This month's sports news.

RACE REPORT JAPAN - JWS MOTORSPORT GOES INTERNATIONAL

From April 20th through 23rd JWS Motorsport took part in a Rotax (engine maker) International kart race at the Kota Circuit Japan. JWS Motorsport was represented in the Rotax Minimax class by team driver Steve Zwarts who as many will know represents JWS in the Thailand National Championship. One other Thai driver, Shogun, also raced as part of the Rotax promotion.

The event was over three days concluding in a twelve-lap race and included testing, qualifying heat and a final race. The weather was ten degrees with a very cold wind. Steve had one day of testing in a kart he had never driven before. This is difficult for a seasoned professional never mind a novice as this was going to be Steve's third ever race. The situation was helped by the fact the team had been given a Japanese technician who proved to be a kart master on all things technical. Over the first day of testing Steve began delivering ever faster lap times as he learnt the circuit and the technician delivered an ever improved set up for him.

Day two consisted of further kart set up progress and the first of the qualifying heats whilst all the time Steve improved upon his lap times. By the end of the day Steve had qualified seventh out of a field of twelve seasoned racers for his first heat.

Day three and the tension mounted as the team prepared for the final races. Steve's heat went really well as he raced hard to finish a brilliant sixth place for the final which was one place higher than Shogun who currently leads the Thailand National Junior Championship. As preparation for the final race was underway the heavens opened and the rain fell hard; it was going to be a wet race and Steve had never raced in the wet before, but the show must go on.

As the karts began their formation lap a very nervous Mark Zwarts, Steve's dad looked on with camera ready and on the pit wall Joe Smith, JWS Managing Director, had by now successfully chewed the nails off both his hands. The karts screamed past the line and the race was on. Into the first corner twelve karts in the rain and here Steve learnt the meaning of kamikaze racers as the kart behind him lunged into the corner using Steve for a brake. This pushed Steve completely of the circuit and it looked like race over, but not for Steve. He composed himself got his kart back on track and started seriously racing. By now Steve was over half a lap adrift from the kart in front in wet weather conditions in what was only a twelve-lap race. Undeterred he raced as hard as could and started reeling in the opposition at over two seconds a lap. As the laps rolled on Steve started to pass the first of the other drivers and by lap nine had got himself back to tenth. He carried on, closing right up on the next drivers and crossed the finish line within a meter eight and ninth who were battling together. Joe Smith said, “Given the fact Steve has never raced in the rain and had just been pushed off it was one the best drives in the wet I have seen, absolutely brilliant.”

Overall it was a great experience for everybody and served to be of great value for Steve in his racing career.

Hua Hin Pool League

The Pool League is now coming into its final stretch, with both the Premier Property Center League and the All In Hua Hin Championship having finished. Congratulations to the champions Sugar Cane, and to P & P and Billy's Babes who are promoted. Commiserations to the relegated teams. By the time this issue of the Observer comes out the Hua Hin Kebabs Fun League will also have been completed, and all that will be left to be decided will be the Toby Charnaud Memorial Cup and the Halex Shield (finals on 7 th June at Lucky Shot Bar), as well as the best individuals and ladies tournaments

The overall individual tournament will start on Monday June 5th at Bamboo Grove & Lucky Shot Bar and will finish on Monday 19 th June at Lucky Shot Bar. Automatic qualifiers will not play the first round. The Fun League will not have finished until the end of May, so those eligible from there will be announced shortly after the end of the league. The ladies individual tournament will start on Monday June 12 th and finish on Monday 19 th June at Johnnie Walker Bar. All ladies will be placed into the ladies tournament unless they specifically request to compete in the overall tournament.

A presentation night will be held after the season has finished. A captains' meeting will be held before the end of the season to finalize formats and rule changes for next season. Dates had not been announced at time of going to press.

A short 9-Ball tournament will be held during May and June when many teams have no other pool matches to play.

