Costa Rica: Costa Rica are asking soccer's governing body for a replay of Friday's World Cup qualifier against the United States, won 1-0 by the Americans during a snowstorm in Commerce City, Colo. Costa Rican Football Federation Treasurer Rolando Villalobos said in a statement on Sunday that documentation had been sent to FIFA to back the claim, including photographs and videos. The Costa Rican federation said the climatic conditions threatened...
08:28 AM, Mar 25, 2013
Florence: Stephan El Shaarawy is relishing his partnership with Mario Balotelli and believes they can lead the attack for Italy and AC Milan for many years to come. El Shaarawy, 20, and Balotelli, 22, have become symbols of Italy coach Cesare Prandelli's focus on youth. "Mario and I represent a new and young Italy," El Shaarawy said, ahead of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Malta. "Investing in youth is the...
12:57 PM, Mar 24, 2013
Johannesburg: New African champion Nigeria salvaged a home draw against Kenya with an injury-time equalizer in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. Ivory Coast didn't miss the dropped Didier Drogba in their 3-0 win over Gambia. Samuel Eto'o scored twice as Cameroon edged Togo 2-1 to improve the inconsistent Cameroonians' chances of qualifying for a first major tournament since 2010. The last World Cup host, South Africa, still have a chance...
12:43 PM, Mar 24, 2013
Cyprus: Switzerland wasted a series of chances in a 0-0 draw with Cyprus in a World Cup qualifying match on Saturday, though stretched their lead atop the group. With Cyprus in economic turmoil, the stadium in their capital Nicosia was almost empty. Swiss forward Xherdan Shaqiri was charitable to his hosts in dragging a 15th-minute shot wide - and then missed a glaring chance when he couldn't connect with the...
10:43 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Berlin: Germany midfielder Julian Draxler has been ruled out of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan while Sven Bender has joined the squad. The German football federation says tests on Saturday confirmed that the Schalke attacking midfielder suffered a concussion from a collision during Germany's 3-0 win over Kazakhstan in the first qualifier between the sides on Friday. Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is suspended for the game in Nuremberg...
10:35 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Barcelona: Spain defender Jordi Alba is in doubt for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against France after injuring a muscle in his right leg. Barcelona say the left back has returned to the club for further tests, the results of which will be known on Sunday. Alba injured his leg during Friday's 1-1 draw with Finland that left Spain two points behind leader France in the group standings. The winner of...
10:19 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Belfast: A second attempt to play Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Russia has been aborted due to bad weather in Belfast. Heavy snow initially led to the match being postponed on Friday and shifted to Saturday at Windsor Park. But with further snow and ice forming on the pitch, the qualifier was called off on Saturday morning. No new date has been set for the fixture. Russia has a...
10:08 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Commerce City: Soft snow started falling, and then kept getting heavier as the night progressed. From the start of Friday's World Cup qualifier, the lines on the field were covered. As the game wore on, even the Americans in their white home uniforms became hard to see. And then in the 55th minute, with the U.S. leading Costa Rica 1-0 on Clint Dempsey's early goal, the referee and match commissioner...
10:03 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Lima: Peru appear out of contention for next year's World Cup in Brazil, despite claiming a late 1-0 win over Chile in qualifying on Friday. FC Schalke winger Jefferson Farfan finally broke a scoreless deadlock for Peru in the 86th minute to give the team a much-needed boost up the table in South American qualifying. Peru now have 11 points from 10 matches, still one point behind Chile and Venezuela...
09:27 AM, Mar 24, 2013
In the match against Costa Rica, part of the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament, the Panamanian fans threw objects onto the field. ...
02:05 PM, Mar 23, 2013
Spain and Portugal were held to draws on Friday night that hurt their chances of qualifying automatically for next year's World Cup, while England routed San Marino 8-0 for their biggest victory margin in 26 years. ...
02:03 PM, Mar 23, 2013
United States battled to a 1-0 win over Costa Rica with Clint Dempsey's 16th minute goal in a heavy snow storm. ...
01:01 PM, Mar 23, 2013
Argentina have solidified their lead atop the South America World Cup qualifying group with 23 points in 10 matches. ...
08:49 AM, Mar 23, 2013
England recorded their biggest win in 26 years with goals from Defoe, Rooney, Chamberlain, Lampard, Young and Sturridge. ...
06:39 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Spain conceded a late goal at home against Finland, conceding top spot to France in their World Cup qualifying group. ...
06:29 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Croatia beat Serbia 2-0 whereas Germany, playing without any recognised strikers, triumphed 3-0 in Kazakhstan. ...
05:33 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Portugal came back from 1-3 down to snatch a draw in stoppage time in their World Cup qualifying Group F match. ...
03:42 AM, Mar 23, 2013
New Zealand will now face the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF in a two-legged playoff for a berth in Brazil. ...
03:23 PM, Mar 22, 2013
Messi says fans of Agentina team are more enthusiastic than ever before, snapping up all the tickets to the team's Friday match against Venezuela. ...
02:50 PM, Mar 22, 2013
The 71,000-capacity stadium will host two test events before the June 15-30 tournament, considered an organisational warm-up for the World Cup a year later. ...
02:50 PM, Mar 22, 2013
