Sporting briefs

Libertadores Cup: Estudiantes, of Argentina, beat Uruguay's Nacional 1-0 in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup semi-final in La Plata on Thursday. Midfielder Diego Galvan scored the only goal in the first half.

World Cup: Wellington's Westpac Stadium has been selected as the host venue for New Zealand's World Cup play-off against Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. North Harbour Stadium and Waikato Stadium also tendered bids to stage the Nov. 14 match.

Aguero: Sergio Aguero's representative said he knows nothing about Manchester United's supposed interest in the Atletico Madrid striker. Speculation is rife that United are set to use some of the £80 million they are due to receive from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid to sign Aguero. However, agent Jose Segui said: "I have no information about this offer."

Dossena: Andrea Dossena's agent said the left-back may still not join Juventus this summer. The Liverpool defender had high hopes of returning to Serie A and play for Juve. "We can only wait," Roberto La Florio said. "For the time being, I have not met (Juventus sporting director) Alessio Secco and I don't have an appointment set up with him in the near future. At this time I don't know if Dossena will join Juventus."

Lucarelli: Cristiano Lucarelli is almost certain of returning to Livorno next season. The 33-year-old Parma striker was born in Livorno and scored 92 goals in 146 appearances for the club between 2003 and 2007.

Under-21: UEFA Championship SFs - Sweden vs England 3-3 (aet; England win 5-4 on pens); Italy vs Germany 0-1. Final - Monday, 20.45.

Basket, NBA: The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired 15-times All-Star Shaquille O'Neal from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. Phoenix will also get cash considerations for sending the 2.16 metres, 147-kg centre to the Cavaliers. The deal teams O'Neal, a four-times NBA champion, with reigning MVP LeBron James.

Olympics: China's remarkable achievement in topping the medals table at last year's Beijing Olympics was recognised when they won the team title at the 2009 Laureus Sports Awards yesterday. The Chinese Olympic team won the award ahead of Manchester United, the Spanish national football team, the British Olympic cycling team, the Jamaican Olympic sprint team and the NBA's Boston Celtics.

Cycling: Former world cycling champion Zinauda Stagurskaya was killed when she was hit by a car while training, police said. Stagurskaya, 38, who won the world road title in 2000 and competed in three Olympics in 1992, 1996 and 2004, was riding her bike on a highway near the eastern Belarus city of Vitebsk on Thursday when she was hit. She died at the scene.

Rugby Union: Tokyo has been confirmed as the host city for this year's fourth Bledisloe Cup match between Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese Rugby Football Union (JRFU) said the match would go ahead at Tokyo's national stadium on October 31, a week before the Australian and New Zealand teams kick off their annual end-of-season European tours.

Winter Games: The 2010 Winter Paralympics will be launched with a 10-day torch relay across Canada that organisers said will highlight the determination of disabled athletes. The relay will begin on March 3 in Ottawa and is expected to involve 600 torchbearers. They will carry the flame to Vancouver on the Pacific Coast, where the Paralympics are scheduled to start on March 12, following the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics.