Sweden: Sweden will play Finland in the first of two warm-up games for next year's World Cup finals in Germany. Sweden will host the Finns on May 25 before another friendly on June 2. The tournament starts on June 9. Sweden beat Finland, who have not qualified for the World Cup, 3-1 before the 2004 European Championship in Portugal.

Pires: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists that he wants Robert Pires to remain at the club. The 32-year-old French international will be out of contract in the summer. "Robert is an important player and has done tremendously well for us," said Wenger. "He has always been a big part of our team and in January, we will sit together. We will try to have a good chat."

Fadiga: Senegal left out Bolton midfielder Khalilou Fadiga from their African Nations Cup finals squad. Senegalese FA spokesman Mbacke Seck linked Fadiga's exclusion to his failure to secure a regular spot with the English club. Portsmouth midfielder Salif Diao and Pape Malick Diop of Lorient were both omitted due to injury.

Vucinic: Striker Mirko Vucinic has emerged as a transfer target for Roma. The 22-year-old is contracted to Serie A strugglers Lecce until 2009 but has attracted the interest of several top clubs. Roma are short on spending funds at the moment, but could have money available if Tottenham and Everton decide to sign Mido and Matteo Ferrari permanently.

Cruz: Inter striker Julio Cruz is being chased by two Russian clubs as he considers a new contract at the Serie A club. Watching the progress of talks with interest are CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow. Reports claim both have already offered Cruz a deal.

Ajax: Ajax have agreed a settlement, including a 500,000 euro fine, with the Public Prosecutor which avoids a court case over tax evasion. The club said the agreement ended a criminal investigation into the 1997 transfers of Georgia striker Shota Arveladze and Danish midfielder Michael Laudrup. However, the tax department has imposed an assessment of 5.8 million euros on the club.