The Brazilians ended a five-match win streak for the Americans
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Brazil playmaker Neymar scored one goal and set up two more to spark the five-time World Cup champions past the United States 4-1 in an international football friendly.

The Brazilians used the match to study talent ahead of the London Olympics, with 17 Olympic-eligible players on the roster, including Neymar, a 20-year-old Santos forward who has attracted interest from many of the world's top clubs.

"It's not every day one can apply dribbling over the head and between the legs, but I had a goal and two decisive passes, so I'm pretty happy about that," Neymar said.

The Brazilians improved to 16-1 all-time against the Americans, winning for the ninth time in a row since suffering their only defeat, by 1-0, in 1998. And they did so with a young roster looking to London and Brazil's 2014 World Cup.

"It's a great satisfaction," Neymar said. "We all knew the doors would open for the national team and we're all happy about that."

A crowd of 67,619 saw the Brazilians, coming off a 3-1 victory over Denmark on Saturday, end a five-match win streak for the Americans, who beat Italy 1-0 and routed Scotland 5-1 last Saturday in their run.

"I didn't expect this, really," Brazil coach Mano Menezes said. "But I saw the confidence of young players and I knew we could trust them. The response was very good.

Alexandre Pato (C) celebrates with teammates during the football friendly against the US
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"You can see in the faces of the players they can feel the accomplishment. We played better than we did against Denmark. We need to improve every game."

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann was impressed with Neymar and his teammates, but sees flaws compared to past Brazilian dynasties.

"Neymar and the technical skills he has, he has the freshness to try things out -- he does things you don't expect," Klinsmann said. "They have a very good young team. It's a promising team. But it's a beatable team."

The Americans are preparing for the start of their 2014 World Cup qualifiers on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda.

"We're ready for qualifiers," said US forward Herculez Gomez, who scored the lone goal for the hosts in the 45th minute. "We played well in stretches. We learned some things from this match.

"Once we get a little nasty I feel like we will be a lot better off."

Neymar opened the scoring on a penalty in the 12th minute after US defender Oguchi Onyewu was whistled for blocking a shot with his left forearm at the top of the penalty area.

Neymar went to the spot against US goalkeeper Tim Howard, a standout for Everton in the Premier League. Howard dived to his right as Neymar fired into the open side, netting his ninth goal in 17 matches for Brazil.

The visitors took a 2-0 lead in the 26th minute when Neymar lofted a corner kick into the heart of the penalty area and Brazilian captain Thiago Silva headed the ball into the goal.

Gomez, a striker for Santos of Mexico, answered for the hosts, taking a cross from onrushing defender Fabian and deflecting the ball into the goal to trim the half-time deficit to 2-1.

Neymar set up Brazil's third goal from the backline to the right of Howard, flicking a backward centering pass to Real Madrid defender Marcelo, who blasted the ball past a helpless Howard in the 52nd minute for a 3-1 Brazil lead.

Brazil closed the rout in the 88th minute on a left-footed blast by AC Milan's Alexandre Pato.

"It's bad. It's not the end of the world," Howard said. "It hurts."

Les Bleus toiled to beat the 131st-ranked Icelanders 3-2 on Sunday
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France play host to Serbia in Reims on Thursday in their second pre-Euro 2012 warm-up match with coach Laurent Blanc looking for an improvement from their showing against Iceland last weekend.

Les Bleus toiled to beat the 131st-ranked Icelanders 3-2 on Sunday, with defensive frailties exposed as they fell 2-0 behind before coming back to win the game thanks to goals from Mathieu Debuchy, substitute Franck Ribery and central defender Adil Rami.

Blanc had always insisted that the first friendly ahead of the European Championship would be about rebuilding fitness and rediscovering rhythm after a short break at the end of the season.

But there will be fewer excuses for a poor performance against Serbia -- and in their final friendly game, against Estonia in Le Mans on June 5 -- as Les Bleus step up preparations for their opening Euro 2012 match against England in Donetsk, Ukraine on June 11.

Blanc would love his men to maintain the winning habit and extend an unbeaten run that already stretches back over 19 games.

"Top-level sport is always about winning, and if we can do so it will boost confidence both individually and collectively," he said.

"I am also hoping that the players look better physically than they did in the first match (against Iceland).

"We are putting everything in place little by little. The plan over these three games was for us to improve in each one so I hope we will see that against Serbia."

This will be France's first match since Blanc announced his final 23-man squad for the Euros, with Lyon playmaker Yoann Gourcuff and Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa the two men axed from his provisional squad.

Blanc has admitted that "many changes will be made from the team that started against Iceland," so goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielder Yann M'Vila should both feature this time, and striker Olivier Giroud is a contender to start after coming off the bench to set up two goals against Iceland.

Ribery will also hope to feature in the starting line-up.

Having themselves failed to qualify for the European Championship, Serbia are building towards the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, when they will come up against the likes of Croatia, Belgium, Scotland and Wales.

Former Lazio and Sampdoria defender Sinisa Mihajlovic was appointed coach on a one-year deal last week and oversaw a 2-0 defeat to Spain in Austria in his first match in charge.

His squad features seven players from Belgrade giants Partizan and Red Star, and a host of names plying their trade in Europe's major championships.

Two of the squad are based in France's Ligue 1 -- centre-half Milan Bisevac of Paris Saint-Germain and full-back Pavle Ninkov of Toulouse.

However, there will be no Adem Ljajic after the Fiorentina player was booted out of the squad for refusing to sing the national anthem prior to the Spain game.

"They were outplayed by Spain, but they have talented players," said Blanc of the Serbian side.

"It will be a difficult game. They are very defensive but like to break forward quickly.

"But for us, the most important thing is how we play."

There should be a sell-out crowd of around 21,000 at the Stade Auguste-Delaune, home of Stade de Reims, one of France's most famous clubs who were twice European Cup finalists in the 1950s and who recently won promotion to return to the top flight for the first time in 33 years.

Germany's loss to Switzerland last Saturday showed some glaring weaknesses in their defence
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Germany are looking to avoid their third straight friendly defeat and pick up a much-needed pre-Euro 2012 confidence booster in Thursday's warm-up game against Israel in Leipzig.

Despite their billing amongst the pre-tournament favourites, a second string German side were beaten 5-3 by Switzerland last Saturday in Basel as their defence showed some glaring weaknesses, which coach Joachim Loew needs to fix against Israel.

"I see the game as a test and we have the chance to try a few things out," said Loew with Germany set to arrive at their Euro 2012 base in Gdansk on Monday.

"A good result would be desirable to give us a boost, but it will be really important next week in Poland."

Loew will welcome back his Bayern Munich stars including captain Philipp Lahm, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, defenders Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, plus midfielders Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller.

Vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is an injury doubt after he strained a calf muscle in Bayern Munich's Champions League defeat to Chelsea on May 19.

Having also lost 2-1 to France in Bremen last February, Germany need to avoid a third defeat and see off Israel with their Euro campaign set to start on June 9 against Portugal in Lviv, Ukraine.

The Germans have never lost to Israel in three meetings between the two nations and current striker Miroslav Klose netted a hat-trick when the teams last met in 2002 as Germany ran out 7-1 winners.

But after Saturday's blunder in Basel, where the defence leaked five goals, Loew's team have to answer some serious questions about their defence.

The key area is at centre-back where Arsenal's Per Mertesacker is struggling for match fitness after three months out with an ankle injury and his partner Mats Hummels failed to deal with the Swiss attack.

Nothing less than a convincing victory will calm a few nerves and Lahm is expected to lead the side in Leipzig.

Loew has said he will use the final friendly to decide whether to play his captain at left or right-back at the tournament.

The Germans are not the only Group B sides to have recent poor form: Holland, who Germany play on June 13 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Denmark, Germany's opponents on June 17 in Lviv, both lost friendlies last weekend.

Israel, who have not qualified for Euro 2012, were beaten 2-1 by the Czech Republic over the weekend, their fifth loss in six outings.

Kaiserslautern striker Itay Shechter is expected to lead Israel's attack with five goals in 13 games, alongside former Chelsea striker Ben Sahar.

Manchester City fans celebrate after a match
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English Premier League clubs have been warned to bring their spending under control, after a new review into football finances showed that players' wages were at record levels, outstripping growth in club revenues.

Wages went up by £201 million (251 million euros, $312 million dollars) in the 2010-11 season to almost £1.6 billion -- a 14 percent rise -- while overall revenues at clubs rose by 12 percent to £2.27 billion, according to analysts Deloitte.

With the top 20 clubs splashing out on big salaries in an increasingly desperate bid for success, wages now account for a record 70 percent of the revenue generated by Premier League clubs.

Alan Switzer, director in the sports business group at Deloitte, warned big-spending Premier League owners that wage control was now essential, especially with UEFA's financial fair play (FFP) rules coming into force soon.

"If the wages to revenue ratio is 70 percent or higher it's very difficult to make an operating profit," he said.

"In our view it is too high as a league and the clubs need to be edging back to the low 60s. Every one percent that it drops should increase operating profits by £20 million to £25 million."

The wage rises at some of the league's bigger clubs have been offset by significant rises in commercial income at some sides, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.

The figures are for the 2010-11 season and will be the last before UEFA start taking them into account for their FFP calculations, where clubs in European competition have to break even or risk fines and even suspension from competitions.

Switzer said league champions Manchester City and Champions League winners Chelsea, owned by Abu Dhabi-based Sheikh Mansour and Russian Roman Abramovich respectively, faced the greatest challenges in conforming to the FFP rules.

"Chelsea and Manchester City are the clubs which have recorded the biggest losses so they are the two which have the most to do, and to be fair to them they have been pretty public about needing to take action," he added.

"A significant number of clubs around Europe have some distance to travel on the road towards compliance."

The Deloitte report does not cover the most recent season but it does show the effect of Britain's 50 percent tax band coming into play -- the 92 league clubs paid nearly £1.2 billion in tax, up 20 percent.

England midfielder Frank Lampard
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Frank Lampard has already witnessed one new manager defy all the odds to win Europe's biggest club trophy - he is now hoping that another new man can silence his critics and transform England's fortunes at the European Championships.

Roy Hodgson might not have been the fans favourite to take over from Fabio Capello when he left the job back in February, but the Football Association believe they have the best man to help England restore some much needed pride.

Hodgson has only had 40 days to prepare for such a big competition, but Lampard feels that is enough time to help England go all the way in Poland and Ukraine.

The experienced midfielder is in a good position to voice those views having witnessed Roberto Di Matteo transform a Chelsea team in such a short space of time.

It was only three months ago that Andre Villas-Boas had clearly lost the support of his Chelsea players and the west London club was in disarray.

But they never looked back after Villas-Boas was shown the door at Stamford Bridge and Di Matteo won back the support of the dressing room and steered them to FA Cup success and more importantly the Champions League trophy.

Having ended the season as a European Cup winner, Lampard has now switched his attentions to the national side and hopes Hodgson can have a similar impact on the England squad.

"It's certainly possible to kindle something very quickly. There's no magic formula in football. In my opinion man-management is of the utmost at top football these days," said Lampard, who faces a make-or-break scan on Thursday after injuring his thigh in training on Wednesday.

"When you've got a very good squad of players of course there's training and tactics which is important as well, but the man-management issue at Chelsea was the huge thing.

"Robbie took players aside and talked to them and made them feel confident and brought the best out of them, so then you've got a chance. If England can do that as a group then I still think we've got a great chance.