Premier League individual qualifiers

Championship individual qualifiers

Fun League individual standings

Positions highlighted in grey qualify automatically.

Hua Hin Hash House Harriers

Run Number 69 on 29 April was appropriately hared by 69 Forever, co-hared by Ballbanger.

The hares did a recce of their planned run in and around the limestone outcropping just north of Cha Am. The actual run was stolen from hares from years gone by and there were just one or maybe two hashers who had been in the exact area before. On the day of the first race, it was discovered that the electric company had been in the area just a few days earlier and had chopped down all the trees and brush immediately beneath and nearby the electric pylons crossing the country in the run area, making the originally planned route impassable and impossible. The hares decided to return for a second recce and blaze a brand new trail through the nearly impenetrable brush, bamboo and cactus covering the rocky hills. Back on Wednesday armed with machetes, lopping shears and a hatchet the hares struggled through miles and miles of thorny vines, chopping, snipping and slicing each step of the way. Once they made their way completely across the hill and cleared the bamboo at sea level on the east side, they decided that the miles were really just meters but that the trail would still suffice to challenge some of our veterans. On Friday, the hares were back once again, armed with shredded paper, and machetes for cutting through the vines that had sprung up in preceding days. Back to hacking through the brush while laying the paper trail with thunder beating a cadence in the dark clouds sailing eastward from Burma , the hares worked on. The walkers' trail was also marked with shredded paper in the flatlands more suited to walkers' trail desires. It followed the runners' trail just briefly and then took another direction following cow paths, cowpats, tarmac and dirt road along side the limestone and then following a network of klongs east of the hills.

Come Saturday and the event of run # 69, about 25 hashers arrived at the car park ready for the weekly challenge, nonsense and beer. Most elected to walk the walk as they were told that the runners trail would indeed cross the great divide with no possible turning back. Mother Hen, AKA Mommy Chick led the way for the girls and Sparkplug led for the boys. The hares stayed somewhere in the midst of the pack because they could not keep up with the front runners and feared getting lost on their own trail to boot. A couple of walkers, Iron Lady and P'Sri decided to brave the spiders, the snakes and the tigers by following in the footsteps of the runners and they did just fine, for a little while. On, on the runners ran, struggling upward and eastward over the great divide as the sun settled into the Andaman sea to the west. Once across and past the bamboo, they found themselves with a smooth path the rest of the way home along the asphalt road that follows the base of the hills. On on, the runners came with one running so fast that her shoes actually disintegrated and fell to pieces from her feet. Ballbanger had spotted a discarded pair of designer sandals on the trail near the barefoot runner, putting her back on the road once again. Sweating yesterday's beer out in preparation for a fresh transfusion, the runners gathered at the cooler and did a quick head count to see who might have been left to the tigers. No runners were left to the tigers. Not one. However, walkers Iron Lady and P'Sri were nowhere in sight.

Shortly after the runners made it back to the cooler, the walkers, minus Iron Lady and P'Sri, straggled in from a direction completely opposite that of their trail. Whoever the first walker was, he or she was surely the leader as all of the walkers followed a trail that did not exist. They seemed to be not at all concerned that they followed no trail as their objective was to be in the car park before the runners eliminated all of the Tigers.

Though the H2H3 generally uses Leo beer, a case of Tiger was used on run #69 since it is currently 69 Forever's favourite brew.

Now that all of the runners and almost all of the walkers were once again back in the car park, it was time to begin the nonsense of the circle but Ballbanger decided that he would do a quick look about to see if he could get to Iron Lady and P'Sri before the snakes and skeeters found them. Taking off in the old red Corolla, Ballbanger found the wayward walkers on the back of a motorcycle piloted by a local guy. Ballbanger took the spare riders from the motorcycle driver and got them safely in his car when the growling started from the Iron Lady. She wasted no time in berating the hare for not laying any paper on the trail. Ballbanger then took the lost ladies to where they took their wrong turn and showed them the clear paper trail that would have led them home if they had simply looked for it. The growling continued regardless. She had a point: No paper had been laid on the trail that she took!

