* Saturday night in Rio sees the draw for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers for all except South America (CONMEBOL). All eyes will be on the European draw where 1998 World Cup winners France have been downgraded to the second pot, meaning they will play one of the top seeds England, Spain, Holland, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Norway or Greece. A host of Brazilian soccer stars are on hand to pull the balls out of the bags: Cafu and Neymar will draw the African teams, Zico the Asian teams, Bebeto CONCACAF, Mario Zagallo Oceania and Ganso and Ronaldo will do Europe. *German legend Jurgen Klinsmann was confirmed today as the USA's new coach. 'Klinsi' has lived in America for 12 years and was offered the manager's job back in 2006 but declined because US Soccer was unwilling to accede to his demands to overhaul the whole organisation's coaching set-up. The former Stuttgart, Inter, Monaco, Tottenham, Sampdoria and Bayern star, who won the European Championship and the World Cup for Germany, went back to setting up a soccer consultancy, most recently with Toronto FC, before the US came calling again following th e national team's embarrassing capitulation in the Gold Cup final. The appointment is still a big risk as Klinsmann has little experience as a manager. He took a hitherto mediocre Germany on home soil to the 2006 World Cup semi-final where they lost to eventual winners Italy, and lasted less than a season as Bayern Munich coach. He has also had a tendency to fall out with management wherever he has played as he is possessed of strong opinions. This 'my way or the highway' approach was what scared off US Soccer five years ago, but in 2011 with no tournament until the World Cup to worry about, they are prepared to take the risk. How much Klinsmann will prove to be a first-team coach or a youth system administrator remains to be seen. * Alex Sabella , who had spells at Leeds and Sheffield United at the end of th e 1 970s, h as been named Argentina manager after Sergio Batista was sacked following the team's quarter-final exit from the recent Copa America they hosted. Sabella, 56, also had lengthy stays as a player at River Plate and Estudiantes, where he was first-team coach for the past two years. * England and North Korea kicked off the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia with a 0-0 draw in Medellin. The host nation play France on Saturday in Bogota. 24 teams contest the tournament, which ends on the 20th of August in the capital city. * 18 Italian clubs and 26 Italian players are due at their football association's disciplinary hearings in Rome next week in connection with match-fixing . Two Serie A clubs are implicated - Atalanta and Chievo, as well as former azzurri internationals Cristiano Doni and Beppe Signori. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

The USA have fired Bob Bradley as their manager. The New Jersey-born coach was relieved of his duties today after five years at the helm. Last month's loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final proved his undoing, as the US had led 2-0 in that game before capitulating embarrassingly 4-2 and the defeat also meant they missed out on the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the group stage the USA had also lost a game to Panama, 67th in the FIFA World Rankings. America's unexpected last-eight finish at the 2002 World Cup has set a perhaps unrealistic benchmark for future US elevens and compared to that unforgettable campaign in Korea, the national team has stagnated since. Having taken over from Bruce Arena following the 2006 World Cup finals, Bradley led the US into the 2010 competition in South Africa, where his team beat Algeria with a dramatic last-gasp strike and drew with England and Slovenia to win the group, before they lost 2-1 to Ghana in the second round. Under Bradley the US also won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007, which allowed his team its finest hour at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. There the Americans beat European Champions Spain 2-0 in the semi-final and led Brazil by the same score in the final, before going down 3-2 to a Kaka-inspired second half comeback. Last summer Bradley was linked with Aston Villa and Fulham. He previously coached Chicago Fire, Chivas USA and the Metrostars in Major League Soccer. The 53 year-old leaves the US ranked 30th in the world, one place higher than when he took over in 2006. Their highest position under Bradley was 12th in August 2009 following the Confederations Cup. Jurgen Klinsmann , who has run a soccer consultancy in California for some years now and was offered the job back in 2006, appears to be the favourite once more, although 38 year-old Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis is an outside bet. