Ballack is fit: Klinsi

BERLIN: Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann said his captain Michael Ballack would be fit for Friday’s quarter-final clash with Argentina after overcoming a minor foot injury. “Michael had trouble with his foot but there is no problem,” Klinsmann said at Monday’s press conference. Ballack missed a brief training session with the hosts on Sunday.

Pitch partly replaced

BERLIN: New turf has been laid in the goalmouths at the Gelsenkirchen Stadium where England face Portugal in quarter-final on Saturday, the organisers said on Monday. But the area around the penalty spots did not require attention, Organising Committee spokesman Gerd Graus said. “The turf has been changed where the goalkeeper stands and only partly in those areas,” Graus said.