo) Ochoa had one great save in particular.

"After that I moved to plan B and I did that in the cooling break. That is a clever way of benefiting from these breaks."

The Manchester United manager was vindicated in his substitutions as he surprisingly replaced captain Robin van Persie whilst in need of a goal to bring on Huntelaar.

And van Gaal insisted he was not afraid to remove his star players for the benefit of the team.

"Van Persie's change was a tactical substitution and you have to remember that before the World Cup he was just recovering from an injury so it is difficult for him to keep going.

"I am a coach that wants to win so when I have to I will substitute players."

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Fifa are 'a bunch of old b******s': Mujica

The Uruguayan president, Jose Mujica, has labelled Fifa as "a bunch of old b******s" in a new television interview as the Luis Suarez row refuses to die down.

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Talking about the decision to ban Suarez for nine international matches and all football for four months, Mujica said: "We can take sanctions, but not fascist sanctions."

The announcement was broadcast on Uruguayan television as part of an interview with the President on a sports show.

Mujica was asked: "What does this World Cup mean to you?" and replied "That Fifa are a bunch of old b******s."

Following that remark the Uruguayan president immediately covered his mouth with his hand, although when asked "Can we broadcast that?", Mujica replied "Broadcast it, for me."

The journalist then turned the camera to the Uruguayan senator and wife of the president, Lucia Topolanski, and asked her what she thought.

"I agree with the words of the president," she said smiling.

Photo caption: Uruguay's President Jose Mujica (C) and first lady Sofia Topolansky poses for the media with Uruguay's captain Diego Lugano (R). (Reuters Photo)

Despite widespread condemnation for his actions during the World Cup, in Uruguay at least it appears Suarez has friends in very high places.

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FB's score: 1 billion WC interactions

NEW YORK: Facebook has passed the 1 billion mark in World Cup interactions.

The company said Monday the milestone was reached over the weekend. No other single event has generated this much activity on Facebook in the history of the social media site. More than 220 million people have posted, "liked" or commented upon what other people are saying about the soccer tournament.

The host country is driving the activity. The game generating the most activity was Brazil's opening match against Croatia, with the knockout round match against Chile coming in second.

Brazilian star Neymar has more than 7 million "likes." Of the 20 most-liked comments by a World Cup athlete, 12 are by Neymar or teammate David Luiz.

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'No action on Arjen over 'dive' comment'

RIO DE JANEIRO: Dutch star Arjen Robben will not face any disciplinary action after admitting to diving during his team's last 16 victory with Mexico, Fifa confirmed on Monday.

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Robben, who won a match-winning injury-time penalty to secure a 2-1 win for the Netherlands, admitted later he had dived in a failed attempt to win a spot-kick earlier in the match.

However Fifa spokeswoman Delia Fischer ruled out any possibility of retrospective actions when asked about Robben's comments at a briefing on Monday.

Fischer said sanctioning after the fact only applied to "serious infringements of foul play which have escaped the notice of the match officials."

The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said earlier Monday that Robben's post-match comments had been misinterpreted.

"Media have interpreted statements from Robben in a Dutch post match interview completely wrong," the KNVB said.

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Saina Nehwal wins Australian Open title

SYDNEY: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal produced a dominating performance to lift her second title of the season, winning the $750,000 Star Australian Super Series after beating Spain's Carolina Marin in the summit clash on Sunday.

The sixth seeded Indian, who had won the India Open Grand Prix Gold earlier this year, prevailed 21-18, 21-11 in a 43-minute contest which left her richer by $56,000.

The 24-year-old Saina, who enjoyed a 1-0 head-to-head record against Marin going into Sunday's match, logged the first point and displayed some deft net play against her rival, stroking in some delectably timed volleys to take a 5-2 lead in the opening game.

But the 21-year-old Marin was not the one to give up easily and showed just why she is considered one of the most feisty players on the circuit. She narrowed the gap to 6-8 but seemed distinctly out of her comfort zone every time Saina dragged her towards the net.

Also, Marin didn't help her cause by committing a service error to gift an easy point to Saina, who went into the interval leading 11-7 after an intriguing rally which ended with the Spaniard smashing the shuttle wide.

Marin raised her game and the decibel levels after the break but Saina was quick to counter-attack and returned her rival's attempted smashes with quiet intensity.

In between, Marin played some fine strokes but they never came consistently enough as Saina made it 17-12. Marin's dogged determination was there to be seen in every point she played for but that alone was never going to be enough to upstage a composed Saina.

The Indian, who didn't seem affected at all by Marin's aggressive outpouring of emotions after every claimed point, sealed the opening game 21-18 after her world number 11 rival smashed one into the net 23 minutes into the match.

In the second game, Marin's determination helped her take a 3-1 lead to start with but it was not too long before Saina came back into the fray, this time on the back of some well-placed strokes from the baseline.

Perhaps taking a cue from Marin, Saina too let some emotion show as she clenched her fist and shouted 'come on' after every clinched point. But one of her screams came about in the middle of a rally, prompting Marin to complain to the chair umpire, who merely asked her to continue.

The distraction didn't do any good to Marin as Saina raced to a 11-4 lead against the Spaniard, who looked to be in disarray.

After the interval, Saina kept up the pressure, regularly inducing errors from Marin, who struggled to maintain the intensity she displayed in the opening game.

Dominating the proceedings, Saina produced some of her trademark smashes to further demoralise her rival, whose shoulders had dropped by that stage.

But there was to be some moments of drama before the win came about.

Leading 19-9, Saina challenged a line call that went against her but replays showed that the shuttle had in fact landed wide. The Indian made another mistake while playing the very next point as she buried an attempted smash into the net.

But Saina made amends quite quickly and clinched the title after Marin lobbed a shuttle wide.

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Hernandez targets new boss at WC

FORTALEZA: After ending an 11-game international goal drought, Manchester United's Javier Hernandez is aiming to oust his new club boss Louis van Gaal when Mexico meet Netherlands in the World Cup last 16.

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"This whole year has been very tough. Players need confidence more than anything else and I've been very short of it. Very few people have shown faith in me over this past year," said the 26-year-old speaking of his more than a year without a goal for Mexico.

Hernandez, who is known as 'Chicharito' (Little Pea), was left in tears after heading his side's third goal in a 3-1 win over Croatia on Monday which sealed their place in the knockout stages for a sixth straight World Cup.

The tough year has seen several reports that Hernandez could leave his English club side Manchester United where Dutch coach van Gaal will take over after the World Cup.

Hernandez's return to scoring form is another boost for a Mexico side that has gone from strength to strength since the appointment of coach Miguel Herrera last year.

The team shrugged off a far from impressive qualifying campaign to progress with ease from Group A, also beating Cameroon in their opening game and holding hosts Brazil 0-0.

"We have to stay very calm, very humble and not get carried away," said Hernandez.

"This is just one more step forward, a very important one, but just one more step. If we want to make history we have to beat the Netherlands and keep moving along the path we've set out for ourselves."

Victory over the Dutch would match Mexico's best ever showing at a World Cup when they reached the last eight on home soil in 1970 and 1986.

However, to do so they will have to stop the tournament's top scorers in the group stage with 10 goals in wins over world champions Spain, Australia and Chile.

Midfielder Wesley Sneijder, though, insists memories of a similar flying start to the 2008 European Championship before a shock defeat to Russia will ensure they do not get carried away.

"The older players have the memory of the Euro 2008," said the Galatasaray playmaker.

"It is true that at the time we got a bit too excited, perhaps our overconfidence precipitated our loss.

Sneijder said that he Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie "have been sure this week to warn our young teammates."

Van Gaal rounded on critics of his side's counter-attack style after the 2-0 win over Chile, but could be forced to switch from the 5-3-2 formation that he started the tournament with due to injuries.

Bruno Martins Indi has not featured since suffering a concussion in his side's second match against Australia, whilst Leroy Fer, who opened the scoring against Chile, is ruled out by a hamstring injury.

The absence of Martins Indi meant Dirk Kuyt started in an unfamiliar left wing-back role against Chile and the former Liverpool forward is prepared to do so again to keep his place in the team.

"I was surprised that the coach played me at left-back against Chile, but I believe I did well.

"Defensively I worked hard and got forward when I could to create danger. It's not a problem for me. I play for the team, not for me."

The big boost for the Dutch is the return of captain van Persie, who has scored three times in just two appearances. He sat out the win over Chile due to suspension.

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Rodriguez relaxed about Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO: World Cup sensation James Rodriguez said that Colombia would feel "no pressure" against Brazil in the quarterfinals after inspiring his side to a 2-0 victory over Uruguay.

The 22-year-old scored a contender for goal of the tournament with an exquisite volley in the 28th minute of Saturday's last-16 game at the Maracana before doubling his tally shortly after halftime.

