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FIFA on Monday continued to resist calls for goal-line technology, a day after match officials failed to see Frank Lampard’s shot go over the line in England’s 4-1 loss to Germany. I have no authority to comment on refereeing decisions,” Nicolas Maingot, a FIFA spokesman, said in response to questions about whether soccer’s world governing body would adopt sensors or video review to determine if balls crossed the goal line. He noted that matters pertaining to the rules of the game were handled by the International Football Association Board. FIFA holds four votes on the eight-member board. The other members...

RUSTENBURG, South Africa — For other countries, a second-round World Cup match is a big step. For the United States, Saturday's game against Ghana is so much more. The television audience back home could top the U.S. national team record of 13.7 million, set during the 1994 World Cup loss to Brazil. With a victory, the Americans would advance to a quarterfinal matchup versus Uruguay or South Korea on July 2 and match the farthest the U.S. team has advanced since the first World Cup in 1930. Confidence is soaring. "If we continue to build on the successes so far,...

Germany fired the first shots in the World Cup war against England yesterday, with The Kaiser claiming we are too “stupid, tired and powerless” to beat them. Franz Beckenbauer, who captained the side to victory in 1974, said the Germans had nothing to fear from “our friends from the island”. He claimed Wayne Rooney, 24, had shown “very little quality” while key players John Terry, 29, Frank Lampard, 32, and Steven Gerrard, 30, were past it.

PRETORIA, South Africa – Landon Donovan scored in the first minute of stoppage time off a rebound, advancing the United States to the second round at the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Algeria. With the U.S. perhaps three minutes from elimination, Jozy Altidore was stopped on a breakaway by goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. Donovan hustled in and kicked in the rebound to win Group C Wednesday.

FABIO Capello last night tipped England to win the World Cup - then insisted he wasn't crazy. The Italian will send his men out clad all in red this afternoon, knowing they must beat Slovenia to guarantee a place in the last 16. But Capello, who will quit if his team flop again, is looking way beyond that. He said: "I'm not crazy when I said my target is the Final of the World Cup. "We have not had good results but we are ready to fight. "For me, this is a play-off, like a final in the Champions League,...

PORT ELIZABETH: England's players had let their country down and were hungry to beat Slovenia and turn their World Cup campaign around, captain Steven Gerrard said. He accepted the players were fully responsible for the first two dire performances in Group C but said they had put the disappointment behind them and would pass their biggest test in years by overcoming group leaders Slovenia on Wednesday. "You can see the players are hurt from the Algeria performance," Gerrard said on Tuesday of the goalless draw that sparked outrage at home and was criticised by the British media as useless, toothless...

John Terry has apologised to Fabio Capello and his team-mates for his stunning public outburst which undermined the England manager. - "I went into yesterday's press conference with the intention of being honest,'' Terry said. "I was asked a question about Joe Cole and maybe I went too far. But it was never my intention to upset the manager or the players and if I did upset anyone, I apologise. I have told the manager he has my total support and I would like to stress that I don't believe I have been a disruptive influence in the camp. "I...

"One player is not so important compared to all the others. The group is more important. For this reason it is no problem. We are here to play at the World Cup, not for a holiday." Having vowed to raise his concerns with Capello, even if that meant upsetting the Italian coach, Terry was persuaded to keep quiet at a team meeting on Sunday evening. Seizing the opportunity to reassert his authority, Capello confirmed that Terry had not dared say anything to his face and made it clear that he was not happy with the defender publicly pushing the cause...

DURBAN, South Africa — Three-time champions Germany fired out a warning to World Cup challengers with a comprehensive 4-0 dismantling of Australia in their opening Group D match here Sunday. The Germans totally dominated the Socceroos, with captain Philipp Lahm and rising stars Mesut Oezil and Thomas Mueller running Australian veterans Scott Chipperfield and Craig Moore ragged down the right wing. Goals from Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Mueller and Brazil-born striker Cacau were just rewards for a team which also had a hatful of other scoring opportunities. The victory leaves Germany atop of Group D, Ghana having beaten Serbia 1-0...

