US secretary of defence
Washington: US goalkeeper Tim Howard, who pulled off a record-setting 16 saves in a 1-2 World Cup loss against Belgium, was momentarily named Secretary of Defence on Wikipedia as an enthusiastic fan edited the Wikipedia entry. In praise of Howard, someone changed the Wikipedia entry for Chuck Hagel to show that Howard is the US secretary of defence, and it exploded all over the Internet. The entry was changed to Hagel later. A day after Howard had made a record-setting 16 saves in the heartbreaking loss against Belgium, Pentagon chief Hagel called Howard on Wednesday to offer his congratulations and acknowledge a joke that had spread online, The Washington Post reported. "Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called US Men's National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard to thank him for defending the United States of America at the World Cup. Secretary Hagel congratulated Howard on his record-breaking game and a great run in Brazil," a Pentagon statement said. "He invited Howard and the entire team to come to the Pentagon later this year. He told Howard that with some training, he could someday become the real secretary of defense," the statement said. Meanwhile, more than 6,800 people signed an online petition to the White House to remove President Ronald Reagan's name from the airport in Washington D.C., and call it the 'Tim Howard National Airport'. The airport petition is not the only one attached to Howard's name. About 400 people have also signed a petition to make Howard Secretary of Defense.
US don’t have it in them
Sao Paulo: Turns out Jurgen Klinsmann was right: The United States isn't ready to win the World Cup. The Americans were eliminated in the round of 16 for the second straight tournament. They've been ranked 13th or 14th every month since September, which means their exit was pretty much at the stage it's expected to be. "Clearly it gives you the message you have a lot of work still ahead of you," the U.S. coach said Wednesday, a day after the 2-1 loss to Belgium in extra time. "It makes them feel accountable, not just walk away with a bad performance and nothing happens," he said. "If you have a bad performance, then people should approach you and tell you that, so make sure that next game is not bad anymore and that you step it up."
Federations probed
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian authorities investigated whether members of the Brazilian, Argentine and Spanish football federations were involved in the illegal sale of World Cup tickets after police dismantled a scalping gang. The brother and agent of Brazilian football star Ronaldinho, Roberto de Assis Moreira, will be questioned in the case, though he is not under investigation, said Marcos Kac, the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor in charge of the investigation. Police arrested 11 people on Wednesday accused of selling tickets that may have been obtained through a contact at FIFA, the world football governing body, authorities said. The tickets were the type handed out by FIFA to sponsors, football federations, players and non-governmental organisations. "Ronaldinho's brother told some of his friends that they could buy tickets through this system," Kac said. "If we see that he has any relationship with this group, if we see that he collaborated in any way, then he would be involved. For now, he isn't."
Blatter’s a happy man
Rio de Janeiro: FIFA president Sepp Blatter declared that the World Cup in Brazil was a success, saying that fears of anti-tournament protests had not materialised. "I am a very happy man today," Blatter said at a sport management seminar in Rio de Janeiro. "It is a success of the country, of this game," he said. The World Cup has escaped the massive protests that marred last year's warm-up tournament, the Confederations Cup, when hundreds of thousands of people swarmed the streets to denounce the record USD 11 billion spent on hosting the event. The protests have been much smaller during the World Cup, drawing a few hundred demonstrators still angry that the country spent so much on stadiums instead of hospitals, schools and public transport. "I would like to address my compliments to the people of Brazil. They accepted this World Cup," Blatter said.