Colombia will now face the hosts in Fortaleza on July 4 and Rodriguez believes that his side's four consecutive wins in the tournament mean that Brazil will have to take them seriously.

"There's no pressure," said the Monaco playmaker. "Obviously we have to watch Brazil closely. They have very good players and they play good football, but they'll have to watch us closely as well.

"We have good players and we can be dangerous. I think it's going to be a beautiful match."

Rodriguez's man-of-the-match display prompted Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez to liken him to Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, but he was modest in his own assessment of his performance.

"I only want to help the team," said Rodriguez, who is now the tournament's top scorer with five goals.

"I'm playing at a good level. We're scoring goals and I'm happy because of that."

Although Brazil needed penalties to overcome Chile after a 1-1 draw in their last-16 tie on Saturday, Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said that his side would not underestimate them.

"Having come through such a difficult match as Brazil did, it always raises the level of confidence because they are already in the quarter-finals and they're approaching the final stages," he said.

"We know the potential that Brazil have. It will be a great match. They are two countries that interpret football in the same way."

While Brazil will enter the game as favourites, Pekerman believes that his well-drilled side have the weapons to make the hosts feel uncomfortable.

"At this level, there are a lot of elements that have to be balanced out," he said.

"That's why teams need players who are focused so that they clearly understand their roles and don't give away space.

"They need to have the tactics to be able to change things in the course of a match and they also need the psychological side, which plays an important part in football.

"Sometimes a team with a lot of potential, if they don't find the result and they need to win, they can't play so brilliantly.

"So the competition becomes interesting because a team with less individual stars can disturb the balance of the other team."

Pekerman also said that it would be unfair to simply dub the game a clash between Rodriguez and Brazil superstar Neymar.

"In terms of individuals, I always say that this has to do with the team," he said.

"All players give their best when the entire team is working well, and our team performances are even.

"James is scoring important goals, but (Juan) Cuadrado is also playing at a great level, as are the strikers, the wingers, the full-backs. We also have a great goalkeeper (David Ospina).

"We're playing very well as a team and we're going through a good moment, but we know the match will be hard and that Brazil have the capacity to cause us problems."

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Williams exit makes it easy for Shara

LONDON: The shock losses suffered by top two seeds Serena Williams and Li Na have left Maria Sharapova with a smooth passage and the Russian is primed to win her second Wimbledon title, 10 years after winning her first as a 17-year-old.

Sharapova has dropped just seven games in her three matches thus far and the imperious Russian will be confident of winning her sixth grand slam in the absence of her nemesis Williams.

The 27-year-old is on the wrong end of a 16-2 head-to-head record against the American with her only two triumphs coming in 2004, the first of which saw her crowned Wimbledon champion.

Williams crashed out 6-1 3-6 4-6 against France's Alize Cornet in the third round on Saturday, her earliest exit at Wimbledon since losing in the same round in 2005.

Her defeat came a day after Chinese two-times grand slam winner Na was dumped out 6-7(5) 6-7(5) by the Czech Republic's Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Their defeats have opened the door for a host of women, but the top of that list is Sharapova.

Players have long talked about the difficulty of adapting to the grasscourts of Wimbledon so soon after a long claycourt season and nobody has backed up winning the French Open with Wimbledon triumph since Williams in 2002.

Sharapova's form, however, suggests she can match that achievement and win her sixth grand slam in the process.

"Well, this is only my second time trying to do that. Of course, the transition, it's no secret, it's very difficult," she said after reeling off 11 consecutive games to beat Alison Riske 6-3 6-0 in the third round on Saturday.

"But I'm quite happy with the way I've gone about things so far.

"You never know what to expect. Each match poses its different challenges. I'm happy I've gone further than last year, erasing those memories and trying to form new ones.

"A Grand Slam stage, when you're playing for two weeks, seven matches within those two weeks, you're always kind of rolling with each round.

"Once you get to another (grand slam), one of the toughest things is you start from scratch, you start from the first match.

"Mentally that's always, you know, a bit more difficult because you achieve some great success, then you get on the train, come here, and right away the mentality switches that I've got to start from the first round.

"That's always a quick switch that you need to make mentally. That transition has always been quite tough for me," added Sharapova who plays German ninth seed Angelique Kerber in the round of 16.

BOUCHARD CHALLENGE

Higher seeds remain but Sharapova's biggest challenge is likely to come in the shape of rising star Eugenie Bouchard, a semi-finalist in the last two grand slams at the Australian and French Open.

The aggressive 20-year-old Canadian faces Williams' conqueror Cornet in the next round with a potential quarter-final against Sharapova the prize.

"I wouldn't consider myself deep into Wimbledon at this stage," Bouchard said after beating Germany's Andrea Petkovic on Saturday.

"I'm into the second week, which is great. But, you know, I want to go so much further. At the same time I'm focused on one match at a time.

"But, of course, Wimbledon is probably the most prestigious tournament in the world. It's a special place to be here and I would love to stay a really long time."

Romania's third seed Simona Halep, runner-up to the Sharapova at the French Open, and Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska are expected to make extended runs in the championship.

They face Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas and Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the round of 16 respectively.

Elsewhere German 2011 champion Petra Kvitova plays China's Shuai Peng, Czech Lucie Safarova is against compatriot Tereza Smitkova, and Danish former world number one Caroline Wozniacki faces Zahlavova Strycova.

The other round of 16 encounter will pit 2008 French Open winner Ana Ivanovic or 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki against America's Madison Keys or Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova after both of their third round matches were disrupted by bad light on Saturday.

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Brazil-Chile match breaks twitter record

PARIS: A record 16.3 million tweets were sent during Saturday's World Cup game between Brazil and Chile, the most ever for a live event on the social network.

The game saw the World Cup hosts go through to the quarter finals after a nail-biting encounter that went to extra time, with Brazil finally winning 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out.

The final moments of the match -- which saw Chile miss their final penalty -- generated 388,985 tweets a minute, Twitter said.

This broke a record previously set during the Super Bowl, when 382,000 tweets were sent per minute.

Unsurprisingly, Brazilian striker Neymar, who scored the team's final penalty, was the player mentioned most frequently on the site during the game.

Twitter said on Friday that more than 300 million messages had been sent about the tournament since the group stages of the football competition began, with the event "already becoming one of the most talked about events on Twitter of all time".

Before Saturday, the record for the most-commented-on match on the network was that between Brazil and Croatia on June 12, which saw 12.2 million messages sent.

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Suarez told Fifa bite was not deliberate

RIO DE JANEIRO: Luis Suarez told Fifa's disciplinary panel that he did not deliberately bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

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"In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite," the Uruguay striker wrote in Spanish in a letter dated June 25.

The player's defense is in paragraph 6 of Fifa's disciplinary committee ruling, which has been seen by the agency.

"After the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent," Suarez wrote in his submission to the panel which met Wednesday, one day after Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 in a decisive group-stage match.

"At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth," Suarez said.

However, the seven-man panel which met on Wednesday evening dismissed the argument.

The bite was "deliberate, intentional and without provocation," the ruling stated in paragraph No. 26 of the panel's conclusions.

Suarez was banned for nine Uruguay matches and four months from all football. He was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000).

The panel, chaired by former Switzerland international Claudio Sulser, included members from the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa and Singapore.

The ruling confirmed that referee Marco Rodriguez of Mexico acknowledged in his match report that he missed Suarez's bite. So did his two assistants and the fourth official.

"I haven't seen the incident because the ball was in another sector of the pitch," Rodriguez writes in paragraph No. 4 of witness submissions in the 11-page document.

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Fifa defends Luis Suarez biting ban

RIO DE JANEIRO: Fifa defended the harsh punishment it handed down to Uruguay striker Luis Suarez for biting an opponent during the World Cup, despite complaints on Friday from his coach, politicians and even the man he bit that the record penalty was excessive.

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The 27-year-old striker was expelled from this year's tournament in Brazil and banned from international soccer for nine competitive games - the longest ever suspension handed out at a World Cup.

Further infuriating those who believe he has been unfairly treated by soccer's governing body, Suarez cannot do anything connected with soccer for four months, meaning he misses the start of English club Liverpool's 2014/15 campaign.

Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke said Suarez's previous misdemeanours on the pitch had been taken into account. The player was banned twice before for biting during club games.

"If it's the first time, it's an incident. More than once, it is not any more an incident," Valcke told reporters. "That is why also the sanction, it has to be exemplary.

"It was seen by hundreds of millions of people. It is not what you want your kids, what you want the little (ones) who are playing football around the world, to see at a World Cup," he told journalists at Fifa's daily tournament media briefing.

He also said Suarez should seek treatment to help him avoid such incidents in the future.

