England vs Algeria Preview

England will be looking to put a disappointing opening showing behind them when they face Algeria in their second World Cup 2010 game on Friday.

A 1-1 draw with the United States provided more questions than answers for the Three Lions and they know there is still much work to be done if they are to live up to their pre-tournament billing.

Victory over Algeria would go some way to appeasing a demanding public, and give them one foot in the knockout stages, but England have made a habit of doing things the hard way down the years.

If their showing against the USA is anything to go by, the 2010 World Cup could be heading in the same direction, as they allowed two priceless points to slip through their grasp.

Robert Green will have relived the horror of allowing Clint Dempsey's tame shot to trickle over the line a hundred times, while a number of others on show in Rustenburg are likely to have taken a long look at themselves.

A stuttering start, rather than a flying one, suggests changes could be on the cards when England arrive in Cape Town, but Fabio Capello has steadfastly refused to give any indication as to his selection thoughts.

Algeria could also decide to freshen things up for their second outing, with a 1-0 defeat to Slovenia in their opener doing little to inspire confidence.

The Africans endured a goalkeeping nightmare of their own in that contest and they too may decide to plump for a different last line of defence this time out.

They certainly need to raise their game considerably if they are to trouble England, while defeat would bring an abrupt end to their World Cup campaign and see them on the first plane home.

As mentioned, England face something of a selection dilemma heading into the game, with niggling knocks and a lack of adventure against America giving Capello food for thought.

The Italian is expected to back Green by giving him another opportunity to prove his worth between the sticks, but strong cases can be made for the involvement of either David James or Joe Hart.

In the back four, Ledley King will definitely be missing, having picked up a groin problem, meaning Jamie Carragher, Michael Dawson and Matthew Upson will battle it out for the right to partner John Terry.

Having seen James Milner and Shaun Wright-Phillips offer little down the left last time out, both could be forced to settle for a place on the bench.

With Gareth Barry back to full fitness and set to resume his holding role duties in midfield, Steven Gerrard is likely to be pushed out to the flanks.

Meanwhile, up front, Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney proved to be a handful last Saturday and should be paired alongside each other once again.

With Algeria hardly blessed with world-class options in the keeping department, they are tipped to keep faith with Faouzi Chaouchi - despite his glaring error against Slovenia and a knee problem picked up in training.

The main issue for coach Rabah Saadane to address is how to bring the best out of his attacking talents, allowing them to test an England defence lacking in pace and movement.

Much will be expected of Wolfsburg ace Karim Ziani, as playmaker in chief, but he needs support from those around him if he is to influence proceedings.

One of those who will definitely not be offering a helping hand is Abdelkader Ghezzal, following his reckless sending off against Slovenia.

He lasted just 15 minutes of that contest upon entering the game as a second half substitute, with two needless bookings meaning he must serve a suspension.

Schiavone overwhelmed by victory

Roland Garros saw its queen dethroned when Justine Henin suffered a shock defeat yesterday but 17th seed Schiavone played like her heir apparent on Philippe Chatrier Court this afternoon, her all-court game simply too much for teenager Wozniacki.

Schiavone won 6-2 6-3 in one hour 20 minutes to become the first Italian woman to reach the last four of a major in the Open era.

The 29-year-old got past the first week of each of the previous three grand slams before arriving in Paris but she had not been in the last eight at Roland Garros for nine years.

So she struggled to contain herself when the moment of triumph arrived, dropping to her knees and kissing the clay.

Comparing the feeling to a "heart attack", she said: "I think in that moment you remember many things from when you were young.

"It's special because it is your space, it is your time, it is your opportunity.

"I felt alone, but with all the love around.

"It's like if I ask you, 'How did you feel when you married?' You say, 'It's not easy to explain'."

Few players can have reached a grand slam semi-final having waited so long to do so.

This is Schiavone's 39th attempt in total but she insisted she never gave up on her "dream".

"The truth is that I always dream," she said. "One of my goals was this.

