ROSSI AND BORRIELLO CUT FROM ITALY'S SQUAD

ROME(AP) American-born forward Giuseppe Rossi and AC Milan striker Marco Borriello were dropped from Italy's World Cup squad Tuesday.

Coach Marcello Lippi also sent home goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, defender Mattia Cassani and midfielder Andrea Cossu upon announcing his final 23-man team.

Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi remained in the squad despite injuring his left knee during training Tuesday.

Lippi did not offer any immediate explanation for his choices, although he was due to meet with reporters Wednesday.

``Didn't make it, but I have no regrets,'' Rossi wrote on Twitter. ```Worked hard and showed what I could do. I guess the coach had other plans. Good luck Italy.''

Rossi was born in New Jersey to Italian parents and has dual citizenship. He played well for Italy at last year's Confederations Cup, scoring twice in the opener against the United States, but struggled during the second half of this season with his Spanish club Villarreal.

``Can't wait to go back home to my family now!!'' Rossi wrote. ``Gonna enjoy a beautiful summer.''

Borriello scored 14 goals for AC Milan this season but plays center forward, a position where Lippi prefers Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Giampaolo Pazzini.

Nine players remain from the team that won the World Cup four years ago in Germany: Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Gilardino and Iaquinta.

Fabio Grosso, the left back who converted the decisive penalty kick in the final against France four years ago, had already been cut two weeks ago after being named to the preliminary 30-man squad.

Lippi never even considered picking Antonio Cassano, the talented but temperamental Sampdoria forward, or Mario Balotelli, the controversial 18-year-old Inter Milan striker.

Italy has been training in Sestriere at 2,035 meters (6,670 feet) since May 23 and will depart for South Africa on June 8.

The Azzurri have friendlies set up vs. Mexico in Brussels on Thursday and vs. Switzerland in Geneva on Saturday.

At the World Cup, Italy opens against Paraguay on June 14 and will also face New Zealand and Slovakia in Group F.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari).

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan).

Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli).

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NO SURPRISES AS DUNGA CONFIRMS 23 ON BRAZIL SQUAD

JOHANNESBURG(AP) Brazil set its final squad for the World Cup on Tuesday, with coach Dunga retaining the 23 players already in South Africa preparing for the tournament.

Dunga had announced an initial squad of 30 players only because it was a FIFA requirement, but did not make any surprise selections on deadline day.

The 23-man group selected by Dunga has been practicing in South Africa since last Thursday. The seven players on standby - Ronaldinho, Paulo Henrique Ganso, Sandro, Diego Tardelli, Alex, Carlos Eduardo and Marcelo - were all left out as expected.

Dunga has revamped the Brazil squad since taking over after the 2006 World Cup, leaving out big-name players like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Adriano.

Instead of stars, Dunga put his faith in some lesser-known players who proved their worth with successful results, including a tournament win at last year's Confederations Cup and a top-place finish in South American World Cup qualifying.

``Our goal was to get the players to really want to be with the national team,'' Dunga said after Brazil arrived at its training camp in South Africa. ``A lot of players didn't want to be here, now it's the opposite.''

Dunga, who was captain when Brazil won the World Cup in 1994 in the United States, also appears to have his starting lineup set, if recent training sessions are anything to go by.

The team plays a warmup match against Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. The five-time world champion will also face Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Brazil opens its World Cup Group G campaign against North Korea on June 15, before playing the Ivory Coast and Portugal.

Only three players on the squad are currently playing in Brazilian soccer - Kleberson, Gilberto and Robinho, the forward who is on loan at Santos from Manchester City.

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FABIO CAPELLO DROPS WALCOTT FROM ENGLISH SQUAD

LONDON(AP) Theo Walcott was omitted from England's final 23-man World Cup squad Tuesday, four years after he was a surprise choice to go to soccer's biggest tournament.

The Arsenal winger has long said that he felt he did not deserve to go to the 2006 World Cup when, as a 17-year-old forward who had yet to play a Premier League game, he was selected ahead of more experienced players.

Four years later, England coach Fabio Capello has opted for the more seasoned Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips ahead of a player who never made it onto the field in Germany and has struggled this season.