"I don't know if it exists, but he should do something by himself because it's definitely wrong."

Fifa ruled that Suarez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during Uruguay's final group match on Tuesday, as his side knocked the Europeans out of the tournament with a 1-0 victory.

The incident overshadowed what has been a scintillating competition so far, with teams playing attacking football and goals flying in at almost three a match.

While many in Europe believe Suarez should be severely punished for his third biting offence, Uruguayans are incensed at what they see as bias against their team within Fifa, and across Latin America the player enjoys widespread sympathy.

SUAREZ A "SCAPEGOAT"

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, speaking on the eve of his team's last 16 game against in-form Colombia, uttered not a word about the match but read a 14-minute statement to a packed press conference during which he railed against Fifa and the media.

"It was a decision much more focused on the opinions of the media who at the conclusion of the match, and at the press conference afterwards, focused on just one topic," he said.

"I don't know what their nationality was - but they all spoke English."

Tabarez added: "I am not justifying anything and saying there should be no punishment. I don't, though, agree with the theory of having a scapegoat."

He said he would resign from his posts on Fifa, and left the briefing to loud applause from Uruguayan journalists.

When Suarez flew home on Friday, he was met by outraged President Jose Mujica at a military base next to Uruguay's main airport. The player, his wife and other family members were then driven to a home he has in the small coastal town of Solymar.

"He is totally distraught. He never thought the punishment would be so severe," said Alejandro Balbi, a member of the Uruguayan Football Association's board and Suarez's lawyer.

Former Argentine star Diego Maradona was typically outspoken.

"Who did Suarez kill?" Maradona said during his soccer commentary programme broadcast on Venezuela's Telesur and Argentine public television on Thursday night.

"This is football, this is contact... They may as well handcuff him and bring him to Guantanamo directly."

Even Chiellini, whose strong protests to the referee after the biting incident were waved away, said the ban was too long.

"Now inside me there's no feelings of joy, revenge or anger against Suarez for an incident that happened on the pitch and that's done," the Juventus centre back said in a statement on his website.

"... I believe that the proposed formula is excessive," Chiellini added.

FIFPro, the international soccer players' union, also questioned the ruling, which will mean Suarez is unlikely to appear in competitive matches for his country until 2016.

"FIFPro believes all affected parties may benefit (from) more time to remove the emotion, reflect and re-establish the facts in a calm and considered setting," it said.

LIVERPOOL CONCERNS

As well as affecting international appearances, Fifa's ruling will have a major impact on Suarez's club career.

After a brilliant season for Premier League runners-up Liverpool, the prolific striker will miss his club's opening domestic and European Champions League matches.

Suarez's value in the transfer market, estimated to be at least 50 million pounds ($85 million), could be affected should Liverpool decide to sell him, and his endorsement deals have begun to unravel.

On Friday, poker brand 888 cancelled its sponsorship deal with Suarez just weeks after he became one of the company's brand ambassadors.

"Regrettably, following his actions during Uruguay's World Cup match against Italy on Tuesday, 888poker has decided to terminate its relationship with Luis Suarez with immediate effect," it said in a statement.

German sportswear firm Adidas stopped short of axing Suarez, but will not use him in any further World Cup marketing.

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Tendulkar enjoys Nadal match at Big W

LONDON: Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday took some time off to enjoy an afternoon at the Wimbledon watching Rafael Nadal in action.

Tendulkar was seated in the Royal Box of the Centre Court where he watched the match between Rafael Nadal and Mikhail Kukushkin.

Looking dapper in an ink blue suit with sky blue tie, Tendulkar sat alongside former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss while former football captain David Beckham sat just a row in-front.

Tendulkar was seen engaged in conversation between the points with Strauss as Beckham was sitting with another England soccer legend Sir Bobby Charlton.

At this time of the month every year, Tendulkar normally spends some time in London. He always makes it a point to drop in at the SW19 to watch the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal live in action.

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Suarez told Fifa bite was not deliberate

RIO DE JANEIRO: Luis Suarez told Fifa's disciplinary panel that he did not deliberately bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014

The Uruguay striker's defense that he lost balance and fell on his opponent will now be presented to Fifa's appeal panel, after his national federation notified Fifa late Friday it would challenge the nine-match, four-month ban.

"In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite," Suarez wrote in Spanish in a letter dated June 25.

The player's defense is in paragraph 6 of Fifa's disciplinary committee ruling, which has been seen by the agency.

"After the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent," Suarez wrote in his submission to the panel which met Wednesday, one day after Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 in a decisive group-stage match.

"At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth," Suarez said.

However, the seven-man panel which met on Wednesday evening dismissed the argument.

The bite was "deliberate, intentional and without provocation," the ruling stated in paragraph No. 26 of the panel's conclusions.

Suarez was banned for nine Uruguay matches and four months from all football. He was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000).

The panel, chaired by former Switzerland international Claudio Sulser, included members from the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa and Singapore.

On Saturday, Fifa confirmed that formal proceedings had begun to challenge the longest ban for a World Cup player in 20 years.

"We have a declaration that they are planning to appeal," Fifa spokeswoman Delia Fischer said. The Uruguay federation now has seven days to submit written grounds for the appeal.

Back in Montevideo, Suarez has been welcomed home as a hero by Uruguay fans.

"I'm writing this message to express thanks for the outpouring of support and affection that I'm getting. Both me and my family really appreciate it," Suarez said Saturday on his Twitter account.

"Thank you very much for being on my side and I want all of us to support our teammates today in the match against Colombia," he wrote, ahead of Uruguay's Round of 16 match at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Fifa's disciplinary ruling confirmed that Suarez's bite was missed by referee Marco Rodriguez of Mexico, who acknowledged the oversight in his match report. So did his two assistants and the fourth official.

"I haven't seen the incident because the ball was in another sector of the pitch," Rodriguez writes in paragraph No. 4 of witness submissions in the 11-page document.

Fifa's verdict was welcomed by Brazilian great Pele.

"Fifa's decision was good, it was correct, because they had to set an example," he was quoted as telling Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. "If this example hadn't been given quickly, it could spread (the bad behavior on the pitch). This example shouldn't be copied by anyone. I think it was fair because it serves as a parameter going forward."

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Nadal beats Kukushkin to enter last 16

LONDON: Rafael Nadal overcame an early blip to defeat Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin and reach the Wimbledon last 16, shining beneath the Centre Court roof on Saturday as heavy rain swept away the action outside.

The 2008 and 2010 champion dropped the opening set for the third time in three matches before turning things around in a 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory.

The second seeded Spaniard blitzed world number 63 Kukushkin, who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year and had only ever beaten one top 10 player.

Nadal, the 28-year-old winner of 14 Grand Slam titles, won 17 of the last 19 games and goes on to face either Australia's rising star Nick Kyrgios or Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic for a place in the quarterfinals.

They had played just 15 minutes of their third-round match out on Court 17 before rain halted all action on the uncovered courts and forced All England Club organisers to cancel 24 doubles and junior matches by mid-afternoon.

Nadal had dropped the first set to Martin Klizan and Lukas Rosol in his first two rounds and Kukushkin, playing in his 21st tournament of the year, employed the same free-swinging tactics to bludgeon his way through the opener.

But in front of a Royal Box containing such sporting glitterati as retired Indian cricket master Sachin Tendulkar, ex-England football captain David Beckham and former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, Nadal regained his composure to race away with the win.

From 1-1 in the second set to 3-0 in the fourth set, Nadal won 14 of 15 games and only faced his first break points of the tie at 2-0 in the fourth.

Kukushkin, a rare example of a player coached by his own wife, stopped the rot by getting on the board at 1-3.

But it was a brief respite as Nadal stormed to victory with 41 winners and just 12 unforced errors.

"At the beginning he was playing pretty long, no mistakes, very aggressive and I made few unforced errors with that second serve," said Nadal who has reached the second week for the first time since 2011.

"In the tie-break, I didn't serve my best and that was the real thing -- without serving your best in a tie-break against a player who is playing well, it is impossible."

Nadal said he was looking forward to the second week after a first round loss in 2013 and second round exit 12 months earlier.

"I'm very happy to be in the second week again after two years losing in the first and second round. I'm playing well, good spirit, good tactics on court, fighting for every ball."

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Luis Suarez banned for nine matches

RIO DE JANEIRO: Fifa on Thursday banned Uruguay striker Luis Suarez for nine international matches and barred him from all football activities for four months for biting an Italian opponent.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014 | Text of Fifa statement on Suarez ban | Factbox: Suarez's sins and sanctions

The heaviest punishment ever inflicted on a player at a World Cup finals effectively booted Suarez out of the tournament in shame following his clash with Italy's Giorgio Chiellini on Tuesday.

