CAPE TOWN: Lionel Messi came into the World Cup with the expectation that he would light up the tournament, but the Barcelona superstar left on Saturday empty-handed, without a goal and in floods of tears.It is not something the world footballer of the year and Argentina`s talisman is

JOHANNESBURG: David Villa scored the only goal as European champions Spain beat Paraguay 1-0 at Ellis Park on Saturday to set up a World Cup semi-final against Germany.Villa, who now has five goals in the tournament, struck the winner seven minutes from the end of what had been a

LONDON: Austria`s Juergen Melzer and Germany`s Philipp Petzschner made off with the match balls after winning the Wimbledon men`s doubles title here on Saturday.The unseeded pair beat Sweden`s Robert Lindstedt and Romania`s Horia Tecau, the 16th seeds, 6-1, 7-5, 7-5 on Centre Court."I

LONDON: Austria`s Juergen Melzer and Germany`s Philipp Petzschner made off with the match balls after winning the Wimbledon men`s doubles title here on Saturday.The unseeded pair beat Sweden`s Robert Lindstedt and Romania`s Horia Tecau, the 16th seeds, 6-1, 7-5, 7-5 on Centre Court."I

JOHANNESBURG: Shamed Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez received a one-match ban on Saturday for his handball against Ghana, meaning he could still play in the World Cup final if his countrymen can see off Holland in the semi-final.FIFA`s discipinary commission ruled the ban should be just for

LONDON: Fast bowler Shaun Tait led Australia to a 42-run win over England in the fifth and final one-day international at Lord`s here on Saturday as they reduced the hosts` series-winning margin to 3-2.England, chasing 278, were rocked by an early double strike from Tait as they collaped

CAPE TOWN: Diego Maradona on Saturday indicated that he may quit as Argentina coach, but said he needed time to think about his future.The former midfield maestro was devastated after seeing his team crushed 4-0 by Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals and said in his post-match

CAPE TOWN: Miroslav Klose joined the elite 100 club on Saturday, cementing his place in German football history while edging closer to Ronaldo`s World Cup goal-scoring record with his brace in the 4-0 win over Argentina.The Bayern Munich striker`s 100th cap, in front of German Chancellor

LONDON: Defending champion Serena Williams won her fourth women`s singles title at Wimbledon with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian 21st seed Vera Zvonareva in the final on Saturday.Williams displayed all her trademark power and poise to overwhelm Zvonareva on Centre Court and

Port-Au-Prince: A young Haitian football fan was so distraught at Brazil`s World Cup exit that he killed himself by leaping in front of a car, according to witnesses contacted by an AFP photographer.The 18-year-old died after the incident, which took place in Nerette, on the outskirts of

CAPE TOWNL: Germany steamrollered Argentina 4-0 on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals with goals from Thomas Mueller, a brace from Miroslav Klose, winning his 100th cap, and Arne Friedrich seeing off Diego Maradona`s men.Three-times Germany now face either Spain or Paraguay in

DHAKA: At least 15 people were injured and Bangladesh`s largest hospital recorded a jump in cases of sedative poisoning following Brazil`s shock departure from the World Cup, a doctor said Saturday. The injured and poisoned were taken to the state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital

PORT ELIZABETH: Goalkeeper Julio Cesar and defensive midfielder Felipe Melo on Friday lamented the end of Brazil`s World Cup run after a 2-1 quarter-final loss to the Netherlands here.Melo was the villain of the piece for the Brazilians, putting through his own goal to gift Holland an

JOHANNESBURG: Uruguay claimed their first World Cup semi-final appearance in 40 years after a pulsating 4-2 penalty shootout win over heartbroken Ghana at Soccer City on Friday.Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera saved skipper John Mensah and Dominic Adiyah`s attempts after the

PORT ELIZABETH: Brazil star Kaka said on Friday that nobody was sadder than the players after the five-time champions crashed out of the World Cup to Holland."There are many people who are sad in Brazil - but nodody is sadder than we are," said Kaka, who failed to find his top form

RIO DE JANEIRO: A devastated silence fell over Rio de Janeiro Friday after the country`s dreams of a sixth World Cup title were crushed by Holland in a stunning 2-1 defeat for the Brazilian team."It`s truly a nightmare!" TV Globo`s celebrated commentator Galvao cried.In the streets of

JOHANNESBURG: Wesley Sneijder was the hero and Felipe Melo the villain as Netherlands came from behind to edge favoured Brazil 2-1 Friday after a World Cup quarter-final thriller.Sneijder, from European club champions Inter Milan, delivered the cross that Melo headed into his own net on

LONDON: Tomas Berdych clinched a place in the Wimbledon final for the first time as the Czech 12th seed defeated Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 on Friday.Berdych, the first Czech man to reach the Wimbledon final since Ivan Lendl in 1987, has been a dangerous force

CAPE TOWN: Mesut Ozil is determined to upstage Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, in whose honour he has been nicknamed, by leading Germany into the World Cup semi-finals.The 21-year-old Ozil is a candidate to win the tournament`s best young player award and aims to boss the midfield in

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Jacob Zuma said Friday his country was ready to host the Olympics, after the World Cup inspired confidence in the nation`s ability to pull off major events."This has proved to the world that we are capable of hosting any international event, we have