Collina blows whistle on England

Pierluigi Collina, one of the world's highest profile referees, will be the man in charge of one of the highest profile matches of the World Cup – the Group F match between England and Argentina in Sapporo on 7 June, it was announced by Fifa yesterday.

Fifa have turned to the Italian official, famous for his bald head and bulging-eye stare, for a fixture which has seen a number of flashpoints down the years. From Antonio Rattin's sending-off at the 1966 World Cup, through Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in 1986 to David Beckham's dismissal at France 98, the games have never been short of controversy.

Maradona, however, will not be in Japan to see the match. He has been refused an entry visa by Japan because of his history of drug abuse.

If either team can read any omens into Collina's appointment, then England should be happiest. The Italian took charge of England's 5-1 win over Germany in qualifying and also oversaw the Euro 2000 clash which saw England beat Erich Ribbeck's men 1–0.

The first tranche of refereeing appointments also sees the man who sent Beckham off for lashing out at Diego Simeone in France – the Dane Kim Milton Nielsen – taking charge of the key Group E match between Germany and the Republic of Ireland on 5 June in Ibaraki. England's Graham Poll has an important assignment: he will referee the crucial Group G encounter between Italy and Croatia in Ibaraki on 8 June while Scotland's Hugh Dallas will oversee Group D's crunch tie, Portugal against Poland, in Jeonju on 10 June.

The France midfielder Emmanuel Petit is oozing confidence as his country attempt to become only the third side to retain the trophy after Brazil in 1962 and Italy in 1938. "Nobody knows where our limit is," said the 31-year-old Chelsea midfielder said after the world and European champions arrived in Seoul yesterday after spending a week in Ibusuki, a small spa town in southern Japan. "Maybe the sky is the only limit. Actually, it's the only question mark we are facing," Petit added. "Our generation is the grand cru."

Diego Tristan scored with a fine chip and Ricardo saved a penalty in Ulsan, South Korea, yesterday as Spain did just enough to beat the first division side Hyundai Horang-i 1-0 in their final World Cup warm-up. The Group B favourites looked a long way from being in peak condition as passes went astray and they gave the opposition too much space in midfield.

"This game wasn't important at all," said the midfielder Juan Carlos Valeron, whose form just behind the strikers was one of the few plus points for his side. "The only point is to get the players in condition."

It was not until the 20th minute that Spain created their first clear chance. Fernando Hierro's long through ball put Tristan racing through on goal only for Ulsan keeper Kwon Jung-hyuk to clear at the edge of his box. Tristan was put through again by Raul's pass on 30 minutes and this time the Deportivo striker managed to lift his shot over the keeper for the only goal.

Gaizka Mendieta gave away a penalty shortly after the break when he handled in the box but Ricardo, who had replaced Iker Casillas on 32 minutes, saved the weak spot-kick from Park Jin-sun.

Portugal strikers Nuno Gomes and Pedro Pauleta scored in the second half to give their side a 2-0 victory against China in their final warm-up match in Macao yesterday. Luis Figo, recovering from an ankle injury, made a late appearance as a substitute. Brazil beat Malaysia 4-0 in Kuala Lumpur with second-half goals from Ronaldo, Juninho, Denilson, Edilson.

The Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero looks certain to start the tournament on the bench after being left out of Giovanni Trappatoni's starting line-up for the second time in a week for today's friendly against the Japanese champions Kashima Antlers. Trapattoni has picked Milan's Filippo Inzaghi alongside Christian Vieri up front. Another contender, Vincenzo Montella, will play the second half.

There was good news for Japanese fans, as the last batch of 100,000 delayed World Cup tickets finally arrived in Tokyo yesterday. They will be delivered to awaiting fans by express courier in the next 24 hours.