Costa Rica 3 Uruguay 1

World Cup 2014 kicks off in nine days so Ger McCarthy looks at how some of the contenders and outsiders are shaping up ahead of their final friendlies before boarding the plane to Brazil.

Northern Ireland showed England they have little to fear from a Uruguay side lacking Luis Suarez as they battled to an honourable 1-0 defeat in Montevideo.

When Diego Simeone took charge at Atletico Madrid, just over two years ago, the challenge he faced was huge.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired out a warning to the Republic of Ireland with a hat-trick in Sweden's 4-2 friendly defeat of neighbours Norway in Stockholm.

Uruguay 2 Italy 2, Italy win 3-2 on pens

Brazil 2 Uruguay 1

Liverpool defender Jose Enrique believes striker Luis Suarez performs the same role for the Reds as Lionel Messi does for Barcelona in being the go-to guy in times of trouble.

Inter Milan boss Claudio Ranieri has denied that Diego Forlan refused to come on as a substitute during his side’s goalless home draw with Atalanta yesterday.

ACCORDING to FIFA and the Ballon d’Or voters, the coach of last year was Pep Guardiola.

Seven members of the Barcelona side which claimed last season’s Champions League and Primera Division double were today named on the 23-man shortlist for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or.

DIEGO FORLAN believes his move to Inter Milan has come at the perfect time in his career.

Inter Milan have completed the signing of Uruguay international Diego Forlan from Atletico Madrid on a two-year contract, the Serie A club have announced.

Diego Forlan will complete his move from Atletico Madrid to Inter Milan today.

DIEGO FORLAN scored twice as Uruguay last night clinched a record 15th Copa America title with a comfortable win over Paraguay in Buenos Aires.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits Luka Modric is “confused” about his future but is still determined to hang on to his star midfielder.

ROBERT ALLEN ZIMMERMAN turned 70 this week.

TOTTENHAM’S flickering hopes of Champions League qualification took a blow yesterday with the confirmation that Gareth Bale will miss the rest of the season after suffering a ruptured ankle ligament during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Blackpool.

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI has been rightly criticised for his poor communication skills but the Ireland manager’s words were music to James McCarthy’s ears after Tuesday’s friendly against Uruguay.

I DON’T think we’re going to end up in a GPO-type situation here. That is to say, it’s unlikely that in years to come hundreds of thousands will lay retrospective claim to having been in the Aviva Stadium on the evening of March 29, 2011 to witness the rising of the latest star in Irish football.

Giovanni Trapattoni admitted he would take a good look at Shane Long if he were a club manager after seeing the striker excel against Uruguay tonight.

Republic of Ireland 2 Uruguay 3

Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez has included Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan and skipper Diego Lugano, of Fenerbahce, in his starting line-up for tonight's clash with the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

ROBBIE KEANE could only watch from the television studio as his two clubs fought out a goalless draw and must have wondered if he could have proved the difference on a frustrating afternoon for the north London club.

JAVIER HERNANDEZ has admitted he is being forced to hit the gym in an effort to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League.

REAL MADRID overcame the second-minute dismissal of Iker Casillas to beat Espanyol 1-0 last night and move to within five points of fierce rivals Barcelona at the top of the Primera Division.

Barcelona’s record 16-match winning run in the Primera Division came to an end tonight as they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Sporting Gijon.

Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll were looking increasingly as though they would be making big-money moves to Chelsea and Liverpool on one of the most exciting transfer deadline days since the January window began.

Sergio Aguero has ended speculation linking him with a move to Tottenham after signing a contract extension with Atletico Madrid.

A trip to watch the Madrid derby ended badly for Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp after he was mugged by local thieves.

WORLD CUP surprise package Uruguay are coming to Dublin.

FOOTBALL’S obsession with turning Transfer deadline day into a drama to rival a James Bond thriller came to a grinding halt yesterday as the Premier League seemed to run out of money and Robbie Keane out of options.

Stephen Kelly will not be fazed whatever he finds when he walks onto the pitch at the Yerevan Republican Stadium on Friday evening.

Inter Milan 0 Atletico Madrid 2

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 3

MANCHESTER CITY boss Roberto Mancini has hinted that the protracted transfer of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan could be due to the teenage striker’s over-inflated price-tag but believes everything will be resolved in the next 24 hours.

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has hinted that the protracted transfer of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan could be due to the teenage striker's over-inflated price-tag but believes everything will be resolved in the next 48 hours.

Thomas Muller admits he never believed he would win the Golden Boot before the World Cup began.

SPANISH captain Iker Casillas lifted the World Cup to the African night sky as all of Spain celebrated the first World Cup triumph in their history.

JOACHIM LÖW insists his Germany side can leave the World Cup with their heads held high after exceeding expectations in South Africa.

Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has won the FIFA Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup.

Uruguay 2 Germany 3