Winning opener Confed Cup a ‘must’ for Brazil
BRASILIA, Brazil ● Brazil will be playing for more than a victory when it faces Japan in the Confederations Cup opener on Saturday. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said Friday that a victory in the first match will be crucial to winning the support of demanding home fans and to put the squad on the right [...]
No vuvuzela, no drums and no caxirola
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil ● South Africa brought us the vuvuzela and whether you liked or detested the long horn, it brought some local colours to first the Confederation Cup and a year later the World Cup. During this year’s edition of the Confed Cup in Brazil it will be a lot quieter in [...]
Dress rehearsal World Cup start Saturday
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil ● Even if Brazil does well in hosting the Confederations Cup, the troubled preparations for the tournament will be hard to ignore. A year before the actual World Cup, the warmup tournament will begin as scheduled on Saturday, but only after Brazil drew complaints from FIFA and local critics [...]
Ethiopia keep surprising in World Cup qualifiers
DURBAN, South Africa ● Congo, Ivory Coast and Tunisia took giant leaps on Saturday towards winning their World Cup qualifying groups although they were all overshadowed by the exploits of a resurgent Ethiopia. A 2-1 victory in Botswana for Ethiopia means they are also in line to secure a place in the final phase of [...]
Late win Swiss over defiant Cyprus
GENEVA, Switzerland ● Substitute Haris Seferovic ended 90 minutes of frustration for Switzerland by scoring a last-gasp goal to give them a 1-0 win over defiant Cyprus in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday. The two sides looked set for their second goalless draw in the group until Xherdan Shaqiri slipped a pass through the [...]
Japan first to win World Cup tickets
TOKYO, Japan ● Japan became the first team to book its ticket to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil thanks to a penalty from Keisuke Honda that secured a 1-1 draw against Australia on Tuesday. Iran, meanwhile, got its stuttering World Cup campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over 2022 World Cup [...]
England almost surprises Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil ● England gave World Cup hosts Brazil a fright as they held the five-time world champions to an entertaining 2-2 draw in a prestige friendly in Rio de Janeiro. The visitors, victorious on their last visit back in 1984, when John Barnes famously clinched the win with a solo [...]
Rose Bowl to host CONCACAF Gold Cup matches
PASADENA, Calif. ● Defending champion Mexico will play in the opening doubleheader of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Rose Bowl in July. The matches will be played July 7 in the same stadium where Mexico won the 2011 Gold Cup title. The Rose Bowl also hosted the 2002 Gold Cup final, as well as [...]
Disappointing start Nations Cup
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa ● The African Cup of Nations couldn’t provide a goal in two indifferent matches on the opening day on Saturday – and Cape Verde coach Lucio Antunes didn’t mind one bit. Antunes saw his inexperienced team of second-leaguers from the tiny island nation hold host South Africa to 0-0 in front of [...]
