Mexico has had its fair share of success against Brazil through the years, and 'El Tri' stifled
the South Americans yet again, shutting down the high-powered 'Selecao' attack on their way to a
2-0 victory on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium.
Giovani Dos Santos played the role of hero, scoring a goal and setting up another by drawing a
penalty, to give the Mexican squad a big boost heading into World Cup qualifying.
The England national team were outplayed for stretches, and Belgium certainly provided a good
test, but Danny Welbeck's game-winning goal provided the difference in a 1-0 England victory at
Wembley.
Both sides saw goal-bound chance hit the woodwork, but Welbeck's beautiful finish off a pass
from Manchester United teammate Ashley Young provided the difference in England's Euro tuneup
match.
The Argentine national team flashed the kind of form long expected of such a talent-laden side
with a World Cup qualifying masterpiece on Saturday night.
Four different players scored goals, including Lionel Messi and birthday boy Sergio Aguero, to
help Argentina post a 4-0 pummeling of Ecuador in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying action in Buenos
Aires.
By FRANCO PANIZO
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Not long after trimming its roster down to 23 players, the United States
took to the field for a public training session at EverBank Field on Friday to continue
preparations for the Saturday's friendly against Scotland.
U.
Eric Hassli didn't start Wednesday night's Canadian Championship Final first leg, but the French
striker sure did finish it in style.
Hassli came off the bench to deliver a jaw-dropping equalizer in second-half stoppage time to
help the Vancouver Whitecaps salvage a 1-1 draw against Toronto FC at BC Place.
France national team head coach Laurent Blanc has rounded out the preliminary roster for this
summer's Euro 2012, and Les Bleus look as deep a team as any.
Blanc has called in a 26-man roster that will need to be trimmed down to 23 by May 29, and among
the players selected are Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri and
Patrice Evra of Manchester United.
By JOEY SAMUEL
Although it doesn't count in the standings, the Philadelphia Union earned a quality win on
Wednesday night in front of a paltry crowd at PPL Park.
Rookie forward Chandler Hoffman scored in the 88th minute to give the Union a 2-1 win over U.S.
men's national team midfielder Jermaine Jones and German side Schalke 04.
By JOEY SAMUEL
After missing four of the Philadelphia Union's first six games of 2012, captain Danny Califf
appears to be ready to return to action when the team faces the San Jose Earthquakes on
Saturday.
Califf has been plagued by injury concerns so far this season, most recently sitting out games
against Colubmus and Chivas USA due to a hamstring pull.
By FRANCO PANIZO
Giuseppi Rossi's injury is worse than originally feared.
After being projected to miss another six months with the torn ACL he suffered earlier this
month, Rossi is now being ruled out for 10 months. The Italian international needs two surgeries to
repair the damaged ligament in his right knee, but the latest timetable for recovery means Rossi
will miss most of next season.
By JOEY SAMUEL
Last week, Raymon Gaddis was plugged into the starting lineup on a moment's notice when
Philadelphia Union captain Danny Califf aggravated a hamstring injury. As the Union prepare for
Saturday's away tilt against Chivas USA, it's becoming likely that Gaddis will get yet another
start in his first MLS season.
Mexican powerhouse Monterrey took a giant step toward repeating as CONCACAF Champions League
title holders on Wednesday night after a second-half brace from Humberto Suazo gave the Rayados a
2-0 first-leg victory over Santos Laguna.
The match was a tightly contested one until the second half, when Suazo finally broke through
with a pair of goals, including a dazzling run through the Santos defense near the end of the match
to help give Monterrey a two-goal cushion heading to the second leg in Torreon next week.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Welcome back, Carlos Tevez.
The Argentinian striker, who recently returned to the club after a six-month absence due to a
dispute with Manchester City manager Roberto Macini, netted a hat trick in City's 6-1 win over
Norwich City. Sergio Aguero added a brace while Adam Johnson completed the rout in the 90th
minute.
