IRELAND’S lightweight men’s four took second place and a silver medal at the World Cup regatta in Munich on Saturday.

“Everything went fine” for Italy’s World Cup-winning defender Marco Materazzi at his meeting with FIFA officials today, according to the player’s agent.

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre today expressed concern over the possibility that Iran’s hard-line president might attend the World Cup in Germany and urged Berlin to declare him “persona non grata”.

Colin Montgomerie immediately turned his thoughts to the Ryder Cup after going out of the HSBC World Match Play Championship to team-mate Paul Casey at Wentworth today.

Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland is still set to join West Brom on loan from Liverpool despite late interest in the player from Celtic.

Ronaldo is hoping to make his return to competitive action when Inter Milan take on Parma next Sunday.

IRELAND head coach Declan Kidney has placed an emphasis on youth for this week’s training camp in Belfast, but insists that many of the older brigade have not been “discarded”.

THE coaches of Uruguay and Ghana last night brushed aside conspiracy theories claiming English referee Howard Webb was replaced as the man in charge of today’s World Cup quarter-final because of the controversy over Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal.

Ireland's Graeme McDowell, eagerly looking forward to a first Ryder Cup cap next month, has become the first European Tour player to be fined for slow play this season.

FORMER Wallabies coach Alan Jones has joined the growing chorus Down Under backing England to win the World Cup.

CLIVE WOODWARD yesterday issued a confident and upbeat message to English fans ahead of tomorrow’s World Cup showdown with France at Telstra Stadium.

Germany boss Joachim Low today admitted he was “shocked” to learn captain Michael Ballack would miss the World Cup but urged his players to form a united front in South Africa in his absence.

Steve O’Neill and Andy Kelly, who guided Ireland to the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup, have been reappointed as joint-coaches for the international against France on June 26.

France coach Raymond Domenech has given midfield enforcer Patrick Vieira a ringing endorsement and all but dismissed reports the 29-year-old might start the World Cup on the bench.

THE WORLD Association of Newspapers and the world’s major news agencies, has expressed dismay at FIFA’s decision to insist on severe restrictions on photo publication for this year’s World Cup finals.

As he trudged off at Malahide on September 12, having scored a 31-ball six in a one-day international against Scotland, Andy Balbirnie might have dwelled upon a sense of missed opportunity.

Megan Campbell, Stephanie Roche and Méabh De Búrca tell Dave Donnelly who they think will win the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Irish captain Niamh Briggs has said she is "absolutely devastated" to be missing out on the Women's Rugby World Cup due to injury, writes Ciara Phelan.