Financial analysts bank on England to win World Cup

Pakistan brushed aside Zimbabwe on Monday to book their place in the World Cup quarter-finals as Bangladesh stayed on course for the knockout phase, cruising to a win against the Netherlands.All four qualifiers in Group A are now decided, with co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand joining Pakistan in the last eight.In the tougher Group B, no team has yet reached the next stage but Bangladesh moved into the top four on Monday, pushing England into fifth spot. India, South Africa and West Indies currently occupy the other places.

Bangladesh take on the Netherlands on Monday needing a win to stay on course for the World Cup quarter-finals while victory for Pakistan over Zimbabwe would complete the qualifiers from Group A.Co-hosts Bangladesh shocked England on Friday to keep their qualification hopes from Group B alive - sparking wild scenes of celebration - and are seeking to boost their run-rate against the winless Dutch in Chittagong.

China beat South Africa 4-1 to get off the mark at the third attempt, England drew with South Korea, and Argentina dished out a 4-0 rout to Spain at the women's field hockey World Cup on Friday.Jennifer Wilson had South Africa ahead early with a deflection at the right post of Pietie Coetzee's first penalty corner and Gao Lihua cracked in a penalty corner drive to equalize.China capitalized on a surfeit of possession by turnovers by leading to goals by Fu Baorong and Gao completing her hat trick in the second half.

South Africa's World Cup party took a sad turn Friday as Ghana, the last African team in the tournament, were sent home by Uruguay.Despite holding their own for 120 minutes, Ghana were unable to match the South Americans from the penalty spot, going down 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the score stayed locked at 1-1 following extra time.Takalani Neluheni, a Johannesburg fan with a Ghana flag painted on one cheek and a South African flag on the other, summed up the host country's heartbreak after the match.

Superstar batsman Kevin Pietersen became the latest victim of the injury-cursed World Cup on Monday, dealing a blow to England's hopes as well as to the lustre of the sport's showpiece tournament.Pietersen will head home to undergo a hernia operation that he had been hoping to postpone until after the competition.But after looking troubled during Sunday's six-run win over his native South Africa in Chennai on Sunday, where he made just two off three balls, the 30-year-old will go under the knife immediately.

South Africa rejoiced Sunday as Ghana became only the third African team ever to make the World Cup quarter-finals, as England crashed out of the tournament after a defeat by Germany.Even South Africa's organisers shed their neutrality to welcome the victory of the "Black Stars" as the only nation still carrying a flag from the continent in the first tournament held on its soil. "We welcome them into the quarter-finals," said Rich Mkhondo, spokesman for the local organising committee.

The leaders of Germany and Britain snuck out of top-level economic summit talks here Sunday for a key date and watched as the German team thumped England 4-1 in the World Cup, officials said.British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a break from the talks by world leaders in Toronto, Canada to watch the second half of the crunch game.But hope turned to disappointment for Cameron as England slumped out of the tournament being held in South Africa, taking a battering from Germany.