BY DAVE MARTINEZ
The New York Red Bull's explosive offense has certainly managed to cover for some of the team's
more glaring weaknesses. Midfield production has been a major concern as has been the fortitude
of their defense. Today's revelations may just compound on those problems.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Manchester City's title dreams are on the brink as a crowded weekend of fixtures takes center
stage in the Premier League
Arsenal are not out of the woods yet in their quest for fourth place and they welcome City to
the Emirates on Easter Sunday.
BY DAVE MARTINEZ
Will reinforcements be joining the New York Red Bulls soon? As of now, it doesn't seem
likely.
With the April 15th transfer deadline only days away, Coach Hans Backe remains skeptical about
the options he may have available to join his side.
By JOEY SAMUEL
For two years, Sebastien Le Toux was the leading scorer and face of the franchise for the
Philadelphia Union. The first season without him has seen the team's worst start in its short
history. But coach Peter Nowak isn't thinking at all about the fact that Le Toux will return to
face his former club at PPL Park this Saturday.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Juventus finally saw an offensive outburst after weeks of low-scoring tilts, but the unbeaten
club failed to move any closer to AC Milan despite a 5-0 romp over Fiorentina.
Five different players scored goals for Juve, which stayed within striking distance of AC Milan,
who kept their four-point lead atop the Serie A standings after a 2-0 win against Parma.
BY DAVE MARTINEZ
The New York Red Bulls have emerged from preseason in relative health heading into Sunday's
opener. Even so, nagging injuries and key losses to the starting lineup will test the teams depth
against a dangerous FC Dallas side.
Wilman Conde will be out for the match.
DC United could find itself without goalkeeper Bill Hamid quite a bit in 2012 as the U.S.
national team netminder and potential Olympian stands poised to have a busy year. With that in
mind, DC added a veteran goalkeeper to help provide some cover.
DC signed former Chicago Fire goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra on Monday.
By CALEB SONNELAND
The 8th annual Carolina Challenge Cup is underway in Charleston, South Carolina.
DC United notched the only win of the weekend with a 1-0 result over the Chicago Fire while
hosts Charleston Battery salvaged a late draw with the Columbus Crew last Saturday.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
One wouldn't expect one of the games of the season to come out of the Carling Cup but that's
exactly what happened when Liverpool edged Cardiff City via penalties in a thrilling final at
Wembley.
Liverpool seemed to have dispatched the Championship side when Dirk Kuyt scored a wonderful goal
in the 108th minute but Cardiff refused to give up.
By JOEY SAMUEL
In a match where both teams needed three points, London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea each had to
settle for one as they played to a 1-1 draw. Emmanuel Adebayor scored to put Spurs up in the 8th
minute, only for Chelsea to equalize through Daniel Sturridge fifteen minutes later.
A coaching change at FC Ingolstadt led to an early winter break for Edson Buddle, who was sent
home until the new year. The U.S. national team striker isn't going to lay around doing nothing
during the German winter break though. He has headed to London, where he will spend a week training
with West Ham United.
Chelsea breathed life into their faint title hopes, while also helping open up the English
Premier League title race after handing Manchester City their first loss of the season in a 2-1
victory at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Frank Lampard came off the bench to convert the game-winning penalty as a Joleon Lescott
handball doomed City to their first defeat, which leaves the Premier League leaders just two points
ahead of Manchester United.
The race to land the services of Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is over, and Chinese club
Shanghai Shenhua has emerged as the top bidder, landing Anelka on a two-year contract.
Shenhua beat out teams from Russia, Qatar, as well as MLS club Montreal Impact, for the
32-year-old French striker, with reports estimating the deal will pay Anelka more than $300,000 a
week.
The Los Angeles Galaxy opened their Asia Pacific Tour in winning fashion, posting a 1-0 victory
over the Indonesian National Select Team on Wednesday.
Robbie Keane scored the winner for the Galaxy, who trotted out the same starting lineup that
defeated the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final just ten games earlier.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
The Montreal Impact continued their preparations for the 2012 MLS season by signing Ft.
Lauderdale Strikers midfielder Bryan Arguez.
