World Cup Digest/England: Gary Neville has rubbished suggestions Manchester United do not want Wayne Rooney to be fit for the World Cup.
Rooney (20) is continuing to recuperate at Old Trafford from the broken metatarsal suffered in the Premiership clash against Chelsea last month. A scan tomorrow will give England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson a better idea of how much impact Rooney will be able to make in Germany. Neville is adamant United will pull out all of the stops to give Rooney the best possible chance of linking up with his team-mates next month. He said: "If he's fit and he's ready to play for England, that will be fantastic - fantastic for for England and Manchester United."
Van Basten keeps faith
Netherlands: Marco van Basten retains total confidence in Ruud van Nistelrooy to fire Holland towards World Cup glory this summer. The Manchester United striker's club career may be in limbo following his dramatic fall-out with Alex Ferguson but he remains a major figure within the Dutch camp.
Van Nistelrooy knows the pressure is on him to deliver in Germany if Holland are to finally fulfil their massive potential in a World Cup. For all his current problems at Old Trafford, Van Basten has already placed huge faith in the 29-year-old's talents by opting to let Ajax sensation Klaas Jan Huntelaar continue his development in the European Under-21 Championships.
Toni goes for glory
Italy: Striker Luca Toni believes the match-fixing controversy which has rocked Serie A football will only motivate the Azzurri to go for glory in the World Cup. The Fiorentina marksman, who finished as the top scorer in Italy's top flight with 31 goals this season, believes the national team can restore the reputation of the country when they make the trip to Germany next month. "Now we have a further reason to achieve an important result in Germany," said Toni. "If Italy was to have a starring role in Germany it would help our football bounce back from the match-fixing scandal. We have a strong and united group and this merit is down to (national coach Marcello) Lippi."
Huth not a happy blue
Germany: Defender Robert Huth is frustrated with his bit-part role at Chelsea. Huth is in Jurgen Klinsmann's squad for the World Cup, and speaking at the national side's training camp in Sardinia, he admitted life at Stamford Bridge was often difficult.
"When you are almost always only a substitute, it is physically and mentally a much more difficult situation than when you play a complete season," the 21-year-old told German newspaper Die Welt.
"When you practice and practice and on the last day of training before a game you learn that you will not be in the team, then you break down."
Ronaldo in great shape
Brazil: Striker Ronaldo has recovered from the nagging thigh injury which forced him to miss the last six weeks of the Spanish season, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said yesterday.
Parreira intends to field Ronaldo in Brazil's opening World Cup match against Croatia on June 13th, even though the 29-year-old will only regain full match fitness during the tournament.
"It seems that Ronaldo is better, he's been working with the ball and doing exercises of medium intensity," said Parreira.
"Ronaldo has been running and he just needs to regain match fitness. His weight is perfect."
Santa Cruz is cautious
Paraguay: Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz has ruled himself out of the team's friendly against Norway today. The Bayern Munich forward has a knee problem and will not risk it ahead of his country's summer campaign in Germany.
"I will return to training at the weekend," said Santa Cruz, who is not a doubt for their opening World Cup game against England on June 10th.
Coach Anibal Ruiz takes no pleasure from hearing Wayne Rooney may miss the World Cup. "I cannot be happy for a player to be injured, no matter if he's one of our rivals. England has lost a very valuable player, no doubt about it," said Ruiz who face England on June 10th.