"But to arrive is different. To live every step before arriving in a semi-final is something.

"I don't have many words to say, because it is emotion, it is feeling, it is something that is coming from the heart.

"I lived some good moments and some bad moments last year and some years ago.

"I think the bad moments helped me a lot to grow up and to learn many things that today, when I was playing, I was thinking about."

Third seed Wozniacki admitted she was beaten by the better player.

"She played with a lot of spin, she didn't make a lot of mistakes, she played aggressively," the 19-year-old said.

"She was playing better than me today. I was always one step behind and couldn't really dominate the way I wanted to."

In an era of baseline battles in the women's game, it was refreshing to see such an all-action approach from Schiavone.

Wozniacki added tellingly: "She didn't play typical women's tennis."

In stark contrast to Schiavone, opponent Elena Dementieva will be contesting her ninth grand slam semi-final.

Her error-strewn match with Petrova could not have been more different either, a real case of survival of the fittest as both players struggled with leg injuries picked up earlier in the tournament.

Dementieva capitalised on her fellow Russian's discomfort to win 2-6 6-2 6-0 in two hours and six minutes.

The 28-year-old two-time grand slam finalist, runner-up at Roland Garros in 2004, said: "I've been in the final and a couple of times in the semi-final and never won.

"This is one of the biggest goals left in my career. This is great motivation for me."

Both players took medical timeouts at 3-2 to Petrova in the first set today.

The 27-year-old, who upset Venus Williams in the last round, admitted she had considered quitting in the decider with a groin injury she picked up in her marathon third-round victory over Aravane Rezai.

She added: "It's just so difficult to quit and walk away because you just want to give it all.

"Anything can happen. On clay, somebody can sprain their ankle and not able to continue."

Schiavone stuns Wozniacki to reach semis

Francesca Schiavone stunned Caroline Wozniacki to become the first woman into the semi-finals of the French Open.

Schiavone, 29, dominated almost the entire match, with teenager Wozniacki having no real answer to her opponent's all-court game.

A 6-2 6-3 victory on a soggy Philippe Chatrier Court made Schiavone the first Italian woman to reach the last four of a grand slam in the Open era.

The match was between the oldest and youngest players left in the draw, with Wozniacki the favourite courtesy of being the number three seed.

The 19-year-old US Open runner-up had lost her only previous match with Schiavone, although that was back in 2008.

But she struggled to contain her opponent this afternoon as Schiavone produced a clinical first set to take control of the match.

Despite the onset of rain on Philippe Chatrier, she broke in game four thanks to a wondrous backhand pass, a clever lob and a brutal forehand return.

The Italian immediately dropped serve but reeled off five straight games to wrap up the first set and move a break up in the second.

Wozniacki fought courageously and capitalised on a dip in Schiavone's serving form to recover both that break and a second.

But the Italian, who was producing winners from all parts of the court, broke again in game eight before serving out the match to set up a last-four clash with Elena Dementieva or Nadia Petrova.

England's World Cup Squad of 23

Fabio Capello has named his final 23-man England World Cup squad with Theo Walcott's omission being the biggest shock.

England 23-man World Cup squad:

Goalkeepers:

Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green

Defenders:

Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock

Midfielders:

Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Strikers:

Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney

Torres misses Spain training

Fernando Torres has missed training with the Spanish national team in preparation for their next friendly match against South Korea.

Vicente del Bosque and his medical staff is reluctant to force the Liverpool striker in the morning training session as Torres has not completely recovered from his knee operation that ruled him out of the last few weeks of the Barclays Premier League season.

The national team doctors felt that a double training session would be asking too much for the Spanish hitman.

Torres has previously assured that he will be 100% fit for Spain's opening World Cup match against Switzerland on 16 June.

Sidebottom in for Bresnan

Ryan Sidebottom was on Tuesday named in the England squad for the second npower Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford, as a replacement for the injured Tim Bresnan.

