Healing stars ready for action

Claudio Reyna's hamstring is feeling fit, and Ronaldo's blisters are healed.

The United States captain and the Brazilian star may be ready for the beginning of the World Cup, but the status of other prominent players remains in question as the tournament's Friday kickoff approaches.

Germany captain Michael Ballack has a strained right calf, though both he and the team's staff are optimistic the star midfielder will play Friday against Costa Rica. He felt some pain in his calf after a 3-0 win over Colombia last week, but didn't tell team officials until Monday.

``It's nagging, but we'll get it under control," said Ballack, who has 31 goals in 65 games for Germany.

``Everything will be done to get him ready for Friday's game," assistant coach Joachim Loew said. ``We hope that he can train with the team again soon."

The nation of England, meanwhile, is holding its collective breath regarding the fate of Wayne Rooney, who is recovering from a broken foot.

A double dose of encouraging news came yesterday. The star striker trained with the team during its first session in Germany. He practiced free kicks and also put considerable pressure on his right foot.

Fans back in England also saw promising images when photographs taken Monday showing Rooney doing a scissor-kick volley with his injured foot appeared in the British newspapers. England has until Friday to determine if the 20-year-old will be able to play in Germany.

``I know it's big news, he's a big football player, but let's wait until tomorrow," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. ``I will take a decision after that . . . It's up to the surgeons, the doctors, the specialists, but I've always said I think he will be ready."

Reyna certainly appears ready. He played Monday night in a closed-door scrimmage against Angola, his first game action since injuring his right hamstring against Morocco May 23.

``Now it's just full steam ahead," he said yesterday.

Ronaldo was back on the practice field, too, two days after blisters on his feet caused him to miss the second half of a 4-0 win over New Zealand.

``There are no problems anymore," team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said.

Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta will miss his team's opening match against Ghana on Monday with a strained right thigh. Zambrotta hopes to be back for the match against the US next week. The Italians are still unsure if defender Alessandro Nesta, who has an injured right thigh, will be available against Ghana.

Electronic Arts, using the simulation engine from its 2006 FIFA World Cup video game, has the Czechs defeating Brazil, 2-1, in the final. Czech striker Milan Baros won the Golden Shoe as the tournament's top scorer with six goals, while teammate Pavel Nedved took the Golden Ball as the top player. Ronaldo and Tomas Rosicky exchanged goals in the first half, according to the simulated final, before Nedved unlocked the Brazilian defense in the 77th minute to set up Baros for the winner. The US fared well in simulated play, with wins over Italy (3-2) and Ghana (2-0) and a tie against the Czechs (2-2) in Group E, before losing, 3-2, to Brazil in the round of 16 . . . FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants quick action from Italian investigators considering punishments in a corruption scandal that has rocked Italy. Blatter admitted the scandal was ``definitely" a concern and a distraction. While attending the opening of the International Broadcast Center for the 2006 World Cup, Blatter sought decisions from the investigators sometime next month. ``At the end of the World Cup, or end of July, a decision must be reached to know if there are any clubs that should be sanctioned," he said. Italian prosecutors are investigating allegations of match-fixing, illegal betting, manipulation of referee assignments and false bookkeeping in a scandal centered on league champion Juventus. Already 41 people have been ordered to appear for questioning and a referee had his World Cup accreditation blocked . . . The opening ceremonies of the World Cup will have its dramatic moments, although not on the scale of the Olympics. Friday's half-hour show, prior to the Germany-Costa Rica opening match, will include 120 drums and 170 World Cup champions, including Pele and Diego Maradona -- the first time soccer's quadrennial championship has welcomed back previous winners and incorporated them into the tourney's official start.