World Cup Briefs

Juninho hopes to make it to the World Cup squadMADRID: Still hopeful he can make it to the Brazilian squad for the World Cup, mid-field wiza...

Juninho hopes to make it to the World Cup squad
MADRID: Still hopeful he can make it to the Brazilian squad for the World Cup, mid-field wizard Juninho hopes to make his comeback appearance tomorrow for Atletico De Madrid three months after he suffered a serious left-leg injury.

8220;I feel very well and I am ready to play tomorrow,8221;newspapers quoted the 25-year-old as saying.8220;I am not afraid and I feel the same as I did before the injury.8221;

The leading Spanish sports daily Marca said a special envoy from Brazil was expected at the game to assess the player8217;s recovery and his chances of being fit for France. Juninho was struck down in a tackle on February one in Atletico De Madrid8217;s League game against Celta.

US roster announcement on ESPN
CHICAGO : United States coach Steve Sampson will announce his roster selections for the 1998 World Cup team in a nationally televised segment of ESPN8217;s sportscenter news show on Tuesday.

Originally, Sampson had planned to name only about dozen orso definite members of the team prior to his training camp scheduled to start May 11 in San Diego. The United States has three friendlies scheduled in May before it departs for France on June 4.

Carlos to join Manchester United
MADRID: Manchester United is prepared to pay a massive 85 million as a down payment to buy Brazil8217;s bullet-foot defender Roberto Carlos from Real Madrid, a newspaper reported here.

8220;Manchester United has told us it is willing to pay the waiver clause price to end the player8217;s contract and that it will get in contact with Real after May 20,8221; Oliveira Junior, one of the defender8217;s agents told the El Mundo newspaper.

Leader asks for ban on Yugoslav team
PRISTINA, YUGOSLAVIA:

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Protesting a Serbian police crackdown, the leader Kosovo Albanians demanded yesterday that the Yugoslav soccer team be banned from the World Cup in France.

Ibrahim Rugova appealed on the world soccer body, Fifa, and the Olympic committee to impose sanctions against Serb-led teams andsportsmen who have never in the past eight years raised a voice against the Serbian crackdown in Kosovo.

In France, Yugoslavia is slated to play the United States, Germany and Iran in Group F preliminary matches. Yugoslavia and Germany are generally favoured to proceed to the next round.