Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe has revealed he feared his World Cup dream was over after a practical joke by England assistant manager Franco Baldini.
Defoe nervously waited to find out if he would be included in England’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup on Tuesday before finally receiving a call from Baldini on behalf of boss Fabio Capello.

France coach Raymond Domenech said on Thurdsay he is confident that his charges can shine at this year’s World Cup.
“I am setting out confident in this group,” insisted Domenech, who led France to an unexpected final in 2006. “This group has desire and has worked well. I have c

Brazil coach Dunga defended his players on Thursday after their complaints about the World Cup ball were criticised by Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke.
Valcke suggested two days ago that the Brazilians were using the ball as an excuse in case of failure, but Dunga dismissed the opinion as that of a “guy who never kicked the ball. He needs to play,” Dunga said.

Only two goals were scored in three matches as the football friendlies ahead of the World Cup entered the penultimate round. Paraguay won 2-0 against fellow World Cup qualifiers Greece while Honduras warmed up for their opener against Chile with a 0-0 draw against Azerbaijan in Austria.

England arrived in South Africa on Thursday morning hoping a favourable first-round draw can be the catalyst for a serious World Cup challenge.
Cool, clear conditions greeted some of the most watched performers in the global televised football arena when they landed at Johannesburg international airport with manager Fabio Capello.

One of the most intriguing elements of Italy’s World Cup defence, in both senses of the word, will be the form and influence of Fabio Cannavaro.
The 36-year-old Juventus defender lifted the trophy four years ago as the Italy captain in a dream season in which he was later named world player of the year and also moved to Real Madrid.

Portugal beat 10-man Cameroon 3-1 and the Netherlands outplayed Ghana 4-1 in World Cup warmups on Tuesday, but Switzerland slumped 0-1 at home to non-qualifiers Costa Rica.

There are two ways of looking at reigning champions Italy at the World Cup in South Africa in June.
The first is that which coach Marcello Lippi will be focussing on, the fact that they are the holders, they have bags of experience from Lippi himself right through the team and they have a history and a culture of winning.

Brazil weathered a Zimbabwe storm before scoring twice late in the opening half to set up a 3-0 victory on Wednesday in a World Cup warm-up game here.
It was easy in the end for the team ranked first in the world against one that does not even feature among the top 100, but the South Americans stamped their authority only after surviving several goalmouth scares.

Brazil named its final squad for the World Cup on Tuesday, with coach Dunga retaining the 23 players already in South Africa preparing for the tournament.
Dunga had named an initial squad of 30 players only because it was a Fifa requirement, but did not make any surprise selections on deadline day.