READ ALSO: Suarez bites more than he can chew

It is the third time that the 27-year-old Liverpool forward, one of the most brilliant footballers in the world, but also one of the most temperamental, has been banned for biting an opponent.

READ ALSO: Suarez's tough childhood to blame: Sports psychologist

"Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a Fifa World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field," said Fifa disciplinary committee chairman Claudio Sulser in a statement.

"The disciplinary committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suarez's guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the (Fifa disciplinary) code," he added.

Do you think Fifa ban on Luis Suarez is justified?

The nine match ban would be effective immediately, ruling him out of Uruguay's World Cup second round match on Saturday against Colombia, Fifa spokeswoman Delia Fischer said.

As part of the ban on football activities, Suarez will not be allowed into a stadium for four months. He was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs (82,000 euros, $112,000).

Fifa said that Suarez was told of the ban on Thursday. Uruguayan officials had previously insisted there was not enough evidence to take action against him.

Suarez bit Chiellini during Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy in World Cup Group D on Tuesday.

The referee did not immediately see the incident but FIFA ordered an inquiry straight after the match following protests by Chiellini, who claimed he was bitten and who showed off teeth marks on his shoulder. Images of the bite spread on the internet.

Suarez had initially shrugged off the incident. "These are just things that happen out on the pitch. It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his shoulder," Suarez told Uruguayan television.

Suarez was dubbed 'the cannibal of Ajax' after he bit PSV Einhoven's Otman Bakkal shoulder in a Dutch league game in November 2010. Suarez was later handed a seven game ban.

In April 2013, he bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic's on the arm in a Premier League match. He was given a 10 game suspension for that offence.

The Uruguayan has also been in trouble over on the field comments. He hurled racial abuse at Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a Premier League game in October 2011.

The English FA banned him for eight matches and fined him 40,000 pounds. He refused to shake hands with Evra when the two teams met later that season.

His ban will run until the end of October, meaning he would miss around two months of the 2014/15 Premier League season.

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Lionel Messi ready to join all-time greats

Lionel Messi's World Cup double for Argentina in Wednesday's 3-2 victory over Nigeria suggests the four-time World Player of the Year may be ready to take his place among the all-time greats of the game.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014

The 27-year-old has amassed a glittering haul of trophies with Barcelona, netting 354 goals in 425 official games for the La Liga side and helping them win three Champions League crowns.

Until the finals in Brazil, however, he had yet to shine on soccer's biggest stage following subdued performances on his previous two appearances.

READ ALSO: ​Messi magic charms once lukewarm Argentines

Messi's patchy World Cup form called into question whether he would ever quite claim his spot in a pantheon that includes the likes of compatriot Diego Maradona, Brazil's Pele and Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands.

The comparison with Maradona, whose brilliance almost single-handedly propelled Argentina to victory in Mexico in 1986, is the one inevitably made most often.

Both men are short in stature, predominantly left-footed and blessed with incredible skills that can unlock the most stubborn defences.

Maradona emerged from the 1986 World Cup a hero in Argentina but a villain in the eyes of many after his infamous "hand of god" effort against England in the quarter-finals, when he also scored what is regarded as one of the greatest goals in soccer history to secure a 2-1 success.

He struck five times at the tournament and created another five of his team's 14 goals, including the pass that sent Jorge Burruchaga clear to score the winner in a 3-2 victory over West Germany in the final.

Maradona dominated the finals in a way that no player had since Pele in 1970 and with four of Argentina's six goals in Brazil, putting him level at the top of the scoring chart with Barca team mate Neymar, Messi has laid the foundations for a similar achievement.

He has scored 10 times in his last eight games for his country and on Wednesday became the only Argentine apart from Maradona to score four World Cup goals in a row.

"Messi is one heck of a player," Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi, whose side joined the South Americans in the last 16 despite Wednesday's reverse, said at a news conference.

"There are good calibre players in the Argentina team but Messi is from Jupiter," he added.

GLARING PROBLEMS

Messi had a relatively poor season with Barca by his sky-high standards, missing two months through injury before the New Year but still managing to rack up 41 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions.

It is a tally most players can only dream of yet there were still suggestions he was not giving his all for his club and saving himself for the World Cup.

He did at times look a shadow of his normal zippy self, especially towards the end of a season Barca ended without major silverware, but he seems to have recovered his energy in Brazil at just the right time for his country.

If Argentina are to win the World Cup they still need to fix the glaring problems in defence and midfield that were again exposed by the Nigerians in Porto Alegre.

However, with Messi in the side and firing on all cylinders, fans back home will be confident they can score more goals than they inevitably leak.

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Serena storms into Big W third round

LONDON: Serena Williams handed South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers a Wimbledon masterclass as the five-time champion raced into the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on Thursday.

Top seed Williams needed only an hour to dismiss Anna Tatishvili in the first round and the world number one was even more ruthless against Scheepers, crushing her in 49 minutes to set up a last 32 meeting with French 25th seed Alize Cornet.

The 32-year-old had seethed over her shock first round exit against Garbine Muguruza at the French Open last month and appears intention on taking out those frustrations on her Wimbledon opponents.

Serena, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, overwhelmed Scheepers with 26 winners, compared to five from the world number 94, and eight aces.

Williams admitted being expected to rout lower ranked opponents like Scheepers can sometimes be a burden, but she is thriving despite the pressure of her status as tournament favourite.

"It's been like that for the past two or three years. I am always the favourite and that can be a bit of pressure, but it's ok. I have learnt to deal with it," Serena said.

Williams also revealed she was relieved to have avoided any more embarrassing tumbles on the slick grasscourt after falling into the crowd during her doubles match with sister Venus on Wednesday night.

"I was out really late in a fun doubles match last night with Venus," she added.

"Some wonderful gents caught me as I fell into the crowd, It was so embarrassing, I just had to laugh."

Scheepers had finally made it to the second round at Wimbledon for the first time after four consecutive opening round defeats.

But, faced with the daunting task of trying to tame Serena, the 30-year-old could have been forgiven for wondering if it had been worth the effort.

The American was in full flight right from the start and clinched an embarrassingly one-sided set in only 25 minutes.

The Court One onslaught continued in the second set as Serena showed no mercy to the shell-shocked Scheepers, adding two more breaks to complete a ruthless destruction.

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Aguero reported out of WC with injury

BELO HORIZONTE (Brazil): Argentine striker Sergio Aguero is out of the World Cup after suffering a muscle tear in the 3-2 victory over Nigeria, a Buenos Aires newspaper reported on Thursday.

Full coverage: World Cup 2014

Aguero's injury, which could not be immediately confirmed by team spokesmen, would be a major blow to the South Americans' campaign to capture a third World Cup, this time on the soil of their great rivals Brazil.

"This morning the worst news was confirmed. He has a tear and won't be able to play any more in the cup," Clarin said on its web site www.clarin.com.

The Manchester City forward, part of Argentina's so-called "Fab Four" of strikers, was taken off during the first half of the match against Nigeria that gave them top spot in Group F.

Coach Alejandro Sabella said afterwards he had a muscle problem. Argentine TV channel TyC Sports said the tear was on a muscle in Aguero's left leg.

More information was expected at an Argentine training session and news conference in Belo Horizonte at the end of Thursday afternoon.

Nicknamed "Kun" after a Japanese cartoon character, the 26-year-old is a close friend of national captain Lionel Messi and is also the father of Diego Maradona's first grandson.

Argentina next play in Sao Paulo on July 1, a last 16 knockout game against Switzerland. Fellow strikers Ezequiel Lavezzi or Rodrigo Palacio could take Aguero's place.

"We have forwards of the same style as Aguero and others, with a different style, like Lavezzi, who came in and handled himself well on the wings and helped us cover spaces," Sabella said after the Nigeria game, where Lavezzi replaced Aguero.

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Nadal takes revenge on Rosol to advance

LONDON: Rafael Nadal avenged his shock 2012 Wimbledon defeat to Lukas Rosol on Thursday with a tense and hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-4 win over the big-hitting Czech.

World number one Nadal did it the hard way, however, dropping the first set and then trailing 2-4 in the second before having to save a set point in the tiebreaker.

But the 2008 and 2010 champion, who lost in the first round to Steve Darcis in 2013, wrapped up a place in the third round for the first time since 2011 on a third match point.

His mighty roar at the moment of victory spoke volumes. Nadal next plays Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

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Murray eases into Wimbledon 3rd round

LONDON: Andy Murray gave Slovenian Blaz Rola a painful lesson in what it takes to be a Grand Slam winner, when he blasted the former college champion out of Wimbledon's second round 6-1, 6-1, 6-0.