Sidebottom, a key bowler in England's World Twenty20-winning campaign in the Caribbean last month, has not played Test cricket since the final match of four against South Africa at The Wanderers in January.

The 32-year-old had to leave England's subsequent tour of Bangladesh because of injury, but now gets his shot at a return against those same opponents thanks to his fellow Yorkshireman Bresnan's misfortune.

Bresnan suffered a stress fracture of his left foot during England's first-Test win over the Bangladeshis, completed at Lord's yesterday. His absence, and Sidebottom's inclusion, is the only change to the 12-man squad chosen for the first instalment of the two-match series.

National selector Geoff Miller, said: "We can be very pleased with a number of aspects from the first npower Test at Lord's, resulting in a comprehensive win against Bangladesh.

"It's very unfortunate that Tim Bresnan will miss the second Test through injury, because his bowling benefited from five days of Test cricket at Lord's - and he would have been looking forward to getting more overs under his belt at Old Trafford.

"It does, however, provide Ryan Sidebottom with an opportunity to push for Test selection following his outstanding performances in the World Twenty20.

"The entire bowling unit will be better for the overs bowled during the first Test and looking to further build on this in Manchester."

Bresnan will undergo further assessment this week before a recovery time frame is established.

SL register thumping win over Zimbabwe

Chasing a modest victory target of 119 runs against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka put a splendid display and cruised home with 9 wickets in hand.

Captain Tillakaratne Dilshancracked an unbeaten 60 to lead Sri Lanka to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in a rain-curtailed one-dayer in the Tri-Series at Bulawayo.
 
Chasing 119 for a win from 26 overs, Dilshan took the inexperienced Zimbabwe bowlers to the cleaners with his 45-ball innings which contained seven fours and a six.

He was given able support by his opening partner Upul Tharanga (37-ball 40) as Sri Lanka romped home with 10.4 overs to spare at the Queens Sports Club here.

Earlier, off-spinner Suraj Randiv led a disciplined Sri Lankan bowling charge with three scalps to skittle Zimbabwe out for 118 in 24.5 overs after Dilshan won the toss and inserted the home side.

The match was reduced to a 26-over affair after the start was delayed by more than four hours due to rain.

Tharanga and Dilshan, who stitched an 86-run opening stand, almost clinched the issue for Sri Lanka, but the opening combo came to an end when wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor found Tharanga short of the crease in 11th over. Tharanga cracked six fours during his breezy 37-ball innings.

Dinesh Chandimal (10 not out) then paired up with Dilshan to complete the formalities as Sri Lanka reached 119 for one in 15.2 overs.

Sri Lanka had lost to India on Sunday. Zimbabwe had beaten India on Friday in the tournament opener.

Earlier, Randiv, who gave away 23 runs for the three wickets, received good support from Dilhara Fernando (2/26), Ajantha Mendis (2/21) and Jeevan Mendis (2/12).

Opener Hamilton Masakadza waged a lone battle for Zimbabwe as his 62 off 69 balls helped the hosts cross the 100-run mark before being all out in 24.5 overs.

Masakadza, who cracked four fours and a six, was the only batsman to negotiate the disciplined Sri Lankan bowling.

Zimbabwe were off to a rather slow start as the first five overs yielded only 18 runs.

The hosts suffered an early blow when opener Taylor (2) was removed by paceman Fernando in the second over.

Greg Lamb (10) then joined Masakadza but spinner Ajantha Mendis struck just when the duo were trying to stitch a partnership. Lamb edged a turning delivery to square leg, where Jeevan Mendis ran backwards to take the catch.

Masakadza then found the company of Craig Ervine and the duo added 36 runs for the third-wicket, although the latter's contribution was only seven.

Teams

Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor(w), Gregory Lamb, Craig Ervine, Charles Coventry, Elton Chigumbura(c), Andy Blignaut, Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Ray Price, Chris Mpofu

Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan(c), Dinesh Chandimal(w), Chamara Kapugedera, Chamara Silva, Thissara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suraj Randiv, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis