Thirty of the 32 World Cup teams play in exhibition games this week, with the United States meeting Poland in Kaiserslautern, Germany,

With only Togo and Australia idle, most of the action this week takes place in Europe on Wednesday _ exactly 100 days before the World Cup starts June 9.

"It's not time for experiments ," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said.

The United States will be missing captain Claudio Reyna, recovering from ankle surgery, but will have most of its other Europe-based players for the first time this year for Wednesday night's game. The Americans are 3-0-1 in World Cup warmups this year.

While practicing in Kaiserslautern, where the Americans play Italy in the first round of the World Cup on June 17, the team is staying at the U.S. military's Ramstein Air Base.

Other games Wednesday include defending champion Brazil at Russia; Uruguay at England, Germany at Italy, Slovakia at France, Ivory Coast at Spain and Ecuador at the Netherlands. Argentina plays Croatia at Basel, Switzerland.
On Tuesday, World Cup newcomer Trinidad and Tobago meets Iceland in London and Japan faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in Dortmund, Germany.

Brazil is without five injured players who are likely to be on its 23-man World Cup roster: midfielder Ronaldinho, defenders Cafu and Roque Junior, and goalkeepers Dida and Julio Cesar.

Spain coach Luis Aragones expects a strong test against African Cup of Nations runner-up Ivory Coast.

"In terms of individual ability, it's the best African team," said Aragones, who thinks Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Arsenal's Kolo Toure are the most dangerous players.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson chose several fringe players for his squad to face Uruguay at Liverpool's Anfield Stadium, missing eight regulars who are hurt.

Eriksson has named rookie forward Darren Bent and given Wes Brown, Kieran Richardson and Luke Young the chance to impress.

"Everything depends on how many injuries we have," Eriksson said. "The door is open to everyone, but if everyone is fit then I'm quite sure of 19 or 20 at least."

Germany faces Italy without experienced defender Christian Woerns, whom coach Juergen Klinsmann said last week would not be part of his World Cup squad after the player criticized him.

Captain Michael Ballack said the decision surprised him.

"Christian was an important component of the national team," he said.

However, Klinsmann is thought to prefer younger defenders with attacking skills.

Timo Hildebrand or Jens Lehmann are expected to play in goal in place of Oliver Kahn, who has pulled out with a bruised thigh. Germany also plays the United States in Dortmund on March 22.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi named newcomer Manuel Pasqual and welcomed back forward Christian Vieri. Pasqual, a 23-year-old Fiorentina defender, is replacing injured Juventus regular Gianluca Zambrotta while Vieri, now with AS Monaco, is rejoining the Azzurri after eight months.

Lippi also recalled AS Roma midfielder Simone Perrotta and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, fully recovered from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for months. Real Madrid midfielder Antonio Cassano was left off the roster.

France coach Raymond Domenech called up Lyon defender Francois Clerc for the first time for the Slovakia match. Domenech also recalled AS Roma defender Philippe Mexes after a two-year absence and retained Fenerbahce forward Nicolas Anelka.

Dutch coach Marco van Basten also picked a rookie in his squad to play Ecuador, Feyenoord midfielder Nicky Hofs. Rafael van der Vaart, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Andre Ooijer all were left off the roster to recover from injuries.

Countries must select their 23-man rosters by May 26.

International news organisations have rejected restrictions on media coverage of the 2006 World Cup soccer championships in Germany as a threat to press freedom.

Tournament organisers at the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) had ruled that the media would have to wait one hour after a match to publish photos online. It also limited how newspapers can publish photos and how many photos can be published. FIFA has offered to relax the timing rules but protesting news organisations dismissed the offer as “cosmetic changes”.

Eriksson's five-year tenure will end when the World Cup finishes on July 9, and there has been daily speculation over whom will take over from the Swede.

O'Neill, the former Norwich, Leicester and Glasgow Celtic manager who is taking a break from soccer to look after his sick wife, has been one of the front-runners throughout.

