The Korea Herald

No easy path

Spain, Germany take hit in World Cup qualifyingSpain’s 24-game winning streak in qualifiers ended Tuesday night when Olivier Giroud scored in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, giving France a 1-1 tie in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.On a busy day of international soccer, Germany wasted a four-goal lead at home in a 4-4 tie against Sweden and Canada, which hasn’t qualified since 1986, was eliminated with an 8-1 rout at Honduras.Australia revived its qualifying campaign with a 2-

Oct. 17, 2012

S. Korea falls to Iran in World Cup qualifier

South Korea's Park Chu-young fights for the ball during a qualifying match against Iran on Tuesday in Iran. (Yonhap News)South Korea fell to Iran 1-0 in their World Cup qualifier here Tuesday.At Azadi Stadium, Javad Nekounam's second-half score gave the 10-man Iranian team a huge victory in their Group A contest in the ongoing final World Cup qualification round.With the win, Iran pulled even with

Oct. 17, 2012

S. Korea falls to Iran in World Cup qualifier

Liverpool plans to stay at Anfield

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) ― Liverpool announced plans Monday to expand the capacity of Anfield, the club’s home for 120 years, rather than building a new stadium.The 18-time English champions started working on a new $800 million venue in nearby Stanley Park before owner John Henry’s takeover two years ago, but it was abandoned due to financial problems.Henry has decided that a new stadium still doesn’t make financial sense, instead pursuing plans to expand Anfield’s capacity from 45,000 to an exp

Oct. 16, 2012

S. Korea to take on Iran in World Cup qualifier

TEHRAN (Yonhap News) -- South Korea will try to end a road winless streak with a depleted defensive line against Iran in the final round of the 2014 World Cup qualification this week.Iran will host the Koreans at Azadi Stadium at 8 p.m. Tuesday, or 1:30 a.m. Wednesday Korean time.South Korea remains unbeaten in three qualifying matches in this phase so far, having beaten Qatar and Lebanon before being held to a draw by Uzbekistan last month. South Korea leads five nations in Group A with seven p

Oct. 15, 2012

Spain, Germany, England find form

LONDON (AP) ― World and European champion Spain romped to a 24th straight qualifying win, although no one in the country was able to see it.Pedro Rodriguez scored a hat trick as the world’s best team routed host Belarus 4-0 in one of a group of big wins for Europe’s leading nations in 2014 World Cup qualifying.Yet, celebrations were muted in the debt-ridden country after no broadcaster paid to televise the national team’s match for the first time in 29 years.Spain’s wasn’t the most convincing wi

Oct. 14, 2012

Millwall probes racism claims

LONDON (AFP) ― Championship soccer club Millwall will speak to the police as it continues to investigate allegations that four Bolton players, including South Korean star Lee Chung-yong, were racially abused during Saturday’s match at the Den.Bolton striker Marvin Sordell claimed on Twitter that he was taunted by Millwall fans at the southeast London club on Saturday as he warmed up as a substitute.Sordell, who represented Britain at the recent Olympics, alleged that three other Bolton players ―

Oct. 9, 2012

Battle of the titans

Messi, Ronaldo score two goals each in thrillerBARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dueled each other to an entertaining stalemate on Sunday, with both superstars scoring twice as Barcelona drew 2-2 with Real Madrid to keep an eight-point lead over its archrival intact.The result ended Barcelona’s perfect start to the league campaign as it dropped points for the first time in seven games, but provided yet another memorable chapter in the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo, the two

Oct. 8, 2012

FIFA postpones ruling on Park

FIFA, the international governing body of football, has postponed its disciplinary ruling on a South Korean player for his controversial post-match celebration at the London Olympics, officials here said Saturday.FIFA convened a disciplinary committee meeting at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, to hear the case of midfielder Park Jong-woo. The 23-year-old came under the international spotlight in August in London, following his celebration of South Korea’s bronze medal with a placard tha

Oct. 7, 2012

Son finds net in Hamburg win

Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 2-0 for its seventh straight Bundesliga victory, with Franck Ribery scoring both goals. Bayern is off to its best start since 1995 and has won 10 of 11 matches in all competitions.Hamburger SV won 1-0 at Greuther Fuerth on a goal by Son Heung-min. Promoted Fortuna Duesseldorf lost its first match of the season, going down 1-0 with 10 men at Mainz.Freiburg routed Nuremberg 3-0 to hand the visitors their fourth straight loss. Schalke beat Wolfsburg 3-0 as Felix Magath

Oct. 7, 2012

Teammate: Lee racially abused at Millwall

LONDON (AP) ― A Bolton player said he and several teammates were subject to racist abuse by Millwall fans during a second-tier match on Saturday.Striker Marvin Sordell wrote on Twitter after a 2-1 loss at Millwall on Saturday that the racist taunts by fans of the London club were ignored by police. The Football Association has launched an investigation.Lee Chung-yong, Darren Pratley and Benik Afobe also were targeted by Millwall supporters, Sordell said.“Putting the match aside, its 2012 in engl

