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31 | SUNDAY • 3 JUNE 2018 maltatoday SPORTS WORLD CUP Krstajic names Serbia's final 23-man squad Achilles the cat trains mind and body for role as World Cup psychic LIKE many soccer fans trying to predict the results of the World Cup, Achilles is busy studying the teams heading to Russia this month for the sport's big- gest global showdown. But he has one advantage: cat sense. The furry white feline, who lives in St Petersburg's Hermitage museum, is be- ing touted as a cat psychic who will pre- dict the winners and losers of the tourna- ment kicking off in Russia in two weeks. Achilles has some big shoes - or tenta- cles - to fill: predecessor Paul the octopus became an international celebrity when at the 2010 World Cup he correctly fore- cast the outcome of Germany's games and picked eventual winners Spain. One of the many cats to have lived at the Hermitage, once the imperial Winter Palace, Achilles previously predicted out- comes during the 2017 Confederations Cup. Achilles is deaf, meaning he will not be easily distracted by waiting journalists when he makes his predictions by choos- ing between two bowls of food, each bearing a team flag. For his training, Achilles, dressed in a red soccer jersey, looks at a chart of the teams and game schedules, before, slight- ly reluctantly, moving onto an exercise wheel. "Achilles is now in his place of work, he is preparing for the World Cup and go- ing through the adaptation process," vet- erinarian Anna Kondratieva said during a training session at a pet shop near the museum. "People tend to feed him more than they should. When he came to us he looked like a football, not a cat, so we de- cided to put him on a strict diet." When Achilles is not in training, he can also be found posing for pictures in the museum yard, building a celebrity per- sona that is about to get a huge lift from one of the world's most-watched sport- ing tournaments. INJURED central defender Matija Nastasic and three other players were axed as Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic named his final 23- man World Cup squad on Friday ahead of next week's warm-up games against Chile and Bolivia. Nastasic, a regular starter, failed to re- cover from a long-term knee injury while goalkeeper Aleksandar Jovanovic as well as midfielders Mijat Gacinovic and Nemanja Maksimovic were also left out. The roster remains a blend of youth and experience with uncapped defenders Mi- lan Rodic and Nikola Milenkovic as well as striker Luka Jovic joining winger Nemanja Radonjic, who made his debut in a friendly against South Korea in November. The Serbians were drawn in Group E with Brazil, Switzerland and Costa Rica. They will play warm-up games in the Austrian city of Graz with Chile on Mon- day and Bolivia on June 9. Serbia start their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica on June 17, followed by games against Switzerland on June 22 and Brazil five days later. Squad Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan Belgrade), Predrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar). Defenders: Aleksandar Kolarov (AS Roma), Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dusko Tosic (Guangzhou R&F), Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade), Uros Spajic (Krasnodar), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina). Midfielders: Nemanja Matic (Man- chester United), Luka Milivojevic (Crys- tal Palace), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Marko Grujic (Liverpool), Adem Ljajic (Torino), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Filip Kostic (Hamburg SV), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Neman- ja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade). Strikers: Aleksandar Mitrovic (New- castle United), Aleksandar Prijovic (PA- OK Salonika), Luka Jovic (Benfica). Serbia's head coach Mladen Krstajic during training RENATO Augusto and Douglas Costa will miss Brazil's World Cup warm-up friendly against Croatia in England to- day due to injury, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Friday. Costa will travel with the squad to Liverpool but will not play in Sunday's match due to a thigh strain. However, Renato Augusto, the Beijing Guoan midfielder who has been a regu- lar starter under coach Tite, will stay in London to have physiotherapy on an in- jured left knee. Brazil play Croatia at Anfield this af- ternoon in what will be their penulti- mate warm-up before heading to Russia. The five-times World Cup winners also face Austria in Vienna on June 10. Striker and talisman Neymar, who has not played since injuring his foot in a league match for Paris St Germain back in February, is expected to feature in both games, although reports said he will start on the bench against Croatia. Brazil kick off their World Cup cam- paign against Switzerland on June 17 and also play Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E. Brazilian pair ruled out of today's warm-up versus Croatia England's Eric Dier in action with Brazil's Renato Augusto