"We've got very good players in the squad so it's not so much a matter of time, the fact expectations are less because of that might work in our favour, it's a hard one to call."

Lampard is the first to admit that the change in manager at Chelsea not only transformed the team's fortunes, but also helped him get his career back on track for both club and country.

The 33-year-old was frozen out of the team by Villas-Boas and lost his place in the England squad even though Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere were both missing through injury.

He started to think that he had played his last major tournament for his country and was not expecting to board the plane for Poland and Ukraine.

But in a remarkable turn of events, Lampard quickly regained his best form under Di Matteo.

"I wondered (if I would make the Euros), yes. I'm not silly," Lampard said. "If you're not playing when there's other top line players who are not there then I wondered if I'd be out."

It would not be England heading into a major competition if the debate surrounding whether Lampard can play alongside Gerrard would not surface once again.

Lampard has been playing a different kind of role in recent months as a more defensive midfielder but he seems to have relished his new position.

With Gerrard still regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Eurpoean football, Hodgson might yet be able to find a solution which can accommodate playing two of England's finest midfielders in recent times.

When asked if he thought he can play alongside Gerrard, Lampard replied: "I think, yes. That's the headline straight away. I'm not going to say no and talk myself out of the team!

"Steven's a great player and I've had the pleasure to play alongside him for many a year even though it hasn't always been completely successful.

"The problem is, for it to be called a success England need to have a very good run in a big tournament," he said.

Rafael van der Vaart (R) of The Netherlands fights for the ball against Marek Hamsik of Slovakia
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The Netherlands, the 1988 champions, did the minimum on Wednesday as they warmed up for their Euro 2012 campaign with a 2-0 home friendly tune-up against Slovakia.

A seventh-minute own goal from Kornel Salata set the hosts on their way and a Rafael Van der Vaart effort 15 minutes from time clinched a routine success in Rotterdam.

Coach Bert van Marwijk had tried various permutations in recent narrow defeats both to Bayern Munich and then Bulgaria at the weekend in Amsterdam, but this time sent out more or less the team he expects to field when the tournament gets under way next week in Poland and Ukraine.

Van Marwijk fielded wide men in Ibrahim Afellay and Arjen Robben with Robin van Persie as the lone spearhead to begin with in preference to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, but the performance was somewhat laboured despite the early gift of a goal.

"We still lack speed and fluidly down the flanks," said van Marwijk. "It was better this evening compared to our two previous games. But we could still do better."

"Preparations aren't easy," he conceded. "I've only been working with a full squad since Monday. I'm very happy with the return of Ibrahim Afellay. Everyone knows what I think of this player. He played very well. He provoked actions, he took risks."

On the debit side, Wesley Sneijder had to go off with an ankle injury six minutes into the second half, giving way to van der Vaart.

"Sneijder injured his ankle (left)," said van Marwijk. "We'll know more tomorrow on the real nature of this injury. I hope that it's not too serious because Wesley has been playing at a high level. I found him very in form during training. As for Joris Mathijsen (thigh injury) I think he has a good chance of playing the first match (against Denmark)."

Afellay, whose season was curtailed with knee trouble, gave a good account of himself and was involved in the build up to the opening goal.

The Netherlands have been drawn in Group B at Euro 2012 along with Germany, Portugal and Denmark.

They will kick off their campaign against Denmark in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday, June 9.

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic (R) fights for the ball with Iceland's Helgi Danielsson
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Sweden beat Iceland 3-2 in an international friendly Wednesday, with Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic early on suggesting a promising Euro 2012 to come before the Swedes lost speed.

Sweden led 2-0 after just 13 minutes, with Ibrahimovic opening the scoring in the first minute with a beautiful volley on a pass from Sebastian Larsson.

Ibrahimovic also had a hand in Sweden's second goal, tricking Icelandic defender Hallgrimur Jonasson by dribbling left then right with his right foot, before deftly passing with his left to Ola Toivonen by the far post, who doubled the lead.

But then things slowed down and Sweden began to fail to make headway from midfield, enabling Iceland's Kolbeinn Sigthorsson to pull back the deficit to 2-1.

Iceland, coached by Sweden's former manager Lars Lagerbaeck, recovered somewhat after the early Swedish domination but a slew of second half substitutions put an end to any hopes of going further on the offensive.

Sweden's Ola Toivonen (R) fights for the ball with Iceland's Hallgrimur Jonasson
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Instead, Christian Wilhelmsson, who replaced Ibrahimovic in the 62nd minute, took a Pontus Wernbloom pass and upped Sweden's lead to 3-1 on a half-volley.

In the final minute, Iceland's Hallgrimur Jonasson reduced the arrears to 3-2.

Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson played a full match and seemed unfazed by a sore shoulder that has bothered him lately, and Andreas Granqvist, who played instead of groin-injured defender Mikael Lustigs, put in a strong showing.

Sweden's Euro 2012 preparations continue next week with a home match against Serbia on Tuesday.

Sweden has been paired alongside England, France and co-hosts Ukraine in Group D at Euro 2012, which runs from June 8 to July 1 in Poland and Ukraine.

Spain's Fernando Torres (R) controls the ball next to South Korea's Choi Hyo-Jin
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Fernando Torres celebrated his return to the Spain team with a first half goal as the World and European Champions continued their preparation for Euro2012 with a 4-1 win over South Korea.

Fresh from capturing the Champions League with Chelsea, Torres' fortunes appear to be turning after what was generally a poor campaign where he scored just eleven goals and was dropped from the Spain squad in February.

Following an anxious wait he was included in the Spain squad by coach Vicente Del Bosque which will travel to Poland next week and it was he who got the opening goal after eleven minutes in the friendly against the South Koreans in Bern, Switzerland.

"I'm feeling good at the moment both physically and mentally. Training is going well and now I'm looking forward to the competition. Sometimes when you are not involved and things are not going well it helps you to see the bigger picture and evaluate your position," said Torres.

"It is a reward for me to be here and I am going to take the opportunity and try and make the most of it. It has been a difficult time but hopefully that is now in the past."

Spain's Xabi Alonso scores by penalty
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In a relaxed atmosphere, with Spain still without their Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao contingent who were involved in the King's Cup final last week, South Korea equalised through Kim Do-Heon, two minutes before half time.

After the interval goals by Xabi Alonso, from the penalty spot, Santi Cazorla and Alvaro Negredo assured a comfortable win in the end for Spain.

It was a stern test for the Koreans, who famously knocked Spain out in the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup on penalties, but it served as a useful warm up game with important World Cup qualifying matches against Qatar and Lebanon ahead.

Del Bosque anticipated a hardworking Korea side who would look to press and close them down saying it could be something similar to what they could expect from their Group C rivals Republic of Ireland at the European Championships next month.

But it did not seem that way as Spain quickly asserted themselves.

Spain's Santi Cazorla (L) scores a goal against South Korea
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Alonso caused danger to the Korean goal with a 25-yard strike after nine minutes which was parried behind for a corner by keeper Kim Jin-Hyeon but a couple of minutes later Spain got the breakthrough. Benat Etxebarria sent a deep cross from the left which Torres headed over the keeper and into the top corner.

Cazorla had another drive repelled by Jin-Hyeon before South Korea settled and Son Heung-Min fired a whisker wide after 20 minutes. Spain dropped their level as the first half progressed and paid for their lethargy as Do-Heon hit an excellent equaliser from distance before the break.

Following the restart Alonso restored Spain's advantage from the penalty spot after Cho Yong-Hyung charged down a Nacho Monreal shot with his arm and a clever free-kick from Cazorla, after 55 minutes, went under the wall and deceived the keeper.

Sevilla striker Negredo wrapped up the scoring eleven minutes from the end.

FIFA General Secretary French Jerome Valcke (L) and Brazilian Minister of Sports Aldo Rabelo
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FIFA on Wednesday indicated that not all of Brazil's preparations for the World Cup would be ready in time for the big kickoff in two years time but stressed it was not asking for a "new country" by 2014.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke - in hot water earlier this year for suggesting that Brazil needed "a kick up the backside" to be ready on time, forecast certain projects would not be finished but said he did expect the important things to come on stream in time.

"We will not have everything 100 percent (ready) for the Cup. We at least need 100 percent of the stadiums, that is for sure," said Valcke.

"We do need 100 percent of the infrastructure to get from the airport to the city and the city to the stadium, etcetera. But we don't need an entirely new country for 2014 - that's impossible," Valcke told a news conference.

"What we've been discussing with the government was that perhaps some of these projects are not so important for the Cup ... These projects can be delivered after the World Cup," he insisted.

FIFA has for months expressed varying degrees of concern about whether preparations -- renovation or construction of stadiums as well as infrastructure projects -- are on track for the first World Cup in Brazil since 1950.

A little over two years before the championship kicks off in Sao Paulo on June 12, 2014, nearly 40 percent of projects are yet to start and just five percent have been completed, the Brazilian government said last week, while insisting there was no cause for alarm.

Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo stressed for his part that numerous improvements are "not for the World Cup but for Brazil. Many of them were planned before we knew we'd been awarded the Cup such as the Salvador metro, the Fortaleza metro.

"Airport connections to the hotel sector, training centres - these are essential works and that is a responsibility which falls to the government," Rebelo noted.

Brazil plans to spend $13 billion on 101 projects to build or modernize stadiums, airports, roads and public transport ahead of the World Cup, but work has begun on only 60 of them, the government said.

An additional reason to upgrade physical and communications infrastructure is the fact that Rio will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Valcke said in his view "the important thing is that there will in ten years be a completely different panorama in Brazil and potentially part of the benefit of the World Cup will serve the Olympic Games and help the country to pass from one stage to the next."

He also insisted that the organisers and FIFA "speak with one voice" on how preparations were progressing and did not adopt the combative tone of earlier this year which saw the Brazilian government declare him unwelcome in the country.

Rebelo added that work pertaining to next summer's Confederations Cup which Brazil will also host in June were on track.

The schedule was unveiled earlier Wednesday in Rio.

Former Brazil star Bebeto, who is on the tournament's organising committee, meanwhile insisted that the Maracana stadium in Rio - undergoing a huge, long drawn out and costly facelift, will be ready for the Confederations Cup final.

"There will be no problem - Maracana will be shipshape, you can be sure of that," Bebeto told reporters.

Berlin's Georgian defender Levan Kobiashvili
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Hertha Berlin's Georgia defender Levan Kobiashvili faces a year's ban after the German Football Federation (DFB) accused him of unsporting conduct during his team's recent play-off defeat.

Kobiashvili, 34, is accused by the DFB's disciplinary committee of striking referee Wolfgang Stark during Hertha's German league play-off tie at Fortuna Duesseldorf, but can still appeal the 12-month ban.

The incident happened on May 15 when Hertha drew 2-2 with Fortuna which led to their 4-3 aggregate defeat amidst chaotic scenes and a double pitch invasion that left players fearing for their lives.

Hertha Berlin lost an appeal for a replay and will play in the second division next season.

Hertha defender Christian Lell (six matches), goalkeeper Thomas Kraft (five matches) and defender Andre Mijatovic (four matches) have also been slapped with bans and have until tomorrow afternoon to appeal.

If the quartet appeal against their bans, the matter will be referred to the DFB's sports court who will hear their cases.

Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon
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Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has spoken about his anger following rumours that he is involved in the Calcioscommesse match-fixing scandal gripping Italy.

The rumours were sparked by something he said previously when talking about teams playing for a draw when the result suits them both.

Buffon was speaking out in support of his Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who is under investigation for match-fixing related to his time as Siena coach last season.

He is accused of having been aware that a match between Siena and Novara was fixed to end in a draw.

Buffon defended teams settling for certain results when that's all they need.

It led to a suggestion that Buffon had made a deliberate mistake in Juventus's third from last game of the season in which his gaffe led to a late equalising goal for Siena.

"If it's true the investigators want to talk to me then you should tell me," Buffon told journalists from Italy's pre-Euro 2012 training camp near Florence.

"You always know these things first so tell me as you know everything before those involved."

Buffon was alluding to the fact that the Italian press were aware of the pre-dawn raid on Italy's base by police on Monday in which a search warrant was issued against full-back Domenico Criscito.

Nineteen people were arrested in co-ordinated raids up and down the country and yet the local press seemed to have word of them before they happened.

Buffon described that as "shameful" but what has really upset him is his own credibility being called into question.

"If a person becomes so crazy, as has happened, that people can think that the mistake I made against Lecce in the league was because I had bet on the match then there's nothing left to say, these are accusations that disarm you," said a fuming Buffon.

The controversy arose from Buffon commenting on how it is understandable that teams will sometimes settle for a certain result rather than going for broke.

And he made reference in particular to the 2-2 draw between Sweden and Denmark at the 2004 European Championships that eliminated Italy from the group stages.

Once the score arrived at 2-2, which would see both Scandinavian countries progress at Italy's expense, neither seemed willing to take any more risks.

"At the time I wasn't angry I was just stunned, matches should be played," explained Buffon.

"But having said that, Real Madrid and Bayern didn't play in extra-time (in this season's Champions League semi-final), they wanted penalties.

"Do we want to call the magistrates over that? There are games at the end of the season in which both teams need a draw to avoid the drop, so what do you expect.

"Who will then explain it to the fans if they go down (having played to win and lost)?"

England striker Wayne Rooney (R) is suspended for England's first two group matches
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England striker Wayne Rooney has vowed to make a good impression on new manager Roy Hodgson as he prepares to start Euro 2012 on the sidelines.

Rooney is suspended for England's first two group matches against France and Sweden, but the Manchester United star is still desperate to have a major impact on the tournament, which starts in Poland and Ukraine next month.

Hodgson is likely to start the finals with Liverpool striker Andy Carroll as his lone forward with Ashley Young operating in the hole behind him.

But Hodgson has ear-marked Rooney as the right man to fill that deep-lying role when he returns from the ban and the forward is keen to prove he can do the job after joining up with England's squad for training this week following an extended holiday.

"I feel good and I've got a few weeks before I can play. I will be ready if needed," he told Sky Sports News on Wednesday.

"It's important I do my training right. I've had a long time to think about missing these games and obviously it's disappointing. But it's something I've dealt with really.

"With missing the first two games, you never know with the new manager if he's got you in his plans or wants to have (the same) players involved in all the games. But I will get myself ready and as fit as I can be.

"It's a tough group with some good teams. We have to make sure we're focused on each game and take it from there."

Rooney has only had a couple of days to get used to Hodgson's managerial style, but he has so far been impressed with the way the former West Bromwich Albion boss conducts himself in training sessions.

"He's determined to get the message across to us on the training pitch and is very much a part of every training session," Rooney said.

"It's great to have him on the pitch, pointing out things maybe we need to know as a squad."

French national football team's Yoann Gourcuff (2nd L) and Mapou yanga-Mbiwa (R) leave the hotel
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France coach Laurent Blanc on Wednesday justified his decision not to include Yoann Gourcuff in the Euro 2012 squad by saying the midfielder's niggling ankle injury was too much of a risk.

"Concerning Yoann Gourcuff, I heard people say that it was a bet" to take him said Blanc of the decision not to include the Lyon player.

"We're not here to try to bet. Unfortunately after a new ankle injury there was too much uncertainty concerning him."

Gourcuff injured his ankle Sunday during the 3-2 friendly win over Iceland.

"This injury is bothersome but it's not just that, it's recurring, that adds an element of uncertitude," said Blanc.

Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga Mbiwa was also axed from the provisional list as the coach decided to use just seven defenders including three central defenders.

"He's someone who I discovered, who had made a really good impression," said Blanc. "In future he's a player who can aspire to the national team. I discovered a man with an irreproachable mindset.

"Unfortunately, we took the decision to leave with just seven defenders."

The France coach added, however, that he had told both Gourcuff and Yanga Mbiwa to be on call should another player pick up an injury.

World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi arrives in the Guangzhou's Tianhe stadium
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World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi led his new Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande into the AFC Champions League quarter-finals with a narrow 1-0 victory over FC Tokyo on Wednesday.

Brazilian striker Cleo's strike on the half-hour decided a pulsating match in front of a vociferous crowd at Guangzhou's Tianhe stadium as the hosts got over the line despite spurning a host of chances.

At the other end, FC Tokyo's Brazilian forward Lucas saw a late header come back off the post as the Emperor's Cup-holders came within inches of forcing extra time.

The win, in only Lippi's third game in charge, takes the highly ambitious Chinese champions into the last eight of Asia's club showcase and a step closer to their goal of winning the continental title.

Argentine midfielder Dario Conca played a starring role with some bamboozling passes but it was Cleo who rounded off an attractive move for the game's only goal.

Guangzhou's other Brazilian marksman, Muriqui, played a killer ball over the defence which Cho Won-Hee half-volleyed goalwards for Cleo to bundle over from close range.

Italy's Lippi became China's biggest coaching acquisition when he replaced South Korean Lee Jang-Soo at big-spending Guangzhou, who also smashed the Chinese transfer record in acquiring Conca.

Meanwhile South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai sent Japanese title-holders Kashiwa Reysol crashing out with an entertaining 3-2 win.

Ulsan were aided by a Naoya Kondo own-goal as they became the only K-League side to reach the quarter-finals, after 2010 Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma were ousted a day earlier.

Kim Shin-Wook put the hosts ahead on 54 minutes before Brazilian midfielder Leandro Domingues equalised for Kashiwa. But Kondo's blunder restored the lead for Ulsan, who got their third on 88 minutes through Lee Keun-Ho.

Kashiwa's Junya Tanaka rifled home a left-footed volley in injury-time but it came too late for a revival by the J-League side, who impressed at last year's Club World Cup under their Brazilian coach Nelsinho.

Next month's draw for the quarter-finals, will also feature Australia's Adelaide United and Uzbek champions Bunyodkor, who won on Tuesday.

Last week, three Saudi teams booked their places -- two-time winners Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Ahli -- along with Sepahan of Iran.

Paul Scholes
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Manchester United confirmed on Wednesday that veteran midfielder Paul Scholes has signed a one-year contract extension.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed earlier this month that Scholes was set to play on for another season after coming out of retirement in January and the Premier League runners-up have now completed the formalities of the deal.

After returning from retirement to aid United's underperforming midfield, Scholes produced enough influential displays to convince Ferguson that the 37-year-old could still play a part next season.

United have also given a three-year contract to reserve goalkeeper Ben Amos, who made his Premier League debut against Stoke in January.

Amos, who has made seven career appearances for United and had loan spells at Oldham, Peterborough and Norwegian club Molde, hopes to compete with Spaniard David de Gea for the right to be Ferguson's first-choice 'keeper.

"Ben Amos and Paul Scholes have both signed new contracts to remain with Manchester United," a statement on the club's website confirmed on Wednesday.

"Promising young goalkeeper Amos has penned a three-year deal which will run until at least 2015, while Scholes has signed until the end of the 2012/13 season.

"Scholes has completed the formalities of the one-year extension which Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed earlier this month."

Ferguson believes this will be Scholes' final season with United as the England international looks to add to the 19 major medals he has won during nearly 20 years at Old Trafford.

"I am delighted," Ferguson said when he announced the news at the club's player of the year awards dinner.

"He knew he had made a mistake (by retiring). He now realises if he plays 25 or 30 games next season, they will be of real quality.

"I think this will be Paul's last season. We know him very well. We have had him since he was a kid. We know how to use him."

Leighton Baines
© AFP AFP

Everton defender Leighton Baines admits he is flattered to be linked with a move to Manchester United, but the England international won't let the transfer talk distract him at Euro 2012.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to be considering a bid for Baines, who is with Roy Hodgson's England squad as they prepare for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine next month.

Baines refused to rule out the possibility of joining United if Everton were willing to sell their left-back, but the 27-year-old is adamant he is firmly focused on helping England enjoy a successful campaign at the Euros.

"The United link is flattering. There is no harm in people talking about it because it is a great club," Baines told reporters at England's team hotel in Hertfordshire.

"But I'm at a great club as well, a club that I love. The focus now is all on the tournament. There's not much time to let other things seep in.

"It's about getting your head on this job for the next six weeks and try to do the best you can.

"I'm not letting my focus shift to my future while I am in camp. I'm focused on what I'm doing at the moment."

Asked if it would be hard to leave Everton, he added: "Yes, obviously. You know what it means. I've been there for five years myself but also know first-hand what it means to a lot of people."

Baines is unlikely to feature much for England at the Euros unless fellow left-back Ashley Cole suffers an injury as the Chelsea star is well established as the first-choice for his country.

But, while Baines would prefer not to play second fiddle to Cole, he is happy to learn all he can from one of the world's best left-backs.

"Ash has always been an inspiration. In my position, he has always been my favourite player from when I was a young lad. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him," he said.

"Before I was making my way myself in the game, then it was Roberto Carlos, who was doing the free-kicks and all that stuff.

"But, once you start to look at things as a proper player, then Ash has always been a good role model for any player in that position, whether you are 17 or 18 establishing yourself, or late 20s, he is the best.

"There is always something to learn and you never stop looking for things."

Scott Parker
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England midfielder Scott Parker admits he is determined to make up for lost time at Euro 2012 after his international career appeared to be on the rocks.

Parker has recovered from an Achilles injury to be named in Roy Hodgson's 23-man Euro squad and the Tottenham star is widely expected to feature alongside Steven Gerrard in England's midfield in their opening group match against France on June 11.

It is a remarkable renaissance for Parker, who just two years ago feared his England career was over when he took a call from then coach Fabio Capello to inform him he would not be going to the World Cup in South Africa.

Parker had been named in Capello's preliminary squad but did not play a minute of two pre-tournament friendlies against Mexico and Japan and was axed by Capello when he trimmed his group for the tournament.

At that point, Parker felt he may never play for England again but injuries gave him one last chance and he seized it in a friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen in February 2011.

"I had reached a point where I had nothing to lose," Parker said of the Denmark match. "I could either not play well and it would be a massive struggle to get back in or I could go out with no fear and do the best I could.

"If that was good enough, brilliant. Thankfully it has worked out quite well."

Now Parker is well established in the international set-up and fulfilled a childhood ambition when he captained England for their friendly defeat against Holland at Wembley earlier this season.

He admits it would have been easy to sulk and blame Capello for his spell on the sidelines but that is not his style.

Instead, Parker just redoubled his efforts at club level and then made the most of the opportunity when Capello came calling.

"The most important thing was to concentrate on my own game," he told reporters at an England sponsors event on Tuesday. "I realised if I was playing well I could get in the squad.