Defensive midfielder Gareth Barry was included in the party that heads to South Africa on Wednesday despite an ankle injury that could still rule him out of England's opening group match against the United States on June 12.

The seven players dropped following a 30-man training camp were Walcott, Darren Bent, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Scott Parker, Michael Dawson and Leighton Baines.

''I am very disappointed not to be included in the squad going out to South Africa, but completely respect Mr. Capello's decision,'' Walcott said in a statement on Arsenal's website. ''I would like to wish the team the best of luck and hope they have a really successful tournament.''

Bent's omission means that Emile Heskey will go to a second World Cup despite starting fewer than half of Aston Villa's Premier League matches this season.

Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe are the other strikers on a squad featuring three goalkeepers, eight defenders and eight midfielders.

Bent, who scored 25 goals this season for Sunderland, and Defoe were left out four years ago in favor of Walcott.

England has won all 11 games in which Walcott has played but he has been hindered by injury this season and started just 12 Premier League matches.

Walcott was included as one of four strikers on England's squad four years ago after a high-profile transfer to Arsenal. He never made it onto the field despite injury to Michael Owen and a red card to Rooney in the quarterfinal exit to Portugal.

Johnson joined Manchester City in January and made his international debut with five minutes of action in last week's 3-1 friendly win over Mexico.

Wright-Phillips has scored six goals in 31 international appearances and, with former captain David Beckham out injured, will compete for a wide midfield place with Aaron Lennon and James Milner.

Milner and Michael Carrick are in the squad and can cover for Barry, who has been out for a month with an ankle injury and may not be fit until the second group match against Algeria on June 18.

David James, Robert Green and Joe Hart are the three goalkeepers, with Ledley King included ahead of fellow Tottenham defender Dawson despite a chronic knee condition that requires rest between matches.

Squad:

Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), James Milner (Aston Villa), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Gareth Barry (Manchester City).

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BECK OUT OF FINAL GERMANY WCUP SQUAD

FRANKFURT, Germany(AP) Germany coach Joachim Loew has trimmed his World Cup squad to the final 23 players by dropping defender Andreas Beck.

The 23-year-old Hoffenheim defender has seven caps for Germany but was one of the players whose place had been considered unsafe.

"He had an average season,'' Loew said.

Loew will take to South Africa a young squad which is missing captain Michael Ballack and four other injured players.

Seven of Loew's players were still with the under-21 team last year, when it won the European Championship.

By dropping a defender, Loew kept six forwards for the tournament in South Africa. Germany opens its Group D campaign against Australia and also plays Serbia and Ghana.

``I have enough possibilities in defense,'' Loew said.

Loew took 27 players to a training camp in northern Italy, but injuries forced Ballack, defender Heiko Westermann and midfielder Christian Traesch to drop out. Earlier, goalkeeper Rene Adler and midfielder Simon Rolfes also were forced to pull out with injuries.

The coach delayed his decision until after Tuesday's practice at the team's base in south Tirol, a German-speaking area in northern Italy where Germany also prepared for the 1990 World Cup and went on to win the last of its three titles.

``Of course it's disappointing for Andreas Beck,'' Loew said. ``He invested a lot in the training camp and was always fair and correct. He addressed a few words to the team in a meeting. And the team responded with applause. He is going to get another chance.''

Loew retained defenders Dennis Aogo of Hamburger SV and Holger Badstuber of Bayern Munich, who have only one game each for Germany and had never been called up before Loew announced his provisional squad.

The Germans fly home on Wednesday and play Bosnia-Herzegovina in their final warm-up match in Frankfurt on Thursday. The team flies to South Africa on Sunday.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Joerg Butt (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Schalke), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen).

Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Jerome Boateng (Hamburger SV), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart).

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Mesut Oezil (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV).

Forwards: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Cologne).

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Pic of the Day - 2nd June

Participants in an annual Wave-Gothic festival pose on May 21, 2010 in Leipzig, eastern Germany, where more than 20 000 people are expected to attend the festival attracting the friends of gothic romanticism. The festival offers a very special spectacle with a range of concerts, historical markets, theatre and cinema, gothic scene performances, exhibitions, readings and parties. (Photo: AFP)

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