At the circle, we welcomed back in our midst, Stumbles from Bangkok. We had not seen him in a while. Mud Man and Mud Girl were back with us after an unusually long hiatus too. Table Breaker was along for the run and Deep Throat made it back home with us for a change. We had several visitors from the Bangkok Bike hash, Kevin, Richard and Da. And we had Hiker

Halibut???? By the time darkness claimed the hills and the screams of the tigers made us drink our Tiger faster, we decided to retreat for the safety of the Chicken Coop and some good grub and cold beer

Run #70 on the13 th May had Mud Man and Melon Masher setting the trail a few kilometres to the west of Hua Hin along Soi 88. Three times MM & MM have set the trail and three times they have done so in the same area while avoiding any other repetition. The trail was well marked and turned out to be a good workout for the runners (a stiff hours jog or longer if you are a burnt out specimen like myself) while the shortcut for the walkers get them back to the cooler just ahead of the lead runner. The first runner to come in was Long Ron, just 72 years young followed by Ballbanger who is only 60. Sparky of the Chicken Coop came in next even though he was running without Spark Plug. 69 Forever and Chopper John came sauntering (well maybe) in at the last but long before the beer cooler was empty.

Report by Ballbanger with insertions (of the decent kind) by 69 Forever.

InterHash 2006, The Great Train Rumble.

When the Eastern & Oriental Express comes to Hua Hin on the 23rd of October as it heads to Chiang Mai for the InterHash, 400 Hashers from around the world will stop for a few hours of hash runs, fun and nonsense. Of the 400, 181 are female hashers, mostly from the UK, Oz, US, NZ and Canada. While one of the girls is just 18 years old, there is another somewhere between 78 and 82 years old. This just goes to show that regardless of sex and age, Hashing is fun for everyone and all the 18-year-old girls in Hua Hin are invited. Join the Hash in Hua Hin or Cha Am now and get in on the fun.

Hua Cha Hash Pedalers

The second trip of the Hua Cha Hash Pedalers happened as the June issue of the Observer went to press and so details are not available. The bicycle hashers met at the pavilion on the beach in Cha Am and set off from there for parts unknown. Next trip of the pedalers will start in the Hua Hin area. Look in www.huahin-hhh.com for info. If you enjoy a bike ride, a bit of fun and camaraderie, join us.

Tour de France

The 2006 Tour de France is scheduled to begin on 1 st July and finish on 23 rd July this year. It will start in Strasbourg with what is known as the prologue and, as always, finish in Paris . This month we are giving you some background on the race and it's history, and next month we will give you the details of this year's entrants and route

The Tour de France (French for "Tour of France"), often referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is the most famous and prestigious road bicycle race in the world. It has been held annually since 1903, interrupted only by World War I and World War II, and is contested over the course of three weeks each July. It is a long-distance stage race competition for professional cycling teams, travelling through France and its nearby countries. The winner is the individual rider who finishes the course of the race in the least accumulated time.

The Tour was founded as a publicity event for the newspaper L'Auto (ancestor of the present l'Équipe) by its editor and co-founder, Henri Desgrange, to rival the Paris-Brest et retour ride (sponsored by Le Petit Journal), and Bordeaux-Paris. The idea for a round-France stage race is also credited to one of his journalists, Géorges Lefèvre, with whom Desgrange had lunch at the Café de Madrid in Paris on 20 November 1902. L'Auto announced the race on January 19, 1903. Promotion of the Tour de France certainly proved a great success for the newspaper; circulation leapt from 25,000 before the 1903 Tour to 65,000 after it; in 1908 the race boosted circulation past a quarter of a million, and during the 1923 Tour it was selling 500,000 copies a day. The record circulation claimed by Desgrange was 854,000, achieved during the 1933 Tour. Today, the Tour is organised by the Société du Tour de France, a subsidiary of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which is part of the media group that owns l'Équipe.