"In terms of the public support, that obviously helped. You would much prefer to see nice things being written about you, rather than the negative things. After 2010 I knew it was going to be quite difficult for me to get back in.

"But I don't kid myself. I realise whether I am doing enough or not and I had to push myself.

"I supposed it was a bit unexpected that things did turn around. I should have realised things can change very quickly in football."

Brendan Rodgers is set to be appointed as Liverpool's new manager, according to a BBC report
© AFP AFP

Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers is set to be appointed as Liverpool's new manager this week following talks with the Anfield club, according to a BBC report on Wednesday.

Rodgers had refused a request to meet with Liverpool following Kenny Dalglish's sacking earlier this month, but the Reds made a renewed effort to speak to the former Reading and Watford chief after holding discussions with Wigan's Roberto Martinez last week.

The 39-year-old Northern Irishman is believed to have spoken to Liverpool officials on Wednesday and the BBC reports the Merseyside giants are ready to pay between £4 million ($6.2m) and £5 million ($7.7m) in compensation to Swansea to secure his services.

Reports that Rodgers has agreed a three-year contract with Liverpool are described as "categorically untrue" by the Anfield club, but it seems he is now well on course to land one of the biggest jobs in English football.

Rodgers is regarded as one of the Premier League's brightest young managers after guiding unheralded Swansea to an impressive 11th place finish on a relatively meagre budget just one season after securing promotion from the Championship.

When Liverpool first approached Rodgers, it was claimed he was unhappy that the club's American owners wanted to conduct interviews with a host of potential candidates as it would leave him having to return to Swansea with his position undermined if he failed to get the job.

Martinez had been the early favourite after meeting with Liverpool's principal owner John Henry in Miami last week, but the Spaniard was said to be concerned about the Reds' desire to hire a director of football, with former Ajax boss Louis van Gaal reportedly in the running for that role.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan claimed Martinez had been offered the job, but Liverpool never confirmed that and now appear to have turned their sights on Rodgers.

If Rodgers does get the job, it will complete a remarkable rise following his sacking as Reading boss just three years ago.

Since then Rodgers, who regards Jose Mourinho as his mentor after working as the Portuguese coach's reserve-team boss at Chelsea, has completely rehabilitated his reputation.

Swansea's eye-catching style of play earned a standing ovation from Liverpool fans after a 0-0 draw at Anfield in November and Rodgers also masterminded a 1-0 win over the Reds on the final day of the season, as well as beating Manchester City and Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium.

He would take over a Liverpool squad at a low ebb after finishing eighth in the Premier League, 17 points away from the Champions League spots that Henry had targeted at the start of the season.

The Reds did win the League Cup under Dalglish, but their season ended with a lacklustre 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup final against Chelsea and the new boss will be charged with reinvigorating team sorely in need of an infusion of creativity and pace.

Ulsan Hyundai player Lee Jae-Sung (L) is challenged by Kashiwa Reysol's Junya Tanaka
© AFP AFP

South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai sent Japanese title-holders Kashiwa Reysol crashing out of the AFC Champions League with an entertaining 3-2 win on Wednesday.

Ulsan were aided by a Naoya Kondo own-goal as they became the only K-League side to reach the quarter-finals, after 2010 Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma were ousted a day earlier.

Kim Shin-Wook put the hosts ahead on 54 minutes before Brazilian midfielder Leandro Domingues equalised for Kashiwa. But Kondo's blunder restored the lead for Ulsan, who got their third on 88 minutes through Lee Keun-Ho.

Kashiwa's Junya Tanaka rifled home a left-footed volley in injury-time but it came too late for a revival by the J-League side, who impressed at last year's Club World Cup under their Brazilian coach Nelsinho.

In Wednesday's other match, Italian World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi was making his debut in the competition with his new club, Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande.

Australia's Adelaide United reached the quarter-finals on Tuesday along with Uzbek league-winners Bunyodkor, who ousted Seongnam.

Last week, three Saudi teams reached the quarter-finals -- two-time winners Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Ahli -- along with Sepahan of Iran.

Most grounds in Germany have an area which allows fans to stand to watch matches
© AFP DDP

The head of Germany's police union on Wednesday called for all-seater stadia to be introduced here following a series of violent incidents in German football.

All-seater stadia are commonplace in other big European football countries such as Britain and Spain, but most grounds in Germany have an area which allows fans to stand to watch matches.

"Standing places should be abolished, fences raised and each club should be fined 100,000 euros (US$125,000) if violence breaks out," Rainer Wendt told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung regional daily in an interview.

"The interior ministers finally need to stand firm against the narrow-mindedness of the clubs and the leagues," he insisted.

"A football match with several thousand spectators should not have the legal status of a private barbecue."

Wendt's comments come in the wake of this month's promotion-relegation play-off between top-tier side Hertha Berlin and second division Fortuna Duesseldorf which was marred by a double pitch invasion.

The 2-2 draw saw Fortuna win 4-3 on aggregate and earn promotion to the Bundesliga at Hertha's expense.

But the match in Duesseldorf was interrupted as fans fired flares onto the field and invaded the pitch deep into injury time, forcing the players to take refuge in the changing rooms for about 20 minutes and fearing for their lives.

This sparked a call from Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich for clubs to improve the behaviour of their fans.

Friedrich, who is also responsible for sport, has said all 56 clubs in Germany's top three leagues must produce a plan by the end of the summer to improve safety, including a review of standing areas.

"If current measures are not sufficient, then improvements - at the expense of the clubs - must be made," Friedrich told SID, an AFP subsidiary.

"As a football fan, I hope that it does not happen in Germany, like it has in other countries, where there are only seats available in the stadiums.

"It's in the fans' hands and the clubs are not allowed to escape responsibility."

In Britain, all-seater stadia became compulsory after the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in Sheffield, northern England, in which close to 100 people died in a crush on April 15 1989.

Sergio Batista (C) is Shanghai Shenhua football club's new coach
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Ex-Argentina manager Sergio Batista said Chelsea's Didier Drogba could soon join him at Shanghai Shenhua as he was unveiled as Chinese football's latest star acquisition on Wednesday.

Batista indicated Drogba, who has already announced his departure from the European champions, could arrive within weeks at the Chinese club, where he would link up with former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka.

"The people from the club are doing the best things to get Drogba here," Batista told journalists through a translator, adding the Ivorian striker could soon be a Shenhua player "if everything is okay".

"I think every coach in the world wants to get Drogba on the team and I hope everything is okay. Anelka too," he said.

Batista, who lifted the 1986 World Cup as a player and led Argentina to Olympic gold in 2008, takes the job vacated by Frenchman Jean Tigana, who was sacked in April after a weak start to his first season in charge.

He joins World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, who arrived at Guangzhou Evergrande two weeks ago, in the ever-growing ranks of big names in the Chinese Super League, whose ambitious club-owners are on a recruitment spree.

French striker Anelka, who became the league's most famous signing in December, had reportedly opposed Batista's appointment after he was named as player-coach following Tigana's ousting.

But Batista, 49, played down speculation of a rift and said he was hoping for a strong contribution from the much-travelled star -- although final decisions would rest with the coach.

Shanghai's Shenhua football club is languishing in ninth place in the 16-club Chinese Super League
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"It's another moment. He's a player. I'm open to hear Anelka and all the players on the team speak about what's happening on the field. Obviously, the final decision is from the coach," he said.

Batista added: "Anelka can give to all the players his experience, on the field and off the field.

"I don't want Anelka to play only to score goals. He is one of the best players in the world, but I want to keep him back on the field to play with his partners on the team."

Shenhua officials said they hoped Batista's South American approach could boost their team, now lying ninth in the 16th-club league.

They said Batista has signed a six-month contract, taking him through the rest of the season, with an option for another year. His salary was not revealed.

He will coach his first league match on June 16 against Changchun Yatai, now just ahead of Shenhua in the table. Batista is accompanied by two long-serving assistants, Alberto Osvaldo Rodriguez and Alejandro Daniel Tocalli.

Drogba, 34, departs Chelsea after a match-winning performance in this month's Champions League final and as one of the English Premier League's most feared strikers.

Lahm said it was important for the German squad to visit the site of previous Nazi atrocities
© AFP AFP

A delegation from the German Football Federation (DFB) - including Germany captain Philipp Lahm - will visit the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland on Friday following their friendly international against Israel.

Germany host the friendly in Leipzig on Thursday and the DFB delegation, including senior players, will visit the historic site, 70km west of Krakow, the following day, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

The group will include DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach, Germany head coach Joachim Loew and team manager Oliver Bierhoff, as well as Lahm and Poland-born stars Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.

"The subject of the Holocaust and Auschwitz has occupied us again and again and has been discussed with the players," said Bierhoff from Germany's training camp in the south of France.

"This is not a PR event," he added.

"This is not a visit by the national team, but by the German Football Federation."

Loew's squad has already attended lectures on modern German history ahead of the tournament to be hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

Lahm said it was important for the German squad to visit the site of previous Nazi atrocities having personally visited the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.

"I have been to Dachau and have already experienced a visit like this," he said.

"This is an important symbol from our side.

"We need to show that we know our history and we must take ownership of our past responsibilities, even if our generation is not responsible."

The group will be accompanied by Dr Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, plus Germany's ambassador to Poland, Ruediger Freiherr von Fritsch.

Both the England and Italy squads for the European Championship are also planning to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau during the tournament which starts on June 8 with the final in Kiev on July 1.

The Germany squad travel to their Euro 2012 base in Gdansk, Poland, on Monday and open their Group B campaign against Portugal on June 9 in Lviv, Ukraine.

Bramble is on trial accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a taxi
© AFP AFP

Sunderland defender Titus Bramble has claimed the woman who accused him of sexual assault kissed him and acted in a flirty manner as they shared a taxi from a nightclub.

Bramble is on trial accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a taxi from the Cross Keys nightclub in Yarm, northeast England, and also grabbing another woman's bottom in the same venue.

The 30-year-old former Newcastle and Wigan star denies all four charges and told a court the woman put her hand on his crotch during the taxi journey and at no point did she tell him to stop.

Bramble also said the woman had flirted with him and kissed him in an alley outside the club before they got a cab.

"She was paying me a lot of attention," he told the jury at Teesside Crown Court. "She was touching me and I put my hand on her leg. We were kissing. We kissed a couple of times passionately."

Bramble said he was "quite drunk" on the night he was arrested, having had six vodka and diet Cokes.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said to him: "In drink, you thought your fame would let you do what you wanted to do."

The player replied: "No, I didn't".

Bramble said he "enjoys" the female attention that comes with his high-profile role and being recognised on a night out was "part of the job".

The court has already heard evidence from both complainants, with the second woman claiming she felt someone grope her bottom and turned to see Bramble "smirking", which made her "very uncomfortable".

She reported the incident after the other woman claimed she was assaulted in a taxi by the Sunderland star on September 28 last year.

She told the jury that during the journey Bramble put his hand up her dress without her consent and twice forced her hand on to his groin, which made her "really scared".

Taxi driver Abid Hussain said on Tuesday he felt the woman, whose identity cannot be reported for legal reasons, "needed help" so he diverted to Stockton police station.

The alleged victim locked herself in a toilet and Bramble, of Wynyard near Middlesbrough, was arrested.

The case continues.