Enough of Ghana’s Boateng
Accra: Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah will not call up Kevin-Prince Boateng in the future after their World Cup bust-up. Back home after Ghana's elimination, Appiah said Wednesday he will now only select players who are "disciplined, committed and ready to die for the country." "For now, Kevin-Prince Boateng is not part of my plans," Appiah said. Boateng, a Schalke forward, was thrown out of the team camp ahead of its final group game at the World Cup for insulting Appiah during a training session. AC Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari was also sent home for hitting an official. "I believe in discipline and l know managing egos is difficult, but I would not allow such egos to affect the team," Appiah said. Appiah didn't say if there would be any repercussions for Muntari. Ghana, a World Cup quarterfinalist in 2010, went out in the group stage in Brazil after two losses and a draw in a campaign troubled by off-field issues. The players were involved in a dispute with officials over unpaid bonuses ahead of the decisive final group game against Portugal and team discipline appeared to disintegrate. The Ghana Football Association also said Wednesday that the conduct of midfielder Michael Essien was "under review" after he failed to take part in a pre-game warm-up ahead of the Portugal game. Essien was on the bench for the match, which Ghana lost 2-1.
Belgium counting on Brazil fans
Mogi Das Cruzes: This is as close to 'rent-a-crowd' that the World Cup will come. And it won't cost Belgium anything. Expected to be outnumbered by tens of thousands of Argentina fans at Saturday's quarterfinal at the 70,000-capacity Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots gently stoked a regional rivalry to suit his ends. Wilmots said "the Brazilians expect only one thing and that is that we beat the Argentinians," referring to a long and sometimes bitter rivalry between the neighboring football giants. Belgian fans traveled in their thousands to group games, adding patches of bright red in the grandstands. But since planning for the knockout stages is fraught with uncertainty, far fewer were at the second round game against the United States in Salvador, and fewer still are expected on Saturday.
FIFA: Suarez ban was just
Rio De Janeiro: FIFA's disciplinary committee chairman says luis Suarez received a just punishment and was not made an example of. Claudio Sulser told reporters the Uruguay and liverpool forward's World Cup biting case was "very severe." Suarez was banned for nine Uruguay matches, four months from all football and fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000) by Sulser's seven-man panel. Sulser says through a translator: "one thing I mentioned in my capacity as the chairman is we don't need to impose an exemplary sanction, we need to have justice." The former Switzerland player says he could not comment further because Suarez and the Uruguay football federation have appealed.
Messi vs Maradona: bigger, better
Brasilia: As the former Argentina international Jorge Valdano once observed: “One does try to avoid comparing lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. The problem is that Messi doesn't help.” The comparisons will only increase ahead of Argentina's World Cup quarter-final with Belgium on Saturday, for it was against the Belgians that two of Maradona's most iconic moments occurred. In a 1982 World Cup group-stage match in Barcelona, a photograph was taken of Maradona facing up to a throng of six Belgian defenders that has become one of the most well-known of him as a player. The image was slightly misleading — the Belgian players were fanning out from a defensive wall, rather than massing in opposition to the squat, raven-haired Argentina number 10 — but it vividly evoked the terror the 21-year-old was liable to spread in opposition defences. Argentina lost the game 1-0 and Maradona's tournament ended in disgrace when he was sent off against Brazil. But in the 1986 competition another meeting with Belgium saw him produce one of his defining performances.
FIFA wants fixing proof
Rio de janeiro: FIFA expressed "substantial doubts" Wednesday about a German magazine's claims that a World Cup game could have been fixed and asked the publication to provide evidence to back up its report that a renowned match-fixer accurately predicted details of the match hours before it kicked off. FIFA said it wants Der Spiegel to provide details of all its conversations with convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal to prove its claim that Cameroon's 4-0 loss to Croatia on June 18 may have been fixed. "The article has put the integrity of FIFA World Cup matches in question, which is a serious allegation," FIFA director of security Ralf Mutschke said in a statement read out at a briefing at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro by spokeswoman Delia Fischer. FIFA said it had no indication from betting markets that any of the 56 games so far at the World Cup were suspicious and has "substantial doubts about the alleged manipulation published by Der Spiegel." The weekly magazine claimed that Perumal told it in a Facebook chat hours before the Cameroon-Croatia group game that he knew what was going to happen. Der Spiegel said that Perumal - a Singaporean who is arguably the best-known fixer in football - correctly predicted that Croatia would win 4-0 and Cameroon would have a player sent off in the first half. Cameroon midfielder Alex Song was red-carded just before halftime.