Others include PSV Eindhoven and Australia coach Guus Hiddink, Bolton's Sam Allardyce, Charlton's Alan Curbishley, Middlesbrough's Steve McClaren, Manchester City's Stuart Pearce and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led Brazil to its fifth World Cup title in 2002.

Premier League chairman Dave Richards, Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick and international committee chairman Noel White will present a list of candidates to an FA board meeting on Feb. 27.

"I do believe it's time for a British manager, somebody who understands our passion, belief and commitment to the game," Richards said in Friday's edition of the Sun. "For me, there's no distinction between English and British."

That would appear to rule out Dutchman Hiddink and Brazilian Scolari, but put Northern Irishman O'Neill in a strong position.

"I don't know yet who it will be. But everyone keeps telling me there are all these coaches available," Richards said. "Well, now we will sit down and find out just who is up for the job."

Bookmakers William Hill reacted by making O'Neill the new 13-8 favorite, with Hiddink, Allardyce and Curbishley each at 7-2, Pearce at 10-1, Scolari at 14-1 and McClaren 20-1.

Host nation South Africa is to refurbish five existing stadiums and build five new venues for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, in terms of an agreement with international football association Fifa.

Briefing the media at Parliament on Monday, Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation Gert Oosthuizen said new stadiums will be built at Polokwane in Limpopo, Mbombela in Mpumalanga, in the Nelson Mandela metro in the Eastern Cape, in KwaZulu-Natal's eThekweni metro and in Cape Town.

He said the Cape Town stadium, on the site of the existing Green Point track, will be a "totally new facility", and will include a dome that can be closed in bad weather.

Stadiums to be refurbished and upgraded include three in Gauteng -- Soccer City, Ellis Park and Loftus Versveld -- as well as the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, in North West, and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein.

The only province to miss out on the 2010 World Cup, at least as far as hosting matches goes, is the Northern Cape.

Oosthuizen said the government has allocated R242-million towards planning for the stadiums.

"The spread of the announced stadiums indicates that government acted swiftly to scrap the imbalance between rugby and soccer fields.

"Furthermore, we have tilted the scales in respect of stadiums in favour of the people. The five new [ones] will be owned by the municipalities on behalf of the citizens of South Africa," he said.

Great progress has been made towards preparing for 2010, and "everything is on track", he assured journalists.

Earlier at the briefing, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor said building or refurbishing the stadiums will provide opportunities for communities and institutions to show their skills in construction, tourism and marketing.

"We are on track with building a lasting legacy from hosting the 2010 World Cup. Those in charge of football must play their part and prepare a winning squad for the tournament," she said.

The U.S. men's soccer team has taken up residence in the Giants' clubhouse.
But Barry Bonds' corner Barcalounger is off limits, a security guard assured, as is something else that belongs to the third-leading home run hitter in major-league history.

"I'm just staying away from his medicine cabinet," U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan said with a sly grin.
The Americans, though, have the run of the rest of SBC Park in anticipation of tonight's friendly match against Japan.

"Japan has a good team - some young, exciting and attacking players - and it should be a fun game," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "I'm looking for a good game, a challenging game for our players, which I think we need. And if that's the case, it's going to certainly help me to evaluate some of our players."

The United States, which, with CONCACAF rival Mexico, is tied for seventh in the latest FIFA world rankings, already has played Canada to a scoreless draw and beat Norway 5-0 in the past month, thanks in part to a hat trick by forward Taylor Twellman, as part of preparation of this summer's World Cup in Germany.

The U.S. also will meet Guatemala in Frisco, Texas, on Feb. 19, Poland in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on March 1 and the World Cup host in Dortmund, Germany on March 22. Arena also said the U.S. plans to play three stateside exhibitions in May before he selects his 23-man roster.

Japan, ranked 15th, last played Nov. 16, beating Angola 1-0 in Tokyo.

The Americans and Japanese last met in the 2000 Olympics in Australia, the U.S. prevailing 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw.

"It was a fun game, a super-exciting game in a great little stadium, and they were a good team," Donovan said. "By all accounts, they could have been the champions ... we happened to squeak by them."

And they did not need the amenities of a medicine cabinet, either.