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.

West Brom 1 Liverpool 1

West Brom 1 Everton 1

West Brom 1 Everton 1

West Brom 0 Norwich 2

Summer signing Nicolas Anelka was included in West Brom’s starting line-up for their Barclays Premier League opening-day clash with Southampton at the Hawthorns.

Wearing the famous striped shirt of West Bromwich Albion, Shane Long last night made his first appearance back at Turner’s Cross since leaving for England in 2005, and the one-time Cork City rookie marked the occasion by also registering his first goal at the venue, as the Premier League side eventually ran out easy winners against a mix ‘n’ match home side in front of a crowd of 2,371.

La Liga’s winter transfer window shut more with a whimper than a bang last Thursday.

Argentina 3 Uruguay 0

The president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, has waded into the Luis Suarez controversy and offered his full backing to the Liverpool forward for refusing to shake Patrice Evra’s hand before last week’s Premier League defeat at Manchester United.

The president of Uruguay has defended Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, insisting his compatriot “is not a racist and never will be”.

BARCELONA defender Gerard Pique has hailed team-mate Lionel Messi as the finest player in the world as the Argentinian waits to discover if he has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for 2011 today.

IRELAND legend Paul McGrath has described Liverpool’s decision to wear t-shirts in support of Luis Suarez, who was banned for eight games for making racist comments towards Patrice Evra, as “shameful”.

LUIS SUAREZ’S Uruguayan team-mates have rushed to support the Liverpool forward following his eight-match ban and £40,000 (€48,000) fine for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

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

Shane Long has admitted that he has benefited from being a regular in the Reading starting line-up this season.

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has promised James McCarthy he will get more chances at international level after a tough first start 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.

DIEGO FORLAN was less than happy with the surface at the Aviva Stadium after Uruguay trained on the pitch yesterday evening.

Diego Forlan has been handed the captaincy for Uruguay after defender Diego Lugano failed to make a full recovery from a knee injury for tonight’s World Cup semi-final against Holland.

URUGUAY coach Oscar Tabarez says his side will feel no embarrassment when they line up against Holland in the World Cup semi-final at the Green Point stadium tonight.

Uruguay 2 South Korea 1

URUGUAY coach Oscar Tabarez said his side had been insulted by claims they would play for a draw against Mexico – and duly proved it as a first-half from Luis Suarez was enough to help Uruguay secure top spot in Group A and progress into the last 16 of the World Cup.

Mexico 0 Uruguay 1

South Africa 0 Uruguay 3

FORMER France defender Marcel Desailly believes the mood in les Bleus’ camp is upbeat ahead of their World Cup opener against Uruguay tomorrow night.

LAZIO crashed out of the Europa League last night following their 2-1 defeat at Salzburg and Villarreal’s 2-0 win at Levski Sofia.

Lazio crashed out of the Europa League tonight following their 2-1 defeat at Salzburg and Villarreal’s 2-0 win at Levski Sofia.

Arsenal 0 Fenerbahce 0

SUBSTITUTE Semih Senturk’s late strike lifted Fenerbahce to a 3-2 win in their Champions League last 16 first leg tie against Sevilla.

NEWCASTLE manager Glenn Roeder has ruled Shay Given out of the Republic of Ireland’s Euro qualifier with San Marino next month.

Jamie Carragher admits he was left scratching his head after leaving the pitch in Yokohama without a Club World Championship winners’ medal.

RAFAEL BENITEZ was left cursing the officials after Liverpool lost in unfortunate circumstances to Sao Paulo in the Club World Championship final in Yokohama.

Australia 1 Uruguay 0 (1-1 AET, Australia win 4-2 on penalties)

Australia 1 Uruguay 0 (1-1 aggregate, extra-time being played)