Finger on the lips

Brazilian striker Romario remained silent on Tuesday, 24 hours after being left out of his country8217;s squad for the World Cup finals starting at the end of the month.

Romario, who scored five goals when he helped Brazil win their fourth world title in 1994, had been expected to comment on his omission on Tuesday after training with his club Vasco da Gama.

But he failed to turn up and his spokesman Fernando Santana said that he had gone to see a doctor about a pain in his back.

8220;His mood is better than I would have been expected,8221; said Santana. 8220;He is happy that he is fully fit and has been averaging 1.1 goals a game.8221;