London, Nov 18: Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who single-handedly won the first two ODIs for his team against England, is giving sleepless nights to the tourists, even as skipper Kevin Pietersen jokingly said that he would like to lock him up in room, making sure that he won’t play in the third ODI scheduled for Kanpur.

KP said that Yuvraj was a match winner for India and it’s very difficult for his side to get him out.

Johannesburg  - When South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 World Cup football officials in the country embarked on an ambitious plan.

Not only did they want to ensure that the World Cup itself would be a huge success, they also wanted to make sure that they would be able to field a strong team at the showpiece of international football.

To facilitate the latter, the South African Football Association (SAFA) spared neither effort nor money and in 2006 they proudly announced that Carlos Alberto Parreira had signed a contract to coach the team.

The arrival of the Brazilian World Cup-winning coach had South African football fans dreaming of World Cup glory.

Madrid  - Spain are keen to show the world that their triumph at Euro 2008 was no flash in the pan.

That's why they are desperate to do well in next June's Confederations Cup, the draw for which will be held on 22 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This will be Spain's first participation in the elite tournament, now in its eighth edition.

Spain will go to the tournament as one of the favourites, as European champions and as number one in the FIFA world rankings.

"La Seleccion", as it is known, has never before flown so high - or so elegantly. And it has never before been so highly regarded across Planet Football.

Washington  - At the 2009 Confederations Cup, the United States will be anxious to test their progress on the international stage along the way to the 2010 World Cup.

Getting to the world's showpiece event shouldn't be a problem - the US are champions of their region and figure to make their sixth consecutive finals appearance in South Africa - but the ambitious Americans would like nothing more than a promising performance the summer before the big show against heavyweights like Spain, Italy or Brazil.

Having finished third before (in 1992 and 1999), football fans are hoping that the team will go one better and qualify for the final.

Wellington  - New Zealand's All Whites see 2009 as their most important year since the national team reached the World Cup finals 26 years ago, an achievement that gave them their highest ever FIFA ranking of 47th.

After slumping to a record low ranking of 156th last year, New Zealand have risen to 54th after five wins in five games in a successful Oceania Nations Cup campaign, which doubled as the regional qualifier for next year's Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.

Half the players in the current squad were not born when the All Whites beat China 2-1 in Singapore in January 1982 to qualify for the World Cup finals in Spain, and coach Ricki Herbert, who was in that team, is looking for even younger blood for South Africa.

Johannesburg - The advertisements began in local media at the weekend. "The Champions are coming," they say. Come watch Brazil for only 70 rand.

In seven months' time, some of the greatest footballing nations will descend on South Africa for the June 14-28 Confederations Cup, an eight-country tournament held every four years in the World Cup host nation a year before the world's most-watched sporting event.

The United States, Brazil, Spain, Iraq, Egypt and New Zealand - champions of their regions - and World Cup holders Italy and host nation South Africa will battle it out for the title of Champion of Champions in a tournament seen mainly as a dry run for 2010.