Author Archives: Soccer America

GROUP G: Mexico PK downs Croatia (1-0) * Croatian defender Boris Zivkovic received the tournamentÆs first card, and gave up the game-winning penalty kick by hammering MexicoÆs Cuauhtemoc Blanco on his way to the goal. Blanco hit the PK himself. * Mexico's record against European first-round opponents in its last three World Cup appearances: 3 […]

By Will Kuhns, Senior Editor BEST GOALS: Colorado passer Carlos Valderrama surprised many with his first goal since May 19, 2001, but none more important than Galaxy goalkeeper Matt Reis, who was unable to reach El Pibe's 23-yard chip that glanced off the underside of the crossbar. The goal tied the game 2-2 in the […]

The Brazilian federation required its hotel to put two Karaoke machines — equipped with Portuguese-language songs — at the bar and restaurant, thanks largely to RonaldoÆs penchant for singing. Ronaldo hits the Karaoke machine after practice each day to relax. But the teamÆs best singer is reportedly Roberto Carlos. … The Korean organizing committee (KOWOC) […]

Monday, June 3 in Ulsan (5 am ET) Group C: BRAZIL (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. TURKEY (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 5 am ET; Telefutura, 12:30 pm ET/PT) Brazil suffered a major blow on the eve of its opener when its captain, Emerson, was lost with a broken shoulder in training. Emerson, considered […]

Monday, June 3 in Niigata (2:30 am ET) Group G: CROATIA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. MEXICO (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 2:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) Mexico coach Javier Aguirre says the key against Croatia is to control the rhythm of the game. The loss of the suspended Jesus Arellano […]

BY RIDGE MAHONEY in Seoul Trickiness on the ball and fluidity up front are hallmarks of the Portugal team the USA faces in its World Cup opener Wednesday in Suwon. The Portuguese are a potent meld of European structure and Latin flair. They roared through their qualifying group — which included the Netherlands and Ireland […]

Monday, June 3 in Sapporo (7:30 am ET) Group G: ITALY (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. ECUADOR (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 7:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 3 pm ET/PT) Italy is the big favorite in Group G. It has one of the best defenses in the tournament with Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta and […]

GROUP F: Batistuta goal takes Argentina past Nigeria (1-0) * Argentina's dominance was finally translated to the scoreboard when Gabriel Batistuta nodded a 63rd-minute corner kick into the Eagles' goal. Batistuta, who got the start over Hernan Crespo, has scored in each of the three World Cups in which he has appeared, for a total […]

Sunday, June 2 in Saitama (5:30 am ET) Group F: ENGLAND (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. SWEDEN (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, Univision 5:30 am ET; Delay, ABC, 3:30 pm ET/PT; Tape, Telefutura, 2:30 pm ET/PT) English captain David Beckham is back, having recovered from a broken foot suffered in April. Sven Goran Eriksson continues his […]

Sunday, June 2 in Busan (3:30 am ET) Group B: PARAGUAY (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. SOUTH AFRICA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, Univision, ESPN 3:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 12:30 pm ET/PT) Paraguay is a difficult team to play. Its strength is in defense, where Ricard Tavarelli replaces the suspended Jose Luis Chilavert. The lanky […]

Sunday, June 2 in Ibaraki (1:30 am ET) Group F: ARGENTINA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. NIGERIA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 1:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) With France's loss to Senegal, Argentina is now the favorite to win the World Cup. It has experience (11 players have played in previous […]

After giving the players Friday off, the USA was back at practice on Saturday, which marked Kasey KellerÆs first full day of practice since hurting his elbow on Wednesday. After training, Coach Bruce Arena, defenders Gregg Berhalter and Jeff Agoos, and midfielder Claudio Reyna met the press. Bruce Arena, U.S. coach On SenegalÆs upset of […]

By Paul Kennedy in Seoul If U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena has made a decision on his starting lineup for the World Cup opener against Portugal Wednesday, he's not telling. At Saturday's media conference here, Portuguese reporters wanted the U.S. plan for Portugal. ''You want to know how we are going to play against […]

