For those who winced through the final stages of Sven-Goran Eriksson's time with England, experiencing a conflict between dismay at the deterioration in the quality of the football and admiration for the sheer good manners of a manager who never once succumbed to the temptation to answer his critics in kind, there is a certain pleasure to be had from seeing the courteous Swede with a smile on his face once again. Eriksson's post-England adventures with Mexico and Notts County seemed to confirm the caricature of the passionless, money-mad Swede. He can hardly be blamed, however, for finding it difficult to acclimatise to the strange conditions he found in Mexico City, where the raging drugs wars rendered him a virtual prisoner in his luxury accommodation, or Nottingham, where he was trapped in a web woven by the obscure Munto Finance. Appointed to the job of Ivory Coast's head coach in March after Valid Halilhodzic failed to take them into the last four of this year's African Cup of Nations, Eriksson guided them to a goalless draw against Portugal in his first competitive match with the team. Today, at Soccer City, they play Brazil in a meeting that is not without poignancy for the Swede, since the South Americans were responsible for the elimination of his England at the 2002 World Cup in the first of the three quarter-finals reached during his time as an employee of the Football Association...

Didier Drogba fit for Ivory Coast against Brazil

Holland's Arjen Robben has a small tear in his left hamstring but is hoping intense physiotherapy will help him take part in the World Cup. The Bayern Munich forward came on as a half-time substitute in Saturday's 6-1 thrashing of Hungary and scored two before being forced off five minutes from time. The initial diagnosis was gloomy but Robben is hoping he can still play a key role in World Cup 2010. "On Sunday I had the scan and it's just a small tear in my left hamstring," he told Studio Voetbal. "It's the first time I have a injury on that spot of my leg. "If I just let it heal then I'm back on the field in four to six weeks, but we don't have so much time. [The physio] Dick van Toorn is going to help me. We're going to work incredibly hard. I'm going to fight until I drop. "The last 24 hours I have had so much support from all the people around me and that had a positive effect on me. "After the injury I went to the locker room for a first diagnosis, which was very difficult. But it was clear that it wasn't good because I had a lot of pain. " The Dutch FA is expected to make a statement today with an update on Robben's condition but the coach, Bert van Marwijk, has already said he does not intend to call up a replacement. Holland's first game is on 14 June against Denmark. They also face Japan and Cameroon in Group E.

Arjen Robben determined to win fitness race

Park Ji-sung is on South Korean television often. Catching up with his Manchester United exploits on the national news is a Monday evening tradition in Seoul for those who missed the live action. He also does his fair share of commercials especially in the build up to the World Cup, a topic that is second only to North Korea in the news these days. In a recent advert for an energy company, a young boy plays Park Ji-sung in the 2002 World Cup match against Portugal while the man who scored the goal that booked the co-hosts' place in the second round is in a suit acting the role of the manager, Guus Hiddink. As the captain, mentor and best player of a South Korea team under considerable pressure from the nation this summer, it is probably the only job the midfielder has not yet performed for the squad...

