USA on a $1m a man bonus to win World Cup

Each of the 23 players will collect £617,332 should they become the most unlikely winners in World Cup history, easily outstripping the £500,000-a-man on offer to Spain should Fernando Torres and co lift the trophy.

England's win bonus pool is kept confidential by the FA, but is believed to be in the region of £400-500,000 per player - but the entire England squad will donate all match fees to charity.

Brazil will offer each of their players around £250,000 for a win, while Germany will hand out £212,000 per man.

Yet the USA bonus is not dependent on overall victory: the players will share up to £1.1m in the group stage, a further £1.95m if they qualify for the last 16, £2.3m should they reach the quarter-finals and another £1.8m for making the semis. Should they make the final, they will then earn a further £4.7m, rising to £5.3m if they finish the job.

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The money itself will come from FIFA, who pay the winners £21.4m in prize money, with £16.6m for the runners-up. Prize money then tapers off, but all teams participating in the finals are guaranteed a minimum of £5.5m.

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Spain struggle to beat Saudi Arabia

World Cup favourites Spain put up a less than inspiring performance as they struggled to beat Saudi Arabia in the World Cup warm up match.

European champion Spain scrambled a 3-2 victory over modest Saudi Arabia in a World Cup warmup game on Saturday

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A strong Spanish lineup fell behind to the Saudis and, despite goals by David Villa and Xabi Alonso, was being held 2-2 in the final stages until Fernando Llorente headed the winner in injury time.

Chile names 30 man provisional squad for World Cup

Chile names provisional squad for World Cup with Jaime Valdes as a surprise inclusion.

Valdes, who has played in Italy for a decade, has never played under Bielsa,
who has been in charge of Chile since 2007. Valdes last played for his country in 2006.

Flamengo midfielder Claudio Maldonado was left out having come back in March from a knee injury he suffered playing for Chile against Slovakia in November.

Universidad de Chile midfielder Marco Estrada was included despite not playing much for his club side having not fully recovered from a leg injury.

Bielsa, whose team meet Mexico in a warm-up at the Azteca in Mexico City on Sunday, must trim his World Cup squad to 23 by June 1 for the finals starting on June 11 in South Africa where Chile face favourites Spain, Switzerland and Honduras in Group H.

Chile squad

Goalkeepers: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Miguel Pinto (Universidad
de Chile), Luis Marin (Union Espanola).

Defenders: Waldo Ponce (Universidad Catolica), Gonzalo Jara (West
Bromwich Albion), Gary Medel (Boca Juniors), Mauricio Isla (Udinese), Arturo
Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen), Pablo Contreras (PAOK Salonica), Ismael Fuentes
(Universidad Catolica), Roberto Cereceda (Colo Colo).

Midfielders: Marco Estrada (Universidad de Chile), Carlos Carmona
(Reggina), Rodrigo Millar (Colo Colo), Jorge Valdivia (Al Ain), Matias
Fernandez (Sporting Lisbon), Jean Beausejour (America, México), Pedro
Morales (Dynamo Zagreb), Jose Pedro Fuenzalida (Colo Colo), Gonzalo Fierro
(Flamengo), Charles Aranguiz (Colo Colo), Manuel Iturra (Universidad de
Chile), Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas).

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Forwards: Humberto Suazo (Real Zaragoza), Alexis Sanchez (Udinese),
Mark Gonzalez (CSKA), Fabian Orellana (Xerez), Hector Mancilla (Toluca),
Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Jaime Valdes (Atalanta).

Brazil gets World Cup boost as they oust Spain as top team

The Brazilian national team has got a boost ahead of the World Cup as the ousted Spain from the top of the FIFA ranking.

The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking has a surprise in store as it reveals that Spain’s five-month reign has come to end, with Brazil reclaiming pole position and pushing the reigning European champions back into second place. This is the seventh time that Brazil have claimed top spot on the global ladder, a position that they have held for a total of 142 months since 1993.

Other moves of note in the top ten include the progress made by Argentina (7th, up 2) and Portugal (3rd, up 1). Third place represents the highest-ever position for the Portuguese since the launch of the Ranking in 1993.

Only five matches have been taken into account in April’s edition, which was to be expected, given that there are only 43 days to go until the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, and many national leagues and continental championships are now entering the home straight. As a result, the international match calendar did not have a reserved date for international matches.

This means that most of the changes in this edition of the ranking are due to the devaluation of past results. Some teams have actually gained points due to the fact that the devaluation of poor results has led to a greater weighting of successful matches.

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150 international matches have been played so far in 2010. There is likely to be significant movement in next month’s edition of the ranking, the last before the big event in South Africa, as the 32 teams start their preparations in earnest by playing friendly matches to decide on their best line-up. The World Cup is looming large and making things exciting – and not just in terms of the world ranking.

Fernando Torres may miss start of World Cup

Spain's chances at the World Cup took a knock as Liverpool striker is ruled out of the opening games by Liverpool medical staff.

