Sporting briefs

Juve win: Juventus have one foot in the Italian Cup final after Martin Caceres scored a brace to hand them a 2-1 win over Milan in the semi-final, first leg at the San Siro last night. Stephan El Shaarawy replied for the hosts but it wasn’t enough. The victory maintained Juve’s unbeaten run this season. The other semi-final is between Siena and Napoli, with their first leg to be played in Tuscany tonight.

Shaqiri: Bayern Munich are set to sign midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri for next season from Champions League rivals FC Basel. Shaqiri is set to play against Bayern on February 22 in the Champions League, Round of 16, first-round clash in Basel with the return match in Munich on March 13. The 20-year-old arrived in Munich on Tuesday and was photo-graphed at Bayern Munich’s training centre.

Serie A: Catania’s Serie A clash at Cesena, which was postponed on Saturday due to the snow, has been rescheduled for next Wed-nesday. The match will kick off at 18.30 due to a UEFA ruling that prevents league matches being played on Champions League nights at the same time.

Japan: Japan will host the under-20 women’s football World Cup this summer, a year after grabbing the senior women’s title. The U-20 tournament was originally sche-duled to be staged by Uzbekistan but world football’s governing body FIFA determined in December that the central Asian country was not ready in “logistical and technical” areas.

Keough: Harry Keough, a member of the US team that stunned England at the 1950 World Cup, died Tuesday at the age of 84. Keough was among five players from St Louis on the US team that beat England 1-0 at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil – a victory considered by some to be the greatest upset in football history. Keough returned to his job as a postman after the 1950 World Cup.

Merson: Ex-England footballer Paul Merson has been given a 14-month driving ban after a court heard how he crashed his Mercedes into a 38-tonne truck while over the legal alcohol limit. Leamington Spa Magistrates’ Court was told that the former Arsenal winger, who pleaded guilty to drink-driving, fell asleep at the wheel on the M40. Merson, who suffered a head injury in the accident last October, was also fined £1,500.

Tejada: Inaki Tejada will remain in charge of Sporting Gijon until the end of the season. The 46-year-old was last week placed in temporary charge of the Asturians following the departure of Manuel Preciado. Tejada, who has spent his entire career with Gijon, oversaw Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Osasuna and has now been told he has until the end of the campaign to prove his worth.