Beckham - No guarantees

Midfielder insists he is not a certainty to make England squad

David Beckham insists he is not guaranteed a place in the England squad for this summer's World Cup in South Africa.

The midfielder featured mainly off the bench under Fabio Capello in the qualifying campaign but is still considered by many to be among the certainties to make the final 23.

The LA Galaxy ace even took part in the World Cup draw in Cape Town on Friday and will shortly join up with AC Milan for a second loan spell to give himself the best chance of making Capello's squad.

However, the Italian is blessed with right wingers with Beckham jostling for a place alongside Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips and the 34-year-old admits he would begrudgingly accept the situation if he was left behind.

"I do not fear being axed from the World Cup," he said. "If I don't make the squad it's not going to stop me supporting the team.

No guarantees

"Nothing is guaranteed, I have discovered that is true in my career. But if I can be part of it then it will be amazing.

"Everybody knows how much I love playing for my country but the manager will pick a squad he thinks will win the competition. That has to be the way.

"If I am not part of that, of course I'd be upset but it is something I would still respect. It would be because the manager felt it was right in terms of his system and having the best players in the team.

"It still hurts that I was left out by Steve McClaren after I had resigned the captaincy but being picked for next summer is not something I take for granted.

"Going to Milan doesn't guarantee anything. It gives me a chance of being in the squad but it doesn't guarantee it."

Late error leaves Poulter tied for PGA lead

 

England's Ian Poulter took double-bogey at the final hole Thursday to slip into a tie for the lead with Zach Johnson at the Chevron World Challenge.

Late error leaves Poulter tied for PGA lead

England's Ian Poulter took double-bogey at the final hole Thursday to slip into a tie for the lead with Zach Johnson at the Chevron World Challenge.

A wayward tee shot at the last saw Poulter finish on four-under 68, while Johnson was delighted with a round in which he birdied all of five of the Sherwood Country Club course's par-fives.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington was a shot back on 69, while Jim Furyk, South Korea's PGA Champion Yang Yong-Eun and British Open champion Stewart Cink were tied on 70.

Johnson said the absence of tournament host Tiger Woods - who stayed home in Florida amid a swirl of scandal - was noticeable.

"Quite frankly, I think there's less of a buzz," said former Masters champion Johnson, saying it wasn't quite as "chaotic" as an event in which galleries and photographers were scrambling for a glimpse of the world number one.

But Johnson said that inside the ropes it was business as usual.

"I haven't even talked about it today, it hasn't even been a thought," he said of the Woods saga.

Golf's world number one hosts the 18-player event annually to benefit his charitable foundation.

But he withdrew on Monday, after a furor erupted when he crashed his car in strange circumstances on Friday outside the Florida home where he lives with his wife Elin and their two children.

He apologized Wednesday for "transgressions" in his personal life amid a welter of publicity over a string of alleged affairs.

Poulter, who could move into the top 10 in the world rankings with a victory this week, said he was focused his game.

"The focus for me this week is to go out there and win the golf tournament," he said. "I'm here for one reason. That's to concentrate on my goals and try and move into the top 10 in the world, and certainly the way I played today is a nice start."

Poulter's round included seven birdies. He said it could have been more but for two three-putt pars from 25 feet. He also had a birdie putt lip out at seven, and ended up three-putting from 35 feet at 18 after his tee shot hit a tree.

"Yeah, I'm leading, but I should have been way clear," Poulter said. "So I'm hitting some very, very good iron shots. I'm driving the ball in play. It was a poor three-wood off the last which got me in a bit of trouble, didn't really leave me much of a second shot."

For Poulter the tournament is the penultimate stop on a seven-tournament run to end his season.

His packed schedule has taken him around the globe and included a victory in the Barclays Singapore Open in late October, his first European Tour victory since 2006.

"This is week six in a row for me, so maybe a little bit of concentration slipping out there on the golf course might be the reason why I made three three-putts today," he said. "I've just got to make sure I get my rest today and come out tomorrow, hit more good golf shots and attack the flags."

Poulter, too, said Woods' predicament was a non-factor now that the tournament was underway.