While the British No.1 was winning Wimbledon last year, Rola was winding up a successful college tennis career for Ohio State University. The contrast in quality was stark on Wednesday.

Some of the biggest cheers on an otherwise partisan Court One were reserved for Rola's two winning games, the crowd willing him to avoid further embarrassment.

But Murray, blasting winners from both sides of the court, put the 23-year-old firmly in his place to set up a third round clash with Czech Jan Hernych or Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

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'Eng, Italy campaigning against Suarez'

MONTEVIDEO: Luis Suarez's lawyer believes there is a European campaign against the controversial striker, who on Wednesday was preparing his defence after being accused of biting an Italy defender during Uruguay's 1-0 win at the World Cup.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014 | Points Table | Schedule & Result

"We don't have any doubts that this has happened because it's Suarez and secondly because Italy was eliminated," said Uruguay FA board member Alejandro Balbi, who is also Suarez's lawyer.

"There's a lot of pressure from England and Italy," Balbi told local Uruguayan radio. "We're polishing off a defence argument. We may also opt for a live testimony by Suarez in front of the FIFA disciplinary committee."

Soccer's world governing body is investigating the incident during Tuesday's Group D match in Natal which has made headlines around the world. Uruguay's win took them through to the last 16 where they will face Colombia on Saturday.

Suarez, twice previously banned for biting, looks likely to be hit with another lengthy suspension despite escaping punishment during the match for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

"There is a possibility that they ban him, because there are precedents, but we're convinced that it was an absolutely casual play, because if Chiellini can show a scratch on one shoulder, Suarez can show a bruised and almost shut eye," Balbi said.

"If every player starts showing the injuries he suffers and they open inquiries for them everything will be way too complicated in the future. We're going to use all the arguments possible so that Luis gets out in the best possible way."

URUGUAY JUBILANT

His argument echoes the sentiment in much of Uruguay, which is jubilant at the team's last-gasp victory and largely backs their key player.

The Liverpool forward's lethal finishing is far more important than his straying teeth, say many in the small, sleepy agricultural country vying for a third World Cup triumph.

Local media gushed about the victory over Italy and put the "supposed" bite on the backburner.

Abroad however, Suarez's behaviour has sparked outrage and calls for a tournament-long ban.

Balbi suggested that may be part of a broader conspiracy to sideline Uruguay, who lost to unfancied Costa Rica in their opening match without Suarez as he battled to complete his recovery from knee surgery.

"You shouldn't forget that we're rivals of many and we can be for the organiser (hosts Brazil) in the future. This does not go against what might have happened, but there's no doubt that Suarez is a rock in the shoe for many," Balbi added.

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Ruthless Li makes Wimbledon 3rd round

LONDON: Chinese second seed Li Na swept into the Wimbledon third round with an imperious 6-2, 6-2 victory over Austria's Yvonne Meusburger on Wednesday.

Li, 32, was far too strong for Meusburger, hitting 33 winners to just four from the world number 38, and will play Russia's Elena Vesnina or Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic for a place in the last 16.

Li suffered her worst Grand Slam performance since 2011 when she slumped to an opening round exit against Kristina Mladenovic in the French Open last month, but she has wasted little time making amends at the All England Club.

This 69-minute victory on Court Two followed hot on the heels of the world number two's comfortable straight sets win over Polish qualifier Paula Kania on Monday.

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Luis Suarez risks World Cup ban

NATAL (Brazil): Uruguay star Luis Suarez faces expulsion from the World Cup for biting another player as Fifa confirmed it had opened disciplinary proceedings against him on Wednesday. Suarez, banned twice before for biting opponents, appeared to sink his teeth into defender Giorgio Chiellini on Tuesday during Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014 | Points Table | Schedule & Result

Uruguayan players and team officials pleaded ignorance but the incident was captured clearly on television footage, making a ban almost inevitable. "Fifa can confirm disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the player Luis Suarez," Fifa said in a statement.

Suarez and the Uruguayan Football Association can submit evidence to investigators until 5pm (2100 GMT) on Thursday, Fifa added. Suarez, who plays in the English Premier League for Liverpool, is one of the world's biggest stars, and could be banned for up to 24 games under Fifa rules.

He has already received long bans for biting during his club career as well as racially abusing Manchester United player Patrice Evra during a game in 2011. The latest flashpoint occurred towards the end of Uruguay's Group D game with Italy.

Replays showed Suarez appearing to bite Chiellini's shoulder as the two players made contact in an off-the-ball incident. Chiellini angrily remonstrated with Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez, pulling his shirt off his shoulder to show red marks on his neck.

Afterwards a disgusted Chiellini told Italian television: "He bit me, it's clear, I still have the mark." "The referee should have blown his whistle and given him a red card," he added.

Suarez sought to play down the incident in comments to Uruguayan television, claiming Chiellini had barged him.

"There are things that happen on the pitch and you should not make such a big deal out of them," Suarez said.

READ ALSO: Uruguay eliminate Italy to reach pre-quarters

However, the Italian press didn't spare him on Wednesday with several of the daily newspapers displaying a photograph of Chiellini's bare shoulder with the alleged marks.

La Stampa made much of how the team had been drained of life by not only Suarez but also the referee Marco Rodriguez who sent off midfielder Claudio Marchisio in the second-half.

"In the tussle with vampires we have been drained of blood," it wrote. "Italy has collided with the teeth of Suarez and a red card handed out by a referee nicknamed Dracula."

The English press were only too pleased to be presented with the equivalent of an open goal by Suarez, who only days before had scored twice to beat England 2-1 and then take a swipe at them for not showing him the respect he merited.

Tabloid Sun, however, pointed out that those very same journalists he was accusing had voted him player of the past season for his 31 goals for Liverpool.

The Times's award winning sports columnist Matthew Syed wrote that unless Suarez — who is rumoured to be eyeing a move to Real Madrid — was severely punished, football would be the loser.

"There is a case for a lengthy worldwide ban that sends an unmistakeable signal that talent can never justify the kind of behaviour that, in other circumstances, might bring a man before a judge for common assault," he wrote.

READ ALSO: Norwegian wins bet on Suarez World Cup bite

If found guilty, the incident means the end of the tournament for Suarez, lambasted during the 2010 World Cup for his goal-line handball which denied Ghana what would have been a quarter-final victory.

Coaches and former players joined in the chorus of disapproval. "This is behaviour that's happened two times (before). You cannot justify it. I seriously think he needs help," said Everton manager Roberto Martinez after the latest Suarez transgression.

Former England star Chris Waddle, who was a member of the England squad at the 1986 World Cup finals that experienced the "Hand of God" goal by another South American badboy Diego Maradona, told BBC there was no excusing his behaviour.

"There will be people who will defend him, but I don't know why. I'd make him wear a gumshield," said Waddle.

The biting storm dominated the headlines Tuesday after Uruguay downed Italy 1-0 to advance to the last 16 and which resulted in the losing side's coach Cesare Prandelli resigning.

While the South American pantomime villain awaits his fate the golden boy of the continent, Lionel Messi, will hope to celebrate his 27th birthday a day late with another eyecatching performance for Argentina against Nigeria later on Wednesday.

Nigeria, though, will be seeking to make up for the disappointment of the Ivory Coast's elimination and give Africa something to smile about with a draw probably being good enough for them to progress.

However, a heavy defeat and an Iranian win over pointless Bosnia-Hercegovina could cost the African champions their place in the last 16.

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Balotelli lashes out at 'racist' detractors

PARIS: Controversial star Mario Balotelli has hit out at what he describes as his "racist" detractors after being blamed for Italy's World Cup exit.

Full coverage: Fifa World Cup 2014

Balotelli, 23, cut a lost and frustrated figure as Italy went down 1-0 to Uruguay on Tuesday to end their interest in the World Cup.

Coach Cesare Prandelli hauled off an ineffective Balotelli, who scored the winner in the Azzurri's opening match against England, at half-time against Uruguay.

A social media video posting on Instagram by an Italian, going by the name mb459, said: "Mario, do you know what the thing is? You're not Italian, get out."

As a rare Italy international of African origin -- his birth parents are Ghanaian -- Balotelli stands out in an Italy shirt.

Balotelli replied to the video post and sent a link to his impassioned defence on his own Twitter page.

"I'm Mario Balotelli, I'm 23 and I didn't choose to be Italian," he said.

"I really wanted it because I was born in ITALY and I've always lived in ITALY. This World Cup meant a lot to me and I'm sad, angry and disappointed with myself.

"It's true maybe I could have scored against Costa Rica (they lost 1-0 last Friday), you're (in the plural) right, but then what?

"Then what's the problem? Maybe what you all want to say is this? "Don't put all the blame only on me this time because Mario Balotelli gave everything for the national team and didn't mess up anything (from a character point of view), so look for another excuse because Mario Balotelli has a clear conscience and is ready to go forward stronger than before and with his head held high.