The Tour is a "stage race", divided into a number of stages, each being a race held over one day. The amount of time it takes each rider to complete each stage is noted, recorded and accumulated. The ranking of the riders according to accumulated time is known as the General Classification, or GC. The overall winner is the one who is ranked first on GC at the end of the final stage. It is possible to win the overall race without winning any individual stages (which Greg LeMond did in 1990). Winning a Tour de France stage is considered a great pro cycling achievement, more prestigious than winning most single day races, regardless of one's overall standing in the GC. Although the number of stages has varied in the past, recently the Tour has consisted of about 20 stages, with a total length of between 3,000 and 4,000 km (1800 to 2500 mi). In addition to the race for the overall win, there are several additional competitions. The leaders of these competitions are represented by certain coloured jerseys; the maillot jaune (yellow jersey), worn by the overall time leader, is most prized. Desgrange added the yellow jersey in 1919 because he wanted the race leader to wear something distinctive and because the pages of his magazine, L'Auto, were yellow. The maillot vert (green jersey) is awarded for sprint points. At the end of each stage, points for this jersey are gained by the riders who finish first, second, etc. The number of points for each place and the number of riders rewarded varies depending on the type of stage. The "King of the Mountains" wears a white jersey with red dots (maillot à pois rouges), referred to as the "polka dot jersey". At the top of each climb in the Tour, there are points for the riders who are first over the top. The climbs are divided into categories from 1 (most difficult) to 4 (least difficult) based on their difficulty, measured as a function of their steepness and length. A fifth category, called Hors categorie (outside category) is formed by mountains even more difficult than those of the first category. Although the best climber was first recognized in 1933, the distinctive jersey was not introduced until 1975. The colours were decided by the then sponsor, Poulain Chocolate, to match a popular product. There are three lesser classifications, though only one of them awards the leader with a jersey. The maillot blanc (white jersey) is like the yellow jersey, but only open for young riders who are less than 25 years old on January 1 of the year the Tour is ridden. The "fighting spirit" award goes to the most combative rider of the previous stage. Each day, a group of judges awards points to riders who made particularly attacking moves the day before, and the rider with most points in total gets a white-on-red (instead of a black-on-white) identification number. Finally, there is a team classification. For this classification, the time of the first three riders from each team is added after each stage. The Tour currently has 21 teams of 9 riders each (when starting), each sponsored by one or more companies - although at some stages of its history, the teams have been divided instead by nationality. The team classification is not associated with a particular jersey design.

Most stages take place in France though it is very common to have a few stages in nearby countries, such as Italy , Spain , Switzerland , Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany as well as non-neighbouring countries such as the Republic of Ireland , United Kingdom (visited in 1974 and 1994, and will start the 2007 tour) and the Netherlands . The traditional finish is in Paris on the Champs-Élysées. During the Tour, various stages occur, including a number of mountain stages, individual time trials and a team time trial. The remaining stages are held over relatively flat terrain. With the variety of stages, sprinters may win stages, but the overall winner is almost always a master of the mountain stages and time trials.

The itinerary of the race changes each year and alternates between clockwise and anti-clockwise direction around France . (For example, the most recent Tour (2005) was a clockwise direction Tour - visiting the Alpes first and then the Pyrenees . This year's race can be expected to visit those two mountain ranges in the reverse order.) Some of the visited places, especially mountains and passes, recur almost annually and are famous on their own. The most famous mountains are those in the hors-categorie (peaks where the difficulty in climbing is beyond categorization), including the Col du Tourmalet, Mont Ventoux, Col du Galibier, the Hautacam and Alpe d'Huez. Although the tour is often won in the mountain stages, the length and variety of terrain ensures that only an all-round rider can win the race. (A notable exception in recent years being the late Marco Pantani, the winner in 1998, who was a mountain climbing specialist.)

