Portugal arrive with Nani in doubt for warm-up

Portugal winger Nani is doubtful for their friendly against Mozambique due to a shoulder injury picked up in training in Lisbon, he said as the squad flew in to South Africa for the World Cup on Sunday.

The winger missed the squad’s final home training session in Portugal on Saturday after falling while attempting an acrobatic shot and causing a traumatism in his shoulder.

He is due to be re-examined before the warm-up match against Mozambique on Tuesday.

“I feel better already,” Nani told reporters during the flight from Lisbon to Johannesburg.

On playing in the friendly, he said: “I really don’t know, now we have to see. When we get there we’ll have to check again.”

The other main injury concern in the Portuguese squad is Pepe, who has been recovering from a knee injury he sustained in December.

He has not played since but was last week cleared by doctors from the national side and his club Real Madrid to travel to the finals.

The Brazil-born defender signalled he could already be an option for coach Carlos Queiroz against Mozambique.

“I’m in the group. I’m here to help and now the matter is in the coach’s hands,” Pepe said as he boarded the plane.

Portugal play their first tournament match on June 15 against the Ivory Coast in Group G, which also includes Brazil and North Korea.

(Editing by Jon Bramley; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Paredes heads winner as Chile beat Northern Ireland

(Reuters) – Chile beat Northern Ireland 1-0 on Sunday in their penultimate warm-up match before they head to the World Cup finals in South Africa.

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Striker Esteban Paredes scored the only goal of the match with a header at the back post from a corner after 30 minutes.

The Chileans, who will play in group H alongside Honduras, Switzerland and Spain, dominated possession but seldom threatened the Northern Irish goal.

Chile are due to play again later on Sunday, against Israel. Coach Marcelo Bielsa is expected to name a completely different starting line-up for that match.

Bielsa has narrowed his squad down to 24 players but needs to drop one more man before Tuesday, the FIFA deadline for naming definitive World Cup squads.

(Editing by Dave Thompson)

‘Will run naked if Argentina win Cup’

Diego Maradona has promised to run naked through the centre of Buenos Aires if Argentina win the World Cup. The Argentina coach made the promise during a radio show. The unpredictable Maradona was speaking a day after Argentina defeated Canada 5-0 on Monday in their final warm-up match before the World Cup.

“If we win the World Cup, I’ll get naked and run around the Obelisk,” he said, referring to the tall monument that marks the centre of the city and serves as its most famous landmark.

Maradona’s response came after a reporter asked him in the interview what he would do if his team returned to Argentina with their third World Cup title.

In the same interview, Maradona said he had to explain to Lionel Messi why he did not play against Canada. Messi is the reigning FIFA player of the year, but sat out the match to protect him against any possible injury. “If something would have happened to you in that match, I’d have been shot – you know where,” Maradona said he told Messi.

Argentina play in Group B, opening against Nigeria on June 12. The team also face Greece and South Korea.

No pressure, says Messi

Meanwhile, Messi has said he doesn’t feel any pressure to deliver at the World Cup.

Messi heads to the tournament in South Africa having won a string of personal honours and titles with Barcelona, largely due to his extraordinary playmaking and scoring prowess. “I don’t feel the pressure,” Messi said. “The truth is I’m arriving in good shape. I have a strong desire to do as well as I can, as do my teammates. We want to give our best for Argentina and we hope things turn out well.”

Bird stalls Mexico’s flight to Wembley warm-up

Mexico’s World Cup squad endured a three-hour delay in Germany after a bird crashed into the windscreen of the plane due to take them to London for a World Cup warm-up match against England.

The Wembley friendly on Monday (1830 GMT) is the first of four Mexico are playing in Europe before going to the finals in South Africa where they meet the host team in the opening match on June 11 in Johannesburg.

“A bird crashed into the windscreen of the plane due to pick up the national team in Nuremberg as it was landing, without any consequences, but regulations stipulate the aircraft had to be checked before being boarded to fly to England,” the Mexican Football Federation said in a statement on Sunday.

Mexico also meet Netherlands on Wednesday, Gambia next Sunday and Italy on June 3.

(Reporting by Carlos Calvo; Editing by Peter Rutherford; to query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Sehwag is the best Twenty20 batsman: Warner

St. Lucia, Apr 30(ANI): Australian opening batsman David Warner believes that his Delhi Daredevils’ team-mate Virender Sehwag is the best Twenty20 batsman he has seen.

