DE BRUYNE, LUKAKU SET TO BE RESTED

MOSCOW: Belgium are likely to rest midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne and possibly striker Romelu Lukaku for their last World Cup group match against England, coach Roberto Martinez said on Monday. With both England and Belgium through to the last 16, Martinez admitted the sting had gone out of Thursday’s clash in Kaliningrad, describing it as “almost a celebration” for both sides. “It’s different. If we’d been facing each other to qualify for the World Cup knockout phase it would have been a lot more emotional,” the Spaniard said.

No rowdy German team officials at pitchside

VATUTINKI : The German football association (DFB) on Monday said two team officials will not have access to the pitch at their final World Cup Group F match against South Korea after their “unsportsmanlike” behaviour in the game against Sweden. Team media officer Ulrich Voigt and director of the DFB office for the national team, Georg Behlau, had charged towards the Sweden bench pumping their fists when Toni Kroos’s stoppage-time goal gave Germany a 2-1 victory on Saturday. The enraged Swedish coaching staff and reserve players then stood up and immediately confronted them, shoving them back towards their area.

Uruguay’s Bentancur gets birthday card from referee

MOSCOW: Rodrigo Bentancur celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday. As a gift, Senegalese referee Malang Diedhiou booked the Uruguay midfielder for a second-half foul on Artem Dzyuba. It is better than former Italy forward Gianfranco Zola, who was sent off against Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup, the only other player to have received a “birthday card”.