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FINAL 2011 JAPAN 2:2 USA aet; 1-1 at 90mins, Japan won 3-1 on penalties. Morgan 69', Miyama 81', Wambach 104', Sawa 117' Frankfurt 48,817 Japan's first football World Cup . An action-packed final and a great advert for the women's game. An even bigger night for Asian soccer and the Japanese women's team - the Nadeshiko are the new world champions, the first ever Asians in the men's or women's game to win the biggest prize. What a narrative the final contest took. The USA looked like running away with it from the off. They almost scored in the first 30 seconds and for about a quarter of an hour Japan looked like nervous minnows who did not know what they were doing in a World Cup Final. Faster, higher, stronger, the Olympic motto, could have been applied to Pia Sundhage 's team. Using their physical superiority the Americans had Japan on the ropes and it only seemed a matter of time before the floodgates would open for a torrent of goals. Lord knows they tried to score, but Abby Wambach 's thunderous shot against the underside of the crossbar just short of the half-hour was the closest the US came to breaking the deadlock. The Japanese must have been glad to see half-time. Even at 0-0 the Americans seemed well in control and needing only to carry on plugging away until luck would shine on them in front of goal. In the pacy winger Heather O'Reilly, the mountainous custodian Hope Solo and the imperious No.9 Wambach, the US possessed three players the Japanese could not deal with adequately. The US had dominated in shots and possession and had pressed the Japanese so effectively the blue shirts were hitting hopeful long balls from the middle, if they were lucky enough to get past halfway. America began the second half where they had left off, unimpeachable at the back and powering up the wings to cross for their big centre-forward to cause havoc; an effective if inelegant approach betraying US Soccer's Anglo-Saxon roots and the athleticism of its domestic sports culture. Their first goal was a route one special and their second a simple cross and power-header. Japan were different, playing short and quick passes to feet. Even in the midst of an onslaught and in the tightest of spaces, they would try to tiki-taka their way out of trouble. Sundhage did not lose her Scandinavian cool but equally showed her joy or frustration at times on the touchline. Nadeshiko coach Norio Sasaki was in contrast unflappable throughout, never giving an inch to shows of emotion throughout the two-hour rollercoaster. What a sound constitution he must have. Sasaki's cool strategy won out in the end, and his inner zen was shared by h is players, who maintained their patient build-up from the back despite twice falling behind. By contrast, the Americans, who had taken a deserved lead through Alex Morgan 's unerring missile in the 69th minute, panicked into conceding in the 81st minute in a defensive cock-up which allowed Aya Miyama to stab home. Japan were level again in more ways than one, more comfortable in finding space and letting their natural passing game unfurl itself once more with the physical fright of the first half fading away. Growing in confidence with each passing minute, the Japanese ensured the US knew they were not willing to cave in. And so to extra-time and the US started again the brighter. Morgan pulled a chance wide before crossing in the 104th minute for Wambach to thump home a header, her 50th headed goal. The US had been ropy in not winning it in the 90 but now they had another chance to seal the Cup. But Japan kept knocking at the door, refusing to budge psychologically from their victory mission. Yukari Kinga almost chipped in an equaliser before midfielder Homare Sawa popped up again when it mattered to flick a Miyama corner cleverly past Solo with the back of her boot. It was three minutes before the end of regulation extra-time. With seconds left a red card for Azusa Iwashimizu who scythed down a raiding Morgan on the edge of the box, but the resulting free-kick failed to find the target. Relentless to the last, the Japanese had withstood the early storm and twice pegged back the apparently superior Americans. When the US missed their first three penalty kicks against Japan's diminutive keeper Ayumi Kaihori it was clear who had finished the match psychologically in the ascendant. Saki Kumagai rifled the winning kick into the top corner and the World Cup was Japan's. Sawa won the tournament's golden boot with five goals and was also crowned Player of the Tournament. The Nadeshiko earned their tournament the hard way, first pipping China to qualify, then beating the much-fancied hosts in Wolfsburg and brushing aside Sweden 3-1 in the semi-final before fighting the USA to the wire and eventually beating them for the first time in 25 attempts. "Not one of the players gave up," said Sasaki quite honestly. Gambare Nippon? You certainly did. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Semi-finals JAPAN 3:1 SWEDEN Frankfurt 45,434 USA 3:1 FRANCE Moenchengladbach, 25,676 Japanese football continues its rise as its women's team reached their first ever World Cup Final today. Having dispatched the hosts Germany in the quarter-final, the Nadeshiko swept Sweden aside with aplomb, coming from behind to win by three goals to one . Nahomi Kawasumi's clincher was an exquisite lob from over 30 yards to seal a memorable victory. Sweden's opener on ten minutes was a victory for power and pace but the Japanese passing game triumphed in the end with 14 shots to four and 60% of possession. Waiting to spoil the Japanese party in the final however are the traditional giant of the USA, who beat France by the same score today in their semi-final. In an exciting tussle in Moenchengladbach, the French outshot the Americans 25 to 11 but failed to convert their possession play into goals and succumbed to two strikes in four minutes late in the game. Once again Abby Wambach's aerial prowess proved key, heading the crucial second in the 79th minute to leave France desperately chasing the game. Sunday's final should prove a fascinating clash of styles