Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari shrugged off the chaos that marred Portugal's 1-0 win over The Netherlands, officially the dirtiest match in World Cup history with an accumulated 20 yellow and red cards. The Brazilian said while Deco should not have been one of the four players sent off, similar scenes were relatively common in South America.
Stephen Appiah scored a penalty kick in the second minute of first-half injury time on Thursday to give Ghana a 2-1 World Cup victory over the United States, advancing the Africans to the second round. Ghana, World Cup debutantes, also eliminated the Americans, who needed a victory and an Italy triumph over the Czech Republic in the other Group E match.
England stuttered into the second round of the World Cup in Germany on Thursday after late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard handed them a flattering 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. Crouch, who had missed a series of chances throughout the match, finally made amends seven minutes from time.
England striker Wayne Rooney was cleared by doctors on Thursday to play in the World Cup. His first World Cup appearance could come on Thursday afternoon, when England play Trinidad and Tobago. However, England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said he would only use Rooney as a substitute.
Mexico scored twice in three second-half minutes to beat Iran 3-1 on Sunday and give a massive boost to their bid to go past the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time. The world number four and Group D seeds were held at 1-1 for 40 minutes by a battling Iran before Omar Bravo broke the deadlock with his second of the match.
Clever electronic features are the make-or-break feature in many new toys on display at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, which entered the second day on Friday of a six-day run. Baby Shark, a toy from Super Grand Enterprise of Hong Kong, exemplifies how makers are taking traditional playthings and giving them a new twist.