The riders, unlike some of their fans, have traditionally tempered their competitiveness and enthusiasm with an elaborate but unwritten code of conduct. Whenever reasonably possible, one allows a rider to lead the peloton when the race passes through his home village or on his birthday, and it often happens that the winner of the stage held on Bastille Day is French. One does not attack a leading rider who has suffered a mechanical breakdown or other misfortune, one who is eating in the feed zone or one who is enjoying un besoin naturel (roughly translated to a natural need, the practice of answering nature's call). Unless the final stage is a time trial--or in the case of Pedro Delgado attacking the yellow jersey of Stephen Roche in 1987 on the Champs-Elysées--riders generally do not launch attacks on the leader of the Tour on the final stage, giving the leader one final day to bask in the glory of winning the yellow jersey.

The rider ranked last in the general classification, who may wind up in Paris with an overall time five or more hours slower than that of the winner, is called the lantern rouge. The rider may just be a lowly domestique, but such is the sympathy of the French public that finishing last is actually very prestigious. The money a rider can generate through publicity is much greater if he finishes last than second from last. Thus, in the past many riders have attempted to engineer themselves into last place by artificial means. Other riders may just be ill or slightly injured and unwillingly end up as the lanterne rouge.

Tennis - French Open

The French Open began as a national tournament in 1891. In 1925, the French Championships opened itself to international competitors with the event held on a grass surface alternatively between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Français. For the 1928 Davis Cup challenge, a new tennis stadium was built at Porte d'Auteuil. The new Stade Roland Garros, and Court Philippe Chatrier, was built with a red clay (terre battue) playing surface, one that alters the ball's bounce and the player's approach to the match vis-à-vis grass courts. As such, over the years, clay court specialists have evolved who often succeed here whilst higher ranked players may struggle like the great champion Pete Sampras and current World No. 1 Roger Federer who won every other Grand Slam several times but never the French Open. As of 2006, the last six, 8 of the last 9, 11 of the last 13, and 13 of the last 17 French Open men's singles championships were won by men who did not win any other Grand Slam tournament. On the female side of tennis, the French Open is the title that has prevented players such as Lindsay Davenport from achieving a career Grand Slam and in 1997 it was the only Grand Slam that a 16-year old Martina Hingis failed to win.

In 1968 the French championship became the first Grand Slam tournament to go “open”, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete. As of 2006 the French Open began to offer the same amount in prize money to the men and women singles winners. The US Open and the Australian Open have previously offered equal prize money to women. Wimbledon remains the only major tennis event that still offers more prize money to male athletes.

Stade de Roland Garros (Roland Garros Stadium) is located in southwest Paris, France, and has been the home of the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in May and June. The stadium is named after Roland Garros, an early French aviator and a fighter aircraft pilot during World War I, who, on September 23, 1913, had become the first man to fly a plane over the Mediterranean.

For the first time in the history of a Grand Slam, the men's and women's singles will commence the Sunday before the traditional fortnight. The French Open will begin on Sunday 28 May with twelve first-round matches (six men's, six women's) on the three main courts of the stadium: the Philippe-Chatrier, the Suzanne-Lenglen and Court N°1.

The draw for the tournament has been given a major face-lift. As with the Australian Open and the US Open, the draw will be made electronically rather than manually. Scheduled for Friday 26 May at 11:30 in the Roland Garros Tenniseum, proceedings will begin with an electronic draw of the non-seeded players before a famous face pulls out the 32 seeds.

This year's Roland Garros will boast the biggest ever prize pool at a Grand Slam event, with the  14,265,800 on offer representing a 5.56 % increase since 2005 and 35 % since 2000. The 76th French Open will also award equal paydays to the men's and women's champions of  940,000!

