BRAZIL WON
Brazil wins behind Ronaldo's record goal
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England in quarter
Toothless Lions Finally Find Their Bite to Beat Ecuador
England toiled in scorching heat in Stuttgart in their last 16 clash against underdogs Ecuador but after surviving a few scares David Beckham's free-kick was enough to send the Three Lions into the quarter-finals.
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france in final 16
BERLIN - France rediscovered a little of the magic that made them world champions eight years ago, beating Togo 2-0 on Friday in an energetic World Cup performance that set up a tantalizing second round clash with Spain.The win for "les Bleus" was the first in the tournament since they shocked Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 final, helped by two goals from midfield maestro Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane, who will retire after the World Cup, could not play on Friday after picking up yellow cards in prior matches, but goals from Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira -- two of his team mates from 1998 -- were enough to send France through.
Next they will face Spain, who beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 on Friday using a second-string team and are now being mentioned among the favorites for the title after an impressive start in which they won all three of their first round matches.
Switzerland and Ukraine were also victorious on Friday, eliminating South Korea and Tunisia. They will meet in Cologne in another knockout match on Monday.
Among the favorites to win the World Cup in 2002, France stumbled out at the group stage after failing to score a goal and suffering humiliating defeats to Senegal and Denmark.
In Germany so far they had managed only disappointing draws against Switzerland and South Korea and many were dismissing them as tired and washed up.
They had to wait until the 55th minute to take the lead against Togo. Vieira, who was 30 on Friday, swiveled in the box to rifle a shot into the corner of the net.
Henry followed suit six minutes later with a close range shot set up by a Vieira header.
"There is great potential in this team and I hope this qualification will help us play more freely because we aren't bad at all," said Vieira.
SHEVCHENKO PENALTY
In Friday's other matches, goals from Philippe Senderos and Alex Frei gave Switzerland a 2-0 win over South Korea.
Senderos headed the opening goal from a free kick by Hakan Yakin in the 23rd minute and Frei made sure of victory with 13 minutes left, pouncing on a stray pass by a defender, rounding goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae and slotting the ball into an empty net.
South Korea, semi-finalists four years ago, were angry that Argentine referee Horacio Eilzondo ignored a linesman's offside flag in the build-up to Frei's goal.
Ukraine, playing in their first World Cup finals, advanced with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia.
Captain Andriy Shevchenko, European Footballer of the Year in 2004, powered his way into the Tunisian box in the 70th minute and was bumped by two defenders before stumbling over his own feet and crashing to the ground. He was awarded a penalty and slotted calmly past goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel.
Ukraine suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Spain in their first match of the tournament, but bounced back to thrash Saudi Arabia by the same score.
"It's a hugely important achievement for Ukrainian football that we are into the next round," said Shevchenko. "We always kept our belief despite the terrible defeat against Spain."
VICTORIA IN WORLD CUP
World Cup glamour provided by Victoria Beckham and Co.
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BRAZIL BEAT JAPAN 4-1
Thursday, June 22, 2006 (Dortmund)Brazil fielded five reserve players on Thursday and still beat Japan 4-1 to win Group F at the World Cup.Ronaldo scored his 13th and 14th World Cup goals to pass Pele as Brazil's all-time leading scorer in the competition, while reserve players Juninho and Gilberto each added a goal.The victory - Brazil's 10th consecutive in World Cups - secured set up a second-round match against Ghana on Tuesday.Japan is eliminated, failing to repeat its second-round appearance from the 2002 tournament. The Japanese team, coached by former Brazil international Zico, needed to defeat the five-time champions to keep its chances of advancing alive.Zico changed both his starting strikers trying to boost the attack, and it seemed to work when the Japanese surprisingly took the lead despite being outplayed.Keiji Tamada, one of the new forwards, put Japan ahead in the 34th minute with a powerful left-footer from inside the area after a through pass by Alessandro Santos. Tamada received the ball unmarked, then quickly fired into the left-upper corner of the net.Ronaldo improved after lackluster showings in previous matches and was a constant threat. He equalized with a header a minute into first-half injury time, set up by a header across the area from Real Madrid teammate Cicinho.Ronaldo scored his second goal in the 81st, with a right-footer from 20 meters after a set up by defender Juan.Ronaldo is only one goal short of becoming the tournament's overall leading scorer. He is level with Gerd Mueller of Germany.Juninho, replacing regular starter Ze Roberto, scored Brazil's second goal in the 53rd with a shot from about 25 meters (yards). Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi badly misjudged the shot.Gilberto, replacing Roberto Carlos, got Brazil's third goal in the 59th after a neat through pass from Ronaldinho. Gilberto entered the area unmarked and sent a low left-footer past Kawaguchi.The goal by Japan was Brazil's first conceded in World Cups in four matches. It hadn't allowed a goal in the tournament since its 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals of the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. Brazil could've equaled Italy's record of five straight shutouts in the 1990 World Cup.Brazil finished the group with nine points, five more than second-place Australia. Croatia was third with two points, and Japan last with one.Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's changes to the lineup - leaving out veteran wingers Cafu and Roberto Carlos, midfielders Emerson and Ze Roberto and striker Adriano - worked from the beginning.Cicinho, Gilberto, Gilberto Silva, Juninho and Robinho all played well and contributed to Brazil's victory.Robinho, who had substituted Ronaldo in the first two matches, added speed to Brazil's attack from the start, creating several scoring opportunities and setting up his teammates in several occasions.Despite the goal allowed, Brazil controlled possession and dominated most of the match, only failing to get more goals because of saves by Kawaguchi.Brazil had struggled in its first two matches despite victories over Croatia and Australia. The defending champions - who entered the tournament heavily favored to win a record sixth title - performed well below expectations, being heavily challenged and failing to impress.It was Brazil's sixth victory against Japan in eight matches. The teams drew two times, including 2-2 in the Confederations Cup in Germany last year.It was the second encounter between Zico and his native country. The coach had faced Brazil for the first time in the Confederations Cup draw last year. (AP)
SANIA MIRZA
India's Sania Mirza was given a tough first-round game at the DFS Classic in Edgbaston by Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko before coming through 6-2 3-6 6-3. 
BRAZIL BEAT CROTIA 1-0
Berlin - Brazil opened their campaign for a sixth title when they beat Croatia 1-0 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium on Tuesday. 
WORLD CUP DESIGN
Top Designer Says World Cup Design "Just Embarrassing"
Erik Spiekermann, one of Germany's most respected designers, has been openly critical of the design concept for the 2006 World Cup, from the mascot to the logo. He told DW-WORLD.DE why it hasn't been successful.
Erik Spiekermann is one of Germany's best-known typographers and designers. He was one of the founders of MetaDesign, one of Germany's leading studios for corporate design and branding, whose clients have included Apple Computer, Audi, VW, IBM and Nike. He has designed the passenger information systems for the German railway system and helped redesign The Economist magazine. He is an honorary professor at the College of Art in Bremen and is a former president of the International Institute for Information Design. He had no role in the design for the 2006 World Cup. DW-WORLD.DE: You've been very critical of the mascot of the World Cup, Goleo. Why? Erik Spiekermann: Not only the mascot, but the whole business. I mean the mascot itself is a typical effort by too many parties. It's a lion, which has no historical relevance to Germany whatsoever. We have eagles, gnomes and garden dwarves and what have you, but we don't have lions. That's English or French. The mascot is called Goleo, "gol" as in the Spanish for the English word "goal," and "leo" as in Italian, Latin, Spanish for lion. So it's obviously trying to appeal to a world audience, which is kind of nice, but it's a little patronizing. Why not be in Germany and call it "Fritz" or whatever? We are German, so we might as well own up to it. This artificial lion is neither cute nor ugly nor relevant; it's just embarrassing. Is this a case of too many cooks in the design kitchen? 
When I first saw both the lion and the logo, the whole design concept for the World Cup in Germany, I thought oh my God, those poor designers. I've been there, dealt with these kinds of clients. I actually have met some of the designers who perpetrated this design and know that they were at a disadvantage from the outset. Everybody wants to own a design for an event as big as this, from the CEO to his wife to a whole chain of people going down. And there are way too many committees and meetings where changes are required by people who don't know what they're doing. In the end, after all the input, the common denominator in this case turned out to be very, very low. I wouldn't employ any of the guys behind this design. Why don't you think the whole concept works, especially regarding the logo? First, there are too many messages. The original brief was: we've got to fit Germany in there, then 2006, then FIFA, plus we've got to have some happy people in there, we need green for the lawn, we've got the German national colors. So there's green and black and red and yellow and happy faces and FIFA, just way too many messages. You can look at this and count the elements and it just flies in the face of effective communication. Has Germany done better in the past? 
