Urawa Reds midfielder Yuki Abe has pulled out of the Japan squad for the upcoming friendlies away to Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria and Switzerland because of injury, the Japan Football Association said Monday. Abe has pulled out because of a lower back problem but the JFA said it would not be drafting anyone into the squad as cover for the 25-year-old. Japan plays host Austria in Klagenfurt on Friday before taking on the Swiss at the same venue four days later.
Offbeat
Hell hath no fury: Pope an exorcist?
Pope Francis’ fascination with the devil took on remarkable new twists Tuesday, with a well-known exorcist insisting Francis helped “liberate” a Mexican man possessed by four different demons despite the Vatican’s insistence that no such papal exorcism took place. The case concerns a 43-year-old ...