Marta pulled it off where many in football have tried and failed, talking about herself in the third person with striking dignity.

GRAEME MORRISON will return to the Scotland team for Saturday’s EMC Test with Ireland, with Rugby World Cup heartache the driving force for him to perform and secure a place in the squad for this year’s tournament in New Zealand.

Simon Easterby enters the Heineken Cup sharing a common bond with many of his Llanelli team-mates which spans international boundaries.

“I just hope it’s a total shitshow circus.”

Ireland’s bogey team Switzerland booked their place in the World Cup finals by edging out Turkey in a dramatic match in Istanbul tonight.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Germany coach Joachim Low says the world champions will bounce back after suffering a bit of a slump after winning the World Cup.

Jacques Santini has saluted Arsenal striker Thierry Henry for showing resolve and bouncing back from his disappointing France 98 to become one of the world’s greatest players.

LOADED with glamour teams, the Confederations Cup has few friends outside FIFA. The tournament, a warm up for next year’s World Cup in Germany, prevents weary players from taking a summer break.

ROGER FEDERER says Switzerland will take nothing for granted in this weekend’s Davis Cup tie against Great Britain, but expects the hosts to win.

MARTIN JOHNSON has been backed to continue in his job by the acting chief executive of the Rugby Football Union — before an official review into England’s World Cup failure has even begun.

MUNSTER’S worst fears may not, after all, be realised and the chances are that they will be able to select the side to meet Gloucester at Thomond Park on Saturday from the 24 players available to them for last week’s Heineken Cup game in Perpignan.

Colombian World Cup star James Rodriguez joined Spanish giants Real Madrid from Monaco for a fee believed to be in the region of £63 million on Tuesday, making him the fourth most expensive signing in football transfer history.

Arsenal and England have been rocked by the news that forward Theo Walcott will miss the rest of the season and the World Cup due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez admits the World Cup means he may have to wait until the last minute to complete his transfer business.

New Zealand media toasted the All Blacks’ victory over Australia in Saturday’s final, hailing the achievements of a “phenomenal” team many are calling the best of all time.

Former Ireland soccer star Niall Quinn has admitted he still blames himself for Ireland’s elimination from the 2002 World Cup.