with the American power game facing the close-passing orientals. A Japanese victory would prove truly historic, and probably be cheered by the purists. But the experienced Americans must start as favourites and will be keen to add the World Cup to their Beijing Olympic crown. - Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile FINAL: USA v Japan Sunday 1945h GMT Frankfurt Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, Rose Bowl, Pasadena Mexico 4:2 USA Bradley 8', Donovan 23' Barrera 29' & 50', Guardado 36', Dos Santos 76' Mexico overturned a two-goal deficit to retain their status as champions of North & Central America following an action-packed win over the United States in Pasadena. In front of a largely pro-Mexican crowd of 93,420 which left the Rose Bowl feeling more like the Azteca, the USA stormed into a 2-0 advantage after Michael Bradley headed Freddy Adu's corner in after eight minutes and Landon Donovan coolly slotted home Clint Dempsey's deft through-ball a quarter of an hour later. Donovan celebrated by mimicking a chicken, a mocking reference to the contaminated fowl Mexico had blamed for returning five positive drug tests shortly before the tournament. Unlike in 2009 when the more lucrative pull of the FIFA Confederations Cup saw the US field a B-team in the Gold Cup, Bob Bradley picked a strong starting eleven with Donovan the sole MLS representative. But a crucial injury early on to experienced full-back Steve Cherundolo left Jonathan Bornstein, who plays his football for Tigres in Mexico, and Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj, who spent last season on loan at Leeds, holding the backline together. Their inexperience proved costly as the US left several gaps which were exploited by raiding Mexicans. Tactically, the Americans proved their own worst enemy by gambling on maintaining an open game when two goals to the good. Bornstein was caught out of position when Pablo Barrera pulled one back just short of the half-hour, the West Ham man finding the time and space to fire past Tim Howard from Israel Castro's defence-splitting lance. With 36 minutes gone the American cushion had evaporated. Giovani Dos Santos was again a tormentor supreme, running onto Castro's chip before teasing Bornstein and whipping in a cross which Lichaj could only knock into the path of Andres Guardado for an easy tap-in. So dangerous was Dos Santos in a Mexican shirt, that once more it raised the question of why he cannot find a place in Tottenham Hotspur's first-team squad. The former Barcelona starlet has been on the North London club's books since 2008 but has only made ten appearances, spending more time on loan at Ipswich, Galatasaray and last season, at Racing Santander in Spain. Barrera netted his second and Mexico's third five minutes after the break with the goal of the game. Having peeled away from Carlos Bocanegra on the edge of the box, he met Guardado's diagonal assist first-time with a classy hit from the outside of his boot which left Howard clutching air. Now the US had to play catch-up. Bocanegra crashed the box at a set-piece as he does so well but guided his header inches wide of the upright. And when Dempsey curled a shot against the crossbar with goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera rooted to the spot just short of the hour it looked like it was not going to be the US' day. The ebullient Dos Santos clinched the cup fourteen minutes from time as he ran onto Gerardo Torrado's incisive ball and smuggled it from Howard's despairing lunges. He then led a host of white shirts on a merry-dance through the box before lobbing the lot of them with a spectacular finish worthy of a tournament-decider. Chicharito failed to get on the day's scoresheet but ended up player of the tournament (MVP) and top scorer with seven goals. The defeat was doubly sour for the US as it means there will be no repeat of their 2009 Confederations Cup heroics when they beat Spain and led Brazil 2-0 in the final before succumbing 3-2. Instead, Mexico join hosts Brazil, Spain and Japan as qualifiers in the eight-team tournament in June 2013. The winners of the 2011 Copa America, Euro 2012, the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the 2013 African Cup of Nations will complete the line-up. The Gold Cup remains somewhat of an oddity for several reasons: It is biennial instead of every four years, has had guest teams almost win it before and its only two strong sides invariably make it to the final, unless a superior tournament robs them of their first-teamers. When as this year it hands the winners passage to the next Confederations Cup however, it is taken seriously. It is always held in one country (the USA) but as on Sunday, the volume of Latino expat support can leave the host nation feeling like it is playing tough away games. Tim Howard was less than impressed by the Spanish-language trophy presentation: "CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves," he fumed. "I think it's a f*****g disgrace...You can bet your ass if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn't be all in English." For a region turned upside-down this month through internecine conflict ending in the resignation of its notorious boss Jack Warner, there was at least an exciting game of football to remind everyone what it should all be about. USA: Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Steve Cherundolo (Jonathan Bornstein 11'), Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya (Juan Agudelo 63'), Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu (Sacha Kljestan 86'). Mexico: Alfredo Talavera, Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido (Torres 28'), Hector Moreno, Andres Guardado, Gerado Torrado, Israel Castro, Pablo Barrera, Efrain Juarez, Giovani Dos Santos, Javier Hernandez. Shots on target: USA 4, Mexico 8 Possession: USA 46%, Mexico 54% Att: 93,420 (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