Jordan Henderson is on stand-by in case the Lampard (pictured) is unable to recover for the Belgium game
© AFP AFP

England midfielder Frank Lampard faces a scan on Thursday to determine if he will be fit to feature at Euro 2012 after the Chelsea star suffered a thigh injury during training on Wednesday.

Lampard's injury is serious enough for England manager Roy Hodgson to have put Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson on stand-by in case the 33-year-old is unable to recover in time.

Lampard, who had only just joined up with the England squad after an extended break following Chelsea's Champions League final victory, will be assessed by England's medical team before any decision is taken about his participation.

"Frank Lampard has today (Wednesday) pulled up in training with a thigh injury," a statement on the FA's website confirmed.

"He will be assessed by the medical team and scanned tomorrow (Thursday). Jordan Henderson has been put on standby notice as cover whilst Lampard continues to be monitored."

England's first group match against France is just 12 days away and Hodgson can ill-afford any more injury problems in midfield after Manchester City's Gareth Barry was ruled out of the Euros with a tear of his lower abdomen.

Hodgson has already gambled on the fitness of Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck, who has not played since April 30 when he sustained an ankle injury in the derby defeat at Manchester City.

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has also been struggling with an infected toe.

Although Lampard was not certain to beat Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker for the central midfield berths in Hodgson's starting line-up against France, it would still be a major blow as the Chelsea star has been in superb form.

He played key roles in the Champions League and FA Cup triumphs over the final weeks of the season.

Just 24 hours before suffering his injury, Lampard had spoken about how he hoped England would benefit from Chelsea's Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

Chelsea quartet Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill were all named in Hodgson's squad and the midfielder said: "I'm hoping the fact we've had such a success can help greatly with England.

"There are other people here who have won the Champions League before and other players who have had good seasons and are coming here in a rich vein of form

"You have to try and bring together all of the positives. We will try and bring the fact we've achieved something this year, potentially against the odds with Chelsea, and maybe that's what England will be up against odds-wise this summer.

"We showed what can be achieved and there is nothing wrong with that feeling of being underdogs as long as we are focused as a group.

"We know if we can harness that unity and determination with the quality we've got, we have to believe we can go all the way."

Hodgson has one more friendly, against Belgium at Wembley on Saturday, before his 23-man squad fly to their Polish base next week.

"Racism is unacceptable. I can't abide it," Balotelli said in an interview with France Football magazine
© AFP AFP

Mario Balotelli, named in Italy's 23-man squad for the European Football Championships, has threatened to walk off the pitch if he is racially abused by fans.

The 21-year-old Manchester City star said in an interview with France Football magazine that he reacted differently when Juventus fans targeted him with racist chants during a match for his former club Inter Milan in 2009.

"I pretended not to see anything," he was quoted as saying. "I wanted to play. I was young. It was for me to tell (the referee). Racism is unacceptable. I can't abide it."

But he added: "If it happens again, I'd leave the pitch straight away and I'd go home. This is 2012. It can't happen."

Fears over racism and violence in co-hosts Poland and Ukraine have mounted this week after the BBC aired a documentary showing fans in both countries making Nazi salutes and monkey chants at black players.

The programme also highlighted anti-Semitism and a serious assault on a group of Asian students.

The British government has also issued warning to black and ethnic minority fans about the risk of racist attacks, prompting the families of two black England players to say that they would not be going to support the team.

Balotelli, born in Italy to Ghanaian parents but adopted at the age of two, left no doubt as to his reaction if he was subject to racist taunts.

He said he was once in a bar in Rome and had bananas thrown at him, explaining that he would have "knocked out" the perpetrators if police had not arrived on the scene quickly.

"I hope that doesn't happen again. If anyone throws bananas at me, I'd go to prison because I'd kill them," he said in the interview, published on Tuesday.

Both Poland and Ukraine have denounced the warnings about far-right gangs and racism, saying that the problem was widespread across Europe.

Brazil's Sports Minister, Aldo Rebelo, said the slogan was an invitation to citizens and visitors "to join together"
© AFP AFP

"All in one rhythm," is the official slogan of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA announced Tuesday, saying it would unite fans who head to the Samba nation for the football extravaganza.

The official slogan was a joint effort between Brazil and the footballing world, said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke at a ceremony in Rio, noting it "represents the unique flavor" Brazil will bring to the tournament.

"Based around the central idea of 'rhythm', it will unite fans in Brazil and abroad, around what will be a colorful and vibrant celebration set to a uniquely Brazilian rhythm," said Valcke.

Brazil's Sports Minister, Aldo Rebelo, said the slogan was an invitation to citizens and visitors "to join together and celebrate the immense sense of pride" in the country's role as hosts.

It was Valcke's first trip to Brazil since he caused an uproar in March with his criticism of the country's 2014 preparations, saying organizers needed "a kick up the backside."

Valcke and FIFA President Sepp Blatter had to apologize for the remarks, which triggered fury from the host country. Rebelo then said Valcke would no longer be welcome as a FIFA spokesman.

FIFA has expressed varying degrees of concern about whether preparations -- renovation or construction of stadiums as well as infrastructure projects -- are on track for the first World Cup in Brazil since 1950.

A little over two years before the championship kicks off in Sao Paulo on June 12, 2014, nearly 40 percent of projects are yet to start, the Brazilian government said last week, insisting there was no cause for alarm.

Brazil plans to spend $13 billion on 101 projects to build or modernize stadiums, airports, roads and public transport ahead of the World Cup, but work has begun on only 60 of them, the government said.

Fighting broke out on Sunday at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta
© AFP AFP

Indonesia's rebel league has refused to take the blame for deadly clashes between fans of two of the country's fiercest rivals, saying it wasn't clear they were fighting over football.

The breakaway Super Liga, whose launch last year threw Indonesian football into turmoil, said it wouldn't immediately shoulder responsibility after three people died after a game on Sunday.

Sunday's incident follows the deaths of two fans in a stampede at the same stadium, Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno, in November, and comes after FIFA threatened to suspend Indonesia for failing to rein in the Super Liga.

Fighting broke out after Persija Jakarta's 2-2 draw against Persib Bandung in front of a packed house of 80,000 fans at Gelora Bung Karno, which is Indonesia's biggest stadium.

Three people died and five were seriously injured as fans pelted each other with rocks and bricks outside the venue. But the Super Liga attempted to distance itself from the violence.

"We organised the match but we will only say it's our fault if it's proven that they were fighting over football," senior Super Liga official Syahril Taher told AFP.

"The clash happened after the match outside the stadium, so we will have to investigate what caused it before we can say we are responsible."

Jakarta police said they would tighten restrictions on issuing match permits. A spokesman told the Jakarta Globe future games between the two teams may be held at either an empty Gelora Bung Karno, or at a neutral venue.

"Those two clubs’ fans have a long history of violence," senior commander Rikwanto told the newspaper.

Meanwhile the official Indonesian football association or PSSI, which has been handed a June 15 deadline to bring the Super Liga into line or risk a FIFA suspension, laid the blame squarely with the breakaway league.

"The Super Liga's matches have always been chaotic with players fighting and supporters beating each other up," association official Rudolf Yesayas said.

"We knew this was bound to happen and had raised our objections with the police as well as the youth and sports ministry last December."

The weekend tragedy was just the latest incident at Gelora Bung Karno after the fatal crush at the Southeast Asian Games final in November, when thousands of fans without tickets barged their way into the stadium.

Last September, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was forced to leave an international match when fans let off fireworks in the stands and lobbed bottles at Bahrain's players after they scored.

Indonesia has long been in trouble with FIFA over corruption allegations and a damaging leadership tussle at the PSSI. They were also at the centre of a match-fixing probe after February's 10-0 World Cup qualifying loss in Bahrain.

Ranieri has signed a two-year deal at Monaco, with an option on a third year
© AFP AFP

Italian Claudio Ranieri was on Wednesday unveiled as coach of fallen giants Monaco, who finished eighth in the French second division last season.

The 60-year-old former Chelsea coach signed a two-year deal, with an option on a third year, and takes over from Marco Simone, who left Monaco earlier this month.

Ranieri was sacked as Inter Milan coach in March after a year in charge there and previously also coached Napoli, Fiorentina, Juventus, Roma, Parma, Atletico Madrid and Valencia.

The Italian "is today considered one of the best coaches in European football and brings to Monaco all the richness of his experience and all he has achieved in football", Monaco said in a statement.

Jurgen Klinsmann said reporters bear some responsibility for weakening the resolve of their nation's players
© AFP GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

England's struggles in World Cup football are made worse by unsupportive media and harsh criticism from followers, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann said as his team prepared to play Brazil.

The former German star player and coach was speaking in general about the tough times some coaches from football-mad nations face in mustering support for their sides, especially in tough times.

England, which has not won the World Cup since 1966, became his example of what can go wrong, citing the 2010 South Africa World Cup in which Germany ousted England in the round of 16.

"England often beat themselves," Klinsmann said. "It's not the opponents necessarily. They make so many problems for themselves."

Klinsmann said reporters bear some responsibility for weakening the resolve of their nation's players.

"You can say, 'I support my team,' from a media perspective, or 'I give them trouble and I give them doubts,'" Klinsmann said.

Klinsmann noted that when he paid a visit to Brazil last December and spoke with the nation's coaches, he stressed that the Brazilian people must support coach Mano Menezes even when the team produces less-than-desired results.

"You chose a very good coach," Klinsmann said. "You have to support him, even if his path doesn't work out perfectly. You have to support him, even if something goes wrong."

Klinsmann held up Germany's 2006 World Cup run to the semi-finals on home soil as an example of support from the people inspiring a squad.

"People started to be really positive. They wanted to show a new Germany to the rest of the world," he said. "The people did it. It's more than just the game. It's more than just winning the World Cup."

US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann (L) runs a training session
© AFP AFP

Brazil's formidable playmakers will face the United States in a Wednesday football friendly that will show the Americans how far they have progressed in 10 months since Jurgen Klinsmann became coach.

"We want to improve all the elements of what we're working on since we started and see where we are against one of the best teams in the world," Klinsmann said on Tuesday.

"This is a big stepping stone for us. We still have a ways to go. But we are making progress."

The Americans ripped visiting Scotland 5-1 on Saturday and also play Sunday at Canada ahead of their first qualifying matches for the 2014 Brazil World Cup on June 8 at Tampa against Antigua and Barbuda and June 12 at Guatemala.

"It's an exciting benchmark we face," Klinsmann said. "It will tell us a lot about where we are heading into World Cup qualifiers."

Five-time World Cup champion Brazil, 15-1 all-time against the US squad, are testing some talent for the London Olympics as they build toward a home-soil World Cup.

Brazilians have never won an Olympic crown but that does not dim the demands of the football-mad nation on coach Mano Menezes, a fact Klinsmann knows well from his days as player, coach and World Cup organizer in Germany.

"The people expect from him results all the time," Klinsmann said. "People expect him to come away from the Olympics with the gold medal. They not only want to win the World Cup. They want to win it in style.

"We can't get it any more difficult in a certain way. But this is what we need. We need the games that are difficult to see how far we can take it."

Klinsmann said the Brazilians face a challenge of their own, improving defensively to match the success of reigning World Cup champion Spain.

"They have to realize in the last couple years they have missed the train. Spain dictates the style in soccer," Klinsmann said.

"Mano now has the challenge to integrate those missing pieces and he's trying to do that. It is a very difficult task.

