DURBAN: When your national press labels your progression from group stage to knock-out phase of the World Cup as a "miracle", it sums up the notion of a being a rank outsider in world football. Slovakia go into Monday`s second-round game against the Netherlands, on a run of seven wins

CAPE TOWN: Halfway through the World Cup, tourism officials say football fans have already brought an economic windfall that looks set to keep rolling as a raft of big countries play in the second round. Business is booming with foreign fans at bars and restaurants, which are also

LONDON (AFP) – French Open champion Rafael Nadal narrowly avoided an embarrassing exit at Wimbledon as he dug deep to beat Germany`s Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-3 in the third round on Saturday. Nadal, the 2008 winner here, had been pushed to five sets by unheralded

JOHANNESBURG: Surprise contenders Ghana and Uruguay will compete for a place in the World Cup semi-finals at Soccer City here on July 2 after both sides came through tight last-16 matches on Saturday. Ghana reached the last eight for the first time by beating the United States 2-1 after

RUSTENBURG: Energized by the support of a continent, Ghana`s Black Stars have matched the best World Cup run by any African side by reaching a quarter-final showdown against Uruguay on Friday. Now the dreams of the four-time African champions stretch far beyond the final eight, all the

PORT ELIZABETH: Uruguay became the first country to make it into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over South Korea at a sodden Nelson Mandela Bay stadium here on Saturday. Goals in either half from Luis Suarez earned Uruguay - who last made the quarter-finals in 1970 before

PRETORIA: Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said his team will be able to kick on after they secured their place in the World Cup last 16 with a 2-1 win over Chile on Friday. Spain lost their opening group game against Switzerland and despite beating Honduras, they knew that anything other

BLOEMFONTEIN: Be careful of what you wish for. Sometimes it is what you get, as Wayne Rooney has found out. Asked last week if he would relish the prospect of meeting Germany in the second round of the World Cup, England`s talisman responded: "Yes! It would be nice to beat them." At the

NELSPRUIT: Coach Kim Jong-Hun said on Friday North Korea`s tough assignment at the World Cup has laid a solid foundation for the team in the future. The North Koreans battened down the hatches after their embarrassing 7-0 rout by Portugal to hold the vibrant Ivory Coast to a 3-0 margin

JOHANNESBURG: Mexico will be looking to avenge their defeat at the 2006 World Cup finals when they take on two-time winners Argentina on Sunday for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals. Four years ago in Germany, the teams met at the same Round of 16 stage and a stunning extra time

PRETORIA: Chile`s first World Cup triumphs since 1962 have booked the South American side into the last 16, but a 2-1 loss Friday to European champions Spain has left them in mighty Brazil`s path. And even Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa admits that is a scary prospect. "It`s always a side

BLOEMFONTEIN: Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said Friday that nerves had plagued his team as they went in search of the two goals needed to ensure they reached the World Cup knockout phase. The Swiss failed to find the net in a goalless stalemate in Bloemfontein as Spain and Chile

KIEV: The Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) announced on Friday that 10.8 million hryvnias (1.4 million dollars) set aside for the reconstruction of the main Euro 2012 stadium here have been misappropriated. The director of Kiev`s Olympic stadium and his assistant "have misappropriated

DURBAN: Portugal qualified for the second round of the World Cup after battling to an ill-tempered 0-0 draw with five-time champions Brazil in their final Group G game on Friday. In a match that was hyped as a potential showcase for the "beautiful game", there was not much samba on

LONDON: Australia`s Jarmila Groth set up a fourth round shot at Wimbledon great Venus Williams when she downed Germany`s Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-5 on Friday. The Aussie number three reached the round of 16 at the All England Club for the first time when she beat the higher-ranked Kerber

JOHANNESBURG: Former French skipper Patrick Vieira on Friday called for a halt on the export of teenage African football talent after the poor showing at the first World Cup to be held on the continent. Amid a bout of soul-searching over the string of failures, other legends of the game

JOHANNESBURG: Tensions between the World Cup`s two top local officials erupted into the open on Friday when the organising committee`s chief executive accused the chairman of waging a war against him. After the Mail and Guardian news weekly reported his brother was cashing in on the

LONDON: Lu Yen-Hsun became the first Taiwanese man to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam when his third round opponent Florian Mayer retired during the third set here at Wimbledon on Friday. Lu had taken the first two sets 6-4 and was a break up at 2-1 in the third when Mayer

LONDON : After meeting Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, Britain`s Andy Murray will be hoping for another majestic performance when he faces Frenchman Gilles Simon in the third round on Saturday. A barnstorming demolition of Finland`s Jarkko Nieminen has raised expectations among a British

NELSPRUIT: Ivory Coast joined the exodus of African teams from the World Cup here on Friday as they could only beat already eliminated North Korea 3-0 in their Group G match. Chasing a seemingly impossible nine goals to nudge Portugal out of the last 16 - though it wouldn`t have made a