Yes. There was one obvious example: the 1972 Olympics. That was very much the other end of German design. It was designed by a group around Otl Aicher, one of the founders of the old school, very much in the Bauhaus, Germanic, Protestant tradition. It was very strict but they managed to bring in pastel, light colors that made the design look German in that it was clean and tidy, but it was also fun, bright and cheerful. Even their mascot was a little dachshund, which is about as German as they come. It was designed over a couple of years by the best of the crop here, but these guys in Munich who designed for the World Cup this year got picked because they knew somebody high up in the German football association and FIFA. It gives us a bad reputation here. Why do you think the World Cup designers avoided appearing too "German"? Part of it is that we have this incredible cross to bear. You can't be proud to be German because we have such a bad history, at least my generation can't, and I was born in '47. The clients for this particular job are of my generation or older, so I think they were trying to give the world everything in one package while being cheerful about it. It's like designing a joke, and you can't design a joke. I think the original design assignment must have been all over the place. With all the things that had to be avoided and then all the things they wanted included, it was impossible to come up with something good. Unless, of course, you were a designer with a strong personality who would basically tell those guys giving the orders to get lost, which the designers in this case didn't. They just took their money and ran. The World Cup is about the game of soccer first and foremost. Why is design important at all? It has a straightforward function, it tells you where to go, directs you to your goal, the screens, the stadiums, lots of things. It tells people: 'This message pertains to the World Cup.' It's very much like any location or event design: you have to make your presence known to people. Once they are in the system, design tells them whether they are on their right path and indicates what is about to happen to them. Design has a functional role, but it also creates a mood. It has both important functional and psychological roles. So what kind of message does the current design communicate? 
It is communicating that the people who designed it and who briefed it have no confidence in their abilities and that they are trying to please everybody at the same time. They are over-organized; there are too many messages; and nobody wants to take on responsibility. In fact, it is a perfect mirror of German society right now. It is very much akin to the governing grand coalition -- two big parties that are basically canceling each other out because no one can make any decisions. Everyone is trying to be nice, everyone knows we have to do something, change society, change behavior, and economy, but no one wants to take the first step because we're so comfortable. We're still wrapped up in our nice security blanket. We know it's cold outside, but we just stay inside and huddle. This sort of World Cup design is very much communal huddling -- trying to please everyone but never even putting a finger outside of that security blanket. Avoiding controversy at all costs? 
Exactly. What happens in the end is that it becomes incredibly bland. German design is known, and it is known for being German. You buy a Porsche or a BMW or an Audi because it's German, not in spite of the fact that it's German. And not everybody likes it. It has an edge; it's not patronizing. The same goes for graphic design, we have a great history of design. But for some reason, it has just has not moved onto this soccer scene. It's a shame because when people come in from the outside world they think this is how German designers are and for me, it's personally embarrassing. I want to go away and hide and pretend I'm a brain surgeon or something. What would you say to the designers behind the World Cup project? Don't give up your day job.
AUSTRALIA BEAT JAPAN 3-1
Socceroos Hit Over-Confident Japanese With Late Goal Rush
Australia stormed home with three goals in the final eight minutes for a stunning 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Japan in their Group F World Cup match in scorching temperatures in Kaiserslautern Monday.
It was Australia's first World Cup win and their first ever goals in only their second finals' appearance in 32 years. The Australians looked headed for a deflating opening defeat in sapping heat when a controversial 26th-minute goal from playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura rocked them. But a double from Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, who came on eight minutes after halftime, and another goal from substitute striker John Aloisi turned the game around sensationally as the Australians were rewarded for their all-out attack. Cahill fired home in a goalmouth scramble in the 84th minute after goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi fired to clear and he was on the spot again four minutes to lash home a volley that rebounded off the left post into the goal. Cahill and Aloisi fashion remarkable comeback The Japanese were reeling and Aloisi provided the icing with his team's third goal nearing full-time, evading defender Yuichi Komano to rifle home a left-foot volley to send the gold-clad Australian fans into uproar. It all looked to be going sour for Guus Hiddink's Aussies after Nakamura's controversial goal. 
The Celtic midfielder lobbed in a cross from the right and Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer appeared to be knocked off balance by Naohiro Takahara in going for the ball which bounced into the unguarded goal. Egyptian referee Essam Abdullah el Fatah enraged the Australian players when he awarded the goal and was confronted by a couple of players remonstrating with his decision. Australia were always up against it before Hiddink risked everything to throw on Aloisi and striker Josh Kennedy along with attacking midfielder Cahill to save the match. Aussies now face Brazil with last 16 place beckoning The well-marshaled Japanese looked to have survived the incessant Australian attacks before Cahill's equalizing goal rattled their composure. 
Australia now head to Munich next Sunday for their clash with World Cup holders Brazil, while Japan must regroup against Croatia in Nuremberg on the same day. Hiddink further enhanced his reputation as one of the great modern-day coaches with the substitutions which altered the course of the match and gave Australia genuine hope of progressing to the last 16.