Park Ji-sung hopes World Cup can help unite a divided Korea | John Duerden

Robert Green made two important saves during England's 3-1 win against Mexico on Monday. Photograph: Scott Heavey/Action Images Robert Green's progress with England is praiseworthy but that advance also shows how goalkeeping resources have declined. There are no glamorous candidates. Fabio Capello is bound to be an elitist and of his preferred outfield line-up until now eight of the 10 players were involved in the Champions League last season. Aaron Lennon will experience the competition in the next campaign, assuming Tottenham Hotspur come through a qualifier. Emile Heskey is the exception of sorts. He last appeared on that front with Liverpool in November 2002. When Capello goes looking for goalkeepers the manager must watch some of the less prominent clubs. David James came bottom of the table with Portsmouth. Green's West Ham claimed the last place of safety in the Premier League. His fitness held up better than that of James and he was spared only one of the 38 matches in a trying campaign. It is as well that Green is a strong character with an independent cast of mind. Capello's first England game was in February 2008 but a year passed before the Italian picked him. At least Green is not the sort to mope. While being emphatically ignored, he had the words "England's number 6" embroidered on his gloves for a match with Birmingham. He is much too intelligent to tease Capello and made it very clear that he had been mocking the obscurity of his candidacy at that stage. "I don't know where they are," he now says of the gloves. "It's a long way away in a chronological and metaphorical sense." Dire circumstances have since worked in his favour. Others have suffered from injury or dwindling form and Green has made the most of that opportunity. He even had a bearing on the outcome of Monday's win over Mexico when twice denying Carlos Vela. "Fortunately he's kicked them straight at me," said Green with a wise modesty, "but it is pleasing to make saves when you're needed. In international football chances don't come along as often as in Premier League football, so you know if you can make saves, it is an important moment in a game because you are not going to make as many chances up the other end to make amends if they score." He comes across as the man under review by Capello that he probably is. While James is expected to start in Sunday's friendly with Japan in Graz, it is conceivable Green will get some time as well. The manager seems to regard Joe Hart as a long-term prospect. The idea that a decision about the goalkeeper is still to be made or, more likely, made public has certain overtones. It is faintly evocative of the 1970s and the weak-minded alternating between Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence. Capello is unlikely to follow that example but for the time being Green and James are in the dark. "I think it's a fairly unique position," said the West Ham goalkeeper. "Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, we're yet to find out. I'm sure we're pushing each other as much as we can. Whoever is going to be playing is going to be playing well because he's kept the other guys out of the side. The other two guys are going to have to support and encourage him. I'm sure that is what will happen come the first game against the USA." The traditions endure and that remark about helping whoever is picked smacks of the camaraderie of goalkeepers, who usually suppose that outfield players and managers have minimal insight into their line of work. However, Green and James are also competitors. At 30 the West Ham player is nine years younger but the age of a rival is not such a great consideration for this post. It is merely the knee trouble and other aches that ensure Capello will keep a close eye on James in training. Specialist advice is also available from the goalkeeping coaches Franco Tancredi and Clemence. Green will appreciate that it has been a challenge to persuade managers that he is cut out for the England job. When Capello turned to him at last it was almost four years after the single previous cap he had been awarded against Colombia in 2005. At least complacency will not undermine him. "We've got a big game on Sunday," he said. "If I'm playing, then great; if I'm not playing, then I'll be ready. That's the most you can do. The opportunities come few and far between in international football to impress, so I just want to be prepared to take each chance when I can." Green fielded questions about the difficulties posed by the 2010 World Cup ball and its behaviour at altitude. "They're a lot more plasticy than previous balls and guys are encouraged to shoot from distance," he said. "We'll have to see how it develops because obviously we're going to be a lot higher and being in stadiums is a lot different from being in mountains in Austria [at the training camp]. As problems go, it's not the worst thing to happen in the world, so we'll just deal with it." The immediate challenge is for Green or James each to try and take a tight grip on the goalkeeping duties with England. There may be more doubt about Capello's verdict there than in any other decision. This seemingly banal friendly with Japan could well seem like a key moment in Green's life.

England's lack of top goalkeepers leaves Robert Green in pole position

Five years ago, at the age of 38, I went back to school. I had played football for 20 years for some of the best clubs in the world but had never had the chance to finish my education. So I moved to Florida and enrolled at Devry University. I am majoring in Business Administration and will be graduating next summer with a bachelor degree. I am one of the lucky ones; I can afford to pay for my education and can travel to the United States to get it. It was not always like this for me. When I was growing up in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, I sold doughnuts, popcorn and Cool Aid every day after school so that my family had some money and I could pay my school fees. It was a tough life. My father died when I was young and I was raised by my grandmother, Emma Klonjlaleh Brown. We could afford to eat chicken just once a year – at Christmas...