As far as the men goes it is impossible to look past Rafael Nadal as the likely winner of the French Open again this year – the Spaniard has been in sensational form, and at time of press had just notched up another win, in the Rome Masters, and again beating the previously unbeatable Roger Federer. Federer is not at his all-conquering best on clay and it will be a major achievement if he even makes the Final at Roland Garros. Other players to look out for will be the Argentineans David Nalbandian and Gaston Gaudio, the Croatian Ivan Ljubicic and the Russian Nikolay Davydenko.

The women's title is a bit more open, but the form player is Nadia Petrova, with clay seeming to be her favourite surface. Justine Henin-Hardenne will be there or thereabouts, while Amelie Mauresmo will be hoping to put her slight dip in form behind her. Martina Hingis will once again be a threat as she continues with her impressive comeback. The last French man to win the tournament was Yannick Noah in1983, while for the women it was Mary Pierce in 2000.

The previously dominant American players in both men and women's fields seem to have lost their edge in world tennis, although Roland Garros has always been tough for the men. The 2004 tournament was a disaster of unprecedented proportions as far as the US men were concerned. No player made it as far as the second week, and the last man standing - Andy Roddick - was knocked out as early as the second round. Was this just a bad year, or did it indicate a deeper problem? 12 months later, we had our answer - in a mirror image of the previous French Open, no American players got as far as the third round. As far as the women are concerned 2001 winner Jennifer Capriati will be out due to injury, while her successor in 2002 Serena Williams will also be missing. Lindsay Davenport has never enjoyed playing in Paris and may well give the tournament a miss. Venus Williams is the only American woman with a chance to do something and even she has not looked at her best this year.

Formula 1

f1 drivers world championship (top 10)

name car nat. pts.

1 F. Alonso Renault Spa 54

2 M. Schumacher Ferrari Ger 39

3 K. Raikkonen McLaren Fin 27

4 G. Fisichella Renault Ita 24

5 F. Massa Ferrari Brz 20

6 J. Button Honda GB 16

7 J. P. Montoya McLaren Col 15

8 R. Barrichello Honda Brz 8

9 R. Schumacher Toyota Ger 7

10 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber Ger 6

constructors championship

name points

1 Renault 78

2 Ferrari 59

3 McLaren-Mercedes 42

4 Honda 24

5 BMW Sauber 12

6 Williams-Cosworth 10

7 Toyota 7

8 Red Bull-Ferrari 2

9 Toro Rosso-Cosworth 0

10 MFI-Toyota 0

11 Super Aguri - Honda 0

races in june

date race

8 11 June britain

9 25 June canada

Motorsport Update

Fernando Alonso gave the partisan crowd at the Spanish Grand Prix just the result they were looking for by claiming victory in his home race. This followed two wins by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in the previous races at Nurburgring and San Marino.

The constructor's championship is being dominated by Renault at present but the gruelling Monaco race due to happen just before this issue comes out may well change that.

In the rallying world, World champion Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Argentina ahead of Norway's Petter Solberg and Italy's Gigi Galli at the end of April, and will be hoping to increase his lead at the top of the table with a good performance in the Rally of Italy in Sardinia, taking place as we go to press.

World Cup Qualifiers - Favourites

Finally the festival of football that is the FIFA World Cup 2006 is here! After all the hype, qualifications, drama, injuries and squad selections, the 32 teams now battle it out to win the coveted trophy. The Observer has been giving our rundowns on the competing teams over the last few months, and now is the time for our final preview, taking into account the likely squads and moods of the teams, and to stick our necks on the block by giving a full tournament prediction!

Squad news

Germany – There are no injury worries for coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and he has now made his decision over who will be first choice goalkeeper, opting for Jens Lehmann ahead of previous number one Oliver Kahn. The only surprise in the squad is the inclusion of uncapped midfielder David Odonkor at the expense of striker Kevin Kuranyi.

England – The outgoing England coach has serious injury worries and fitness concerns over a number of players; the most notable being Wayne Rooney. Other players only just returning after long lay offs are Michael Owen, Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell, while John Terry has missed Chelsea 's final two league matches. All are included in the squad along with three major surprises – teenagers Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott, and winger Stuart Downing.

