Laberbereich » n Pyongyang. Rodman apologized Thursday fo

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Goals by Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard gave Belgium a 2-0 win over Sweden in a World Cup warm-up game Sunday. After a slow start, the Belgians took advantage of a Swedish defensive mistake that allowed Axel Witsel to set up the Everton striker in the 34th minute. Hazard easily rolled in the second goal in the 78th from a pass by Kevin De Bruyne. "In the first 10 minutes of the match I felt we were a bit hesitant, they played a bit soft," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said about his team. "Then they got five to six opportunities and they found a solution to get into the game." Sweden, which played without injured star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had its best chance in the 68th minute when Jimmy Durmaz hit the crossbar after a corner. Ibrahimovic decided to sit out the game just before the start citing back problems. Expectations are high on Belgiums young team, with stars like Lukaku, Hazard and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany, ahead of the World Cup. It is the countrys first World Cup in 12 years, and it will play Russia, South Korea and Algeria in Group H. Lukaku, who scored the two decisive goals against Croatia that sent Belgium to the World Cup, also scored a hat trick against Luxembourg on Monday. The 21-year-olds position in the team has become much more important after Belgiums No. 1 Christian Benteke went down with an Achilles injury in April, and out of the World Cup. Hazard said the atmosphere in the team is good ahead of the tournament. "There are always things to work on but I think at the end of the day we kept a clean sheet and I think except for the first 15 minutes the organization of the team was good," he said. Sweden failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Portugal in a playoff. Adidas Auston Matthews Jersey . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys .Y. - Lou Williams scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors beat New York 81-76 on Monday night in the Knicks preseason home opener. http://www.cheapmapleleafsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-nazem-kadri-jersey . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship. Bobby Baun Jersey . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. Darryl Sittler Jersey . -- The Oakland Raiders added a veteran presence to their young receiving group by signing free agent James Jones to a three-year contract Monday.Dennis Rodmans agent says the former NBA star did not take any payment from the North Korean government during his trip this week to the country. Darren Prince says the North Korean government did not finance any part of the trip, adding that Irish betting company, Paddy Power PLC, covered expenses for Rodman and his team of former NBA players that included Charles D. Smith, Kenny Anderson and Cliff Robinson. NBA Commissioner David Stern told CNN this week that Rodman was influenced by "a flash of North Korean money" to stage an exhibition game in Pyongyang. Rodman apologized Thursday for comments he made in North Korea about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure as he organized the game. He also sang "Happy Birthday" to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of the friendly game. Rodman deedicated the game to his "best friend" Kim, who along with his wife and other senior officials and their wives watched from a special seating area.ddddddddddddThe capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the song. Rodman said he was honoured to be able to play the game in the North Korean capital and called the event "historic." Some members of the U.S. Congress, the NBA and human rights groups, however, say he has become a public relations tool for North Koreas government. Prince also said that an England-based production company, Chief Productions, filmed the North Korea trip for a documentary, and another outfit, Koryo Tours, sold VIP packages to the game and will make a donation to a childrens charity in North Korea this month with a portion of the proceeds. ' ' '