Wayne Rooney limped out of Manchester United's 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The England striker collapsed in agony, holding his right ankle after falling awkwardly after Mario Gomez appeared to tread on his left foot. Rooney immediately signalled to the United bench that he had to come off the field. Afterwards United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he thought it was a bad ankle sprain and he was likely to miss Saturday's showdown with title rivals Chelsea. England manager Fabio Capello faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of the injury. England midfielder David Beckham...

DAVID BECKHAM will have an emergency op on the heartbreak injury which crushed his World Cup dream. The England superstar, 34, flies out to Finland today to see specialist Sakari Orava and goes under the knife inside the next 24 hours. Becks was in tears as he left the AC Milan dressing room after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in the 1-0 win over Chievo. Club doctor Jean-Pierre Meerseman, who is booked on the flight to Scandinavia with Becks, confirmed: "The World Cup is finished for David Beckham." Milan boss Leonardo added: "David felt the muscle move up which is...

<p>Soccer star John Terry's role as captain of England's national team is in jeopardy following tabloid accusations of his marital infidelity, according to a British government minister.</p> <p>Terry is alleged to have had an affair with the ex-partner of his former Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge, having failed in a high court bid to prevent newspapers publishing details of his liaison with Vanessa Perroncel.</p>

The star-studded draw, which will be televised worldwide -- including locally on ESPN2 and Univision beginning at 9 a.m. -- will determine the makeup of the eight four-nation groups for the first round of the quadrennial tournament, which will be played June 11through July 11 in nine South African cities. The U.S. and Mexico cannot be grouped together in the first round because they are members of the same federation, CONCACAF. Both countries will be placed in groups with one of the eight seeded teams, one European team and a fourth country from either Africa or South America. - The...

The World Cup Final will be held Sunday in Berlin at 2 p.m. ET (ABC). Germany will face Portugal to play for third place on Saturday in Stuttgart at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN).

...The justices voted 6 to 1 in favor of the decision. Judge Glenn T. Harrell Jr. dissented, stating in his opinion that the law refers only to minors when it says that workers "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed" are covered by workers' compensation benefits. Several states across the country have issued similar rulings in favor of workers, said Lagos' attorney, Del. Luiz S. Simmons, a Montgomery County Democrat. The attorney for Design Kitchen and Baths could not be reached for comment. Lagos, who is from Argentina, injured his left hand cutting wood on the job on Aug. 20, 2001. The...

The Senate killed legislation Thursday that would have limited workers' compensation benefits for illegal aliens injured on the job. House Bill 2056 stated that illegal aliens prevented from working because of on-the-job injuries would still receive compensation for their medical expenses. But the bill would have banned the workers from receiving lost wages. The bill passed the House of Delegates on a 53-42 vote. But on the floor of the Senate, members questioned whether the state could legally separate workers' comp benefits. Several senators suggested the bill could harm families dependent on the undocumented workers' income or could punish workers...

Mexico has a message for Gov. Pataki: Start obeying your labor laws - or else. Because as odd as it may seem, a foreign nation has a say in how workers are treated in New York.After a three year investigation, Mexican officials overseeing the North American Free Trade Agreement issued a report last week saying New York state and Pataki had deprived injured workers of compensation.Failures in the workers-compensation system were "excessive and continuous," they said.

Appeals court ruling limiting workers comp for illegal aliens stands The Associated Press 7/24/2004, 10:41 a.m. ET LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has declined to decide a workers compensation case brought by an illegal immigrant, allowing an appeals court ruling to stand that permitted benefits for the period before his illegal status was discovered, but not afterward. The case involved Mexican immigrant David Sanchez, who was hired at Eagle Alloy Inc., a foundry in Muskegon, in 1997 with a fake social security number and driver's license. He was partially disabled after an accident crushed and burned his...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) -- Presidential candidate Howard Dean may have his own Ben & Jerry's sundae, but one of his Democratic rivals got the endorsement of his home state's ice cream company founder.</p> <p>Ben Cohen, who with Jerry Greenfield founded Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream in Burlington, Vermont, said Friday that he is supporting Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.</p>