Holland – No injury concerns for the Dutch, but there are several surprise omissions. Forwards Roy Makaay and Romeo Castelen, midfielders Edgar Davids, Nigel de Jong and George Boateng and defender Barry Opdam all miss out on the squad. The inclusion of Ajax defender John Heitinga is also something of a surprise as is the decision to pick Jan Kromkamp who has played sporadically for Liverpool this season.

Portugal – The only current injuries affecting Portugal are defender Jorge Andrade, who will miss the World Cup after undergoing knee surgery, and striker Simao, who injured his ankle near the end of April. Andrade's place is taken by Ricardo Costa. Otherwise coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has kept faith with his most experienced players, with no surprises.

Italy - taly coach Marcello Lippi has insisted that he will allow Francesco Totti as much time as he needs to recover from his injury. Playmaker Totti, 29, broke his left leg and strained ligaments in his ankle in a Serie A match on 19 February. Christian Vieri is another player who has doubts over his fitness after the striker injured his knee while on loan at AC Monaco from AC Milan.

Brazil – Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has gone as far as naming his intended starting XI for the tournament, as well as his squad, which had no place for injured central defender Roque Junior who has been replaced by Lyon's Cris..

France – No injury worries, but Zinadine Zidane has announced that he will retire from football after the World Cup. As expected, there is no place in France coach Raymond Domenech's 23-man squad for Arsenal's Robert Pires. However previously uncapped Wigan defender Pascal Chimbonda has been rewarded for his excellent form this season with a call up. Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly and Fenerbache striker Nicolas Anelka miss out, while another surprise was the inclusion of 23-year-old Marseille winger Franck Ribery

Spain – Barcelona midfielder Xavi has successfully returned to action for his club after missing the previous 4 months with a cruciate ligament injury. He has been included in the squad, but one slight surprise is the exclusion of Fernando Morientes, and reports suggest that the defender Carlos Marchena has been included at his expense.

Argentina - coach Jose Pekerman has left former captain Javier Zanetti out of his World Cup squad. Bayern Munich midfielder Martin Demichelis also missed out but uncapped Independiente goalkeeper Oscar Ustari has beaten German Lux to a place.

Ukraine - Andriy Shevchenko has been included in the squad despite being an injury worry.

Ghana – Ghana coach Ratomir Djukovic has given a radical shake up to the squad that went to the African Nations Cup, with 10 of those players dropped. However as expected, Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan are all in the squad. The trio missed the Nations Cup because of injury.

All the other squads have no major shocks or injury worries at time of going to press.

Thailand 's Prachya Permpanich has been selected by FIFA to officiate as an assistant referee (or linesman as they used to be called) at the World Cup finals in Germany next month.

Six people were chosen from five nations in the Asian zone, with two being selected as referees and four as assistant referees.

Football Association of Thailand secretary general Mr Worawi Makudi said Prachya would be kept company by an official from Singapore . "Prachya will be the same group with Singaporean referee Shamsul Maidin," said Worawi. "He will also be on duty with another linesman during each match he participates in during the finals."

There was a final workshop test on April 18-21 in Germany followed by a selection of linesmen from 82 hopefuls. Sixty of them will take part in the World Cup finals, including Prachya.

"If Prachya can show his skills during the World Cup, he will have a good chance of further duties in other major tournaments," said Worawi. "The FAT is ready to support Thai referees and linesmen for the chance to participate in future world-level matches. This will create big developments in Thai football, including the Thai national team and the domestic leagues."

Prachya became the second referee from Thailand to have chance to do duty in the World Cup finals after Pirom Unprasert was the first referee to be selected for the 1998 World Cup finals in France eight years ago.

Prediction tables

The predictions below mirror the ones made over the last few months in the Observer. However the various injuries and squad selections have altered our assessment since then and some changes have been made.

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