Sports

Pele said Argentina was likely to improve after an erratic qualifying campaign.

Humberto Suazo was the top scorer in the South American qualifying group but injured his left thigh last week.

Argentina meet Nigeria at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday with Messi tipped to inspire the team to victory.

From dour Dunga to the downright eccentric Diego Maradona, the leading coaches at the World Cup are plotting different ways to win the title.

Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz is hoping to impress his Manchester City bosses at the World Cup.

Fifteen people were injured after thousands of football fans stampeded outside a stadium before an exhibition game.

Ledley King is confident his troublesome knees will stand up to the rigorous football World Cup.

Kaka is the advertising face of Jabulani makers Adidas.

Australia's World Cup squad are unhappy about the quality of the training pitch.

The midfielder took part in the 15 minutes of Friday morning's training session.

Bastian Schweinsteiger converted two penalties in four minutes to give Germany a morale-boosting win.

Nigeria was the first African team to arrive in South Africa for the World Cup on Wednesday.

A local survey shows that 26 per cent of South Africans will pick Brazil as their second-choice team if South Africa is out.

Vicente del Bosque's side ended a 44-year European title drought in Switzerland and Austria in 2008.

The venue hosted the memorable semi-final match between Spain and USA in Confederations Cup, 2009.

Dirk Kuyt, Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder scored goals.