“Losing a match doesn’t mean that everything is wrong, just as winning a match doesn’t mean everything is right. Brazil always has to win, that’s a fact. The pressure and the demands are something we have to get used to. We have to find a way to get over this.”
— Brazil coach Dunga, whose team lost to Mexico, 2-0, in their Copa America opener.
The USA-South Korea Under-20 World Cup opener Saturday in Montreal will be broadcast live on ESPNU, with coverage beginning at 4:45 pm ET, and delay on Fox Sports en Espanol at 7 pm ET. The Under-20 World Cup will be shown in English on ESPNU and ESPN360.com (broadband) and in Spanish on Fox Sports en Espanol, Galavision and TeleFutura.
Action at the 2007 Copa America continues this weekend with two games each on Saturday and Sunday. Brazil will look to rebound from its 2-0 loss to Mexico when it faces Chile on Sunday, while the Tri will go for two wins in a row when it faces Ecuador in the second game of the doubleheader in Maturin. Both games will be broadcast live in Spanish on Univision. For the complete Copa America TV schedule …
The USA opens play at the U-20 World Cup Saturday in Montreal against South Korea. It has faced the Koreans twice before at the World Youth Championship and come away with good results both times. For more on the USA-South Korea rivalry and how the ’07 Koreans look …
Josmer Altidore, the most exciting American teenager since Freddy Adu, is on the team. So is Adu, who believes this tournament — his third U-20 world championship — is his springboard to fame and glory in Europe. Midfielder Michael Bradley isn’t glorious or famous yet, but he appeared in 21 games for Dutch club Heerenveen last season and played several solid matches for the U.S. at the Gold Cup. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney looks at the U.S. U-20 national team and its chances for success at the Under-20 World Cup, which begins Saturday in Canada.
[MAKING A LIST] The women’s vacancy at Louisiana Tech was filled when Western Illinois coach Kevin Sherry was hired. For all the Division I coaching moves …
Fifteen prospective ’07 U.S.-based collegians — seven for the USA, six for New Zealand and two for Canada — will be playing at the Under-20 World Cup, which starts Saturday in Canada. UCLA leads all teams with three players, and defending champion UC Santa Barbara and Dartmouth have two. Soccer America MVPs Julian Valentin (Wake Forest) and Sal Zizzo (UCLA) were among seven prospective ’07 collegians who were called up by U.S. under-20 men’s national team coach Thomas Rongen. Three other ’06 collegians — MVP Chris Seitz (Maryland), Anthony Wallace (South Florida) and Amaechi Igwe (Santa Clara) — signed with MLS clubs in January.
Santa Clara gave women’s coach Jerry Smith a new seven-year deal, extending his contract through the 2013 season. Smith, 45, signed the seven-year agreement after leading the Broncos their ninth West Coast Conference title and collecting WCC Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time in his career. Over the course of his 20 years, Smith has led the Broncos to one national title (2001), one national runner-up finish (2002), 10 College Cup appearances, and 18 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. He has a record of 326-84-27.
Nicholas Addlery took the most of his break when he entered D.C. United’s game against Colorado Thursday night in the 10th minute after starter Guy-Roland Kpene was injured. The Jamaican-born Addlery scored his first MLS goal and set up Brazilian Fred’s first MLS goal in a 4-1 win. Addlery’s rout from his home in the […]
Frank Lampard has two years remaining on his contract with Chelsea, but with the option to buy himself out of the deal under FIFA’s new transfer rules, he said Thursday that he finds it “strange” that the club have not sought to secure his services. Lampard wants to earn what Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack, […]
So much for Liverpool’s American owners, George Gillett and Tim Hicks, being stingy with their money. They are about to give Manager Rafa Benitez what he wants: the money to buy striker Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid. A $54 million transfer deal — $40 million plus Luis Garcia — has been accepted in principle by […]
Inter Milan has lost out on the signature of Carlos Tevez’s after the Italian champion imposed a deadline on the Argentine to make a decision. Tevez, who is away on international duty with Argentina in the Copa America, was not prepared to make such a sudden decision. Instead, Kia Joorabchian, the West Ham player’s agent, […]
A lot has already been written about how Bob Bradley’s Americans put on a brave performance despite losing to Argentina, 4-1, in Maracaibo on Thursday night, but the truth is, the final 26 minutes were poor; the young U.S. team lost its composure and concentration in midfield after Hernan Crespo put the Argentines in front […]
The U-20 World Cup, which will air live on ESPNU, TeleFutura and Galavision kicks off on Saturday. Freddy Adu and U.S. U-20s face South Korea on Saturday (ESPNU). ET. Copa America action includes the USA game against Paraguay Monday (GolTV & TeleFutura). Five MLS games are broadcast this weekend.
[MLS WEEKEND PREVIEWS]. Dallas and Houston, the top two teams in the Western Conference square off, the Crew tries to keep its revival going at home against New York, the Revs head west to test Chivas USA, Chicago plays its first league match in four years without coach Dave Sarachan, and Kansas City hosts Toronto in a tightening Eastern Conference race. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews all the weekend’s MLS action …
Until its 4-1 loss Thursday night against Argentina in the Copa America, the U.S. men’s national team was undefeated — 10-0-1 – since Bob Bradley took over as head coach in December. The USA’s last loss was more than a year ago, the 2-1 defeat to Ghana at the 2006 World Cup. The U.S. women are undefeated for more than a year. Coach Greg Ryan‘s team is on a 43-game unbeaten streak — 24 of those games came in the last 12 months, which means that before the men’s Copa loss, U.S. men’s and women’s national teams were 31-0-4 over 365 days.
Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 4-1 Copa America loss to Argentina. …
Back to the real world. The Copa America in any South American nation is a long way from the Gold Cup anywhere in the United States. An Argentine lineup featuring several world-class stars pummeled a makeshift American team, 4-1, to end the 11-match unbeaten run of Coach Bob Bradley. After a courageous hour of surviving at 1-1 with sweat and grit, the U.S. resolve melted in a searing display of skill and speed by the tournament favorites.
Argentina the defending champion, and Brazil, the South American champion, are the favorites, along with European champion Spain, at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup, which begins Saturday in Canada. They have combined to win the last seven U-20 world championships. Argentina’s 2005 victory in the Netherlands gave it five titles, one more than Brazil. Other teams to watch include Mexico and Nigeria. Here’s a look at the favorites.
The Under-20 World Cup begins Saturday as 24 teams, including the USA, compete in six Canadian cities, and ticket sales have stunned organizers. More than 750,000 tickets have been sold, and final attendance figures could surpass 1 million, double original estimates. Canada’s opening game on Sunday and the final on June 22, both in Toronto, are already sold out. The USA opener on Saturday against South Korea could sell out the 55,000 Olympic Stadium in Montreal — the main venue for the 1976 Olympic Games. Five of the six opening doubleheaders could be sellouts.
“We did not despair when we went behind and continued to look for goals until we secured the victory. We must not get carried away, though, as we have only won one game. They made things difficult for us. We had the ball, but we could not create chances. In the second half, we knew they would be tired.”
— Argentina coach Alfio Basile, whose team recovered from a one-goal deficit to defeat the USA, 4-1, the teams’ Copa America opener. (Ticker)
Of the two 4-1 games played Thursday night, only one was closer than the score would indicate and it wasn’t the U.S. loss to Argentina in the Copa America. Rain, lightning, and two late strikes by D.C. United swept Colorado to its fifth straight defeat, 4-1, after Colorado wasted chances to stay in the game.
Paraguay, the next U.S. opponent the Copa America, crushed Colombia, 5-0, in their opening Group C game on Thursday in Maracaibo. Striker Roque Santa Cruz scored a hat trick, and substitute Salvador Cabanas added two more in the last 10 minutes as Colombia collapsed.
The USA-South Korea Under-20 World Cup opener Saturday in Montreal will be broadcast live on ESPNU, with coverage beginning at 4:45 pm ET, and delayed on Fox Sports en Espanol at 7 pm ET. The Under-20 World Cup will be shown in English on ESPNU and ESPN360.com (broadband) and in Spanish on Fox Sports en Espanol, Galavision and TeleFutura. For the Under-20 World Cup schedule …
Action at the 2007 Copa America continues this weekend with two games each on Saturday and Sunday. Brazil will look to rebound from its 2-0 loss to Mexico when it faces Chile on Sunday, while the Tri will go for two wins in a row when it faces Ecuador in the second game of the doubleheader in Maturin. Both games will be broadcast live in Spanish on Univision. For the complete Copa America TV schedule …
