DURBAN: Lukas Podolski has billed the World Cup semi-final against Spain as a perfect opportunity for Germany to avenge their Euro 2008 final defeat by the Spaniards.Fernando Torres`s strike gave Spain a 1-0 win in the final in Vienna two years ago and Podolski, one of the German veterans

LONDON: Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that despite their defeat in the dramatic World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay, Ghana were the true winners.In a letter to the Ghana team, Annan, a Ghanaian himself, said his reaction at the end of the match on Friday when the

CAPE TOWN: Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez made six changes to his side for their World Cup semi-final against the Netherlands on Tuesday as the South Americans look to make their first final in 60 years.Several switches were inevitable with influential striker Luis Suarez suspended after

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka`s world record holding bowler Muttiah Muralitharan will retire from Test cricket after the first match against India this month, the governing body of the sport said Tuesday."Muttiah Muralitharan has decided to retire from Test cricket after the first Test in Galle

CAPE TOWN: President Jacob Zuma said Tuesday the World Cup has brought "priceless" benefits to South Africa, as fans of the Netherlands and Uruguay descended on Cape Town for their semi-final match.With Sunday`s final now just days away, Zuma said the 33 billion rand (4.2 billion dollars,

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan`s cricket chief ruled out Tuesday the imminent return of former captain Younus Khan to the national team, after the player`s lawyer complained that he had been left out of an England tour.The player failed to make selection for the tour after the Pakistan Cricket Board

DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket would be developed with the assistances of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and International Cricket Council (ICC) within next two years, said Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president on Tuesday. BCB boss A H M Mustafa Kamal MP, in a press conference, also hoped,

NAIROBI: Visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio `Lula` da Silva said here on Tuesday he is backing Uruguay to win the World Cup in South Africa.Lula, who arrived in Kenya on the third leg of his African tour enroute to South Africa for the finals said he is yet to come to terms with the

MADRID: Spain`s Euro 2008 winning coach Luis Aragones said on Tuesday that he believed the Spanish would beat Germany in their World Cup semi-final - a far cry from the critical comments he has been making throughout the finals.The 71-year-old Aragones said that he had witnessed a Spanish

LONDON: England`s World Cup captain Steven Gerrard said there was "no way" he would be calling time on his international career after their miserable run in South Africa.The 30-year-old midfielder said he would not be following in the footsteps of his Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher

BIRMINGHAM: Beaten Australia Twenty20 captain Michael Clarke said there was nothing `neutral` about the support Pakistan had received from a capacity Edgbaston crowd here on Monday.Australia lost the first of two Twenty20 internationals against Pakistan -- the second is at Edgbaston on

BIRMINGHAM: Beaten Australia Twenty20 captain Michael Clarke said there was nothing `neutral` about the support Pakistan had received from a capacity Edgbaston crowd here on Monday.Australia lost the first of two Twenty20 internationals against Pakistan -- the second is at Edgbaston on

LONDON, July 5, 2010 (AFP) - Bangladesh were boosted ahead of the first of three one-day internationals against England on Thursday after a 141-run success against a makeshift Middlesex side at Lord`s on Monday.Bangladesh posted 301 for seven, then dismissed the hosts for just 160 with 10

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina coach Diego Maradona hinted he may resign as he returned home following his side`s World Cup elimination, according to a report from Argentine cable channel Cronica TV."That`s it, my cycle has finished," Maradona reportedly said as he arrived at his home here on

BERLIN:  A German man shot two Italians in a pub on Monday, killing one and leaving the other fighting for his life, after a row about past World Cup performances of their respective teams, police said."According to our current investigations, the three men got into an argument in the

ABUJA: Nigeria`s government on Monday lifted a two-year ban it imposed last week on its national football team after a dismal World Cup showing, just ahead of a FIFA deadline to do so, a presidential source said."The government has reversed the decision," the source told AFP. A formal

JOHANNESBURG: The European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards will be merged into the FIFA Ballon d`Or, award organisers France Football and FIFA announced here on Monday.French magazine France Football has been awarding the Ballon d`Or (Golden Ball) to the

PARIS: Rafael Nadal soared 3,840 points ahead of his rivals in the latest ATP men`s tennis rankings released Monday, following the Spaniard`s victory in Wimbledon.Nadal, who regained the number one spot after claiming the French Open title, now stands on 10,745 points, with Serbian Novak

LONDON: Rafael Nadal said he was going to spend time fishing and partying before setting his sights on the one Grand Slam title he has never won - the US Open.The Spanish world number one said he was heading home to his Mediterranen island of Mallorca to have fun with his friends on the

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni married his girlfriend of two years at a resort hotel in the north of the country, newspapers reported on Monday.Dhoni, often described as India`s most eligible bachelor, exchanged vows with Sakshi Singh Rawat at a private ceremony