In brief...

Raul: Real Madrid and Spain captain Raul says his progress in the next few weeks will decide whether or not he will be able to recover from a serious knee injury in time to play in next year's World Cup. The 28-year-old striker partially tore the cruciate ligament and damaged the cartilage in his left knee when he miscued a shot during his side's 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals Barcelona last month. "My hope is that they won't have to operate and that the recovery time will be reduced," Raul said yesterday.

Belgium: Belgium's new national coach will be announced on December 22, the Belgian FA said. Rene Vandereycken, the former Belgium international, is all but certain to be offered the job, a source within the FA told Reuters. Aime Anthuenis officially steps down on December 30 after Belgium failed to qualify for next year's World Cup finals.

Paid to lose: A number of footballers in Finland's top soccer league have been paid thousands of euros for helping to throw matches, daily Ilta-Sanomat reported yesterday. The newspaper cited a player, speaking under condition of anonymity, in its report. Finland's FA said it had no knowledge of bribes being paid, but added it would assist the police and the Veikkausliiga league in investigating the allegations and bringing those involved to justice.

China deal: Sheffield United are on the verge of completing the purchase of Chinese second division team Chengdu Five Bull. The promotion-chasing English club said yesterday the acquisition of the team from the southwestern Sichuan province, which has a population of about 100 million, was part of its plan to increase its brand presence in China.

Auxerre: French Cup holders AJ Auxerre will start the defence of their trophy in the New Year with an easy trip to fourth division Noisy-Le-Sec. Yesterday's first round draw set up three clashes between Ligue 1 sides with St Etienne at home to Lille, Lens visiting Le Mans and Strasbourg entertaining neighbours Nancy.

Lok. Moscow: Lokomotiv Moscow have appointed Serb Slavoljub Muslin as coach, the Russian premier league club said. Muslin, who last week quit Belgian first division side Lokeren, replaces Vladimir Eshtrekov, who was sacked after seven months in the job following a disappointing end to the season.

In England: Premier League - Tottenham 3 (King 57, Mido pen. 85, Defoe 89) Portsmouth 1 (Lua Lua).

In Italy: Serie B - Modena vs Bari 4-1. Serie C - Ravenna vs Cittadella 0-0.

Snooker: UK Championship Third Round - Bingham bt M. Davis 9-2; Ding bt Hunter 9-2.