The former U.S. U-20 international, who had a stint with D.C. United in 2007, helped the
Strikers reach the NASL Championship Series this past season.
BY ADAM SERRANO
Robbie Keane is looking is to cap off one of the best weeks of his career with a championship.
Keane led Ireland qualify for their first appearance at the European Championships on Tuesday
with a convincing playoff victory over Estonia. Now, the Irish striker will look to cap off his
impressive week with an MLS Cup title when his Los Angeles Galaxy take on the Houston Dynamo on
Sunday.
By IAN HOLLIDAY
Just one match into his tenure at Inter Milan, Claudio Ranieri has already done something his
predecessor Gian Piero Gasperini was unable to do: win.
Inter got two goals in the last nine minutes of its match at Bologna to pull out a 3-1 win.
By KEITH HICKEY
Union right back Sheanon Williams will miss Friday's game against Sporting Kansas City after
picking up a concussion. The injury to Williams, who had previously missed just one match this
season, was reported by Philly.com and is listed on the official injury report, but the club has
yet to make an official statement.
By IAN HOLLIDAY
With the UEFA Champions League and Europa League group stages getting underway last week and
most European leagues playing midweek games this week, managers across Europe saw their squads'
depths tested this weekend, and some sides fared better than others.
By CALEB SONNELAND
Jozy Altidore should make his Europa League debut tonight as AZ Alkmaar lines up against Swedish
outfit Malmo FF.
Altidore, currently on a hot streak with his new club, has five goals in six appearances and has
been an immediate hit for the Dutch side since signing in mid-July.
FC Dallas scored an early goal to take control of their CONCACAF Champions League match against
Tauro FC, but never could find a second goal, leaving the door open for the visitors to grab a
valuable draw.
That's what Tauro did, when Luis Moreno converted a penalty kick drawn after a clumsy Ugo
Ihemelu challenge just before halftime.
There was plenty of speculation about whether Timmy Chandler's decision to skip the CONCACAF
Gold Cup was evidence of the German-born player's potential desire to play for Germany and give up
his recent allegiance to the United States.
Chandler shot that down in a recent interview, telling Yanks Abroad he has every intention of
playing for the United States, and no desire to represent Germany, where he was born.
By IAN HOLLIDAY
For several weeks in March and early April, it looked like an Arsenal victory at the Emirates
against Manchester United on May 1 could make for a dramatic English title race. It did, but not
for the Gunners.
Aaron Ramsey's 56th minute goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win on the day, but it's Chelsea that will
benefit most from the result.
By IAN HOLLIDAY
Saturday's clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona wasn't the most important of the four
Clasicos the clubs will play during this 17-day stretch. Nor was it likely to be the most exciting.
But the 1-1 draw did set an intriguing stage for Wednesday's Copa Del Rey final and the clubs' UEFA
Champions League semifinal matches next week.
BY ADAM SERRANO
Leonardo may be considered "the other" Brazilian for the Galaxy after fellow countrymen Juninho
burst on to the scene last year, but in 2011, the defender seems poised to play a key role for the
Galaxy.
The hulking Brazilian was solid over 90 minutes in Tuesday's 1-0 victory over the Seattle
Sounders.
By THOMAS FLOYD
The optimism surrounding Charlie Davies' trial with D.C. United seems to increase by the
day.
In a development that is sure to please U.S. national team and United supporters alike, Davies
notched two goals and an assist during the Black and Red's 4-0 win over the Trinidad and Tobago
Under-20 national team Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Clint Dempsey scored his sixth goal of the season on Tuesday to help Fulham climb out of the
relegation zone with a 3-0 win against West Bromwich Albion.
Fulham jumped all the way to 13th in the English Premier League standings with the win.
Dempsey's goal made the score 2-0, with defender Brede Hangeland added an insurance goal to make
the score 3-0.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
The defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids have started the new year by adding some
defensive depth.
The Rapids announced the signing of veteran defender Tyrone Marshall on Monday. Colorado
acquired Marshall's rights in the second phase of the MLS Re-Entry Draft last month.