Brazil will add defender David Luiz from Champions League winner Chelsea and Santos striker Neymar, who leads a young Brazil roster with eight goals, to the Selecao lineup that defeated Denmark 3-1 on Saturday in Germany.

US striker Landon Donova (C) and other members of the US national team jog during a training session
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"We are making strong efforts in speed and tactics as we make final preparations to face the United States," Brazil captain Luiz said.

Powerful Porto attacker Hulk, a contender to play at the London Olympics as an over-age player, scored twice in the victory at Hamburg.

"They set the tone. They have wonderful players," Klinsmann said. "The question is how much can we take to them, in terms of tactics, closing them down, causing them some trouble, making the spaces tight.

"They go-high tempo from the first minute. They love to be creative. Once they have to defend and you create a couple things, they have a couple weaknesses and maybe we can take advantage of them."

A young Brazil side also includes Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas, AC Milan defender Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Jefferson, who has three shutouts in four national team appearances.

"It'll be wide open," US goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "They like to dominate possession but we will try to do a few things to put the game in situations we like.

"One of the keys we've found and had a little success with is exploiting their strength -- we counter their counter. You have to be disciplined against a team that tries to score on the breaks. If we have that as our base, I think we'll perform really well."

Brazil edged the US team 3-2 in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, a loss that still stings the Americans but will carry little weight, Everton's Howard said.

"It still hurts to be so close to winning in a major final but it really doesn't play on this game," he said.

Jozy Altidore, a late release from AZ Alkmaar, and Fulham striker Clint Dempsey, fresh off a groin injury, are questionable for the match because they are behind in training with the squad.

Brazil won the most recent match against the Americans 2-0 in 2010 at East Rutherford, New Jersey. The only US win was a 1-0 triumph in 1998 at Los Angeles.

Spain's national football team head coach Vicente del Bosque
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Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque on Tuesday blasted the betting scandal which has engulfed Italian football as bad for the game.

"I don't at all like what is currently happening in Italy," Del Bosque said at a press conference here where his team are preparing for their second Euro 2012 warm-up match on Wednesday against South Korea.

"It's an extremely bad time for football, but there is a parallel business in this sport that is difficult to control," he continued.

"I'm not going to be drawn into the debate over whether this is favourable for us or not," continued the Spain coach whose world and European champion side are in the same group as Italy in Euro 2012 along with the Republic of Ireland and Croatia.

"All that I know is that the Italian players are professionals and will go onto the pitch with the intention of beating us."

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri and several top players were arrested on Monday, while national team defender Domenico Criscito's room was searched at Italy's Euro 2012 training camp, as part of a probe into illegal betting.

Mauri was one of 19 people implicated in the investigation into alleged match-fixing in the domestic game, as police swooped in dawn raids on a number of addresses up and down the country.

The players are suspected of having received money to fix matches for betting syndicates, whose head is believed to be based in Singapore.

Del Bosque added that this year's European tournament was very open as seen when France, considered as being among the favourites, were forced to battle back to beat Iceland 3-2 in a friendly on Sunday.

"I saw the France-Iceland game. It's proof that this Euro isn't a walk in the park for anyone. France for example had to suffer to win. The teams are obviously well balanced."

Spain national football team player Xabi Alonso signs autographs
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Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso said on Tuesday he believed two-time winners France and England could do really well at the upcoming European Championship, which kicks off in Warsaw on June 8.

The 30-year-old - an integral part of Real Madrid's La Liga title win last season - said it would be foolish to underestimate the French and the English at the tournament which is being co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine and runs till July 1.

"France and England are in that bunch of teams who are capable of going far," said Alonso, a member of both the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup winning sides.

"They are part of that group because of the players they have and their respective histories.

"They have this competitive instinct and even if they aren't talked about much with respect to this competition, they are more than able to attain their target (of winning it)," added Alonso, who has won over 90 caps since making his debut in 2003.

Alonso, who had a successful spell at Liverpool with the highlight the Champions League win in 2005, admitted that the season just past had left him and his team-mates exhausted but they had recovered since.

"The season in terms of club competitions was really intense," said Alonso referring to their successful battle to unseat bitter rivals Barcelona as champions while they also reached the Champions League semi-finals.

"We had to battle till the end in order to achieve our target, but we have had time to disconnect and because of that I feel fine personally."

Spain are due to fine tune their preparations for Euro with two more warm-up matches - they beat Serbia 2-0 last Saturday - against South Korea in Berne, Switzerland, on Wednesday and China in Seville on Sunday.

The Spanish will then fly to Poland on June 5 and play all their group games in Gdansk, against Italy on June 10, then Ireland on June 14 and round off their group games against 2008 quarter-finalists Croatia on June 18.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (R) greets his Polish counterpart Donal Tusk
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Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Tuesday suggested that football should be suspended for two to three years in the wake of the latest match-fixing scandal.

"I'm not making a proposal and even less so a governmental one but it is something that sometimes I wish for as someone who has loved football for many years," he said during a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"Maybe it would benefit the development of our citizens to have a total suspension of this game for two or three years.

"It's particularly sad when a world, such as sport, that should express high values is guilty of the most reprehensible ones such as treachery, illegality and deceit."

Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete said that would be an unfair measure and would tarnish and punish a lot of innocent people.

"I'm entirely in agreement that there should be no discount for those who cheated but suspending the league would be to mortify the whole of football," he said.

"It would penalise those who operate honestly, the majority of our system, losing thousands of jobs.

"That's not a solution.

"Football is part of civil society and it's not worse than society. It's not better but neither is it worse.

"In such a delicate moment for our country it's necessary to avoid generalisations and demonisations."

Italy's footballers travel to Poland in less than a week to take part in the European championships but their preparations were thrown into turmoil after police on Monday made a series of dawn raids as part of a match-fixing investigation.

Investigators even searched the room of national team defender Domenico Criscito at the team hotel near Florence while elsewhere around the country, 19 people, including Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, were arrested.

Criscito, later left out of coach Cesare Prandelli's squad, said he has done nothing wrong. Mauri and Lazio also deny any impropriety.

The corruption allegations are the latest to hit Italian football and the third time in just over 30 years that the sport has been dragged through the mud.

In 1980 top teams including AC Milan and Lazio were relegated from the top flight for their part in the "Totonero" match-fixing affair.

Then in 2006 Juventus suffered the same fate and were also stripped of their 2005 and 2006 Serie A crowns for trying to influence the referees' commission.

This time the "Calcioscommesse" or football-betting scandal has mostly affected teams and players outside the first division.

But Atalanta were deducted six points before the season began for their role while Siena and their president Massimo Mezzaroma have also been accused of involvement.

However all that stems from last season when both teams were in Serie B.

French national football team's forward Olivier Giroud
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France striker Olivier Giroud said Tuesday that he was looking to bring something new to Les Bleus after getting his first call-up to an international finals for Euro 2012.

France coach Laurent Blanc on Tuesday named his final 23-man squad which included Giroud with Lyon's Yoann Gourcuff and Giroud's Montpellier team-mate Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa the two men axed from the provisional list.

"My role will be to bring something different," explained the 25-year-old Giroud, who had a superb season last term with his 21 goals a major reason for Montpellier winning their first ever Ligue 1 title.

"I've an atypical profile and I hope to be able to transform what I know what to do onto the pitch."

The Montpellier player said that making the Euro squad had been his primary focus since the beginning of the season.

"I gave an interview at the beginning of the season and when asked what I dreamed of I replied: 'To play an international competition with France'. I had a great season and little by little I gained in confidence and hope.

"The pressure is going to build as the days go on. It's something new for me, something different. I'm very proud to wear the blue jersey, it really makes you want to be there. It's very exciting. There will be pressure but a good pressure."

And he believes that France have the form to capture a third European title after 1984 and 2000 despite having to battle back from two goals down at half-time to beat Iceland 3-2 in the first of three warm-ups for Euro 2012 on Sunday.

"We're capable of great things. We've beaten great footballing nations. We got a slight scare against Iceland but we showed our character.

"There are things that need to be worked on but there are good things. We just have to find the right balance, to be serene defensively."

He added: "We can't wait for the competition to start and to clash with the English. We're impatient to measure ourselves against them and to see if we're capable of getting out of this tight group."

France have been drawn in Group D with old rivals England, co-hosts Ukraine and Sweden.

Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo said, "I don't think that in this Euro there will be a lot of surprises"
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Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo played down hopes of his side lifting the European Championship title on July 1 on Tuesday saying he just hoped they could reach the knockout stages.

The 27-year-old - fresh from lifting the La Liga title with Real Madrid - couldn't really see too many surprises on the horizon at Euro where his side faces a tough battle to progress from their group.

The Portuguese - who reached the final in 2004 when they hosted it and the quarter-finals last time out - have been drawn with three former champions in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.

"I don't think that in this Euro there will be a lot of surprises," said Ronaldo, who has often been criticised for not repeating his club form for his country.

"Spain are really strong and behind them there are difficult sides to play.

"We realise we are in a difficult group, the group of death, and our priority first of all is to get through the first phase.

"We have fallen among Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, who beat us in the qualifying group (leaving Portugal to come through the play-offs), but I have a reasonable hope that we will qualify from the group.

"We are not favourites, and so much the better for that."

They start their campaign proper in Group B against Euro 2008 finalists Germany on June 9 in Lviv, Ukraine, followed by 1992 champions Denmark on June 13, also in Lviv, and round it off against 1988 champions Holland on June 17 in Kharkiv.

Rangers' administrators estimated that the club's total debts could top £134 million
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Financially stricken Scottish giants Rangers on Tuesday won their court battle against a transfer embargo imposed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA).

The SFA's disciplinary panel last month imposed a 12-month ban that stopped Rangers registering players aged 18 and over, but a judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled the panel acted outside of their powers.

Lord Glennie proposed that the case go back to the SFA appeal tribunal that upheld the initial decision by the judicial panel.

Following a three-hour hearing, the judge accepted the club's petition for a judicial review as he ruled that the SFA could only administer the specific punishments stated in the rule relating to the disrepute charge.

Rangers received the embargo and £100,000 fine for breaching rule 66, which concerns bringing the game into disrepute.

They were also given fines of £50,000 for going into administration and £10,000 for failing to ensure that owner Craig Whyte acted within rules concerning fit and proper officials.

Whyte failed to notify the SFA that he had been disqualified as a director for seven years in 2000 and was punished with a life ban from any involvement in Scottish football.

The club were also found guilty of failing to pay Dundee United gate receipts from their Scottish Cup meeting.

The full extent of Rangers' financial problems were revealed shortly before the SFA punishments in April.

Rangers' administrators estimated that the club's total debts could top £134 million, including more than £93 million which is being claimed by British tax authorities.

Italy's national football team coach Cesare Prandelli
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Italy have twice before won the World Cup following a match-fixing scandal but coach Cesare Prandelli says he does not read too much into that statistic.

The country is once again gripped by the shame of a match-fixing episode just ahead of a major international tournament but Prandelli believes it would be wrong to expect another instance of triumph through adversity.

In 1982 Italy won their third World Cup just two years after the Totonero scandal that saw star forward Paolo Rossi banned for two years and only just allowed back in time to fire the Azzurri to triumph.

Then in 2006 Calciopoli broke but again Italy regrouped, dug deep and finished victorious for the fourth time at a World Cup.

But Prandelli would still prefer to avoid such affairs that have seen him ditch first choice left-back Domenico Criscito from his tournament squad due to the 25-year-old's implication in Calcioscommesse.

