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Arsenal FC goes for four in a row at U-18 nationals

[UNDER-18 BOYS PREVIEW] Arsenal FC remains on course for its fourth straight national title its age group. No team had ever won three in a row until the Alta Loma, Calif., club won the 2006 U-17 title. Atlanta Fire United and a pair of upstart teams — Terryville Fire of Long Island and Nebraska’s NFC Bluejays — also compete at US Youth Soccer’s U-18 boys nationals July 25-29.

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Hampton Roads Piranhas head PDL playoff field

[PDL RESULTS] The expansion Hampton Roads Piranhas clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference and captured the PDL regular season title, becoming only the eighth team to finish with an unbeaten record in PDL history. The defending champion Michigan Bucks will host the Central Conference playoff tournament July 27-28. The complete playoff field: Central Conference — Cape Cod Crusaders, Brooklyn Knights, Michigan Bucks, Chicago Fire Premier, Thunder Bay Chill, St. Louis Lions, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Ocean City Barons, Carolina Dynamo, Central Florida Kraze, Laredo Heat, El Paso Patriots, BYU, Tacoma Tide, Fresno Fuego and San Fernando Valley Quakes.

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The Beckham Era Begins

He debuted. He played. He didn’t get hurt, or at least, didn’t apparently injure himself any further. Now what? Now that Chelsea won, and the Galaxy lost, and David Beckham has been officially presented in a match of that hoary 1-0 scoreline, can American soccer resume normal behavior?

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Blanco scores in Fire debut; RSL beats Everton

Saturday’s Galaxy-Chelsea game wasn’t the only international friendly played over the weekend in the United States. Tigres of Mexico won the World Series of Football with a 3-0 win over Suwon Blue Wings of South Korea in the first game of the doubleheader with the Galaxy-Chelsea game at the Home Depot Center. Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored in his Chicago Fire debut as the MLS club tie Scottish champion Celtic, 1-1, before 15,719 fans. Playing without Freddy Adu, rumored to headed to Benfica of Portugal, Real Salt Lake beat Everton of England, 2-0, before 12,221 fans. Mexico international Israel Lopez scored twice on free kicks to give Cruz Azul of Mexico a 3-1 win over Libertadores Cup champion Boca Juniors in the final of the inaugural Copa Panamericana in Glendale, Ariz.

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What They’re Saying

“He brings something special to the team. You notice in 75 percent of the times we got in the attacking third, it was through him that we created the better chances.”

— Chicago coach Juan Carlos Osorio on Mexican attacker Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who like fellow MLS superstar newcomer made his debut in a friendly against a British club. But Blanco spent much more time on the field than Beckham and scored in the 30th minute for the Chicago Fire in a 1-1 tie Glasgow Celtic. (USA Today)

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Iraq victory at Asian Cup touches off wild celebrations back home

Iraq, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia moved into the semifinals of the Asian Cup with wins over the weekend. Captain Younis Mahmoud scored twice to give Iraq a 2-0 win over upstart Vietnam and advance to the semifinals of the Asian Cup for the first time since 1976. Iraqis of all backgrounds took to the streets to celebrate the victory by the team of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish players. Three people were killed and 25 others injured by stray bullets in Baghdad.

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Revs & Dynamo serve up a barn-burner

New England and Houston, leaders of the MLS’s East and West conferences, played to a 3-3 tie at New England in a game that saw Houston’s 746-minute shutout streak come to an end. John Wolyniec headed home the winner in the New York Red Bulls’ 1-0 win over D.C. United after Jozy Altidore nodded on a Claudio Reyna free kick. Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored twice as Columbus downed Toronto FC. Colorado, winless since late May, enjoyed a 2-2 tie with Kansas City.

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Argentina beats Czech Republic to repeat as U-20 champion

Argentina successfully defended its Under-20 World Cup title and won for the sixth time when it defeated the Czech Republic, 2-1, on Sunday in Toronto. The Czechs took the lead in the second half on a fine goal by Martin Fenin, but the Argentines recovered thanks to goals by Sergio Aguero, the tournament’s MVP and top scorer, and Mauro Zarate. Aguero scored off a through ball from playmaker Ever Banega, and Zarate beat Czech keeper Radek Petr to the near post with a fierce shot from the edge of the area in the 86th minute.

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Friedel and Califf earn wins in Intertoto Cup

Americans Brad Friedel (Blackburn Rovers), Danny Califf (AaA Aalborg) and Charlie Davies (Hammarby) were in action as the Intertoto Cup, Europe’s summer competition that serves as qualifying for the UEFA Cup, moved into the third round. Blackburn and Aalborg both won on the road, while Hammarby tied Dutch club Utrecht, 0-0, at home. For complete Intertoto Cup results …

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Argentina routs unhappy Chile, 3-0, in Under-20 World Cup semifinals

Argentina moved closer to defending its Under-20 World Cup title when it beat Chile, 3-0, in their semifinal on Thursday in Toronto. Argentina, which meets the Czech Republic in the final, got goals from Angel Di Maria, Claudio Yacob and Maximiliano Moralez. Chile had two players sent off and fought with police and security officers after the game. One member of the Chilean delegation was subdued by taser during the brawl.

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Univision’s coverage of Mexico-Argentina beats out ESPN’s Home-Run Derby audience

Univision’s coverage of the Mexico-Argentina semifinal match from the Copa America on July 11 attracted 6.9 million viewers to rank 26th among all programming for the week on broadcast television. The viewership of the Mexico-Argentina game beat out the 6.8 million viewers who tuned in two nights earlier on ESPN to watch the Home Run Derby in San Francisco.

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MLS conference leaders, archrivals clash on Sunday

[TV PREVIEW] Los Angeles faces Chelsea on Saturday 8:30 pm ET (ESPN & Telefutura) in what is supposed to be David Beckham’s Galaxy debut, but the England star may sit it out or be limited to a brief appearance because of an ankle injury. On Sunday, MLS regular season action returns from the All-Star break with three games televised on the MLS Direct Kick Package, including the clash of conference leaders New England and Houston at 4 pm ET. Columbus meets Toronto FC at 5 pm ET, and Kansas City faces Colorado 8 pm ET. Archrivals New York and D.C. United meet on Telefutura at 5 pm ET.

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