World Cup: England 'Well Prepared' For Opener

World Cup: 11 Players You Need To Watch

Updated: 3:39pm UK, Thursday 12 June 2014

By Nick Powell, Sports Editor

Like the Grand National, the World Cup has become a great participation event in offices, clubs and schools.

Join the sweep, pick the top scorer, guess how far England will go, perhaps even have a bet.

So to help, here's a team of men who are probably not big names in your household or workplace - but might be in a month's time.

:: Thibos Courtois, goalkeeper (Belgium/Atletico Madrid)

Actually a Chelsea employee, but doing so well on loan at Atletico that his future has become a big debating point in the last few months.

If Belgium are to do as well as the bookies predict, then he is certain to have enhanced his reputation even further.

Italy's veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon has picked him out as a man to watch - and he should know.

:: Mauricio Isla, attacking right-back (Chile/Juventus)

Older than some of his colleagues in this fabled team at the age 25 and with almost half a century of appearances for Chile behind him, he has a great chance to win more admirers of his charging runs down the right.

Chile are in the same group as Spain and Holland but do not rule out Isla helping dump one of those giants out at the first hurdle.

:: Raphael Varane, central defender (France/Real Madrid)

He has only played five times for France, but at 21 years old he is part of a badly needed new generation for the 1998 world champions.

Big and strong - not to mention fiery - he got involved in an altercation on the pitch with opposition boss Diego Simeone at the end of the Champions League final, in which his Real team beat city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Jose Mourinho says he's the world's best young defender.

:: Mats Hummels, central defender (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)

If Germany go a long way in the World Cup, Hummels has the potential to be one of the stars of the tournament.

A dominant figure who can play as well as block, he also has a memorable name and a girlfriend, Cathy Fischer, who has been described as Germany's top WAG.

:: Yuto Nagatomo, left-back (Japan/Inter Milan)

Nagatomo has talked ambitiously about Japan winning the World Cup. One day, perhaps. Although they did reach the last 16 in 2010.

If they are to do it again, he will need to be at his best, both in defence and marauding down the left.

:: Juan Cuadrado, midfield (Colombia/Fiorentina)

Top scorer from midfield for Fiorentina in the Italian League with 11 goals last season, Cuadrado was converted from a right-back and is already interesting many of Europe's top clubs.

There is every chance there will be a long queue at his agent's door after the World Cup.

:: William Carvalho, midfield (Portugal/Sporting Lisbon)

You thought Angola was not the place to look for football talent?

This young man from Luanda has to force his way into Portugal's team but he is big and powerful (think Manchester City's Yaya Toure) with a future to match.

:: Paul Pogba, midfield (France/Juventus)

Still only 21, he has been in the headlines since Sir Alex Ferguson decided he was not good enough for Manchester United.

His poise belies his years. Zinedine Zidane, a World Cup winner in 1998, says his young countryman will become one of Europe's best central midfielders.

:: Ciro Immobile, striker (Italy/Borussia Dortmund)

This guy could be huge and may even be the World Cup's top goalscorer - worth a punt at around 50-1 if you like a bet.

No one got more than him in Italy last season and he has just signed for Dortmund.

Mario Balotelli is the big name in the Italians' attack ... so far.

:: Carlos Bacca, striker (Colombia/Sevilla)

Now carrying a nation's goalscoring hopes on his shoulders after injury ruled out his more illustrious colleague, Radamel Falcao, but he is up to the task.

He scored four goals towards the end of the season for his Spanish club, the Europa League winners.

And Bacca has every chance of helping Colombia progress from a group that also includes Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan - therefore boosting his own reputation.

:: Joel Campbell, striker (Costa Rica/Arsenal)

You're going to hear plenty about Joel Campbell because he is a big threat to England's hopes of progress from Group D.

Arsenal have loaned him out for the last three seasons, most recently to Greek club Olympiakos, for whom he scored against Manchester United in the Champions League.

His mum told him to read Psalm 27 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" - before matches and apparently he does so.

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Harrison Ford: 'Hopes For Good News Soon'

Harrison Ford has spent a second night in hospital after being injured while filming the news Star Wars movie at Pinewood Studios.

The actor broke his ankle and had to be airlifted to hospital in Oxford where he has been treated for his injury.

A publicist for the film told Sky News they were: "Hoping to announce some good news soon."

Ford, 71, was reported to have been hurt when the door of the Millennium Falcon fell on him.

The cast of Star Wars episode vii

A spokesman for Ford's wife, the Ally McBeal actress Calista Flockhart, told The Daily Telegraph she was flying out to the UK to be with her husband.

The actor is reprising his role as Han Solo in the latest episode in the Star Wars franchise, Episode VII, which is being directed by JJ Abrams and is scheduled for release in December 2015.