Czechs Beat Defiant US 3-0
Impressive Czechs Beat Defiant US 3-0
The first game in Group E, considered one of the tougher ones, was a one-sided affair as the Czech Republic showed a great example of tactically well played soccer.
High expectations were put on this game between the US team, fifth on the FIFA ranking, and the Czechs, who currently are ranked second in the world. But it didn't take long for the crowd in Gelsenkirchen to realize that the FIFA ranking system mustn't be read as the truth. While the Czechs did present themselves as a team to look out for in the later stages of the tournament, the Americans found it hard to convince anyone that they will reach the last 16 teams in a group where they still must play Italy and the African newcomer Ghana. Americans will not give up hope 
Giant striker Jan Koller, who opened the scoring, had headed in the first goal in the fifth minute. But his afternoon suffered a painful end when he was carried off injured on the stroke of half-time. The new Arsenal-signing Rosicky was on target in the 36th and 76th minutes to end the scoring at a comfortable lead. American skipper Claudio Reyna said the early strike had put his men on the backfoot. "Their first goal put us back on our heels," he said. "We played well and hit the post but we then made some tactical changes which didn't work. We needed some width and couldn't get it." 
Reyna said he is convinced that the team's young players need to use the experience of the match when they face mighty Italy on Saturday. "They will be tough to beat but we have to bounce back and learn from this," he added. "Some of the guys in the team are new to the World Cup and they were a little nervous. Now we must look forward and see what we are made of. We will have to be aggressive and not hesitant." Czechs storm on to first place in Group E? 
Next for the Czechs will be Ghana on Saturday, the same day the US team faces Italy. Monday's result puts a lot of pressure on the Americans, who will have to beat the Italians for any realistic chances of reaching the last sixteen. The Czechs, strengthened by the comfortable and impressive victory, will do everything they can to win the group and avoid an early clash with the Brazilians.
ITALY BEAT GHAN 2-0
Italy Rock and Roll Their Way to Victory Over Ghana
Italy began their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ghana in Hanover on Monday. There was a new attacking flair to the Azzurri but the old habit of play-acting was still in evidence with plenty of theatrics.
GERMANY BEAT COSTA RICA 4-2
The 2006 World Cup football tournament got under way with host country Germany winning its opening match against Costa Rica in Munich. Millions of followers gathered in public outdoor venues around the nation to watch the game on huge video screens. VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer reports from the so-called
In the St. Pauli district here, the Fan Fest is divided into a Fan Stadium with a giant screen and a Fan Park, with temporary bleachers as well as a huge standing room area. Throughout the park spectators and party-goers can select from a wide range of food and beverages at special stands. table But football was the main focus Friday with the home team in action.
"It's perfect. It's just, I don't know how to say it, the feelings are like, like football and goose bumpsArno's girlfriend, Wibke, also found the Fan Fest to be an enjoyable experience. "It was great. It was a great feeling here, to be here with other people, friends, and everybody laughs and is feeling good and making jokes, and so it's great. I hope the next games are as good as this is Germany will play its next World Cup match against Poland, which lost to Ecuador in the second match on the opening day, 2-0
ECUADOR BEAT POLAND 2-0
Ecuador did a good job protecting the lead they got from Carlos Tenorio's goal in the 24th minute. Captain Ivan Hurtado and Neicer Reasco helped thwart the few chances the Poles got, although Poland hit the goalpost twice in the final minutes.Delgado then put the game away late. Edison Mendez slid a pass to Ivan Kaviedes, who beat an offside trap and fed Delgado alone in the front of the net for the easy score. Starting the game with Maciej Zurawski as the lone striker, Poland didn't test goalkeeper Cristian Mora at all. Even the substitution of a second forward, Ireneusz Jelen, in the 68th minute didn't help the Poles, who didn't have a shot on goal until the 84th minute. Ecuador is tied with Germany atop Group A. The hosts beat Costa Rica 4-2 earlier Friday. Ecuador, which lost its first two games on its way to first-round elimination in its World Cup debut four years ago, plays Costa Rica next Thursday."This was a great result. We achieved our expectations," Suarez said. "But this is just a step. The mountain is great. This is just the first step for Ecuador in this World Cup." Thousands of Polish fans made the trip to Germany, where the team won the 1972 Olympic gold medal and finished third in the 1974 World cup
OPENING CEREMONY
Spectacular opening for World Cup | ||||||
More than 150 former World Cup winners were on display as the hosts put on a spectacular show. Hosts Germany opened with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica in Munich, while Ecudaor shocked Poland 2-0. World Cup organisers are expecting about one million people to visit Germany for the tournament, with as many as 100,000 of those from England. All police leave has been cancelled across Germany as security forces brace themselves for a massive operation. Five-time winners Brazil are the favourites to win again in a tournament which will be watched by billions worldwide on television. 'Deafening' Supporters packed into the stadium and clustered around giant TV screens on the streets of Munich to watch the game and the star-studded opening ceremony.