By Paul Kennedy in Seoul Two years ago, Owen Hargreaves was an unknown, one of dozens of Canadian teenagers trying their luck in Europe. Now, he's going to start in the World Cup for … England. The 21-year-old Hargreaves, who helped German club Bayern Munich win the 2001 Championship League, got his break in the […]

Sunday, June 2 in Gwangju (7:30 am ET) Group B: SPAIN (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. SLOVENIA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN, Univision 7:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura 4:30 pm ET/PT). Spain and Slovenia met two years ago in the first round of the European Championship. Spain won, 2-1, but Slovenia, playing in its first […]

BY SCOTT FRENCH Soccer America Senior Editor The World Cup kicked off on Friday, and that means late-, late-night viewing for American soccer fans. Games will be played when this part of the globe is sleeping, but one can always tape the games to watch at more reasonable hours. That's what San Jose CyberRays coach […]

GROUP E: Ireland and Cameroon share spoils (1-1) * Taking a point from Group E favorite Cameroon puts an end to ''the worst week of my life'' for Ireland coach Mick McCarthy, who was referring to the saga of expelling Roy Keane from his team. * ''I was happy with our first-half performance but in […]

Philadelphia's lead in the WUSA standings was trimmed to two points after a scoreless draw Saturday with visiting San Jose in which star English forward Kelly Smith suffered a knee injury. The defensive battle left the first-place Charge (5-1-1) with 16 points after seven games, just two ahead of Carolina (4-1-2, 14 points), which pulled […]

Saturday, June 1 in Niigata (2:30 am ET) Group D: IRELAND (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. CAMEROON (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, Univision, 2:30 am ET; Delay, ABC, 3:30 pm ET/PT; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) The pressure will be on Irish coach Mick McCarthy, who kicked star Roy Keane off the team on the eve […]

According to World Cup tradition, the opening game of the 2002 tournament featured the defending champion. Senegal's 1-0 win over France resembled the 1990 opener. At Italy 90, title-holder Argentina also faced an African opponent, Cameroon, and fell 1-0. Cameroon went on to the best World Cup showing by an Africa nation, reaching the quarterfinals, […]

The 2002 World Cup kicked off in Seoul with a result that will go down as one of the greatest upsets in the World Cup history. Senegal, a World Cup debutant and a 300-1 shot to lift the trophy, beat title holder France, 1-0. After nearly a half hour of play, El Hadji Diouf beat […]

May 31 in Seoul Senegal 1 France 0. Goal: Diop 29. Senegal — Sylva, Daf, Diatta, A.Cisse, Coly, Diop, Fadiga, Diao, Diop, Ndiaye, Diouf. France — Barthez, Thuram, Desailly, Leboeuf, Lizarazu, Vieira, Petit, Djorkaeff (Dugarry, 58), Wiltord (D.Cisse, 80), Trezeguet, Henry. Referee: Ali Mohamed Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

Group A: URUGUAY (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. DENMARK (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision, 5 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 12:30 pm ET/PT) Sixteen years ago, Denmark crushed Uruguay, 6-1. It was the high point of an exciting debut tournament for the Danes. This time, the game should be much closer. Neither Denmark, a quarterfinalist […]

Saturday, June 1 in Sapporo (8:30 pm ET) Group E: GERMANY (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. SAUDI ARABIA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision, 7:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 3 pm ET/PT) Not much is expected of Germany in this World Cup. The Germans have struggled in recent years — two losses to the United […]

Saturday, June 1 (4:00 pm ET) LOS ANGELES (4-3-2, 14 points) at COLORADO (5-3-1, 16 points) (TV: ESPN2) Key Players Out: Los Angeles – M Cobi Jones (U.S. National Team), F Chris Albright (broken foot-R), F Isaias Bardales (knee sprain-R); F John Spencer (knee arthroscopy-L), M Pablo Mastroeni (U.S. National Team). Saturday, June 1 (6:30 […]