"Proud to have given his all for His country. Or maybe, as you say, I'm not Italian. Africans would never abandon one of their brothers. NEVER.

"In that respect us blacks, as you call us, are light years ahead. SHAME is not that you can miss a goal or run less or more. SHAMEFULNESS ARE THESE THINGS. True Italians! True?"

It is not the first time Balotelli has been targeted by racist Italian supporters.

The AC Milan striker has several times faced racial abuse on at football grounds in Italy, most notably from Juventus fans during his Inter Milan days, before heading to England and Manchester City.

He was even racially abused at an Italy training camp in Coverciano, just outside Florence, in May in the build up to the World Cup.

In 2010 in a friendly against Romania in Austria he was abused by Romanian fans while some Italian supporters held up a banner saying: "no to a multi-cultural Italy."

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Federer notches first round win at Big W

LONDON: Roger Federer began his campaign for an eighth Wimbledon title with a confident 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 win over Italy's Paolo Lorenzi on Tuesday.

The fourth-seeded, 17-time major winner goes on to face either Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller or Julien Benneteau of France for a place in the last 32.

Defeat for Lorenzi meant the 32-year-old has still to win a match at a Grand Slam in 11 years and his record at the majors of no wins and 13 losses is the second worst in history.

Federer came into the tournament buoyed by a seventh Halle grasscourt crown last week, but lost to Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovksy in the second round 12 months ago. That was his earliest defeat at the tournament since 2002.

The Swiss took victory on a sixth match point having fired nine aces and 36 winners.

"It's always good to win the first round because the court can be slippery sometimes," he said.

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Italy all set for World Cup survival fight

RIO DE JANEIRO: Italy face Uruguay in a World Cup fight for survival on Tuesday between the former champions as England hope to draw a line under a disastrous campaign by giving a sign of hope for the future.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014 | Points Table | Schedule & Results

There will also be a three-way battle for a round of 16 place between Ivory Coast, Japan and Greece.

Italy play Uruguay in Natal at 1600 GMT with Italy needing a point and their opponents, because of their inferior goal difference, aiming for a win to go through from Group D.

Match Predictions | Tournament Predictions

At the same time, group leaders Costa Rica will be looking for a third upset scalp when they take on England in Belo Horizonte.

In Group C, Japan play leaders Colombia in Cuiaba at 2200 GMT knowing that even a win does not guarantee a place in the knockout stage. They will be anxiously waiting for news of the Greece-Ivory Coast game at the same time in Fortaleza.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has hinted at using the untried strike partnership of Mario Balotelli and Ciro Immobile as Italy seek the point to avoid falling out at the group stage for the second straight World Cup finals.

Balotelli is already certain to start. But the coach said that 24-year-old Immobile could help counter Uruguay's Luiz Suarez and Edinson Cavani, who Prandelli said was "one of the strongest strike partnerships at the World Cup."

Costa Rica are already qualified having beaten Italy and Uruguay. One point against demoralised England will be enough.

Roy Hodgson has ordered nine changes to the team beaten by two Suarez goals for their last match in Brazil.

He remains defiant though. "We're very conscious of the fact that our fans are as disappointed and devastated as we are, but they are still here supporting us," said Hodgson.

"It's a top-class international on the biggest stage of all, the World Cup, so anything else than taking the game very seriously and trying to win the game in its own right would be out of the question," he added.

Deciding Group C is like rolling dice in comparison. Colombia are qualified and with their superior goal difference are still likely to top the group even if Japan rise up to beat them in Cuiaba.

Asian champions Japan, who have scored only one goal so far, need a big win and coach Alberto Zaccheroni said he is "confident" that it is possible.

But he insisted they must come together as a team to prove their worth and support star striker Keisuke Honda.

"If the team doesn't have the right balance then even the great individual players suffer from that and have difficulty," Zaccheroni said.

Greece have yet to score a goal, but remain a thorn in the side of their rivals, still able to qualify on paper with landslide of goals against Ivory Coast.

Just a draw for the Africans would probably see them through as long as Japan do not win.

The Africans have plenty of stars led by the veteran Didier Drogba. But Yaya and Kolo Toure will have to shake off their grief over the death of their brother last week.

To spice up the stakes, President Alassane Ouattara said Monday he would double their World Cup win bonuses of about 17,000 euros if they beat Greece.

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'Privileged to be Wimbledon champion'

LONDON: Marion Bartoli was asked by the media if her triumph at the All England Club 12 months ago was fate. "Do you believe in miracles?" the Frenchwoman, 29, sunshine personality and rainbow-hued sense of style, shot back.

Bartoli, Wimbledon's defending champion now retired -- the first since Steffi Graf in 1997 not to defend her title -- then went on to answer her own question.

"It was truly a miracle," she said, adjusting her top, determined to show an ample bare shoulder.

"You have to understand that I couldn't even lift my hands in the morning each day. It was only with the help of my physio, who warmed up my shoulder that I could actually play. The same with my back and my Achilles. I put all the energy and desire I had inside my body into that Championship. It was my total last effort and somehow I was able to pull it off."

Bartoli, who will watch from the Royal Box, as German Sabine Lisicki plays the ceremonial match on centre court on Tuesday, said, "It's an absolute privilege to be the Wimbledon champion. It's almost better than me. Sometimes people ask me who are you? I just say, 'I'm the Wimbledon champion'. It says it all. I don't even have to say my name."

Bartoli, who recently launched her line of footwear, said she watched her ace on championship point 'every couple of days' on YouTube, and has a photo of her trophy on her phone which she peeks into every now and then.

"I felt my best chance to win Wimbledon was in 2011," Bartoli said, "I was coming in here after making the semis of the French Open and winning at Eastbourne. In 2013 I expected nothing, yet I won without dropping a set. It was a fairy tale that happened in my life last year. I finally got my title. That's my last memory of my tennis career and it stays in my heart forever. I wish I could have won 10 Grand Slams. I won just won. But it was the best one I won."

Bartoli, who retired from the sport shortly after winning Wimbledon, said, she misses most her final moments of victory at the All England Club.

"The last five seconds of my final, which is when I was about to serve the ace and then I served the ace" she said, "then knowing it was an ace, and knowing I had won Wimbledon. That's probably what I am missing."

"I don't miss having to wake-up every morning and not being able to lift my arm, my whole body sore" she said, "having to travel, pack and unpack. All the practice time you have to book, make sure your schedule is ready. Everything has to be ready every single day."

Bartoli said she enjoyed the road for as long as her career lasted. "I really enjoyed every single second of my tennis career. It wasn't heavy for me. I was so driven, I was ready to do everything I needed to do to fulfil my dream."

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Wawrinka avoids another first-round exit

LONDON: Stanislas Wawrinka conquered his first-round Wimbledon demons on Tuesday as he bludgeoned his way around the freshly cut sward and into the second round for the first time in three years.

The Australian Open champion has struggled at the All England Club, losing his opening match five times in nine visits, but the Swiss never looked in danger of another early exit as he won 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 against Portugal's Joao Sousa.

Fiery fifth seed Wawrinka delighted the sun-baked Court Two crowd with an assured performance, displaying a full range of sizzling groundstrokes to leave Sousa without a glimpse of a break point.

Grass is a surface that will cause problems unless you are completely confident and relaxed with it, said Wawrinka, who will play Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round.

"That's why I had problems in the past. In the first round you can be a little bit tight, a little bit nervous. On that surface, it's really tough to get through. You have to be ready from the first match."

Wawrinka, who was flung out of the French Open in the first round but reached the semifinals of the Queen's Club warm-up tournament this month, does not feel any added weight of expectation to perform in southwest London.

"The pressure is always there," he said. "My loss in Paris didn't change that ... I know that I can do some damage here, but I need to be focused for the next one."

Having won the Australian Open in the first grand slam of the year, Wawrinka has struggled to match his early season form but the world No.3 believes it is only a matter of time before he gets his hands on a second major title.

"The ranking doesn't lie. If I'm there, it's because I deserve to be there ... I still think that I can have a big result in a big tournament," he said.

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Sharapova storms into second round

LONDON: French Open champion Maria Sharapova started her bid to win a second Wimbledon title with a ruthless 6-1, 6-0 demolition of British wild card Samantha Murray on Tuesday.

Russian fifth seed Sharapova, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her famous victory over Serena Williams as a 17-year-old in the 2004 Wimbledon final, was back in action for the first time since her triumph in Paris.

And she breezed past world number 247 Murray in just 58 minutes on Court One to secure a second round tie against Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky.