The BBC's Laura Smith Spark was at Munich's Olympic Park where thousands watched the opening game on big screens. "The excitement here is huge and the crowd deafening. There is a big police presence - some with spotter cameras, but no signs of any trouble," she said. The BBC's Mandeep Sanghera at the opening ceremony says the fans "certainly got into the swing of the occasion. "A huge banner suspended by scaffolding at the top of the stadium unfurled to say 'Welcome' and was followed by singing from a choir and 182 drummers from Upper Bavaria slowly building up the atmosphere," our reporter says. "There was a mixture of old and new as traditional dancers were followed by the more modern hip-hop contingent.
"Twenty-four extravagantly dressed women were carried on to the pitch to the sound of drumming as the stadium reached capacity." The England players who won the 1966 World Cup led the former champions of past competitions onto the pitch, followed by players from other triumphant sides - dating back to Uruguay in 1930. German President Horst Kohler gave a speech to officially declare Germany 2006 open, before musician Herbert Gronemeyer sang the official Fifa anthem of Celebrate the Day. Top contenders Germany overcame the outsiders Costa Rica - apparently well-prepared not to repeat previous opening game shocks in 1990 (when cup holders Argentina were beaten by Cameroon) and 2002 (when the defending champions France lost to Senegal). Alongside the Olympics, the competition is the biggest sporting event in the world.
The World Cup winners will be crowned after the final in Berlin on 9 July, with England, who face Paraguay on Saturday, among the favourites to win. England, captained by David Beckham, are many people's second favourites and are expected to perform well. But Argentina, Holland, Italy and Spain are among the other fancied teams, while the hosts have an excellent World Cup pedigree and can never be discounted. In the last World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan in 2002, Brazil beat Germany 2-0. | ||||||
Party in berlin
Thousands Party at Berlin's Star-Lined World Cup Fan Fest
Boasting international stars and a laser show, Berlin staged a big party at the Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday for thousands of fans to get in the mood for the World Cup.
Thousands of people thronged the historic Brandenburg Gate in downtown Berlin, a symbol of the city's Cold War division, on Wednesday evening to soak in the mounting excitement gripping the city as the clock ticks down to the soccer World Cup 2006.
Foreign fans from Brazil, Paraguay, Poland, Ecuador, Netherlands and Switzerland, many in colorful costumes, joined thousands of German revelers sporting red, black and yellow hats, outlandish wigs and other whacky fan paraphernalia to sway to an international music line-up and see some soccer legends in the flesh.Simple Minds and Pelé delight crowdsBritish rock group Simple Minds kicked off the concert for the official Berlin fan party to welcome visitors to the month-long event, which begins on Friday when host Germany take on Costa Rica in Munich. Portuguese pop singer Nelly Furtado, British group Right Said Fred and Italian singers Gianna Nannini and Andrea Bocelli also entertained the around 100,000-strong crowd.Sporting celebrities, including Brazilian soccer legend Pele and former British soccer World Cup champion Bobby Charlton, were enthusiastically cheered by the fans. 
Bildunterschrift: "It's God's gift that I'm still so popular and famous even though I haven't stood on the pitch for 25 years," Pele said.The party closed with a soccer film by German director Sönke Wortmann, who won acclaim with his 2003 film "The Miracle of Bern," fireworks and a laser show.Huge fan fests in all 12 citiesWednesday's party was also meant to unveil the so-called fan mile, a stretch between the Brandenburg Gate and the Strasse des 17 Junis that boasts massive video screens on which all the 64 games will be aired live. In addition to hotdogs and beer, fans can also watch live concerts and shows on days when there are no games.All 12 cities hosting the World Cup are staging similar fan fest programs, showing the games on giant screens for the many supporters traveling to Germany without a match ticket.
"It's great that you've all come here despite FIFA canceling the gala," said Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, in reference to the bitter disappointment of Berliners after the soccer governing body abruptly cancelled a lavish opening ceremony planned at Berlin's Olympic Stadium amid concerns it could damage the pitch."It's a wonderful feeling that hundreds of thousands of people are coming here, to be welcomed by friends."
Bildunterschrift: Berlin Welcome cup
Berlin Welcomes World Cup With Early Celebrations
It might not have been the official 2006 World Cup opening ceremony but it drew thousands to the Brandenburg Gate to witness the city's opening gala of the world's greatest soccer event in Berlin on Wednesday.
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