Harrison Ford and wife Calista Flockhart

Disney spokesman Paul Roeder said filming would continue on schedule while Ford recovers.

A spokesman for Lucasfilm said: "Harrison Ford sustained an ankle injury during filming today on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII.

"He was taken to a local hospital and is receiving care. Shooting will continue as planned while he recuperates."

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford will reprise their roles

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said confirmed they had been called to the set at around 5pm on Thursday and confirmed the actor had been airlifted to hospital.

He added the actor had been injured by a "garage door" and said: "The Health and Safety Executive have been informed and will look into it."

Ford's co-stars include many of those who were in the original film - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - including Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.

The plot of Episode VII has been kept a secret, but Abrams said it would also feature Lord Of The Rings star Andy Serkis and 12 Years A Slave actress Lupita Nyong'o.

The plot takes place 30 years after the end of Return Of The Jedi.

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Rockefeller Heir Killed In Plane Crash

Richard Rockefeller, great-grandson of US oil tycoon and philanthropist John D Rockefeller, has died in a plane crash.

Mr Rockefeller was piloting a single-engine plane when it crashed near an airport in Harrison, Westchester County, about 35 miles (55km) north of New York.

The 65-year-old, who was travelling alone, was heading home to Falmouth, Maine, after celebrating the 99th birthday of his billionaire father, David, in New York.

Officials said the Piper Meridian aircraft was reported down soon after take-off at about 8am on Friday.

The plane, which did not issue a mayday signal, just missed a house and hit some pine trees before crashing into a yard in the community of Purchase.

Richard Rockefeller's father, David, (left) with the late Nelson Mandela

At the time of the incident, the weather was foggy and visibility was poor, police and airport officials said at a news conference.

Pilots of private planes make the decision about whether to fly in such conditions, officials said.

Mr Rockefeller was a medical doctor and had two children, a son and a daughter, as well as two stepsons and three grandchildren.

He chaired the US Advisory Board for Doctors Without Borders for more than 20 years, and was involved in numerous health-related non-profit activities.

Family spokesman Fraser Seitel said Mr Rockefeller had recently been working on a way to treat post-traumatic stress disorder among war veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said his death had left the Rockefeller family in shock.

"This was a terrible tragedy," Mr Seitel said.

"Richard was a wonderful and cherished father, son, brother, husband and grandfather.

"He was a very experienced pilot, who, by profession, was a medical doctor."

The Federal Aviation Agency and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.

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Iraq: No Turning Back As Country Is Carved Up

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent, in Irbil

It may have taken years to get to this point, but the pace at which Iraq is being carved up is staggering.

Boundaries are being redrawn and alliances are shifting - what is taking days to achieve will take much longer to reverse.

The Kurds are taking advantage of the situation. 

The spokesman for their forces, the Peshmerga, told me they had warned the central government in Baghdad of the growing dissent against them, which allowed the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to advance this much so fast.

"This is just the beginning of ISIS's plan," said Helgurd Hikmet Mela Ali.

"The problem is not ISIS, if it wasn't for the loss of support for the government in these areas then ISIS would not have been able to get this far."

Government forces and tribal fighters on the outskirts of Diyala

The Kurds are now in de facto control of ethnically mixed Kirkuk, which they have long wanted to stake out as their capital. 

Other gains are also within their sights, some are even talking about pushing for full autonomy.

Meanwhile the government seemingly has no plan to take back lost territory north of Baghdad. 

The governor of Mosul, Iraq's second city that fell to extremists earlier this week, says there is little the army can do because they are so hated by the locals.

The plan, he says, is to use local Sunni militias in Mosul to fight the insurgents. 

But he admits that cannot be done right now. 

People shout slogans backing a Shia cleric's call to arms against ISIS

The extremists have successfully branded their mission as an uprising against Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and the governor says any attempt to fight them would be seen by locals as an attempt to help Maliki regain control.

"The militias will fight for themselves, for the Sunnis, but they will not fight in the name of Maliki," Atheel al Nujafi told me.

ISIS may be on the frontline and in the headlines, but they are not the only force making this advance.

As they sweep through towns they are recruiting men who are fed up with the prime minister and his American backers. 

There are also reports commanders from former president Saddam Hussein's army are also helping ISIS.

What will happen if their common enemy Maliki falls is another question that will determine the future of Iraq.

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Iraq: Britain To Give £3m In Emergency Aid

Britain will provide an initial £3m of emergency humanitarian assistance to help civilians fleeing the fighting in Iraq.

The support will include clean water, medicine, women-friendly hygiene kits, sanitation and basic household items.

It comes after Department for International Development (DiFD) experts were deployed to Iraq on Thursday to assess the situation.

Now the UK has activated its Rapid Response Facility, which provides support via approved organisations at times of crisis.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: "Iraq is facing serious humanitarian need.

