World Cup Digest
World Cup stories for Friday, June 25. The supervisor is John Affleck.
RUSTENBURG, South Africa – For other countries, a second-round World Cup match is a step. For the United States, Saturday’s game against Ghana is so much more. The television audience back home is growing to record levels. New fans are being created by the day. With a victory, the Americans would advance to a quarterfinal matchup against Uruguay or South Korea and equal the deepest run into the tournament the U.S. has made since the first World Cup in 1930. By Ronald Blum. AP Photos. AP Video.
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JOHANNESBURG – One of the most arrogant pronouncements so far at the World Cup came from Steven Gerrard, who said that for the Algerians, their match against England was like playing in the final. In other words, the Algerians tried harder than the English. That attitude pretty much sums up much of the action at the World Cup so far: smaller teams seem to have been putting more of their heart into the tournament that ‘big’ nations. In the round of 16, being lackadaisical like that will be fatal. By John Leicester. AP Photos.
SOC–WCUP-CORNER KICKS
JOHANNESBURG – The Americans are leading charmed lives these days. England, meanwhile, must be wondering what it did to tick off the soccer gods. The World Cup’s knockout rounds start Saturday, and who keeps going has as much to do with who you play as how you play. Life may be simpler – no adding up points, no mental gymnastics – but the road is much, much tougher. By Nancy Armour. AP Photos.
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DURBAN, South Africa – Portugal reached the second round of the World Cup on Friday after a 0-0 draw with group winner Brazil as two of soccer’s most powerful offenses couldn’t score. By Tales Azzoni. AP Photos.
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NELSPRUIT, South Africa – Yaya Toure, Koffi Romaric N’Dri and Salomon Kalou all scored for Ivory Coast in a 3-0 win over North Korea at the World Cup, but the Elephants still won’t advance to the round of 16. By John Pye. AP Photos.
BC-SOC–WCUP-GOODBYE NORTH KOREA
NELSPRUIT, South Africa – North Korea had little time to make an impression at the World Cup. The tournament provided just the briefest glimpse of athletes from one of the planet’s most isolated nations and last Cold War outposts. What the world saw: friendly, shy young men kept out of the media glare as much as possible who were outclassed on the field. By Jean H. Lee. AP Photos.
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PRETORIA, South Africa – Chile puts its 2-0 World Cup record on the line against European champion Spain, which needs to improve or risk going home early. By Paul Logothetis. AP Photos. Kickoff 2:30 p.m.
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BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – Switzerland and Honduras meet in their final Group H match. Both teams could use a victory to have a chance of making the next round. By Ryan Lucas. AP Photos. Kickoff 2:30 p.m.
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IRENE, South Africa – Italy’s fourth World Cup title is a faded memory, buried beneath the rubble of a flop of historic proportions. The Azzurri’s performance in South Africa was so dismal that soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete has called it a “structural crisis.” By Andrew Dampf. AP Photos. MOVED.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – In a part of the world where people often have little in common, World Cup fever has created some interesting alliances. Without their own players in South Africa, Israelis and Palestinians are embracing international squads with the sort of passion usually reserved for the home team. By Karoun Demirjian. AP Photos. MOVED.
JOHANNESBURG – BC-SOC–WCup-City Names. By David Crary. MOVED.
BERLIN – SOC–WCup-Germany-Octopus Oracle. AP Video. MOVED.
ERASMIA, South Africa – SOC–WCup-Germany-Schweinsteiger. MOVED.
RUSTENBURG, South Africa – SOC–WCup-England. By Robert Millward. AP Photos. MOVED.
JOHANNESBURG – SOC–WCup-Mexico. MOVED.
UNDATED – SOC–WCup-World Cup Capsules. Will be updated.
UNDATED – SOC–WCup-World Cup Lookahead. MOVED.
UNDATED – SOC–WCup-World Cup Lookahead Capsules. MOVED.
UNDATED – SOC–WCup Today.
UNDATED – SOC–WCup Notebook.
SANDHURST, South Africa – SOC–WCup-What a Kick. By National Writer Nancy Armour. AP Photos.
JOHANNESBURG – SOC–WCup-Italy-Rock Bottom. By Andrew Dampf. AP Photos.
POLOKWANE, South Africa – SOC–WCup-Unbeaten Kiwis.