Filed under: Argentina , Germany , Spain CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Argentina coach Diego Maradona went after World Cup referees on Friday, saying that Germany and Spain have benefited from “horrible” officiating to reach the quarterfinals. Spain’s goal in the 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16 should have been ruled offside by Argentine referee Hector Baldassi, Maradona said. He also disputed the red card shown to Portugal defender Ricardo Costa and said “every contested situation went Spain’s way.” “I’m a good friend of Baldassi, we talk all the time, but my impression is that the refereeing was horrible,” Maradona said. “Baldassi was very bad. And the linesman was Andrea Bocelli,” he said, referring to the blind Italian tenor, who will perform at a FIFA-endorsed concert to mark the end of the World Cup. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , US Soccer , United States RUSTENBURG, South Africa — The same sense of “did that just happen?” disbelief that followed Landon Donovan ‘s dramatic stoppage-time game winner against Algeria settled over Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday night, as Ghana scored just five minutes into its round-of-16 match against the Americans. All the talk about starting games strong and about finding ways to avoid falling behind early was silenced as fans were still finding their seats. For the third time in four games, the U.S. trailed within the first quarter-hour. The fourth-minute goal scored by England in the opener and the fifth-minute strike from Kevin-Prince Boateng on Saturday were the two earliest goals of the entire World Cup. The problem was never solved, in part because coaches and players seemed to have differing opinions about whether the issue was a coincidence, linked to the team’s tactical approach or the result of untimely individual errors. Three minutes into overtime, ridiculously, Ghana scored again. Something about kickoffs was putting the U.S. to sleep, and whatever the cause, it played a huge role in their 2-1 loss to the Black Stars and their elimination from the World Cup. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , US Soccer , United States RUSTENBURG, South Africa — The same sense of “did that just happen?” disbelief that followed Landon Donovan ‘s dramatic stoppage-time game winner against Algeria settled over Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday night, as Ghana scored just five minutes into its round-of-16 match against the Americans. All the talk about starting games strong and about finding ways to avoid falling behind early was silenced as fans were still finding their seats. For the third time in four games, the U.S. trailed within the first quarter-hour. The fourth-minute goal scored by England in the opener and the fifth-minute strike from Kevin-Prince Boateng on Saturday were the two earliest goals of the entire World Cup. The problem was never solved, in part because coaches and players seemed to have differing opinions about whether the issue was a coincidence, linked to the team’s tactical approach or the result of untimely individual errors. Three minutes into overtime, ridiculously, Ghana scored again. Something about kickoffs was putting the U.S. to sleep, and whatever the cause, it played a huge role in their 2-1 loss to the Black Stars and their elimination from the World Cup. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , Soccer Posts , US Soccer , U.S. Men’s National Team , Ghana , United States RUSTENBURG, South Africa — The Man of the Match on Saturday night in a field in the shadow of the Pilanesberg Mountains in northern South Africa was a 20-year-old, Andre Ayew, the French-born son of Ghana ‘s greatest soccer player, Abedi Pele. He hemmed up the greatest U.S. Soccer player, Landon Donovan , for most of the match and last summer sparked the Under-20 Ghanaian squad to the first World Cup title, the U-20, in the history of Africa. Patriotic declarations of America’s arrival as a World Cup contender were a bit premature. One of Ayew’s teammates who aided him in dashing, by a 2-1 score , some of the wild dreams about U.S. Soccer that mushroomed the past few days was Samuel Inkoom, a 20-year-old who played 113 minutes as one of the defenders who blanked the U.S. in open play. The Stars and Stripes’ lone goal was a penalty kick by Donovan. Ayew and Inkoom’s side included five other players no more than 21 years old. The U.S. team featured one, 20-year-old Jozy Altidore . It was feared that the U.S. might meet mighty Germany as the knockout rounds of the World Cup commenced Saturday. It was suspected the Yanks caught a break against Africa’s lone first-round survivor and would be fueled by revenge after losing to the Black Stars in the 2006 World Cup. That was foolish thinking basted in American arrogance that neither U.S. Soccer officials nor its players, to their credit, expressed. They know what they’re still up against in the rest of the world. As much as they’ve made a down payment on being a world-class soccer competitor, they are still a long way from producing the highest dividends. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , Spain , Switzerland The 2010 World Cup was about 90 minutes away from an avalanche of bad press. Through the first 15 group stage matches, whispers were beginning to grow that this was the worst World Cup in recent vintage, at least from an entertainment standpoint. Heading into Day 6, only 14 goals had been scored — the lowest since the tournament expanded to 32 teams ahead of the 1998 World Cup in France. Eight games had entered halftime 0-0, perhaps causing some ESPN execs to wonder why it ponied up over $100 million for the rights to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. Enter an unlikely savior to the rescue in the form of Switzerland and cagey coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who defeated reigning European champs Spain, the pre-tournament favorite, 1-0 in Durban to close out the first group games for all 32 teams. