'I'll be ready for you,' Suarez warns England after knee op

SUAREZ GIVES ENGLAND THE WILLIES Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has warned his Liverpool team-mates in the England camp that he will be fit for the Group D showdown between the two countries on 19 June. Suarez is in a race against time to make the World Cup after undergoing knee surgery, but is confident of recovering in time for the clash in Sao Paolo, even though he may not be fit for Uruguay's opener against Costa Rica. The official line from the Uruguay camp is more conservative, but Suarez seems determined to give England the willies. According to The Times, his messages were "the talk of the England squad as they trained at St George's Park" yesterday.

GERMANY STARS IN MERCEDES CRASHGermany squad members Benedict Hoewedes and Julian Draxler escaped unhurt after a car accident near the squad's training base in northern Italy that left two people in hospital yesterday. The pair were taking part in a promotional video for Mercedes-Benz, Germany's chief sponsor, with F1 driver Nico Rosberg and touring car driver Pascal Wehrlein, when two pedestrians were hit by Wehrlein's vehicle on what was supposed to be a closed circuit. The pair were taken to hospital, none of the players or racing drivers were hurt.

GIROUD ON TARGET AS FRANCE WARM-UPFrance's status as dark horses for the tournament in Brazil could be in danger after an impressive 4-0 win over Norway at the Stade de France on Tuesday night. They are starting to look more like favourites than outside bets as kick off looms. Les Bleus notched for goals despite the absence of Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, while Bacary Sagna and Hugo Lloris were unused subs. Star of the show was Olivier Giroud who scored twice, including a sublime lob from the edge of the box. Paul Pogba and Loic Remy also scored.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

DON'T EAT THE SALMON!Health inspectors have confiscated 2.6kg of unsafe food from England's hotel in Rio. Salmon, parma ham and butter unfit for consumption was taken away from the Royal Tulip Hotel, days before England are due to arrive there. The discovery was made after inspections by officials, says the BBC. The FA said it was unconcerned as the England squad will have their own chefs. And things could have been worse - Italy's Portobello hotel, just outside Rio, had more than 50kg of food taken away.

EMERGENCY IN MANAUS Scare stories from Brazil are come thick and fast. Not only must England survive the kitchens of Rio, they also face the prospect of flooding in the Amazonian city of Manaus, where they will play Italy on 14 June. A state of emergency has been declared amid fears that one of the Amazon's tributaries, the Rio Negro, could flood. Officials insisted move was a preventative measure and said that even if there was flooding it would not affect the Arena Amazonia stadium.