A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Ireland drop two places
The Czech Republic climbed to second in the latest Fifa world rankings following their play-off victory against Norway last week, while Ireland dropped two places to 23rd. Spain also booked their place in the World Cup next year through the play-offs, and they moved up two places to sixth, leapfrogging Mexico and US.
Victory over Argentina only consolidated England's position in ninth. Scotland are 61st, Wales are 72nd and Northern Ireland 101st. Australia (49th) broke into the top 50 after their play-off win against Uruguay, helping them qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1974.
Best back on ventilator
George Best had to be put back on a ventilator after a disturbed night but remains "alert", his doctor said yesterday.
The 59-year-old Manchester United legend has been in the intensive care unit at the Cromwell Hospital, west London, after he suffered a severe setback and a lung infection.
Yesterday he partly regained consciousness and was able to move his head and eyes. But Professor Roger Williams, who has been overseeing treatment, said the night had not passed well. He didn't have a very good night, he had a disturbed night and had to be put back on the ventilator," he said.
"But he is still very alert, very sedated on the ventilator, so I don't think there is a very big change."
A hospital spokesman said last night there had been no change in Best's condition today.
English clubs in Europe
Bolton striker Kevin Davies has been ruled out of tonight's Uefa Cup group clash with Guimaraes in Portugal with a rib problem.
Davies suffered the injury in the November 7th victory over Tottenham and has not travelled with the squad to Portugal.
Mexican striker Jared Borgetti is likely to take his place in the starting line-up. Fellow forward El-Hadji Diouf is available after recovering from a knock sustained in the same game but Henrik Pedersen is still troubled by an Achilles injury.
Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is out of their clash with AZ Alkmaar in Holland after failing to recover from a shoulder injury.
However, Schwarzer's compatriot Mark Viduka is in the squad after consulting a specialist over his Achilles injury, as is Austrian defender Emanuel Pogatetz despite suffering a broken nose during last Sunday's 3-2 win over Fulham.
Trinity beat UCD
Trinity College retained the David Faiers Memorial Trophy by beating UCD 2-1 at College Park yesterday with a solid defensive display, Paul O'Hehir reports. David Riordan opened the scoring for Trinity on half-time but Niall Daly equalised with 12 minutes remaining. But their joy was short lived as Trinity hit back three minutes later when Dave Reddin powered home a header.
Gill for Dundalk
John Gill is set to be unveiled as the new Dundalk manager today. Gill guided Dublin City to promotion two seasons ago and was most recently in charge of Division One side Athlone Town. However, his contract ended with the close of the recent campaign and he is now in line to replace Jim Gannon at Oriel Park.
Henderson on the move
Aston Villa's Republic of Ireland under-21 international goalkeeper Wayne Henderson will be allowed to make a permanent move to Brighton in January if the price is right.
Henderson has just completed a successful three-month loan spell with the Seagulls and Villa boss David O'Leary said: "We don't want to stand in Wayne's way and hopefully something can be sorted out."
Play-off on Setanta
The second leg of the Eircom League promotion/relegation play-off will be broadcast live tomorrow night on Setanta Sports. Dublin City lead Shamrock Rovers 2-1 after the first leg on Monday.
Dublin City are bidding to clinch promotion to the Premier Division along with the First Division champions, Sligo Rovers. As a result the kick-off time has been changed and the match at Tolka Park will now kick-off at 8.05 and not at 7.45 as was previously advertised.
Fifa investigated
The European Commission is looking into complaints about the way soccer's governing body Fifa is selling tickets for next year's World Cup finals in Germany, a spokesman for the Commission said yesterday.
Lawmakers from the European Parliament have complained to the Commission that Fifa is demanding immediate payment for match tickets being sold online without guaranteeing applicants will get tickets.
