LUKAKU FIT TO FACE JAPAN IN PREQUARTERS

MOSCOW: Striker Romelu Lukaku is fully fit after injuring an ankle in last weekend’s win over Tunisia and should be available for Belgium’s second-round match against Japan, coach Roberto Martinez said on Friday. “Lukaku is fully fit,” he told reporters a day after resting him and eight other first-choice players but still claiming a 1-0 win over England.

England are in wrong half of the draw: Eriksson

LONDON: Former England manager Sven-goran Eriksson believes England may have seriously miscalculated if they think they have gained a smoother World Cup passage by finishing runners-up in their group. Some believe losing to Belgium in their last Group G game could help England but Eriksson said Gareth Southgate’s side had more chance of beating Brazil on the other side of the draw than Sweden, whom they could face in the quarter-finals if they beat Colombia in the round of 16. “I’m a little surprised because everybody seems to be happy in England, thinking they are now on the right side of the World Cup draw because they’ve avoided the half with Brazil,” said the Swede. “In the last 30 years, how many times have England beaten Sweden? Not often twice. It would be easier for England to beat Brazil than to beat Sweden in my opinion, Sweden today are a very hard team to break down,” he added.

Indian fan dies in car crash near Sochi, say reports

MOSCOW: An Indian football fan, in Russia for the World Cup, died in a car crash on Saturday on a road near the tournament host city Sochi, Interfax news agency reported. The incident, the first reported death of a World Cup visitor to Russia, was blamed by police on the driver. A statement released by the regional police department said a Russian taxi driver and an Indian citizen died at the scene.