"The UK contribution to the international relief response will include initial funding for clean water, medicine and sanitation, as well as support for the UNHCR to provide dedicated safety and welfare teams to protect vulnerable women."

DiFD added in a statement that the UK will continue to monitor the situation and work with the Red Cross/Red Crescent and the UN.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled their homes amid an offensive by Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The fighters have seized a numbers of towns and cities as they make their way south to the capital, Baghdad.

Many civilians have gone to the autonomous Kurdish region in the north, and aid workers said most people are arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs and little money.

Save The Children said it was "working around the clock" with refugees and displaced people.

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Injured British Rower Rescued In Atlantic

A Briton trying to row solo across the Atlantic from New York to Stornoway in Scotland has been rescued after suffering a back injury.

Niall Iain Macdonald sent out a distress call on Friday and was picked-up by the US coastguard early the following day, abandoning his seven-metre boat.

The 39-year-old rower was in pain, his face was covered in blood from a cut to his head and he was "very thankful" to be rescued, said coastguard spokesman Lt. James Provost.

Mr Macdonald, who was being treated at the Bayonne Medical Centre in New Jersey, was around 100 miles off the New York coast when he made the call.

He contacted British coastguards in Falmouth, Cornwall, on Friday evening at around 8.30pm in what a spokeswoman described as "a considerable amount of pain and distress".

Mr Macdonald was trying to row about 3,400 miles. Pic: www.ny2sy.co.uk

She said Mr Macdonald, from Stornoway in the Western Isles, had injured his back in what may have been a weather-related fall.

The coastguard told US colleagues where he was.

They then confirmed Mr Macdonald had been located and was brought on to a rescue vessel.

The Scotsman said on his website his transatlantic attempt was to raise money for the Scottish Association for Mental Health

He began his 3,400-mile journey in New York on June 5, aiming to reach Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis at the beginning of September.

He wrote: "Only 10 people have successfully rowed solo from west to east across the North Atlantic (more people have walked on the moon!) and no one has ever completed the route that I am undertaking."

The challenge would have involved rowing for 12 hours each day for the three-month period.

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Two Casualties As Plane Crashes Near M1

A light aircraft has crashed close to the M1 motorway in Nottinghamshire with two people on board, according to police.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokeswoman confirmed there were two casualties in the accident, which took place close to junction 26 of the motorway, near Hucknall Aerodrome, at around 1.30pm on Saturday.

It was unclear what condition they were in.

The spokeswoman said: "The police, fire service and ambulance service attended and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch will be investigating this incident."

One lane of the southbound M1 has been closed after the accident.

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Ukrainian Aircraft Shot Down By Separatists

Pro-Russian separatists have shot down an army transport plane in eastern Ukraine, killing 49 servicemen and dealing a massive blow to the campaign to defeat the rebels.

President Petro Poroshenko has summoned his security chiefs for meetings and promised an "adequate" response after the aircraft was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile as it came in to land at Luhansk airport.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the telephone with French leader Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who both expressed "extreme concern" over the violence and called for a ceasefire.

A separatist gathers ammunition at the site of the crash

US Secretary of State John Kerry also expressed "strong concern" during a phone call with Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and said the US and G7 would "raise costs for Russia" if it does not end the flow of weapons across the border.

Declaring Sunday a day of mourning for the nine crew and 40 paratroopers killed, Mr Poroshenko said: "All those involved in cynical acts of terrorism of this magnitude must be punished."

It is the biggest loss of life suffered by government forces in a single incident since Kiev began a military operation to try to defeat the pro-Russia insurgency in east Ukraine.

The incident is likely to fuel tension between Russia and Ukraine's main ally, the United States, which has accused Moscow of arming the rebels.

Everyone on board was killed

The plane came down overnight near Novohannivka, a village 12 miles (20km) southeast of Luhansk, close to the Russian border.

Charred debris was scattered for hundreds of metres over sloping wheat fields. The tail section jutted up from the ground, with sections of the engine, fuselage and other parts scattered around it.

Rebel forces wearing camouflage fatigues scoured through the wreckage for ammunition that was intended for government forces.

"This is how we work. The fascists can bring as many reinforcements as they want but we will do this every time. We will talk to them on our own terms," said a stocky 50-year-old rebel who identified himself as Pyotr, his name de guerre.

Rebels claimed to have shot down a fighter jet over the city of Slavyansk on Saturday, although this has not been confirmed.

Government forces, who hold the airport, attacked rebel positions near the airfield with jets soon after day broke, local residents said.

Luhansk is close to the Russian border

Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city of Mariupol on Friday, a major port for the export of steel.

Ukraine and Russia have begun talks on a peace plan despite the continuing violence.

A rebellion has been raging in east Ukraine since April, with separatists agitating for Russia to absorb the Russian-speaking east after the annexation of Crimea in March.

