Craig Levein has finally paid the price for Scotland's poor start to their World Cup qualifying campaign after being "relieved of his duties" as national team manager.

Ireland World Cup star Kevin O'Brien has joined Gloucestershire for the rest of the season.

JURGEN KLINSMANN has been named new coach of the German national team.

Trinidad and Tobago defender Marvin Andrews has not given up hope up of playing against England in the World Cup Group B clash on Thursday.

Switzerland midfielder Valon Behrami’s World Cup may be over after the player failed to overcome a knee injury.

Scotland manager Berti Vogts has told his players they will receive huge bonus payments for reaching the 2006 World Cup finals.

Arsenal midfielders Gilberto and Edu have been picked by Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira for the World Cup qualifier with Bolivia on September 5 in Sao Paulo and the friendly with Germany in Berlin four days later.

The BBC is celebrating its own World Cup victory after its match coverage of the Brazil-Germany final drew four times as many viewers as ITV.

WAYNE ROONEY yesterday claimed England have “a good chance” of winning the World Cup in Germany as he came face to face with the trophy for the first time - but he refused to tempt fate by taking hold of football’s biggest prize.

FIFA have rejected a £1.6bn (€2.4bn) bid for the commercial rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments.

FIFA fined Cameroon €128,660 and took six points from the national squad in the 2006 World Cup preliminaries for recently playing in a controversial one-piece kit.

The Irish were outclassed as New Zealand powered to victory in the U21 Rugby World Cup.

Fifa has postponed the announcement of the the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup, due to the corruption crisis that has engulfed the organisation.

A club official kindly intervened to rephrase the question.

Russia is to cut the budget for hosting the 2018 World Cup as part of plans to slash state expenditure as recession looms.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is likely to be sidelined for four months after deciding to undergo an operation after the World Cup.

The world’s favourite tennis tournament will be a World Cup-free zone – with vuvuzelas banned from making a racket at SW19.

IFA has confirmed a record number of nations will attempt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

THE Republic of Ireland women’s U17 side were defeated 2-1 by a strong Japanese side in the FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup quarter-final in Trinidad on Friday night.

Sportswear firm Umbro eyed a World Cup bonanza today after reporting record demand for England kit and merchandise ahead of this summer’s tournament.