“In terms of batsman in T20 it is hard to go past Sehwag when he gets going, but there are so many good players going around,” Fox Sports quoted Warner, as saying.

Sehwag had topped the list of run-scorers for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League season three.

The dashing opener made 346 runs at 25.42 from 14 games, but will not be taking part in the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies after suffering a shoulder injury.

Warner also said that Australia is a strong contender to win the tournament, and he reckons teams from the sub-continent, including India, will be the biggest dangers.

“The sub-continent teams are obviously tough because the wickets tend to be slow and low here. Obviously we need to just get through our group and then we play either India or Sri Lanka I think so the sub-continent teams look like they will be our biggest challenge,” Warner said.

The 23-year-old has been in remarkable form ahead of the tournament, and scored his second successive half-century to guide Australia to a thumping 101 run victory against Windward Islands in their final warm-up match.

He goes into Australia’s Group A clash with Pakistan on Sunday in top form after blasting 72 from 49 balls in Tuesday’s one-run loss to Zimbabwe. (ANI)

Zimbabwe stun defending champions Pak in T20 WC warm-up match

Lahore, Apr.30 (ANI): After stunning Australia in their first warm-up match by registering a sensational one run win, ‘minnows’ Zimbabwe trounced defending champions Pakistan by 12-runs in the second practice match ahead of the ICC T20 World Championship.

Zimbabwe were struggling for 64 for 5 in the 12th over, but Elton Chigumbura’s exciting knock of 49 not out from just 35 balls saw the Africans post a respectable total of 143 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Pakistan started on a positive note with wicket keeper Kamran Akmal hitting a blistering 37 from 27 balls, but wickets kept falling from the opposite end, which reduced the defending T20 World Champions for 67 for 5 after 10 overs.

Pakistan’s hopes were revived by some sensible batting by middle order batsmen Fawad Alam and Misbah-ul-Haq, who added 51 in 7.4 over for the sixth wicket, but pacer Prosper Utseya removed both the set batsmen in space of three deliveries.

Utseya returned with a match winning figures of 4 for 15 in his quota of four overs, The Daily Times reports.

Chigumbura shone with the ball as well taking 3 for 16 in three overs to help his team register its second consecutive win in the warm-up matches. (ANI)

Pak skipper Younis Khan fractures finger

Benoni (South Africa), Sep.19 (ANI): Pakistan cricket team’s Champions Trophy dreams suffered a major set back when captain Younis Khan fractured his finger during a warm-up match against Sri Lanka here.

Doctors have advised Khan complete rest for the next three days. It is unsure whether he will be playing in the next two practice games on Saturday and Sunday.

Notwithstanding Khan’s injury, Pakistan, however, trounced Sri Lanka by 108 runs in the first warm-up match ahead of eight nation tournament.

The Pakistan team is staying in Johannesburg’s Santon Sun Hotel while in South Africa.

Team manager Yawar Saeed has expressed satisfaction over the security arrangement.

“Over half a dozen security guards have been deputed to guard the floor where Pakistan team is staying. I think in recent times this is one of the best security cover the team is provided with,” The News quoted Saeed, as saying. (ANI)

World Cup: White Ferns to battle India with revenge on their minds

Sydney, Mar.16 (ANI): New Zealand’s women cricketers face their most important match in four years against India tomorrow, eyeing revenge against the side who eliminated them from the previous World Cup.

A spot in Sunday’s World Cup final against unbeaten England beckons for the winners of the Super Six match at North Sydney Oval, after Australia tumbled from contention when India upset them by 16 runs at the weekend.

The losers tomorrow will meet Australia in the playoff for third on Saturday, barring upsets in the final Super Six round on Thursday.

Batter Sara McGlashan was one of four current White Ferns-captain Haidee Tiffen, Aimee Mason and Nicola Browne the others-beaten by 40 runs by India in the 2005 semi-final in South Africa when they went in as defending champions.

“We’ll definitely be out to make amends-you still feel results like that,” the NZPA quoted McGlashan, as saying.

Since then, New Zealand have won six of their last seven against India although the teams haven’t met in an ODI for two years.

They played a pre-tournament warm-up match in Sydney, and New Zealand were dismissed for 141 by India’s battery of slow bowlers, chasing 169 to win.

New Zealand’s limitations against spin and ability to chase runs were again talking points after they suffered their first defeat of the World Cup, by 31 runs against England on Saturday.

Coach Gary Stead wasn’t too disheartened by the defeat, and said that India are beatable. (ANI)