US Clinches World Cup Berth

Koman Coulibaly of Mali stirs controversy by nullifying late goal

(NEWSER) - The most famous person in American soccer today isn't an American or a soccer player: He's Koman Coulibaly, a World Cup referee from Mali. In today's US-Slovenia match , a 2-2 draw, Coulibaly awarded a free kick on an obvious dive, then negated a goal that would have given the Americans a late 3-2 lead—and refused to tell the irate players what the infraction was. "I am gutted," said Landon Donovan, who set up what appeared to be Maurice Edu's game-winner. “I don’t know how they stole that third goal from us." More»

Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman push US bid to FIFA

(NEWSER) - Soccer's governing body chooses the country to host the 2022 World Cup today and the US is widely expected to win—despite a somewhat shambolic presentation yesterday. Bill Clinton's speech was long and rambling and Morgan Freeman accidentally skipped a page in his script, but Team USA star Landon Donovan hit the right note, the Guardian reports. "The World Cup captivated our country and something special happened this summer in our love for the game," the player told FIFA officials. More»

Landon Donovan chips it in to save the team

(NEWSER) - Even American sports fans who roll their eyes at soccer have to appreciate the drama of Landon Donovan's clutch goal in the waning moments of today's World Cup game against Algeria. He doesn't knock that in, and the US is done. Instead, they're advancing to the knockout round with a 1-0 victory. See the YouTube video in the gallery. More»

It's probably a win-or-go-home scenario

(AP) - One more game, one last chance to make their reputation. When the Americans play Algeria at the World Cup today (10am Eastern), they'll either live up to all the hype and earn a spot among the final 16 teams—or lose a watershed opportunity. "It's important for us because we had that disappointment in '06," captain Carlos Bocanegra said yesterday. "It's not really extra motivation, but it's just in the back of our minds. You work so hard and you train for so long for the World Cup, and it can be over so quickly if you don't advance." More»

(AP) - Brazil’s “Beautiful Game” came alive in the second half today with three comeback goals in a 3-2 win over the upstart United States in the Confederations Cup final. Luis Fabiano scored two of the goals and Lucio added the third in the 84th minute to give Brazil its second straight Confederations Cup title and third overall. It was all looking good for the Americans when Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan gave the team a 2-0 halftime lead. More»