The Fan

Predictions: England to win cup

A world cup predicted.

A part serious, part tounge-in-cheek, part hopeful prediction for the World Cup.

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Holland sustained three injuries during their 1-1 friendly with Australia on Sunday with Wesley Sneijder’s ankle knock considered to be most serious.

From: BBC

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Crouch hat-trick buoys England

England 6 - Jamaica 0

England gain confidence boosting win in their final friendly before the World Cup, with Peter Crouch scoring a hat-trick and missing a penalty.

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Celtic striker John Hartson says he is shocked by the news that the SPL champions have accepted an offer for him from West Brom.

I’m shocked that West Brom have bid for John Hartson, but probably different reasons.

By the way (and I know I’ve said this before), I cannot believe John Hartson is only 31!

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Sven-Goran Eriksson, in his serene, understated way, can be as fiercely protective of his players as Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho and those instincts came to the fore here yesterday as the England manager launched a robust defence of Owen Hargreaves and insisted that the Bayern Munich player could play a prominent role in the World Cup.

Eriksson’s plan for the World Cup is to field a defensive midfielder instead of Joe Cole when England come up against one of the leading nations.

From: Guardian

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Dutch prosecutors said yesterday that they were investigating possible football fraud in Holland.

De Telegraaf newspaper reported prosecutors were looking into match-fixing and the bribery of players. A prosecutors’ spokeswoman declined to elaborate on details of the investigation.

From: Telegraph

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James Richardson in Guardian Football:

Moggi has had to resign at Juve and is facing charges ranging from intimidation to kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. Juventus meanwhile stand accused of sporting fraud, as beneficiaries of what police have dubbed the ”Moggi System”. This consists of assigning friendly referees for Juve games, finding unfriendly ones for their rivals, and making sure future opponents were “softened up” with judicious use of the red card.

...Depending on the outcome of the investigations, Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and possibly even Milan could be penalised or relegated…

...the chances of the various investigations being settled by August are slimmer than Nicole Ritchie, what with the likely appeals and such. How next season can begin on schedule (on August 27) is anyone’s guess, as we likely still won’t know by then who should be in it.

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The Italian Football Federation has been placed under administration in a response to the match-fixing scandal that has stunned the country.

Four teams, including champions Juventus, are under investigation for match-fixing and illegal betting.

AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina are also under investigation.

Related: Juventus face relegation from Serie A, Entire Juventus board resigns

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Juventus, who along with AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio are being investigated for suspected match-fixing, could be relegated from Serie A if found guilty.

From: Yahoo

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The entire Juventus board has resigned after days of press revelations over embarrassing telephone interceptions involving its top management.

Italy’s Football Federation is probing Juve general manager Luciano Moggi over allegations of collusion in appointing referees for Juventus games

From: BBC

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