Winners:
According to its official Web site, Real Madrid has invited the MLS ALL-STAR team to play in its annual "team presentation" game Aug. 23 at Real's Santiago Bernabeu stadium. (On July 30, in Columbus, Ohio, the MLS All-Stars face Fulham, 13th place finisher in last season's English Premier League.)
Liverpool's former U.S. youth international ZAK WHITBREAD made his Champions League debut in a 3-0 win at Welsh club TNS, which gave Liverpool a 6-0 aggregate win in the first qualifying round series. Whitbread, 21, who played in three League Cup games and one FA Cup game last season for Liverpool, entered the game against TNS in the 54th minute.
On Wednesday evening, SAN JOSE won its third encounter of the season with Colorado, 2-1, on goals by Brian Mullan and Mark Chung, whom the Quakes acquired from Colorado earlier this season. COLUMBUS goalkeeper Jonny Walker celebrated a 1-0 win against his old club, the MetroStars, who started Tony Meola in goal for the first time since his arrival three weeks ago from Kansas City. (In other MLS midweek action, Kansas City and D.C. United tied, 1-1.)
Losers:
The METROSTARS' loss in Columbus came against a Crew squad that, in its last six games, had lost four and tied two. The MetroStars were without playmaker Amado Guevara, who is out three to five weeks after undergoing knee surgery for a meniscus tear. Also missing was attacker Youri Djorkaeff, who has appeared in 11 of the 18 games this season.
FIFA has banned German striker MIKE HANKE for the first two games of the 2006 World Cup for his red card against Mexico in the Confederations Cup third-place game.