Capello retains his job

London: The Football Association (FA) have confirmed that Fabio Capello will continue as England manager despite the team’s poor performance at the World Cup. The decision, which ends uncertainty over the Italian’s future, was made following a meeting of the Club England board Friday. In a statement the Club England Board said: “We considered all aspects of England’s performance and operations at the Fifa World Cup, and it was unanimously agreed that Fabio is the best man to continue managing the England team.”

Thuram call

Paris: Patrice Evra, who led a player revolt at the World Cup in South Africa, must never play for France again, former France captain Lilian Thuram said on Friday. “I asked the federal council (of the French Football Federation) to sanction the players heavily. For instance, the captain, Patrice Evra, must never be called up again,” FFF member Thuram said after a meeting of the ruling body in Paris.

Of shame

Paris: Outgoing French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes says he is ashamed of France’s World Cup fiasco and takes a share of responsibility for what happened. Escalettes, who formally resigned on Friday, says he does not yet know who has been chosen as his successor.

Merkel point

Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel is forecasting that Germany will beat Argentina 2-1 in the World Cup quarter finals on Saturday. Merkel said on Friday that she expects a “difficult game” and hopes Joachim Loew’s team will have “good nerves and speedy legs.”

Go Ghana

Johannesburg: Nelson Mandela has called it a “great pleasure” to see Ghana in the World Cup quarter finals. In a letter sent Friday to the president of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, South Africa’s former president wrote that “on the historic occasion of the first Fifa World Cup to be hosted in Africa, it is a great pleasure to see that Ghana has reached the quarter finals.”

Japan coach

Tokyo: Former Argentina coaches Jose Pekerman and Marcelo Bielsa have been named as candidates to replace Takeshi Okada as coach of Japan’s national football team.