England keeper strikes giant video cube

FRANKFURT, Jun 10 (Reuters) Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez was presented with an unusual problem during England's Group B opener against Paraguay today when the ball struck the giant video cube suspended inside the Waldstadion.

The 30-tonne cube, a distinctive feature of the 43,000 capacity arena, received a direct hit from a huge clearance by England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

The players looked bemused and the game was briefly stopped as Rodriguez awarded a drop ball inside the centre circle.

''We were hitting it a few times in training,'' Robinson told reporters. ''We were remarking in training how low it was.

''It was a stage of the game when we were under a bit of pressure and I just tried to kick the ball as high and as far as possible, and I managed to hit it.'' REUTERS SI HT2237