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Argentina must turn into full orchestra

BELO HORIZONTE: World Cup contenders Argentina arrived in Brazil with high hopes but Saturday's last-gasp win over underdogs Iran exposed deficiencies within the team that need rapid improvement if they are to mount a realistic title bid.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014 | Points Table | Schedule & Result

Lionel Messi's sumptuous stoppage-time strike may have secured a ticket through to the next round with a Group F game to spare but Argentina's attack and defence looked anything but world class against an arguably much weaker opponent.

Going into the game with one of the most intimidating attacking formations in the business, with Messi joined by Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria, Argentina were scrappy going forward and left gaping holes in defence.

The 'Fab Four', as the quartet is known, looked more like a hastily assembled tribute act that were completely out of tune for most of the game and their 1-0 victory was barely deserved.

Higuain and Aguero managed only one shot each in the entire game compared to Messi's six.

"We have to have a good look at what happened and try to improve. We have a few causes for concern," head coach Alejandro Sabella told reporters.

One of those areas is Argentina'a work down the flanks with Aguero and Di Maria, whose combined worth is several times more than that of the entire Iranian team, proving completely ineffective against their unheralded opponents.

Higuain's own effectiveness as a striker was also brought into question with Sabella taking him and Aguero off late in the game in an effort to revive his front line.

DEFENSIVE WORRIES

Despite a crowded defence and three or even four Iranians marking Messi in midfield, the ball was circulated out to the wings far too infrequently.

Against tougher defences later in the tournament, their work will only become that much harder.

"We did go down the one side but we did not do it that well over both wings," Sabella said.

The Argentines also need to improve at the back with central defender Ezekiel Garay repeatedly caught off guard when Iran broke forward, especially in the second half.

Garay had laughed off suggestions before the tournament the Argentine defence was their weak link but that was exactly the case against Iran, who could have scored in a strong second half performance and stunned the two-time World Cup winners.

Iran's Reza Ghoochannejhad almost stole in with a header on one of their quick counter attacks with Garay out of position, and Ashkan Dejagah repeatedly sprinted past defender Pablo Zabaleta to carve out a few more chances for the Asians.

"We know we are not playing as well as we are expected," Messi said. "But as we go along in the tournament, we will be improving and we will reach our full potential."

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'Madrid could sign Suarez after WC'

MADRID: Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti says the signing of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez and two other players will be discussed after the 2014 World Cup.

"There will be no signings until after the World Cup. We are in no rush and we do not need to do a lot of business," Ancelotti was quoted as saying by Spanish daily Marca before flying for his summer vacation, reports EFE.

Marca said that Real Madrid are also eying players like Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Toni Kroos and Marco Verratti as the club wants to "form a dream frontline" beside Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.

Having to pay a 75 million euros release clause to Liverpool, Real Madrid have to "make sure they will get the full money's worth if they sign" the 27-year-old Suarez.

Despite going under the knife for a knee surgery three weeks ago, Suarez managed to score a brace in the 2014 World Cup securing Uruguay's win over England on Thursday.

Suarez is living his best moments as he was the Premier League's top scorer in the 2013-14 season with a tally of 31 goals and shared the European Golden Shoe Award with goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Rosberg wins in Austria to stretch lead

SPIELBERG (Austria): Championship leader Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Grand Prix here on Sunday, putting Mercedes back on top in a nail-biting finale with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

F1 Results | Drivers' Standings | Constructors' Standings

The German, clinching his third win this season, managed to hold off Hamilton until the end, with Williams driver Valtteri Bottas taking his first ever podium, in what turned out to be a disastrous home race for Red Bull.

Bottas's teammate Felipe Massa, who had started on pole, was fourth, followed by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez of Force India and McLaren's Kevin Magnussen.

The season's eighth race saw Mercedes extend their lead in the constructors' standings to 301 points, with Red Bull trailing in a distant second place with 143 points.

It also gives Rosberg -- who has never finished off the podium this season -- a 29-point lead on four-win Hamilton in the fierce internal Mercedes battle.

Sunday's race at the Red Bull Ring started with an all-Williams front row after Brazilian Felipe Massa and Bottas put in a superior performance in Saturday's qualifying, depriving Mercedes of pole for the first time this season.

But the German team showed already in the first lap that they were in fighting spirit, with Rosberg briefly coming into second position, while Hamilton jumped from ninth into fourth place after a thundering start.

After taking his first pole position since 2008, Massa had hoped to follow this up with his first win in six years, but this was not to be.

Instead, it was Bottas who brought Williams their first podium in a year.

For Red Bull, which went into this home race having won the Canadian Grand Prix, the day proved a wash-out with Daniel Ricciardo finishing eighth.

A disappointing season for reigning four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull meanwhile went from bad to worse as he was forced to retire.

Having started in 12th position, he never had a chance as his car came to a complete halt shortly after the start.

He managed to restart but had to call it quits halfway through the race, having also had a minor brush with Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez that was being investigated.

Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat also had to pull out after 26 laps with brake problems, later followed by teammate Jean-Eric Vergne.

Sergio Perez of Force India posted some of the fastest laps on the track and managed to move up to sixth postion after starting in 15th place for causing a crash in Canada with Massa.

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Rosberg wins in Austria to stretch lead

SPIELBERG (Austria): Championship leader Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Grand Prix here on Sunday, putting Mercedes back on top in a nail-biting finale with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

F1 Results | Drivers' Standings | Constructors' Standings

The German, clinching his third win this season, managed to hold off Hamilton until the end, with Williams driver Valtteri Bottas taking his first ever podium, in what turned out to be a disastrous home race for Red Bull.

Bottas's teammate Felipe Massa, who had started on pole, was fourth, followed by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez of Force India and McLaren's Kevin Magnussen.

The season's eighth race saw Mercedes extend their lead in the constructors' standings to 301 points, with Red Bull trailing in a distant second place with 143 points.

It also gives Rosberg -- who has never finished off the podium this season -- a 29-point lead on four-win Hamilton in the fierce internal Mercedes battle.

Sunday's race at the Red Bull Ring started with an all-Williams front row after Brazilian Felipe Massa and Bottas put in a superior performance in Saturday's qualifying, depriving Mercedes of pole for the first time this season.

But the German team showed already in the first lap that they were in fighting spirit, with Rosberg briefly coming into second position, while Hamilton jumped from ninth into fourth place after a thundering start.

After taking his first pole position since 2008, Massa had hoped to follow this up with his first win in six years, but this was not to be.

Instead, it was Bottas who brought Williams their first podium in a year.

For Red Bull, which went into this home race having won the Canadian Grand Prix, the day proved a wash-out with Daniel Ricciardo finishing eighth.

A disappointing season for reigning four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull meanwhile went from bad to worse as he was forced to retire.

Having started in 12th position, he never had a chance as his car came to a complete halt shortly after the start.

He managed to restart but had to call it quits halfway through the race, having also had a minor brush with Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez that was being investigated.

Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat also had to pull out after 26 laps with brake problems, later followed by teammate Jean-Eric Vergne.

Sergio Perez of Force India posted some of the fastest laps on the track and managed to move up to sixth postion after starting in 15th place for causing a crash in Canada with Massa.

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In or out: Italy, Uruguay battle to advance

NATAL: Luis Suarez and Uruguay are full of momentum after beating England.

Mario Balotelli and Italy are struggling to recover after a draining loss to Costa Rica.

Full Coverage: World Cup 2014 | Points Table | Schedule & Result

Two teams in completely different states - both mentally and physically - meet Tuesday and only one of them will advance to the second round of the World Cup.

"I'm enjoying this moment," Suarez said after scoring both goals in the 2-1 win over England.

However, Italy holds the edge in terms of result options due to a better goal difference.

If the Azzurri win or draw they go through, while Uruguay must win to reach the last 16.

Costa Rica has already advanced and leads Group D with six points from two games. Italy and Uruguay have three points each and England has already been eliminated with zero points.

"We have only one necessity now," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We must regain our energy. ... With this match either you're in or you're out and I'm hoping to see an Italy with a different approach."

That was why Prandelli put an emphasis on sprinting in training Sunday, instructing his players to rush into the area at full speed before attempting shots on goal.

The match at the Arena das Dunas - named after this coastal city's massive sand dunes - will start at 1 p.m. local time (noon EDT/1600 GMT), meaning that heat could be an issue again.

Prandelli is also tinkering with potential formation and lineup changes. He faces widespread calls to insert Ciro Immobile alongside Mario Balotelli in attack.

Immobile led Serie A with 22 goals - none of them penalties - for Torino before signing with Borussia Dortmund just days before departing for Brazil. But his only appearance so far in this tournament was in the final 17 minutes of the 2-1 win over England.