South Africa's World Cup can make education a reality for all | George Weah

.:: Group A ::. 15.00, Friday, June 11 South Africa vs. Mexico in Johannesburg 19.30, Friday, June 11 Uruguay vs. France in Cape Town 16/06 13.30 South Africa vs. Uruguay in Tshwane/Pretoria 17/06 06.30 France vs. Mexico in Polokwane 22/06 09.00 Mexico vs. Uruguay in Rustenburg 22/06 09.00 France vs. South Africa in Mangaung/Bloemfontein .:: Group B ::. 12/06 06.30 Argentina vs. Nigeria in Johannesburg 12/06 09.00 South Korea vs. Greece in Port Elizabeth 17/06 13.30 Argentina vs. South Korea in Johannesburg 17/06 13.30 Nigeria vs. Greece in Mangaung/Bloemfontein 22/06 13.30 Nigeria vs. South Korea in Durban 22/06 13.30 Greece vs. Argentina Polokwane .:: Group C ::. 12/06 13.30 England vs. United States Rustenburg 13/06 06.30 Algeria vs. Slovenia Polokwane 18/06 09.00 Slovenia vs. United States Johannesburg 18/06 13.30 England vs. Algeria Cape Town 23/06 09.00 Slovenia vs. England Port Elizabeth 23/06 09.00 United States vs. Algeria Tshwane/Pretoria .:: Group D ::. 13/06 09.00 Germany vs. Australia Durban 13/06 13.30 Serbia vs. Ghana Tshwane/Pretoria 18/06 06.30 Germany vs. Serbia Port Elizabeth 19/06 06.30 Ghana vs. Australia Rustenburg 23/06 13.30 Ghana vs. Germany Johannesburg 23/06 13.30 Australia vs. Serbia Nelspruit .:: Group E ::. 14/06 06.30 Netherlands vs. Denmark Johannesburg 14/06 09.00 Japan vs. Cameroon Mangaung/Bloemfontein 19/06 09.00 Netherlands vs. Japan Durban 19/06 13.30 Cameroon vs. Denmark Tshwane/Pretoria 24/06 13.30 Denmark vs. Japan Rustenburg 24/06 13.30 Cameroon vs. Netherlands Cape Town .:: Group F ::. 14/06 13.30 Italy vs. Paraguay Cape Town 15/06 06.30 New Zealand vs. Slovakia Rustenburg 20/06 06.30 Slovakia vs. Paraguay Mangaung/Bloemfontein 20/06 09.00 Italy vs. New Zealand Nelspruit 24/06 09.00 Slovakia vs. Italy Johannesburg 24/06 09.00 Paraguay vs. New Zealand Polokwane .:: Group G ::. 15/06 09.00 Cote d'Ivoire vs. Portugal Port Elizabeth 15/06 13.30 Brazil vs. North Korea Johannesburg 20/06 13.30 Brazil vs. Cote d'Ivoire Johannesburg 21/06 06.30 Portugal vs. North Korea Durban 25/06 09.00 North Korea vs. Cote d'Ivoire Nelspruit 25/06 09.00 Portugal vs. Brazil Durban .:: Group H ::. 16/06 06.30 Honduras vs. Chile Nelspruit 16/06 09.00 Spain vs. Switzerland Durban 21/06 09.00 Chile vs. Switzerland Port Elizabeth 21/06 13.30 Spain vs. Honduras Johannesburg 25/06 13.30 Switzerland vs. Honduras Mangaung/Bloemfontein 25/06 13.30 Chile vs. Spain Tshwane/Pretoria .:: Round of 16 Matches ::. 26/06 09.00 1A vs. 2B Port Elizabeth 26/06 13.30 1C vs. 2D Rustenburg 27/06 09.00 1D vs. 2C Mangaung/Bloemfontein 27/06 13.30 1B vs. 2A Johannesburg 28/06 13.30 1G vs. 2H Johannesburg 28/06 13.30 1E vs. 2F Durban 29/06 09.00 1F vs. 2E Tshwane/Pretoria 29/06 13.30 1H vs. 2G Cape Town .:: Quarter Finals ::. 02/07 09.00 5 vs. 7(C) Port Elizabeth 02/07 13.30 1 vs. 3(A) Johannesburg 03/07 09.00 2 vs. 4(B) Cape Town 03/07 13.30 6 vs. 8(D) Johannesburg .:: Semi Finals ::. 06/07 13.30 A vs. C(1) Cape Town 07/07 13.30 B vs. D(2) Durban .:: 3rd Place Match ::. 10/07 13.30 Loser 1 vs. Loser 2 Port Elizabeth - Port Elizabeth .:: Finals ::. 11/07 13.30 Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 Johannesburg

World Cup Game Schedule