Oct. 7, 2012

Teammate: Lee racially abused at Millwall

Udinese rally stuns Liverpool in Europa

LONDON (AP) ― Udinese rallied to beat Liverpool 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday, joining fellow Italian teams Inter Milan and Lazio in notching maiden group-stage victories.Trailing 1-0 at halftime at Anfield, Udinese stunned the five-time European champions with a second-half comeback sparked by Antonio Di Natale’s well-taken equalizer and completed by Giovanni Pasquale’s finish.Anzhi Makhachkala is tied at four points with Udinese at the top of Group A thanks to a 2-0 win over Young Boys

Oct. 5, 2012

Ulsan pounds Al Hilal to reach semis

Ulsan Hyundai Tigers of South Korea’s K-League pounded Saudi Arabian opponent Al Hilal 4-0 Wednesday in Riyadh to reach the semifinals of an ongoing continental club football competition.At Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, Ulsan earned the resounding win in the second leg of the quarterfinals at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League. The victory gave the K-League club a 5-0 advantage in aggregate score. It beat Al Hilal 1-0 at home two weeks ago.Ulsan will face Uzbekistan club Bunyodk

Oct. 4, 2012

Ronaldo’s hat trick boosts Real

LONDON (AP) ― Cristiano Ronaldo’s second hat trick in four days allowed Real Madrid to take charge of the Champions League’s toughest group Wednesday.Arsenal, FC Porto and Malaga joined the Spanish power in earning second straight wins in the competition.Ronaldo’s three-goal performance upstaged a spectacular overhead kick by Karim Benzema in Madrid’s 4-1 win against Ajax, giving Jose Mourinho’s team a maximum six points in Group D.Manchester City’s struggles in Europe’s top club competition con

Oct. 4, 2012

ESPN FC says Park ‘unlikely choice of captain’

An ESPN-owned football website raised doubts about Park Ji-sung’s leadership, saying that the Korean footballer is an “unlikely choice of captain” for Queens Park Rangers, which is struggling in the English Premier League.The article titled “This year’s crisis club? First call for QPR” pointed out the problems QPR faced in the abysmal season under the helm of manager Mark Hughes. Among them was 32-year-old Park’s addition as the new captain.“Park Ji-sung seems an unlikely choice of captain, unle

Oct. 4, 2012

Barca, Man United cruise

GENEVA (AP) ― Lionel Messi was Barcelona’s goal maker and Robin Van Persie was Manchester United’s goal taker as the star forwards shone in Champions League victories Tuesday.Messi created chances for Alexis Sanchez to score in the sixth minute and Cesc Fabregas in the 55th for a 2-0 win away to Benfica.Barcelona’s comfortable night was tarnished late on as the four-time champion lost captain Carles Puyol who dislocated his left elbow after landing awkwardly. Midfielder Sergio Busquets was then

Oct. 3, 2012

QPR stumbles

LONDON (AP) ― Matt Jarvis scored in the third minute and Ricardo Vaz Te in the 36th, giving West Ham a 2-1 win at Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League on Monday night that left their London rival in last place.Adel Taarabt scored for QPR with a shot in the 57th that dipped beyond reach of goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the hosts’ chances of a comeback were slowed when Samba Diakite was ejected in the 75th for his second yellow card.West Ham’s Andy Carroll made his return from a hamstrin

Oct. 2, 2012

Rooney, United nab win

LONDON (AP) ― Wayne Rooney returned from a monthlong injury absence, helping Manchester United to a 2-1 victory Wednesday that eliminated Newcastle from the League Cup. Arsenal and Tottenham advanced with ease on Wednesday.Anderson and Tom Cleverley scored for United. Rooney, recovering from a right leg injury, played 76 minutes.Arsenal advanced to the fourth round by thrashing Coventry 6-1, with Olivier Giroud scoring his first goal for the London club and Theo Walcott getting two goals.Tottenh

Sept. 27, 2012

Korea leaves off veterans

South Korea has left a pair of veterans off the men’s football team ahead of its World Cup qualification match against Iran next month.Choi Kang-hee, the national men’s football team head coach, on Wednesday unveiled the overhauled 23-man roster for the Oct. 16 road match in the ongoing, final Asian qualification round for the 2012 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The lineup features six players that didn’t play in South Korea’s 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan on Sept. 11.Striker Lee Dong-gook, 33, and def

Sept. 26, 2012

City, Everton eliminated in League Cup shocks

LONDON (AP) ― Premier League champion Manchester City was eliminated from the League Cup at the first hurdle by Aston Villa on Tuesday, and Everton was beaten by second-tier club Leeds.Villa beat City 4-2 after twice coming from behind to force the game into extra time, when Charles N’Zogbia and Gabriel Agbonlahor scored.Goals from Aidy White and Rodolph Austin put Leeds into the fourth round with a 2-1 victory over Everton, which is third in the Premier League.But it was completely one-sided at

Sept. 26, 2012

Real wins 2-0 at Rayo Vallecano

BARCELONA (AP) ― Karim Benzema scored in the 13th minute and Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty kick in the 70th, lifting defending champion Real Madrid to a 2-0 win at crosstown rival Rayo Vallecano on Monday night in a game postponed a day by light failure.Officials at Madrid’s Vallecas stadium discovered that cables for the lights had been cut in what they called an actof sabotage. Electricians repaired the cables by Monday evening.Benzema scored off a pass from Angel Di Maria, and Ronaldo

Sept. 25, 2012