Gold Cup 2011 – 'Handicapped Soccer' Dr. Joel Rookwood The beautiful game known globally as 'football' has a patchy history in America, barely permeating the sporting world so often dominated by baseball, basketball and American football. 'Soccer' (allegedly taken from asSOCiation football) has become a reference to a lesser sport, distancing language employed in USA and in other countries with a more dominant national variant. The performance and prestige of the men's game in America is in stark contrast to that of the women's, further substantiating a common view that it is neither a male nor a masculine sport. The CONCOCAF Gold Cup provides the latest example of soccer's obscurity, an international competition currently being hosted by the USA. The thirteen venues each play host to a single day's play, meaning the tournament is stretched across nine states. Spreading the game may be a FIFA agenda, but this event is spread a little thin. In any one place it has been and gone before anyone notices. Results receive a bare passing mention in the press, and peripheral commentary is almost entirely absent. Compare this to a European Championships, where journalists present competing claims about how David Beckham files his nails, or how Wayne Rooney waxes his head. Of the five regularly staged confederation events, the Gold Cup certainly brings up the rear. For some unknown reason however I was eager to explore this for myself, so I planned a week's trip to three cities – Miami, Tampa and Harrison - for a trio of group stage double-headers involving football powerhouses such as Guadeloupe, Grenada and Guatemala. Within hours of my arrival in south Florida however, I was hospitalised. The chest pains were misdiagnosed a few times, before medics 'settled' on pneumonia / pleurisy as a prognosis. By the time I was discharged, all three match days had passed. Football aside, by God's grace I departed the Spanish speaking world and eventually arrived in New York, where I was rescued by my incredible girlfriend and her amazing extended family. My incapacitated lungs forced a reliance on a wheelchair, the manoeuvring of which was to test more than the lungs of my girlfriend. With football confined to the back seat, it seemed the Gold Cup would defeat me. However, my final day in America saw nearby East Rutherford host the first two quarterfinal matches. I successfully defended my case to attend, only to arrive at the New Meadowlands stadium five hours before kick off to find the event sold out. Yet where there is demand, there is supply. I may not have been in a strong bargaining position with the 'scalpers' (that's 'touts' to you and me) yet I still managed to secure a couple of overpriced tickets. The intense heat was matched by the aroma of the car park barbeques and beers and the excited Spanish chatter, as fans of the four Central American teams involved mixed happily. Observing this I considered an equivalent scene in Europe, with fans from England, Poland, Germany and Belgium 'mingling' before a double-header. Confined to a wheelchair, I was grateful to be amongst fans with a traditional use for chairs of the plastic variety. Our tickets for the sell-out games were for the top tier of the 82,000 seater stadium. After negotiating a couple of steps by the 'handicapped' ramp, a lift took us to the seventh floor, and a central view of the pitch. It was an interesting insight into disabled fandom. I was grateful to have exchanged a bed for a chair, and the noise and excitement felt a million miles from the Miami hospital. The first contest saw Costa Rica face Honduras in a game that seemed to matter more to the excited Hondurans who filled the stands. The goals exchanged early in the second half provided the only notable statistics in the first two hours of play. This was the first football game my girlfriend had ever seen, and it had gone to penalties. Borges and Saborio both hit the bar for Costa Rica, with Honduras successfully converting all four of their penalty kicks. Bengston’s decisive strike earned them a place in the semi-finals for the fourth time. Playing for the right to face Honduras, five-time champions Mexico then played a feisty Guatemala team who have never progressed to the last four in this competition. Although the Guatemalans took an early lead and held it until the interval, the vastly superior Mexican side ensured a continuation of form against their neighbours. Manchester United's Hernandez scored the second and ultimately decisive goal, which saw Mexico progress to the semi-finals, as they have done in ten out of the eleven Gold Cups. The following day, USA defeated Jamaica and El Salvador lost on penalties to Panama, setting up the other semi-final. America have already suffered defeat to the Panamanians in this year's event, but today’s penultimate round is likely to see victories for USA and Mexico, with a fifth final between the two teams to take place on Saturday. This piece is dedicated to Ruth, Barney and Ciaran Finnegan – who will always have my gratitude .