"As I've said before it seems to me that comparisons with 2006 are familiar ground," he said.

"People say that adversity unites a group and I hope that's the case.

"But I don't subscribe to the theory that Italians thrive in difficulty, we thrive in serenity."

The current sports betting scandal, which has seen the involvement of some high profile names such as Lazio captain and former Italy international Stefano Mauri, involves Italian clubs but not the national team.

And Prandelli says it is the national team's job to make the public forget about their domestic club woes.

"We're Italy and we have to put on a brave face even in the most uncomfortable moments," he said.

"We have to tackle the most sensitive themes with the dignity of people who approach their own work in the most serious manner.

"These players are sensitive lads but they're lucky, they can let their tensions out on the pitch.

"When they've got rid of their mental fatigue they can play football."

Prandelli also spoke of his pain at ditching Criscito, claiming he did so for the player's own good.

But he denied accusations of double standards as he is taking Leonardo Bonucci to the Euros despite his implication in Calcioscommesse.

Police affected a search warrant against Criscito whereas Bonucci has merely been accused of involvement by a former team-mate, who himself has admitted to taking a bribe.

"It was very painful cutting Criscito from the 23 from a human perspective," added Prandelli.

"We couldn't make him shoulder the responsibility of carrying that around with him at the Euros, we wanted to offer him protection.

"He told me straight away that he has nothing to do with it and we believe in him.

"But the most annoying thing is that people have likened Bonucci's situation to Criscito's.

"But he hasn't been served notice of anything and that's why he's coming to the Euros."

In further developments, former Italy international forward Christian Vieri has been summonsed to give evidence to the Cremona public prosecutor relating to an intercepted telephone call between footballer Antonio Bellavista and Ivan Tisci, both of whom have been arrested.

Meanwhile Lazio insist they have nothing to do with the investigation despite the involvement of Mauri.

It has been suggested that Lazio could lose their place in next season's Europa League over the affair.

Two Lazio matches, against Genoa and Lecce, from last season are believed to have been fixed.

Germany's midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger takes part in a training session
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Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger is doubtful for Thursday's Euro 2012 warm-up against Israel in Leipzig as he recovers from the effects of the Champions League final, coach Joachinm Loew said Tuesday.

The midfielder is carrying a calf strain after his missed spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out against Chelsea in the final on May 19 helped hand the Blues their first European title at Bayern Munich's expense.

Germany coach Joachim Loew says he is not sure whether the 27-year-old will play their final warm-up game, but is confident Schweinsteiger will be fit for the opening Group B match against Portugal in Lviv, Ukraine, on June 9.

"I will not use a battered player," said Loew from Germany's training camp in Tourrettes, France, as Schweinsteiger recovers from a demanding season.

"He is doing some individual training at the moment and I am sure he is physically and psychologically strong enough to put the injuries of last season behind him."

Schweinsteiger is coming off the back of a tough season for Bayern having suffered a broken collarbone and torn ankle ligaments and was one of Munich's eight Germany stars who joined the national squad at the weekend.

Germany lost 5-3 to Switzerland on Saturday in a warm-up friendly with Loew looking for a win to boost confidence and says he will use the match to decide whether to play captain Philipp Lahm at left or right-back at the Euro.

"I still see this game as a test, a good result in Leipzig would certainly be desirable, but euphoria over the Euro will break out regardless of the outcome," he said.

Loew released Brazil-born striker Cacau, midfielders Julian Draxler and Sven Bender, and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen on Monday and admitted it had been a hard decision to trim down for the final Euro 2012 squad.

Adelaide United's Jonathan McKain celebrates his goal
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Adelaide United extended their dream run into the AFC Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, as Uzbek outfit Bunyodkor stunned former winners Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.

Australia's Adelaide, who were forced to come through qualifying, squeezed into the last eight with a 1-0, backs-to-the-wall victory over Japan's Nagoya Grampus, as Bunyodkor won by the same margin in Seongnam.

Goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was the hero for Adelaide, the 2008 runners-up, as he made three remarkable saves to protect their lead after defender Jon McKain scrambled the ball over the line in the 41st minute.

Galekovic brilliantly kept out a header from Nagoya's Australian international striker Josh Kennedy in the 33rd minute.

He then pulled off another fabulous one-handed stop to deny Takahiro Masukawa on 63 minutes, and tipped a blazing volley from substitute Mu Kanazaki over the bar 12 minutes later.

"The gods were shining on us tonight big-time," Reds' coach John Kosmina admitted. "We rode our luck a little bit and we weren't on our game but we got out of it what we put in."

Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor defender Karimov Hayrulla (C) kicks a penalty
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A place in the last eight is a major fillip for Adelaide, who lost the 2008 final to Japan's Gamba Osaka, after a dismal A-League season in which they finished second-last and suffered a sharp drop in attendance.

They now go into the two-legged quarter-finals in September, with their opponents to be decided by a draw next month.

"These guys have worked their butts off the last couple of months and they got some reward tonight for it," Kosmina said.

Meanwhile Uzbek champions Bunyodkor had defender Hayrulla Karimov to thank as he converted a 52nd-minute penalty after an infringement by Seongnam's Lim Jong-Eun.

The demise of Seongnam, the 2010 winners, leaves just one South Korean club still in the competition in the shape of Ulsan Hyundai, who play J-League champions Kashiwa Reysol on Wednesday.

Wednesday's other match features Italian World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, who will try to lead his new Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande into the quarter-finals against FC Tokyo in just his third game in charge.

Last week three Saudi teams reached the quarter-finals -- two-time winners Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Ahli -- along with Sepahan of Iran.

There have been persistent fears of hooliganism during the Euro 2012 tournament in Ukraine
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An outraged Ukraine on Tuesday hit back at the British media, current and former footballers for urging fans to stay away from next month's Euro 2012 tournament over fears of racism and violence in the ex-Soviet state.

The foreign ministry in Kiev accused England of inventing the term "skinheads" and said it had also witnessed attacks on ethnic minorities, after the BBC claimed in a documentary that far-right gangs were rife in Polish and Ukrainian football.

The angry response suggested a growing frustration with how the tournament is turning out for a country that had hoped to use it as a glittering showcase of its post-Soviet development.

Ukraine is already facing a potential boycott by top European Union leaders over the alleged mistreatment of the opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is in jail on what critics say are trumped-up corruption charges.

"To accuse Ukraine of being fascist and racist -- and to do it in the tone in which it is being done by the British media, some British footballers and individual British politicians -- is simply disgraceful," said ministry spokesman Oleg Voloshyn.

"This is not the first time that countries such as Ukraine, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic are accused by Western Europe of failing to live up to some sort of standards of respect for ethnic, sexual and other minorities.

"In terms of racism, a part of the European Union is way ahead of Ukraine.

"We do not have inter-ethnic violence on our streets -- something that happened a few years ago in Paris or which happened in London itself last year," he added, referring to the rioting that rocked the British capital.

Ukraine has beefed up security but is satisfied that fans will be fine
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His comments come after ex-England captain Sol Campbell, who is black, warned fans to "stay home, watch it (the tournament) on TV... don't even risk it" after viewing footage of Polish and Ukrainian fans making Nazi salutes and monkey chants.

The Panorama documentary, aired on Monday, also uncovered anti-Semitism and a serious assault on a group of Asian students.

In Poland, organisers PL.2012 said the warnings were unfair and had "nothing to do with reality", adding that instances of xenophobia and racism in stadiums were "a problem specific to the whole of Europe and not only to Poland".

The Polish foreign ministry meanwhile said that it will ask the BBC for a correction for broadcasting "unjust opinions that it will be dangerous in Poland during the Euro 2012 championship".

In Ukraine, Euro 2012 organising committee chief Markiyan Lubyivskyi admitted they were "hurt" and baffled by the claims, although Campbell was entitled to his view but urged more balanced reporting.

A BBC spokesman said they had filmed openly at a number of matches "and at every one recorded incidents of racism and/or violence including the vicious assault on Asian students at a stadium in Ukraine which will host Euro 2012 games".

He added: "It was in the public interest to highlight the behaviour of some Polish and Ukrainian football supporters ahead of the championships, given UEFA's publicly stated policy of zero tolerance to racism."

The families of two black England players -- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott -- have said they would not risk going to Ukraine to watch England's matches following public warnings from the British government.

Police bomb experts examine a blast site in Dnipropetrovsk, eastern Ukraine
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The foreign ministries of Denmark and France have also issued similar advice to visitors about the risk of racist attacks.

In an apparent bid to pre-empt football-related violence, police in Poland on Monday arrested 42 people -- including prominent members of football hooligan gangs -- suspected of being involved in drug trafficking and extortion.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain two decades ago, the far-right has found fertile ground among fan gangs in Eastern Europe's football stadiums.

Monitors from the UEFA-backed Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network have recorded dozens of shocking far-right slogans at Ukrainian league matches and plan to deploy at Euro 2012 games.

But they said that the Euro 2012 spotlight has helped tackle the issue.

UEFA said it was confident that Ukraine can ensure the safety of the 800,000 foreign fans expected at the tournament, which kicks off on June 8.

Jagielka was drafted into England's Euro 2012 squad on Monday after an injury to Gareth Barry
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Late call-up Phil Jagielka says England's 2010 defeat to France will have no relevance when the two rivals clash in their European Championship opener next month.

Eighteen months ago, Jagielka was part of the England side which were outplayed by France in a 2-1 home defeat at Wembley, a loss which highlighted the technical gulf between the teams.

However Everton defender Jagielka, who was drafted into England's Euro 2012 squad on Monday after an injury to Gareth Barry, is confident it will be a different story when the teams meet in Donetsk on June 11.

"I'm sure their squad will be quite similar to what it was back then and ours isn't too different," Jagielka said.

"But it's going to be a slightly different atmosphere, slightly different onus on the game.

"Obviously it's a tournament game rather than the friendly, we'll need the points to top the table and go through."

Jagielka acknowledged the Group D clash was one England could not afford to lose, adding: "We'll be going out there to win the game but if we take a draw and get two good results and top the qualifying, we'll take that just as much."

Meanwhile Jagielka, who will be playing for England in a major tournament for the first time after injury ruled him out of contention for the 2010 World Cup, believes the Three Lions can benefit from lower expectation.

England defender Phil Jagielka speaks during a press conference at a hotel near Watford on Tuesday
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"I'm sure if we win a game we'll be favourites and if we lose a game we'll be a waste of space," Jagielka said. "It's a hard one to call.

"It would be a better for the squad if there was a little bit less expectation on us.

"Hopefully we can go under the radar until the latter stages of the tournament and hopefully get further than we have.

"But if we're being realistic, we haven't won anything for a number of years now and maybe that's because we don't deserve to.

"So hopefully this time round we can perform a little bit better and see where it takes us."

Jagielka, who played in England's scrappy 1-0 win over Norway at the weekend, said the squad was still adjusting to new manager Roy Hodgson's tactics.

"We've obviously not had too long with it but a 1-0 win as a defender, that's a decent start," he said.

"I'm sure we didn't play amazing but we're still getting used to the different tactics and different roles some of us will have to play but we've got to look upwards going into the tournament and hopefully we can do well with him in charge."

Pizarro spent six seasons at Bayern between 2001 and 2007
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Werder Bremen's Peru striker Claudio Pizarro will return to Bayern Munich for next season after signing a one-year contract with the Bavarian giants.

