介绍:
Underdogs Croatia look to surprise the hosts
It's now just hours away from the World Cup's opening match between hosts Brazil and Croatia.
With billions of viewers, pressure is mounting on the two sides.
Niko Kovac, Croatia's head coach, says he suspects the tournament favorites are losing sleep at the moment.
"There are so many good players on the Brazilian side but I would like to say that little Croatia also boasts excellent World Cup players. I think that Brazil is thinking about us. I personally think that Mr. Scolari may be losing sleep when thinking about playing Croatia."
Kovac adds that though he thinks Brazil's Neymar will be a big psychological weight on his players, his captain Dario Srna has prepared an answer to Neymar.
The tournament opener will take place at Sao Paulo's iconic Arena Corinthians.
Kickoff for the match is at 4am tomorrow Beijing time.
Workers at Rio's two airports declare a 24-hour strike on eve of the tournament
It seems football fans who want to fly to Rio to watch the World Cup may have some trouble.
Workers at the city's two airports have begun a 24-hour strike.
The work stoppage will affect the city's Galeao international airport as well as the Santos Dumont airport that connects Rio to other destinations within.
Galeao international airport is expected to be one of the busiest during the month-long tournament.
Unions representing check-in counter clerks, baggage handlers and janitorial staff have been demanding a pay raise for the last several months but to no avail.
It is reported that a government official is now in talks with the union representatives to solve the walkout.
Guangzhou Evergrande opens academy in Europe
Asian football news,
Guangzhou Evergrande is opening a youth training academy in Spain in a bid to lift the level of Chinese football.
The Asian champions say the school will open in September in cooperation with the European champion Real Madrid.
It says 25 young players selected by Spanish coaches will be sent to the school each year for a three year term.
Evergrande already operates a training academy in conjunction with Real near its home base in southern Guangdong Province with 2,000 students.
New York Rangers beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 to stay alive in the Cup finals
In hockey's Stanley Cup Finals,
Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves and Benoit Pouliot and Martin St. Louis each scored as the Rangers managed to keep alive in the series with a 2-1 victory over the LA Kings in Game Four.
The Kings hoped to become the first team since 1998 to complete a sweep in the finals.
Now the Rangers will try to become the second team to erase a 3-0 hole in the finals and go on to win the Cup.
Lundqvist, the Rangers goaltender, says his teammates didn't want to see the Kings celebrate with the Stanley Cup on New York's home ice.
"We didn't want to see the Cup coming out on our home ice tonight that was yeah just the thought of it makes me feel sick but obviously the goal is to see it for Game 7, but there's so much work to be done here we're just looking at the next game as a great challenge for us."
Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is Friday night local time in Los Angeles. On Beijing time, the puck drops at 8 Saturday morning.
Li Xuerui survives first round scare while Lin Dan breezes through
In badminton's Japan Open,
Olympic champion Li Xuerui survived a scare in the first round, battling back to beat world junior champion Akane Yamaguchi 2-1.
The women's world number one shuttler needed 65 minutes to tame Yamaguchi, a high school girl who won last year's women's title.
Li next faces either Eriko Hirose or Ayumi Mine, both of Japan.
Meanwhile, Another Chinese star, second-seeded Wang Yihan, whipped Canada's Michelle Li in two straight sets 21-11, 21-17.
Wang, the 2011 world champion and the runner-up to Li at the London Games, will take on Japan's Sayaka Takahashi in her next match.
On the men's side, two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan made a solid start, beating compatriot Xue Song 21-15, 21-18, in his first round match.
30-year-old Lin was unseeded. He has been ranked 35th in the world after coming back from a seven-month sabbatical last year.
The five-time world champion has staged a strong comeback this year, having won the Asian championship and the China Masters in April.
Nadal aims for perfect start of grass court season at Gerry Weber Open
In tennis,
French Open Champion Rafael Nadal is hoping to make a perfect start to the grass court season when he takes on local player Dustin Brown at the Gerry Weber Open.
Nadal is on the brink of his 700th career victory on the ATP World Tour – something only 10 other players have achieved before him.
Earlier in the day, 3rd seeded Canadian Milos Raonic crashed out of the tournament after losing to German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk 6-4 6-4.
Kei Nishikori of Japan has downed Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter finals.
Also through to the quarter-finals is South American Alejandro Falla who edged Dutchman Robin Haase 7-6, 6-4.
Over in London,
Defending champion Andy Murray has rolled past France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club.
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