And with defensive midfielder Daniele De Rossi almost surely ruled out due to an injured calf muscle, Prandelli will probably revert from a four-man defense to the three-man formation employed by three-time Serie A champion Juventus. Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli - who all play for the Turin club - would fill those places.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti is set to return in midfield for Italy and left wing back Mattia De Sciglio is ready to play after missing the opening two matches due to an injured thigh muscle.

Uruguay is a familiar opponent for Italy. The Azzurri beat the South American side in a penalty shootout in the third-place match of last year's Confederations Cup. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stopped three penalties in the shootout, which followed an entertaining 2-2 draw in which Edinson Cavani scored both goals for Uruguay.

Italy is just as familiar for Uruguay, though.

Wing back Martin Caceres plays for Juventus, midfielder Walter Gargano is with Parma, left back Alvaro Pereira is owned by Inter Milan and Cavani spent seven seasons in Serie A before joining PSG a year ago.

"I don't expect Italy to put 10 men behind the ball, as that is not their style," Caceres said. "And that suits us, because Suarez and Cavani become deadly with a little space. We'll play on the counter attack.

"Italy's loss to Costa Rica surprised us," Caceres added. "It would have been better for us if the Azzurri had won. That way a draw would be enough for both teams."

Now, though, as Prandelli says, it's "in or out."

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No royal kisses for Mario Balotelli

RECIFE (Brazil): There will be no kisses from Britain's Queen Elizabeth for Italy striker Mario Balotelli after his team wilted in the Brazilian heat against Costa Rica and slumped to a 1-0 defeat.

Full Coverage: Fifa World Cup 2014

Having already lost to the Italians, England needed them to win against Costa Rica to have any chance of making the knockout stages, and Balotelli seized the opportunity to make mischief.

"If we beat Costa Rica I want a kiss, obviously on the cheek, from the UK Queen," Balotelli had tweeted before Friday's game, but aside from a couple of chances he did precious little to warrant a display of affection from the monarch.

Superbly marshalled by Costa Rica's unheralded Columbus Crew defender Giancarlo Gonzalez, Balotelli got in behind the defence twice in quick succession in the first half.

He had one shot parried by Keylor Navas and lobbed another effort wide of goal with the Costa Rican keeper stranded.

But in the second half the striker created nothing of note as the Central Americans hung on for a famous victory thanks to Bryan Ruiz's headed goal a minute before the break.

The 23-year-old Balotelli had been similarly anonymous for large parts of Italy's opening Group D game against England, but at least he popped up to head the winner in a 2-1 victory.

INEFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE

Italy manager Cesare Prandelli was left to rue his striker's ineffective performance, saying: "Mario played well in the first half. He had two chances and if he had scored then the game would have been different."

Balotelli was not alone with his below-par performance as most of his team mates failed to impress the Italian fans on a hot and humid afternoon at the Pernambuco arena in Recife.

Having faced England in muggy conditions in Manaus, the 1pm local kickoff time, baking sunshine and a committed Costa Rica side provided another tough physical test for the Italians.

Despite Balotelli's undoubted pace and power the Costa Ricans chose to push up the pitch and leave space behind their five-man backline for him to run into, instead concentrating on closing off the supply lines to the striker.

Costa Rica's midfield also stopped Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo from picking them apart with their passing game, and the pair barely created a chance of note for Balotelli and his attacking team mates in the second half.

The narrow win was enough to guarantee qualification for the knockout stages for Costa Rica, with Italy needing at least a draw in their final group game against Uruguay to advance.

As yet, Balotelli's Twitter account is silent on who the object of his affections should be if they reach the last 16.

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Anand finishes joint fifth in World Blitz

DUBAI: Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand had to be content with a joint fifth finish even as reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen scripted history by winning the World Blitz Championship that concluded here.

Anand, starting the day on 7.5 points from the first 11 games, scored another six points out of last 10 to end on 13.5 points in all which was good enough for the joint fifth place. The five-time world champion finished seventh overall when the tie was resolved.

After winning the world rapid, Carlsen became the first chess player ever to hold three world championship crowns as he handsomely won the blitz title too with a remarkable 17 points.

Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia gave Carlsen a tough fight in the race but eventually he and Hikaru Nakamura of United States tied for the second spot a full point behind Carlsen.

For the records, Nepomniachtchi won the silver while the bronze went to Nakamura who started as the top seed in the championship.

Le Quang Liem of Vietnam finished sole fourth on 14 points and it was a four-way tie for the fifth spot in which Anand figured alongside Azerbaijani duo of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Rauf Mamedov and Levon Aronian of Armenia.

Anand remained close but not enough to stake his claim for a podium finish. The final day started well for the Indian as he beat compatriot P Harikrishna, drew with Carlsen and then beat Georg Meier of Germany to notch 2.5 points from the first three games.

However, three losses at the hands of Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura and Quang Liem proved costly in the last seven games and it was only thanks to a final round victory over Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan that Anand could finish in the top ten.

Carlsen on the other hand scored eight out of last ten to stay a full point clear of nearest rivals.

The Norwegian scored six victories and four draws on the last day to record a performance rating of 2981 points which will also make him the number one player in blitz rating ahead of Hikaru Nakamura post this event.

With participation of most of the top players, this was certainly the strongest ever blitz championship.

For five days of hard work, Carlsen pocketed USD 80000 (approximately Rs 47 Lakh) by winning both rapid and blitz.

Both championships carried an identical prize fund of USD 200000 out of which USD 40000 was reserved for the winner in each section.

Apart from Anand, P Harikrishna was the only Indian who finished among prize winners finishing 14th overall after tying for the 12th spot. Harikrishna scored 12.5 points in all and also gained over 50 blitz rating points.

Among other Indians in the fray, Surya Shekhar Ganguly scored 10.5 points, Sandipan Chanda and M Shyam Sundar scored an identical ten, Debashish Das ended on nine while Sriram Jha finished with 8.5 points in all.

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Massa puts Williams on pole in Austria

SPIELBERG (Austria): Brazilian Felipe Massa seized his first Formula One pole position since 2008 as a resurgent Williams swept the front row of the starting grid on Saturday in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

F1 Track Centre

Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas took second place for the Mercedes-powered former world champions with championship leader Nico Rosberg third fastest for Mercedes.

It was the first time this season that dominant Mercedes had not taken pole and the race will see Williams' first start from the front of the grid since Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in Spain in 2012.

"Williams are back to the top, they are back to fight. I am pleased for me and the team as well," declared an emotional Massa whose last pole was with Ferrari at his home grand prix before finishing that season as runner-up.

"After a long time I hope this is just the beginning of great possibilities. I hope to be in this position again," added the Brazilian who suffered near-fatal head injuries in a freak accident in Hungary in 2009.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg's team mate and closest championship rival who is 22 points behind the German after seven races, had a nightmare session.

The 2008 world champion will start ninth after his first flying lap of the revamped Red Bull Ring was disallowed because he exceeded track limits and he then spun on his final attempt.

Red Bull's quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel fared even worse, qualifying 13th at what counts as a home circuit for the team.

"I'm not happy, let's put it that way," said the German. "I think anything is possible tomorrow but surely we are not as quick as we'd like to be."

Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo, winner of the previous race in Canada, qualified ahead of Vettel yet again and will start fifth, behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

The last time two Williams drivers lined up together on the front row was in Germany 11 years ago - the year Austria was last on the calendar.

"I am so happy with what has happened today, with us, our team, it was such a great moment. It is a long time since I last had a pole position," Massa told reporters.

Bottas also celebrated his best ever qualifying performance.

"It's a great result for the team. We've made progress throughout the year and now we get this result. The hard work is all paying off," said the Finn.

"It will be a different story tomorrow I think. We have a big, big job to keep the Mercedes cars behind us - and some of the other cars - Ferrari and Red Bull - can do well also."

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Rooney says sorry for England flop

RIO DE JANEIRO: Wayne Rooney on Saturday apologised to England fans for the country's disastrous exit from the World Cup after two defeats.

Full Coverage: Fifa World Cup 2014

The 28-year-old Manchester United striker said on his Facebook page that he was "absolutely devastated" and "gutted" by the losses to Italy and Uruguay in Group D.

Costa Rica beat Italy 1-0, snuffing out any remaining hope for England.

"Sorry to all the fans that travelled and at home that we haven't done better," said Rooney, who did manage to get his first World Cup finals goal in the Uruguay game.

"Going into each game we had great belief in ourselves but unfortunately it hasn't worked out," he added.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere sent the same message to England fans.

"Gutted doesn't come close to how I am feeling right now. Sorry to all the fans who came out and supported us, and everyone back home," the 22-year-old Arsenal player said on his Twitter account.

England have faced withering criticism from the media. But the English Football Association has insisted it will stick with coach Roy Hodgson for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

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