Beckenbauer lengthens odds on Germany

Franz Beckenbauer, who has lifted the World Cup both as a player and a coach, believes that Germany has little chance of making the final of this year's tournament.

"The German team is not ready yet. German football is a little bit depressed at the moment with Bayern Leverkusen and Dortmund losing in European finals," Beckenbauer said yesterday, a day after the Germans beat Austria 6-2. "Germany gave a much better performance against Austria than they did against Wales [to whom they lost 1-0]. But we are not in the best condition and don't deserve to be among the favourites."

Of England, Beckenbauer added: "I think they have a good chance of reaching the semi-finals. Once there it is possible to make the final. But they have to get off to a good start. Argentina are one of the favourites. If you make it through the group you can go straight to the finals."

The win over Austria would have provided a welcome morale boost for the Germans had Sebastian Deisler not sustained a knee injury that might rule him out of the tournament. The 22-year-old midfielder, whose creative skills play a key role in Germany coach Rudi Völler's plans, hurt his troublesome right knee, which was operated on last October, and is now expecting results of tests which will determine whether he can remain with the squad.

A broken toe has ended the World Cup dreams of the Tunisia midfielder, Oussama Sellami. Sellami broke his right little toe during the 2-1 defeat against the Japanese Second Division side Oita Trinita on Saturday.

The US defender Greg Vanney will also miss out because of a partially torn ligament in his right knee. Vanney was hurt during Thursday night's 5-0 victory over Jamaica, hobbling off four minutes into the second half.

Russia's World Cup build-up suffered a further blow when they lost 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out to a makeshift Yugoslavian side yesterday, finishing last in a four-team international tournament in Moscow.

Russia, who lost to Belarus on penalties on Friday, were met with a chorus of boos and whistles as they walked off. With the score at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the teams went straight to a shoot-out where the Yugoslav keeper Dragoslav Jevric saved the last penalty to give his side victory.

Senegal were held to a 0-0 draw by the J-League club Kashiwa Reysol in a warm-up match in Shizuoka yesterday. Reysol, managed by Steve Perryman, enjoyed the better chances in front of 8,500 fans.

The Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni played down his side's 1-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in Prague courtesy of a Vladimir Smicer first-half header.

"On the pitch we still have a lot of problems," Trapattoni admitted. "We are lacking big-game mentality but I believe we will improve in Japan and South Korea."