London - Newcastle United were set to confirm reports on Wednesday that their former striker Alan Shearer will become the team's new manager until the end of the season.

With Joe Kinnear still recovering from heart surgery, the 38-year-old will take the reins until May, leaving him eight games to help the side to avoid relegation from the English Premier League.

London, Apr. 1 : England football coach Fabio Capello does not rate forward Peter Crouch highly, but admits that he will have to play him tonight against Ukraine only because he has run out of alternatives.

Capello said: “We have to play Crouch because he’s now the best we have who can play.

“My first idea was one style and one particular forward, fast and with movement. Crouch has a different style. He is not Darren Bent and not Emile Heskey. He can’t do the same movement as Heskey and can’t press like Heskey,” The Sun quoted Capello, as saying.

Caracas  - Venezuela obtained a crucial 2-0 home win over direct rival Colombia late Tuesday in the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The result leaves Colombia on 14 points from 12 games, with Venezuela on 13 points. If the qualifiers were to end now, neither team would continue to South Africa.

Despite Abel Aguirre being sent off in the first half, Venezuela could not crack the game until the last quarter-of-an-hour of play in Puerto Ordaz.

Cardiff, Wales - Beleaguered Mario Gomez will not be measured by goals alone but his overall performance in the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Wales, Germany coach Joachim Loew said on Tuesday.

Loew said he will field the VfB Stuttgart striker again in Wednesday's match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Gomez has not scored in 643 minutes and was jeered by the fans in Saturday's 4-0 win against Liechtenstein.

"I will judge him on determination and fighting spirit, not on goals alone," Loew said.

Zurich  - Football's ruling body FIFA asked Tuesday that all member associations scheduled to hold midweek 2010 World Cup qualifiers observe a minute's silence prior to kick-off in memory of the 22 victims of last weekend's Abidjan stadium disaster.

Rome - Italy striker Antonio Di Natale won't be available for Udinese in the final part of the season as he recovers from a knee injury suffered at the weekend, the ANSA news agency reported Tuesday.

Di Natale, 31, was stretchered off the pitch Saturday as Italy beat Montenegro 2-0 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier.

He damaged the cruciate ligament in his left knee as he slipped away from the ball on a wet pitch.