The 26-year-old is recovering from surgery to repair knee cartilage torn in the 4-1 win over Benfica on 8 April.

"Whether he will be fit for the first game or not is uncertain," said Peter Brukner who is overseeing his recovery.

"But, if he continues to progress the way he is, he should be fit to play at some stage during the World Cup."

Spain, current European champions and one of the pre-tournament favourites, play their first match in Group H is against Switzerland on 16 June.

Games against Honduras on the 21 June and Chile on 25 June then follow.

If they progress to the knock-out stages, Spain will play a second-round match against one of Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast or North Korea on the 28 or 29 June.

Boss Vicente del Bosque also has injury concerns over midfielder Xavi who is playing through a calf tear that may see him ruled out of the World Cup.

The 30-year-old is playing on in an attempt to help Barcelona hold off Real Madrid's challenge and win a second successive Spanish league title.

But del Bosque said although he was worried about Torres, expectations for his recovery were good.

"I am sure that when the moment comes all the players will say they are fine but we are the ones who have to evaluate and decide the risk that should be taken," he said at a Spanish soccer federation event in Madrid.

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"We cannot go to South Africa with four or five doubtful players," he added. "We have good hearts but we have to listen to our heads."

Bruker, who was appointed as Liverpool's head of sports medicine and sports science in March, believes there is a balance to be struck between the demands of club and country for Torres.

"He is certainly tremendously committed to his rehab, as are the staff here, and if anyone can recover from an injury, he can," he said.

"Hopefully we can get a compromise where he plays in the World Cup and he is fit and well for Liverpool next season."

Torres spent a month on the sidelines after a knee operation in January and was hampered by a troublesome groin injury before Christmas.

Despite the disruption, the former Atletico Madrid forward has scored 22 goals in his third season for the Reds, including 18 in 22 Premier League appearances.

Torres has an impressive record at international tournaments, scoring three goals in four games in the 2006 World Cup and the winner against Germany in the Euro 2008 final.

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Korea lines up four frendlies ahead of World Cup

South Korea have lined up four high-profile friendlies to prepare for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer.

Huh Jung-moo’s charges will assemble on May 9 and face Ecuador on May 16 in Seoul before taking on fellow qualifiers Japan five days later in Saitama, Japan.

The team then travels to Austria for a training camp before locking horns with Belarus on May 30.

Belarus finished fourth behind England, Ukraine and Croatia in the FIFA World Cup European qualifiers and this will be the first time they will face Korea .

European champions Spain, who are top-ranked in the latest FIFA world rankings, will be the Koreans’ final opponents on June 3 before they head to South Africa.

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Belarus finished fourth behind England, Ukraine and Croatia in the FIFA World Cup European qualifiers and this will be the first time they will face Korea .

European champions Spain, who are top-ranked in the latest FIFA world rankings, will be the Koreans’ final opponents on June 3 before they head to South Africa.

Xavi has high hopes for Spain at the World Cup

He is an instrumental part of Barcelona's holy trinity with Messi and Iniesta and this summer Xavi is looking to take transfer his mercurial talent from club to country.

Barcelona midfielder Xavi believes Spain's tight-knit group of players gives the national side a club feel about it.

Reigning European Champions Spain are favourites to win their first ever World Cup in South Africa this summer and further strengthened their case with a 2-0 win against France in midweek.

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Xavi has hailed his nation's "modern" style of play and compared it to that of Barcelona and Arsenal, who are both famed for their free-flowing attractive football.

"Our style of game is very similar to the work in Barca or Arsenal," said Xavi. "This is modern football.

"Spain have still not found success in the World Cup but the squad is very concentrated and all the companions are in a compact group.

"In that sense, Spain appear more like a club than a national team."

The win in the Stade de France prolonged Spain's incredible record of 42 wins in their last 45 fixtures and that run is expected to continue this summer having been drawn in Group H with Switzerland, Honduras and Chile.

"At the minute Spain are in a good run of form and the supporters are happy with our game," added Xavi. "I personally am happy to be in this group.

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Are Spain the Favourites for the World Cup?

Two years ago Spain pleasantly surprised the world when they shook off their tag as Europe's nearly men by stylishly winning the European Cup. Can they keep on with thier winning ways through to the ultimate prize at this year's World Cup.

It is difficult to single out anyone in the Spain team because their starting
line-up is like a who's who of European football. The likes of David Villa, David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Fernando Torres are all players who would walk into a world XI at the moment and most people would pay good money to see them. Iniesta is perhaps the one who stands out at the moment because of his appreciation of angles and the way he plays a pass.

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On the France side, you immediately look to the big names: Franck Ribery and Thierry Henry. The side may not be as strong as it was a decade ago but in those two players France have the talent to turn a game.

With 99 days to go until the World Cup how are these teams shaping up?

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