Striker Michael Owen eased one of England’s injury fears on Wednesday when the prolific striker pronounced himself fit for FIFA World Cup duty.
Owen has played only one competitive game for Newcastle United since breaking a bone in his foot on 31 December and had become an injury worry for the finals in Germany.
The unassuming Cristian Mora chooses his words carefully, but on the rare occasions he does make bold statements, this young goalkeeper invariably backs them up with actions.
Morita’s recent heroics on international duty are a case in point, given that they have left him on the cusp of fulfilling his stated ambition of becoming Ecuador’s undisputed number one in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany.
The United States dropped into a fifth-place tie in the May FIFA rankings, the last before the World Cup next month.
The same teams occupy the first 10 spots, with only minor adjustments in the rankings released Wednesday by soccer’s world governing body.
Frank Bsirske, head the powerful German services union Verdi, said employers should give their employees slack to watch World Cup matches. “Employers should be flexible about working hours in order that their workforces can follow the matches,” he told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.
