Santa Cruz has been nursing an injured right knee but is likely to have recovered in time for the Paraguayan's match against Frankfurt on June 10 in Group B.

"He's definitely going to play," Ruiz told reporters at an official welcome reception for the Paraguay team organised by civic authorities in Oberhaching, where the South Americans will be based during the tournament.

Bayern Munich attacker Santa Cruz, who underwent surgery on his right foot six months ago, had damaged his knee trying to regain fitness.

Bonn bans Japanese tradition
Afp, Tokyo

Japanese fans tempted to follow their tradition of jumping into rivers to celebrate sporting success have been asked by German authorities not to do so during the football World Cup.

"Don't jump into the Rhine," Bonn mayor Barbel Dieckmann said Thursday, as hundreds of fans descended on the former West German capital where the Asian champions have set up their training camp, Japanese media reported.

"The quality of the water in the Rhine is good but it flows very fast... There is the danger of drowning. We prohibit supporters from swimming in the river," she added.

Hundreds of fans jumped into a canal in the second city of Osaka when co-hosts Japan reached the last-16 of the World Cup finals in 2002.

A year later, one person died when more than 5,000 fans jumped into the same canal to celebrate the city's professional baseball club, the Hanshin Tigers, clinched the league title.

Polish anti-hooligan police in Germany
Afp, Warsaw

Polish police are to send 68 officers to Germany for the World Cup to help prevent feared outbreaks of violence by hooligans from Poland, officials said Thursday.

"This will be the second biggest foreign police contingent in Germany after Britain, which is sending 79 police officers," Polish police spokesman Rafal Wasiak told AFP.

Fifty officers are to take part in joint Polish-German patrols, focusing on rail and bus stations and stadiums where the Polish team will play.

"The other officers are specialists in stadium surveillance. They know the Polish hooligans and can spot them in a crowd," Wasiak said.

The Polish authorities have already sent German police a list of around 600 hooligans banned from entering stadiums in their home country.

"The list is updated every eight days. During the World Cup it will be updated daily," Wasiak added.

The task of clamping down on known Polish hooligans is harder than in other countries because, unlike Britain, Poland has no so-called banning order that forbids violent fans from leaving their country for matches in which their team is taking part."If they are not sought by the judicial authorities it's not possible to stop them travelling to Germany," Wasiak said.

US team arrive at high-security base
Afp, Hamburg

The US team arrived in Germany on Friday to take up their heavily guarded World Cup headquarters just one week before the tournament begins.

The US delegation, led by coach Bruce Arena and captain Claudio Reyna, arrived at the Fuehlsbuttel airport after a seven-hour flight from Newark.

They were serenaded by a choir singing "We are the Champions" before boarding a bus to take them to the Park Hyatt hotel in the centre of the city.

Unlike many of the 32 nations, who are based in hotels tucked deep in the countryside, the United States have opted for a city centre location just as they did at the 2002 World Cup where they were based in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Security will be tight due to the possibility of attacks from Islamic extremists.

The team was to have its first workout later in the day at the Norderstedt training base of the SV Hamburg Bundesliga club.

The US team's preparations have included a defeat to Morocco and victories over Venezuela and Latvia.

The US exceeded expectations at the 2002 tournament by reaching the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by eventual finalists Germany.

They will play the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana in a tough-looking first-round Group E.

The World Cup kicks off next Friday in Munich with the final in Berlin on July 9.

Portugal's president upbeat
Afp, Lisbon

Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva said Thursday he was upbeat about the country's chances at the World Cup, praising the quality of the squad travelling to Germany.

"I trust in the honour, sense of fair play and qualities of our players. We have players who are among the best in the world," he told reporters after hosting a reception in the squad's honour at the presidential palace.

"I am convinced that they will do everything in their powers to honour the name of Portugal. But we can't forget that the tournament is going to be tight because the teams that are in the finals are all strong teams," he added.

The president received a team jersey with his name stamped on the back from the squad at the reception, which was held on the eve of the team's departure to France where they will face Luxembourg Saturday in their final friendly before the start of the tournament.

Thirty-two teams have qualified for the 2006 World Cup finals which take place from June 9-July 9.

Portugal is pooled with Mexico, Iran and Angola in World Cup Group D with their first match against debutants Angola in Cologne, Germany on June 11.

Use Internet for tickets
Afp, Berlin

The World Cup organisers said on Thursday that fans trying to buy tickets at the stadiums before the tournament kicks off on June 9 were wasting their time.

Fans have been trying unsuccessfully to buy tickets at the 12 stadiums in Germany, but have been told they can only reserve tickets through the Internet.

Only once the tournament begins will any remaining tickets be sold directly to the public.

Jens Grittner, a spokesman for the organising committee, said: "It is a big misunderstanding. The ticket offices are only open so that pre-ordered tickets that, for reasons of time, have not been sent out can be collected.

"The ticket offices can only sell tickets in exceptional cases."

Tickets representing eight percent of the stadium capacity for the 64 matches are still on sale, mainly after being returned from the allocations of national football federations.