Russia denies being behind the uprising and the rebels say they get weapons from army stockpiles.

The US State Department said on Friday that Russia had sent tanks, heavy weapons and rocket launchers to Ukraine in recent days.

Spokeswoman Marie Harf said a convoy of three T-64 tanks, several MB-21 "or Grad" multiple rocket launchers and other military vehicles had crossed the border in the last three days.

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Boy, 6, Shot In Neck By Gunman In Dublin

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

A six-year-old boy has been seriously injured after being shot in the neck by a gunman in west Dublin.

It is understood the shooting took place outside the boy's home in the Ballyfermot area of the city late on Friday.

Sky sources say the child was not the gunman's intended target, but was caught in crossfire.

The boy was taken to the nearby Lady's Hospital in Crumlin where his condition is said to be "stable and non life-threatening".

Reports suggest he was injured after men pushed open the door of a house and shot into the hallway.

A police officer is also thought to have been injured in a subsequent car chase following the attack.

Police have sealed off the area in Croftwood Gardens while they investigate.

A spokesman said: "The shooting occurred shortly after 10pm, a six-year-old boy received what is believed to be a gunshot wound to his neck. When gardai arrived on scene they administered first aid until the arrival of the ambulance."

The shooting adds to the deteriorating criminal picture in Dublin where there has been a significant rise in violent crime in recent months.

Most of it is related to drugs and other gangland crime - but this, to the best of my knowledge, is the first time that a child has been caught up in the violence.

It will certainly increase pressure on the Irish police force to deploy more officers to the area.

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Iraq: Iran Offers To Work With Arch Foe US

Iran's president has said he would consider working with the US to combat Islamist militants in Iraq, as he offered help fight the insurgents.

President Hassan Rouhani suggested he would be willing to co-operate with Iran's traditional enemy to keep the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from taking control of its Middle East neighbour.

In a televised address on Saturday morning Mr Rouhani said Iran would be willing to go to Iraq's assistance and added: "We all should practically and verbally confront terrorist groups."

A refugee boy fleeing his Iraqi home after militants took control

Asked if Tehran would work with the Americans, he said: "We can think about it if we see America start confronting the terrorist groups in Iraq or elsewhere."

The news came as US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the aircraft carrier USS HW George Bush to the Persian Gulf to give the US added flexibility if military action is required.

Barack Obama has ruled out troops on the ground

President Barack Obama has ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Iraq, but says the White House is considering all other options for support.

He said he would make a decision on the options "in the days ahead" amid reports the Pentagon is drafting plans for possible air strikes against the Islamist rebels.

"The United States will do our part, but ultimately it's up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems," Mr Obama said. "We can't do it for them."

Hassan Rouhani has offered to help Iraq in a televised address

Iran has already sent a Major General from the Revolutionary Guard to Baghdad to meet leaders of the city.

Iran is predominately Shia and does not want to see a Sunni caliphate established on its borders by ISIS fighters, who are now thought to be fewer than 50 miles (80km) from Iraq's capital.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has ruled out sending UK troops, but said Britain may offer other support, such as counter-terrorism expertise, which could see the involvement of the SAS, as it did in Libya.

"Work is under way on that now and we will continue to liaise closely with our United States allies in particular on that," he said.

Volunteers waiting to join the Iraqi army to fight ISIS

Britain is to provide £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

It comes as the governor of Mosul told Sky News he would welcome US support in ousting Islamist militants from Iraq, but does not want troops on the ground.

Speaking from Irbil in the Kurdish north after fleeing Mosul when it was taken by ISIS, Atheel al Nujaifi said the insurgents' attack on several Iraqi cities came as a complete surprise to Iraqi authorities.

A comparison of the Iraqi army and ISIS

Mr Nujaifi said: "We need to have weapons. We need to have political support.

"(But) we don't like the American army to come into Iraq and to occupy Iraq another time and turn back to the same problem that happened before."

Some of the areas affected by the fighting

The UN has said the 7,000-strong ISIS force has carried out summary executions and rapes in its bloody takeover of large swathes of the country. Around 90,000 Iraqi soldiers are said to have deserted their posts.

By Saturday morning the Iraqi army had staged a fightback, retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah, in Salah ad Din province. They have also retaken much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

Hundreds of young Iraqis attended volunteer centres across Baghdad to sign up to fight the militants after the country's most senior cleric urged people to take up arms on Friday.

Sheikh Abdulmehdi al Karbalai, a representative for Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, said: "People who are capable of carrying arms and fighting the terrorists in defence of their country ... should volunteer to join the security forces to achieve this sacred goal."

:: Watch a special report on the conflict in Iraq on our catch up service. Sky's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland asks whether the current crisis means the end of Iraq. It's free for TV customers with Sky HD+ boxes connected to broadband.

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