US coach Bob Bradley has gone for safety first in his final 23-man squad for the World Cup Finals . Mindful perhaps of the way a defensive approach helped the US almost win the Confederations Cup last summer, the lack of match fitness of AC Milan's Oguchi Onyewu and recent defeats to the Netherlands and this week, the Czech Republic, Bradley has picked seven defenders and four strikers. G - Tim Howard (Everton), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves) D - Oguchi Onyewu (Milan), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (Start), Jonathan Spector (West Ham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) M - Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Ricardo Clark (Eintract Frankfurt), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Stuart Holden (Bolton), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca) F - Josmer Altidore (Hull), Herculez Gomez (Pachuca), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake) In goal the US look sound with three England-based keepers of whom Tim Howard is the confirmed first choice. The defence has questions over it however, following some inept individual performances this season, although it all came together in South Africa last year when it mattered. FC Dallas' Heath Pearce, previously first-choice left-back, was left out after he fluffed his last chance following a poor showing against the Czechs on Tuesday. Midfield has no surprises with DaMarcus Beasley, a mainstay of the team four years ago, completing an unlikely comeback having looked out of the picture a year ago. Up front, Bradley surprisingly dropped Hawaiian-born target-man Brian Ching, whom Landon Donovan has said is his preferred partner up front, in favour of Real Salt Lake speedster Robbie Findley. Fulham's Eddie Johnson, who at one point seemed the future of US forwards, also misses out. With Charlie Davies injured, American striking options look thin, with a reliance on support from the attacking midfield talents of Clint Dempsey, Donovan and Bolton's Stuart Holden, the one intriguing face to emerge in US ranks in the last year. Only four of the 23 play in the US' domestic league, MLS. A first choice US eleven to play England on the 12th of June could look like this: Howard, Spector, Bocanegra, DeMerit, Onyewu, Holden, Feilhaber, Bradley, Dempsey, Altidore, Donovan . The US face England, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

Doug Band behind United States' Push to Host World Cup in 2018 or 2022 By Sean Garrison With the 2010 FIFA World Cup approaching in less than two months, Americans once again have soccer on their minds. Their attention can be attributed to the popular belief that this year will be Team USA's best chance to bring home their very first World Cup. While many Americans might only think about soccer during major events like the World Cup, the majority of countries around the world fiendishly follow the sport year-round. U.S. soccer fanatics are glad that their favorite sport is finally gaining some respect domestically, but Doug Band feels that even more popularity can be gained by bringing the World Cup to America. President Clinton's personal advisor, Doug Band , recently obliged a request to join the Board of Directors for the United States Bid Committee . The committee aspires to bring the FIFA World Cup to the U.S. as soon as 2018. With the addition of Doug Band's support, the committee hopes to increase their chances of bringing the most widely followed international tournament to American soil. This is a huge opportunity for the United States to bring together many cultures that all have great interest in the sport. If the United States wins the bid; it would surely be a boost to their international image. Band is a fantastic addition to the U.S. committee, not only because he's an avid fan of the game, but also because he realizes how this sport can unify disparate cultures and people. Because of the extensive work Doug Band has done with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), he has garnered valuable experience in foreign relations. Along with former President Clinton, Band founded the CGI in 2005. Since then, CGI has reached out to millions across the globe by providing medical assistance, education opportunities, and environmental protection. The U.S. bid committee is determined to obtain their goal of a U.S. World Cup, and are fastidiously working to make that goal a reality. With Band's arrival, they now have a figure that understands the gravity of such a world event and wants to bring its cultural significance to America. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup football

FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers Mexico v USA Azteca Stadium, Mexico City The real revelation of international soccer this year has to be the USA , who shocked everyone by downing the world's top-ranked nation Spain 2-0 at the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, before leading Brazil by the same score in the final, eventually losing 3-2. After an impressive quarter-final finish in the 2002 World Cup and a disappointing first round exit in 2006, the States have announced they are gunning once more for football's top table.