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , US Soccer , U.S. Men’s National Team , FanHouse Exclusive , United States LOS ANGELES — The heart of Hollywood was a soccer lover’s dream on Saturday. For the World Cup, Nike has converted the Ricardo Montalban Theatre here into a giant living room/scenester lounge, complete with a rooftop soccer court, a boutique full of Swooshy gear and a roped-off VIP section in the theater featuring white couches and free Budweiser. Well before the late-morning kickoff of the U.S.-England first-round game, a rollicking, multinational throng of 500-plus assembled near the iconic corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. It was a solidly pro-U.S. crowd, with many folks clad in some shade of red, white or blue and lots of throaty “U-S-A” chants filling the air. But not everyone came to cheer on the Yanks. Like the Olympics, the World Cup has a way of sparking closet nationalism for many hyphenated Americans, no matter how tenuous their ties to their “old” country may be. Take Payton Hoegh, for example. He’s a 22-year-old from Virginia Beach who teaches seventh graders in suburban L.A. and looks every bit like a SoCal surfer. But when it comes to international soccer, he’s a huge England fan. Why? Follow this logic: Hoegh’s family is from Denmark. Denmark is where Carlsberg beer is made. Carlsberg is the long-time jersey sponsor of Liverpool, one of England’s legendary soccer clubs. So naturally, Hoeg is a passionate supporter of England and in particular, England’s attacking midfielder Steven Gerrard, who stars for Liverpool. “My family’s Danish, what can I say? I grew up rooting for Carlsberg and Liverpool,” says Hoegh. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , US Soccer , U.S. Men’s National Team , United States U.S. national team supporters have to come away from Saturday’s 1-1 draw with England feeling good about the Americans’ performance and chances of advancing out of Group C following matches to come against Algeria and Slovenia. Nonetheless, it’s easy to wonder what may have been Saturday had the U.S. not been dropped behind the 8-ball on England midfielder Steven Gerrard’s goal in the fourth minute. The U.S. defense — holding midfielder Ricardo Clark, in particular — was caught napping on an early throw-in, with Clark left trailing an unmarked Gerrard into the 18-yard box and goalkeeper Tim Howard left helpless to stop the Liverpool standout from giving England a 1-0 lead. Fortunately for the Americans, Clark’s mistake was made null by a gaffe by England goalkeeper Robert Green that enabled Clint Dempsey to tie the game in the 40th minute. Bob Bradley, however, can’t soon forget Clark’s error and faces a decision as to whether to again include Clark in his starting 11 on Friday against Slovenia. If Clark’s track record in big matches holds any weight, Bradley may want to look in another direction. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , Soccer Posts , England Maybe this looked good on paper a few months ago, when England was making its final World Cup preparations. Yet in light of the unrelenting wave of injuries to star players in the buildup to Friday’s opening whistle, England’s game Monday with a South Africa club — the Platinum Stars — was a classic case of a team and country walking on eggshells. As it turned out, England avoided any injuries, but the Three Lions didn’t exactly set hears and minds alight with a 3-0 victory which The Guardian dubbed, “unconvincing” and The Times labeled “unimpressive.” Not exactly what Fabio Capello was hoping for ahead of the June 12 opener with the U.S. in Rustenburg. ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup OAKLAND, Calif. — The 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off this week, but for 80 players from various conflict-affected regions in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, their battle for soccer supremacy was waged on a more intimate scale, on a sun-baked artificial pitch in one of Oakland’s poorest neighborhoods. You won’t see Bhutan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq or Myanmar among the 32 teams competing in South Africa. But for two days, the San Francisco Bay Area Refugee World Cup bound these refugees and asylees who fled war and persecution in their homelands with a universal pastime. “Wherever you are in the world, no matter how poor or troubled you are, there is always soccer. You can play it anywhere and we love it,” says Ali Kareem, 32, whose efforts to coach and stand in goal for the Iraq team fell short over the weekend. “Soccer gives us something in common. We all want to win, but mostly we just want to play.” That’s why the Bay Area offices of the International Rescue Committee put out the call among its local group of resettled refugees, looking for players interested in a two-group, eight-team tournament. “The response was, well, overwhelming,” says John Hollis, 25, who’s been working with the IRC on a one-year assignment through AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). “We have more players than we have spots on teams.” ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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Filed under: FIFA World Cup , U.S. Men’s National Team Former U.S. National Team Goalkeeper Tony Meola joins FanHouse TV to talk World Cup 2010. Tony discusses what the U.S. lineup will look like in their first game against England on June 12. Click below to watch: ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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