SOUTH AFRICA 2 - FRANCE 1

France exited the World Cup at the first round stage with barely a whimper after this humbling defeat by the host nation at the Free State Stadium.

On a day of drama Raymond Domenech stripped Patrice Evra of the captaincy and handed the armband to Alou Diarra instead. Then the coach, set to be replaced by Laurent Blanc, saw his side reduced to 10 men after 26 minutes of this Group A game when Yoann Gourcuff was sent off.

South Africa took advantage with Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela both finding the target. Although Florent Malouda stepped off the bench to pull a goal back France are heading home early.

Evra was dropped after the squad boycotted a training session after striker Nicolas Anelka was expelled following a row with Domenech. The Manchester United full-back cut a lonely figure on the bench on another dreadful day for France.

It was a bitter sweet win for South Africa as they have become the first host nation to be eliminated at the first round stage of the finals.

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PORTUGAL 7 - NORTH KOREA 0

Portugal hit their stride at the World Cup on Monday, thrashing North Korea 7-0 to give themselves an excellent chance of reaching the last 16 while ending the Asian team's hopes.

Portugal took the lead through Raul Meireles in the 29th minute and went on the rampage in the second half with three goals in a seven-minute spree from Simao Sabrosa (53rd), Hugo Almeida (56th) and Tiago (60th).

The score was completed with late strikes from Liedson (81st) and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 87th, his first for Portugal in two years, and Tiago again in the 89th.

Portugal scored five in their remarkable 1966 World Cup quarter-final with North Korea when they came from 3-0 down to win 5-3.

Brazil, already sure of a second round place, lead Group G with six points from Portugal, who have four. Ivory Coast have one and North Korea none with one match each left to play.

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IVORY COAST 1 - BRAZIL 3

Kaka was controversially sent off as a brace from Luis Fabiano and an Elano strike helped Brazil ease to victory in their battle with Ivory Coast at Soccer City. 

Didier Drogba grabbed a late goal for the Elephants, but the game was marred by the late dismissal of Kaka for an off the-the-ball foul on Kader Keita. It came too late, though, for the Elephants to respond as they slipped to defeat that leaves them with just a point in Group G, while Brazil now have six. 

The game got slightly scrappy late on and Kaka received his marching orders after being shown a second yellow card.

 

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ANELKA SENT HOME

Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the World Cup, the French Football Federation have confirmed. The France Striker was reportedly embroiled in war of words with Raymond Domenech at half-time in the 2-0 defeat to Mexico, in which was alleged to have told the much-maligned Les Bleus' coach "go screw yourself, dirty son of a whore".

And after refusing to apologise to Domenech for the exchange, the Chelsea striker has been told he must leave South Africa before France's must-win final group game against South Africa.

Anelka was absent from training on Saturday after the bust-up, which saw him substituted at the interval. He was asked to apologise by French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes and, upon refusing to do so, was asked to leave the squad.

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IVORY COAST 0 - PORTUGAL 0

Cristiano Ronaldo was denied by the woodwork as Portugal and Ivory Coast had to make do with a point apiece in Port Elizabeth.

Ronaldo, who has not scored an international goal in 16 months, rattled a post with a blistering early strike, but that was as close as his side came to snatching victory on a frustrating afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Even Didier Drogba's arrival as a second-half substitute, to the delight of a crowd of 37,034, could not separate the sides as each attempted to gain the upper hand in Group G ahead of their respective encounters with Brazil.

Ivory Coast boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was boosted ahead of kick-off when he was able to name captain Drogba among his substitutes just 10 days after he had broken a bone in his arm.

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DROGBA OUT OF TRAINING BUT FINE

Didier Drogba sat out training on Saturday but Ivory Coast are still hoping the striker will be fit to face Portugal. Drogba broke his arm in a warm-up match against Japan on June 4 and there were initial fears he could miss the tournament, but he had surgery the day after the game and has made a swift recovery.

Ivory Coast confirmed Drogba missed training on Saturday to visit the team doctors, but Sven-Goran Eriksson is still optimistic about his chances of playing against Portugal in their Group G opener on Tuesday.

 

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ROBBEN TO MISS OPENER

 

Arjen Robben has been ruled out of Holland's World Cup opener against Denmark with a hamstring injury. The Bayern Munich man sustained a small tear in his left hamstring towards the end of Saturday's 6-1 warm-up victory over Hungary.

 

He is hoping intensive physiotherapy will help him play some part in South Africa, but Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk is resigned to being without the 26-year-old for Monday's Group E opener against the Danes in Johannesburg. Robben can be replaced by the Dutch until the day before their first game.

 

 

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KING CONFIDENT TERRY PARTNERSHIP

 

Ledley King he is confident of playing alongside John Terry in a new-look central defensive partnership following Rio Ferdinand's withdrawal from the England squad. Ferdinand, who suffered a knee injury in training on Friday, is to stay with the squad for the time being at least until he is considered fit enough to manage a long-haul flight back to the UK. That will not be before England's opening game against the United States on Saturday.

 

Tottenham defender King is thought to be at the head of the queue to replace Ferdinand at the heart of the defence, despite not playing a competitive game for his country for three years. Added to that, King's chronic knee injury means he is only able to take part in limited training - and that causes additional problems as he tries to forge an understanding with Terry.

 

Coach Fabio Capello also has Matthew Upson, Jamie Carragher and Michael Dawson, Ferdinand's replacement in South Africa, at his disposal. Upson has missed recent training sessions through illness but is due to join in with the rest of the squad on Monday.

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LAMPARD CONFIDENT ROONEY HAS MATURED

 

England midfielder Frank Lampard has warned World Cup rivals against trying to wind up Wayne Rooney. Former USA defender Alexi Lalas, who played in the 1994 tournament, has suggested his country's best chance of success when the two sides meet on 12th June lies in getting under Rooney's skin.

 

The suggestion comes after Rooney received his marching orders in the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal four years ago following a clash with Ricardo Carvalho. But the 24-year-old has shown a growing maturity in recent seasons and Lampard has warned the USA players not to try and antagonise the Manchester United striker, who also became a father for the first time late last year.

 

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DROGBA IS NOT OUT

 

Didier Drogba has been tipped to make a speedy recovery after undergoing an operation on his fractured arm, but his involvement at the World Cup still appears to be in the balance. The Ivory Coast striker was forced out of his side's warm-up game against Japan on Friday and it initially seemed that his World Cup dream was in tatters.

 

However, a spokesman later stated that Drogba had not been ruled out of the tournament 'at this stage' and he has now gone under the knife. The Ivory Coast Federation (FIF) is happy with how the surgery has gone and hopes he will regain fitness as quickly as possible.

 

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