"We're delighted we've been able to sign Claudio Pizarro, an internationally experienced and very prolific forward," said Bayern's director of football Christian Nerlinger.

The South American will be Bayern's fourth new signing for next season alongside Basel midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, Moenchengladbach centre-back Dante and Hoffenheim goalkeeper Tom Starke.

This will be Pizarro's second stint at Bayern after six seasons in Munich between 2001 and 2007, when they won the Cup and League double in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Pizarro holds the Bundesliga record for most goals by a foreign player, having found the net 160 times in 333 matches.

A building in Cavezzo, northern Italy, destroyed by an earthquake on May 29
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A friendly football match between Italy and Luxembourg scheduled to take place in Parma on Tuesday was called off after a strong earthquake hit the Emilia Romagna region, killing at least 15 people.

The match was part of preparations for next month's European Football Championships in Poland and Ukraine and was called off by the Italian Football Federation and local authorities.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said there were more important things in life than a football match.

"There are situations that make you think and make you realise there are worse things in life (than cancelling a game)," he told RaiSport.

Federation vice-president Demetrio Albertini said it would have been wrong to play the match under such circumstances.

"We couldn't play this match out of respect for the bereavement that has struck Emilia Romagna and the whole of Italy," he said.

"Our first thoughts were for the victims of the earthquake."

The region was struck by an earthquake measuring a 5.8 magnitude just after 0700 GMT when people were heading into work.

Authorities said three more quakes measuring between 5.1 and over 5.3 magnitude followed between 1056 GMT and 1101 GMT.

This came just days after a 6.0 magnitude quake in the industrial northeast that killed six people and left thousands in makeshift tent dwellings, with many homes and historic buildings reduced to rubble.

Tuesday's first quake struck about 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Parma, wreaking mass destruction.

A federation spokesman told AFP that the match would not be moved elsewhere or postponed to a later date.

Italy still have another friendly to come on Friday against Russia in Zurich before opening their Euro 2012 campaign against Spain on June 10.

Hazard was told by coach Marc Wilmots that he would have to pay his teammates back in bubbly
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Eden Hazard has been fined for missing the team bus taking Belgium's footballers to training and will have to repay his colleagues in champagne, Belgian media reported on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Lille playmaker, who announced on Monday that he would be joining Champions League winners Chelsea, missed the departure after arriving late in the hotel lobby, the Belga news agency said.

He eventually arrived on time at the training ground where the Red Devils are preparing for a Euro 2012 warm-up match against England at Wembley on Saturday, but was told by coach Marc Wilmots that he would have to pay them back in bubbly.

Hazard has been under pressure to reveal where he is going this summer, after his performances for the Ligue 1 side attracted the interest of a number of English Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

But the young star has said that for contractual reasons, he will only talk about his transfer to the London club on their television channel, sparking criticism in the Belgian media.

Wilmots has said that Hazard would not be making any comment about his transfer in the coming days.

According to reports, Chelsea paid between 36 million to 40 million euros (29 million pounds, $45.5 million) to secure his services and he will be paid some 550,000 euros a month.

Belgium failed to qualify for the European championships in Poland and Ukraine. England have been drawn in Group D against France, Sweden and Ukraine.

Greece coach Fernando Santos (C) talks to players during a training session in Kitzbuhel, Austria
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Greece coach Fernando Santos on Tuesday named his 23-man squad for Euro 2012, leaving out two players he had taken for training in Austria.

Santos cut from his team two midfielders, 24-year-old Panagiotis Kone and 27-year-old Alexandros Tsiolis, who played every minute of Greece's three World Cup games two years ago.

Kone's departure was not a surprise, with Santos angry at the Bologna player for receiving a red card for punching an opponent near the end of the Greeks friendly match with Slovenia in Austria last weekend. The match finished 1-1.

Tsiolis, who plays for Monaco, was an unexpected cut as Santos chose to keep 19-year-old Kaiserslautern regular Kostas Fortounis, who has only two caps compared to 31 for Tsiolis.

Santos named five players from Greek champions Olympiakos, four from PAOK and three from Panathinaikos.

The team will train in Austria this week and have scheduled one final friendly before the Euro with Armenia on Thursday. They are set to leave for Poland on June 3.

Greece, shock winners of Euro 2004, open their Group A campaign against co-hosts Poland in Warsaw on June 8, followed by the Czech Republic in Wroclaw on June 12 and Russia back in Warsaw five days later.

Greece squad

Goalkeepers: Costas Chalkias (PAOK), Michalis Sifakis (Aris), Alexandros Tzorvas (Palermo/ITA)

Defenders: Vasilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Schalke/GER), Stelios Malezas (PAOK), Jose Holebas (Olympiakos), Giorgos Tzavellas (Monaco/FRA), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Werder Bremen/GER)

Midfielders: Grigoris Makos (AEK), Giannis Maniatis (Olympiakos), Kostas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Giorgos Fotakis (PAOK), Kostas Fortounis (Kaiserslautern/GER), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Giannis Fetfatzidis (Olympiakos)

Forwards: Giorgos Samaras (Celtic/SCO), Dimitris Salpigidis (PAOK), Fanis Gekas (Samsunspor/TUR), Nikos Limberopoulos (AEK), Kostas Mitroglou (Atromitos)

Young Jews place plaques on railway tracks at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp at a ceremony in April
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England's footballers will visit the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in southern Poland as well as Oskar Schindler's factory in Krakow during Euro 2012, the Football Association (FA) confirmed Tuesday.

The visit to both historic sites are part of a new partnership between the FA and the Holocaust Educational Trust which will aim to produce a resource for all secondary schools and colleges in England.

As part of the tie-up, England's players will also meet Holocaust survivors Zigi Shipper and Ben Helfgott this week before they travel to Poland on June 6, an FA statement said.

Shipper was liberated from Auschwitz in 1945 while Helfgott survived the Buchenwald death camp before eventually settling in Britain and finding fame with his adopted homeland as a weightlifter at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.

England will visit Auschwitz prior to their opening match against France in Donetsk, Ukraine on June 11.

"I am proud that Roy Hodgson and the England team are supporting such an important initiative and I would encourage all English schools to take advantage of the learning materials that will be created," FA chairman David Bernstein said.

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Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen will miss Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine due to a back injury, the Danish Football Association said Tuesday, adding that the son of legendary Peter Schmeichel will take his place.

"Coach Morten Olsen has decided that the national team's first goalkeeper, Thomas Sorensen, will not go to the Euro finals due to the back injury he suffered during the match against Brazil on Saturday afternoon," the association said in a statement, adding that Kasper Schmeichel would take Sorensen's place.

Uncertainty surrounding the extent of the injury Sorensen, the Stoke City number one, suffered during the game in Hamburg had led to the decision, the statement said, pointing out that Olsen wanted to go the the Euro 2012 certain that he had three fit keepers.

Sorensen suffered his injury while trying to ward off Brazil's second goal on Saturday, and was substituted. Denmark went on to lose the friendly 3-1.

"This is a heavy decision to make, and it is a serious hit for us on a sports level," Olsen said in the statement.

"Thomas is, for starters, a fantastic and professional person to have on the team, and his routine is exactly what we need in a finals against some of the best teams in the world," he said.

Sorensen himself said in the statement that he was "deeply unhappy" over the decision, which meant he would miss his fifth major championship in the past 11 years.

But he also he understood "that it is a big risk to go in with an injured goalkeeper even before the finals kick off, so I respect Morten's decision, even if it hurts".

He pointed out that he would soon be celebrating his 36th birthday.

"Many may be asking whether this is the end of my career with the national team. I have the summer to reflect on that, but my first thought is that I am ready to fight for the goalkeeper's shirt after the summer break."

Kasper Schmeichel, who plays for Leicester City, will thereby join Denmark's national team for the Euro championships 20 years after his father Peter's triumph in 1992.

He will join the team's training as of Wednesday afternoon, the Danish football association said.

Hazard's signing by Chelsea would break the record for a Belgian footballer's transfer
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Lille's Belgian international playmaker Eden Hazard announced late Monday he had signed for Champions League winners Chelsea in preference to Premier League champions Manchester City and runners-up Manchester United.

The fee is reported to be 40million euros with Hazard signing a five year contract and breaks the record for a Belgian footballer's transfer with Marouane Fellaini's to Everton of 20million in 2008 being the previous mark.

He will also earn a reported 550,000 euros a month.

The 21-year-old - who was voted Ligue 1 Players' Player of the Year for the second successive year recently - had previously said he would definitely sign for one of the Manchester clubs without specifying which one.

However, Chelsea's penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League had he admitted at the time made him hesitate as to his choice - speculation he ended on Monday even though the transfer window doesn't officially open till June 13.

"I'm signing for the champion's league winner," he tweeted.

Hazard, capped 27 times and scorer of two goals, was inspirational when Lille won the domestic double in 2011 and though they failed to defend their titles this season he nonetheless enjoyed a successful season, scoring 17 goals and providing 15 assists.

Hazard is due to play against several of his new team-mates in Saturday's friendly with England at Wembley.

New Belgian national coach Marc Wilmots said that no-one should expect too much else to be said on his reasons for choosing Chelsea for the moment.

"When he has revealed via his tweet, his destination, he will remain silent until his new employer asks him to explain his choice. Don't hope for much more in the next dozen days or so," Wilmots said at a press conference.

Manchester United's Danny Welbeck has been passed fit to play at Euro 2012
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Injury doubts Danny Welbeck and Glen Johnson were both passed fit to play at Euro 2012 after being included in England's final 23-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday.

Manchester United striker Welbeck and Liverpool defender Johnson missed last Saturday's 1-0 friendly victory over Norway in Oslo because of lingering fitness issues.

But the duo were both named to travel to Poland and Ukraine in a squad showing only two changes from the original 23 unveiled by manager Roy Hodgson earlier this month.

Everton defender Phil Jagielka comes in for the injured Gareth Barry, ruled out on Monday, while Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland replaces John Ruddy, who broke a finger in training last week.

England also confirmed squad numbers for the tournament on Tuesday, and in a possible indicator of Hodgson's preferences in attack, handed Liverpool striker Andy Carroll the No.9 shirt.

Carroll is expected to start for England in their opening matches against France and Sweden in the absence of the suspended Wayne Rooney.

England squad for Euro 2012

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Rob Green (West Ham), Jack Butland (Birmingham)

Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Man United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Midfielders: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Man United), James Milner (Man City)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Man United), Danny Welbeck (Man United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

United boss Alex Ferguson flew to Berlin to watch Kagawa score in Dortmund's German cup final win
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German football magazine Kicker reported Tuesday that Japan star Shinji Kagawa is set to join English giants Manchester United for 15 million euros ($18.8 million) with the deal almost complete.

Borussia Dortmund's director of sport Michael Zorc told Kicker that some details have yet to be finalised and Kagawa is still contracted to the German league and cup winners until June 2013.

The club have already slapped a price tag of 20 million euros on their attacking midfielder with several Premier League clubs reported to be interested.

Earlier this month, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson flew to Berlin to watch Kagawa score in Dortmund's 5-2 win over Bayern Munich in the German Cup final.

Kagawa cost Dortmund just 350,000 euros when he joined from J-League side Cerezo Osaka in 2010. He has scored 21 goals in 49 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia, helping them win back-to-back league titles.