"Obviously it's disappointing that Tiger can't be with us," Poulter said. "But looking at the field it's very strong. There's a lot of good players in the field this week and if you can go ahead and win this tournament this week it will be a big achievement."

World Cup draw set to roll in Cape Town

 

The battle-lines for the first World Cup on African soil will be laid down here Friday when the draw is made for the tournament separating the 32 qualified countries into eight groups of four.

World Cup draw set to roll in Cape Town

The battle-lines for the first World Cup on African soil will be laid down here Friday when the draw is made for the tournament separating the 32 qualified countries into eight groups of four.

The draw and a glittering build-up show, which will resonate to a distinctly African beat, gets under way at 1700 GMT at Cape Town's International Convention Centre and will be watched by millions of fans around the world.

By the end of the evening, the nations involved will know the identity of their group-stage rivals and the date and venue of every game during the June 11-July 11 showpiece tournament.

From record five-times winner Brazil to World Cup rookies Slovakia, the anticipation will be keen to discover which three teams will stand in their way for World Cup glory.

The draw itself sees the 32 teams divided into four pots of eight from which the eight groups that will contest the first round will be drawn.

The first pot will consist of hosts South Africa, and the seven top-ranking world teams -- holders Italy, likely favourites Brazil, former champions Argentina, Germany and England and two teams yet to hoist the World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands.

Pot 2 will have the four Asian qualifiers, the three from North and Central America and rank outsiders New Zealand representing Oceania.

Pot 3 sees the remaining five African sides grouped with the remaining three South American, while the final pot consists of the remaining European qualifiers.

Among the latter will be 1998 champions France and semi-finalists four years ago Portugal, and where they end up will likely go a long way to designating the inevitable Group of Death.

That will grab much of the headlines, but for such as England coach Fabio Capello, it matters little where his side ends up.

"I don't worry about that 'Group of Death'," the Italian said. "You have to play against all of the teams at some point, but of course if you play against the best teams it's not so easy to pass the first round."

It will all take 90 minutes and when it is over the talking will begin and is unlikely to stop until South Africa fittingly plays the opening game in Johannesburg on June 11.

But the occasion is more than just a sporting one representing as much to South Africans, just 15 years after the end of the apartheid era, as the Beijing Olympics did for Chinese last year.

Eighty years and 18 tournaments since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay, when only 13 teams took part, none of them African, an African nation is hosting the event for the first time with 32 countries, six of them African, vying for the biggest prize in sport.

It is a matter of huge pride and satisfaction not only in South Africa but also throughout Africa which would be capped on July 11, should an African country hoist aloft the gleaming World Cup trophy for the first time.

"The trophy is home," said Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee and the architect of the South African campaign seven years ago to win the right to host the event.

"This is the end of a long dream and the beginning of a new dream. We have been dreaming that one day some country is going to come here and compete for this trophy on the African continent, and that dream was dismissed, that dream was challenged," he said.

"Today as we say welcome to this trophy, we announce the death of doubt. There can no longer be any doubt."

English League Cup - Chelsea gets burnt while young Gunners shoot blanks

A roundup of last night’s English League Cup action between Arsenal, City, Chelsea and Blackburn

Reuters Photo

Manchester City took yet another step closer to winning their first major trophy since 1976 with 3-0 schooling of Arsenal’s young stars.

The young Gunners surely looked the part against City and were very comfortable with the ball at their feet, but it was City who came up with the goods where it mattered. Goals from Carlos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss ensured City of its place in the semi’s and cancelled out Arsenal’s hopes of doing the same.

Blackburn also made their way past another English giant, Premier League leaders Chelsea, in their English League Cup matchup. Tied at 3-3 all the way to extra time, the match was sent into extra time, where Blackburn came up with the goods and won it 4-3 on penalties.

Chelsea’s Gael Kakuta missed the crucial penalty kick which cost gave it all away to Blackburn to wrap up. Blackburn keeper Paul Robinson had also saved a penalty from Michael Ballack, tipping the ball towards the post.

Blackburn are now set to face Aston Villa in the semi-final round of the match, while the battle for Manchester between City and United is set to kick off when the next round of matches take place.