Asian quest

World Cup in brief

* The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has repeated its demand for the continent to be given five places in the 2006 finals.

* The Anderlecht coach Aime Anthuenis has emerged as front-runner to succeed Robert Waseige as coach of Belgium. The Excelsior Mouscron coach Hugo Broos was the man tipped to replace him but his club have vetoed any move.

* The Dane Richard Moller Nielsen has reacted warmly to reports linking him with the vacant job as coach of Russia to succeed Oleg Romantsev. Moller Nielsen's contract as Israel coach runs out on 1 July.

* Costa Rica's Alexandre Guimarães has been asked to remain as coach until the 2006 World Cup.

* Apart from the World Cup itself, there are another five awards. The Golden Boot is given to the top scorer while the Golden Ball goes to the player of the tournament. Belgium head the standings for the Fair Play Award, which was shared by England and France four years ago. Up for grabs for the first time are the award for the most entertaining team and the Yashin award for the best goalkeeper, named after the late Russian keeper Lev. Oliver Kahn looks to be a safe bet for that.