Football: England win while Germans lose again

Gary Cahill opened the scoring in England s win over Nigeria. Photo / AP

England relied on goals from Gary Cahill and Harry Kane before slackening in the second half to beat Nigeria 2-1 in a World Cup warm-up at Wembley yesterday.

On his first England appearance since October, Cahill headed in the opener in the seventh minute from Kieran Trippier's corner in front of 70,000 fans.

Raheem Sterling set up Kane to double England's lead in the 39th before Alex Iwobi reduced the deficit in the opening two minutes of the second half.

After a week in the headlines over a gun tattoo and returning late for England duty, Sterling courted more controversy when he was booked for simulation after falling all too easily as goalkeeper Francis Uzoho came off his line to claim the ball.

"I had a decision to make whether to play him after turning up late," England coach Gareth Southgate said. "But that wasn't a decision after he started to come under fire from every other direction.

"It wasn't about getting a response. The most important thing I do in the next six weeks is protect the players. They respect each other and understand how important it is they support and protect each other."

Sterling hoped to block out the criticism.

"People will see stuff in the wrong way," he said. "If I got left out, I wouldn't have had any complaints because I had to meet up at 11 o'clock, flight got delayed and I was a bit late in the morning, so I completely understand where he [the manager] is coming from."

England have another friendly against Costa Rica in Leeds on Saturday before Southgate's side opens their campaign in Russia against Tunisia on June 18.

●Manuel Neuer played his first match since September as a German team missing several regulars were beaten 2-1 by Austria in their penultimate World Cup warm-up in Klagenfurt yesterday.

The goalkeeper, who has recovered from a hairline fracture in his left foot, played the entire match but couldn't prevent the world champions from losing for the second straight game after a 1-0 defeat to Brazil in March.

●European champions Portugal held Belgium to a tame 0-0 draw in Brussels, a result overshadowed by fears that Vincent Kompany may have sustained an injury early in the second half.

The injury-prone defender walked off early in the second half after appearing to overstretch while making a defensive challenge. It was not immediately clear if he was injured or left the field as a precaution.

●Tim Cahill will have a chance to score a goal in his fourth consecutive World Cup for Australia.

The 38-year-old forward was chosen yesterday by coach Bert van Marwijk among 23 players set to feature in Russia for the Socceroos.

Cahill has 105 caps for Australia and is the country's leading scorer but has struggled for form and match time in recent months.

Only three players have scored in four World Cups - Brazilian great Pele and German strikers Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose.

Daniel Arzani, 19, is joined by Dimitri Petratos and Josh Risdon as the only three A-League players in the Australian squad, while Mark Milligan also made the World Cup squad for the fourth consecutive time.

Australia are in Group C with France, Denmark and Peru.

- AP