Vieira: France midfielder Patrick Vieira has apologised for his poor performance in the 1-1 draw against Switzerland in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday. The Juventus player, usually a consistent performer for his country, put in one of his worst displays in 82 internationals. "I'm blaming myself," Vieira said. "I was terrible during the first half and I was not exactly good in the second. It didn't take me long to realise that I was having a bad day. I only needed a couple of passes and a few body checks to know how bad I felt... then I tried to do my best from there."
Australia: Australia prepared for next month's World Cup play-offs with a comprehensive 5-0 win over an experimental Jamaica team in a one-sided friendly at Craven Cottage yesterday. Australia dominated the game at Fulham's ground from start to finish and could have won by an even more emphatic scoreline with better finishing. Marco Bresciano, Archie Thompson, Mark Viduka, John Aloisi and Joel Griffiths were the Aussie scorers.
Skibbe: Bayer Leverkusen appointed Michael Skibbe as their new coach yesterday, re-uniting him with his former boss at the German national team, Rudi Voeller. Skibbe had signed a contract running to the end of the 2006-07 season. Voeller, now director of football at Leverkusen, had been coaching the team on a caretaker basis following the dismissal of Klaus Augenthaler on September 16.
Milutinovic: Bora Milutinovic has been sacked as coach of Qatari club Al Sadd following a string of poor results. The Serbian coach's dismissal was announced on Saturday following Al Sadd's 2-0 loss to lowly Al Shamal Sports Club in the Qatar first division. Milutinovic, 61, has acquired a reputation for taking on teams at short notice and achieving immediate success. He has an unmatched record of leading five teams into the World Cup finals - Mexico in 1986, Costa Rica (1990), US (1994), Nigeria (1998) and China (2002).
Wanchope: Costa Rica striker Paulo Wanchope is to quit international football after next year's World Cup. "I've been thinking about it for a while, there are some good and young players appearing and I don't want to get in their way," the 29-year-old said. "My national career will end at the World Cup in Germany in 2006," added the former West Ham, Manchester City and Malaga forward who now plays his club football in Qatar.
Larsson: Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing Barcelona's Swedish striker Henrik Larsson on loan. "He's a high-class player and a very interesting one for us," Dortmund managing director Hans Joachim-Watzke said. "A loan deal would suit both parties." Dortmund need a new forward, with Jan Koller facing eight months out due to knee injury.
In England: League One - Blackpool vs Colchester 1-2; Oldham vs Brentford 0-1; Southend vs N. Forest 1-0 .