England's Owen out with torn ACL

Michael Owen will miss the rest of the World Cup after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The England striker was injured Tuesday in the second minute of his team's 2-2 draw with Sweden in Cologne. Owen, 26, had a scan on his knee yesterday near England's team base in Baden-Baden, Germany, and returned home later in the day.

``Obviously it's a massive blow to suffer the injury -- and be out of the World Cup," Owen said in a statement. ``As soon as it happened I knew I was in trouble. It was a major disappointment to pick up the injury so early in the game."

Owen's right knee buckled after he played a pass. He rolled off the field and lay on the sideline clutching his leg while play continued. He was treated by doctors and then strapped to a stretcher and taken away.

Owen, who broke a bone in his right foot Dec. 31, only returned last month. He had been replaced in both of England's World Cup games before Tuesday.

Without Owen, England has only three strikers left: Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch, and 17-year-old Theo Walcott, who has only 25 minutes of international experience.

Police worries over potential racial violence and a demonstration by Germany's largest far-right party never materialized in Leipzig, Germany, where Iran and Angola played their final World Cup match. No arrests were reported in the hours after the 1-1 draw and there were no rallies by dissidents opposed to the Iranian government or members of the National Democratic Party. ``Everything has gone like we hoped," said Leipzig police spokesman Wolfgang Kiessling.

The biggest scare came when a passerby found a postal package two streets from Leipzig's stadium.

After 23 people in nearby residences were evacuated, specialists blasted it open with high-pressure water to discover it was filled with sunshades and sunhats.

The elimination of Iran was a relief to World Cup security organizers. Iran has been receiving extra protection, along with the United States, England, and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also failed to advance.

The head of Iran's soccer federation was fired after the country's poor showing at the World Cup, state-run television reported. The Physical Education Organization dismissed Mohammed Dadkan after Iran finished World Cup play with a 1-1 draw against Angola. It lost its two earlier games, to Mexico (3-1) and Portugal (2-0), eliminating hopes of advancing. Iran's coach, Branko Ivankovic, announced before the tournament that he would step down when his contract expires in July. State TV did not mention Ivankovic but he has been sharply criticized by the Iranian media for playing too defensively. The report said Dadkan's successor will be named Saturday. Dadkan had been in charge for four years . . . Henri Michel is going out a winner, even if Ivory Coast failed to qualify for the second round. The former French national team player and World Cup coach with four countries announced after Ivory Coast's 3-2 victory over Serbia in Munich that he would be leaving.

CORNER KICKS Check out our World Cup blog at www.boston.com/worldcup for insights and observations from John Powers and Frank Dell'Apa in Germany