News Archive - 21 June 2014

>BELO HORIZONTE Brazil (Reuters) - Lionel Messi spared Argentina's blushes with a wonderful last-gasp winner against unheralded Iran at the World Cup on Saturday to give the South Americans a 1-0 victory and passage to the last 16. Argentina's fabled "Fab Four" strike force had appeared heading for a blank...

Unfortunately it couldn't last forever, finally there has been a goalless game during the 2014 World Cup. However, forget about the 0-0 draw between Iran and Nigeria, Tuesday is set to be an action packed day in Brazil. Group H finally gets underway, and it starts in the  Estadio Mineirao ...

>ANBAR, IRAQ(Reuters) - Sunni fighters seized a border post on the Iraq-Syria frontier, security sources said on Saturday, smashing a line drawn by colonial powers almost a century ago and potentially creating an Islamic Caliphate from the Mediterranean Sea to Iran. The militants, led by the Islamic State in Iraq...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Miroslav Klose scored a World Cup goal for the record books. Lionel Messi grabbed a late winner to put Argentina into the round of 16.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham calls negotiations with Iran unattractive but unavoidable to prevent ISIS takeover in Iraq

Dallas Mavericks center Dirk Nowitzki, of Germany, gets comfortable before he begins speaking to reporters before practice for a charity baseball game Friday, June 20, 2014, in Frisco, Texas.

Brazilian police used non-lethal munitions on Saturday to disperse a group of World Cup fans who breached a security line protecting the Argentina team bus. Four Brazilians, three Argentines and one Colombian were slightly wounded in the incident near the stadium in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, the military...

Costa Rica staged a stunning victory during Friday's World Cup games, beating Italy and causing England's elimination. The Ticos won the game 1-0 with Bryan Ruiz scoring in the first half.

(AP Photo/Nelson Antoine). An Italy soccer fan watches his team's World Cup match with Costa Rica inside the FIFA Fan Fest area in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, June 20, 2014.

Brazilian police detained on Saturday two suspected members of Argentina's infamous hooligan gangs — known in Spanish as "Barras Bravas." The pair were among nearly 20 Argentines detained inside the Mineirao stadium where Argentina beat Iran 1-0. All were turned loose by Brazil's federal police, but the two tagged...

Passionate Iranian fans held their heads up Saturday after a last minute goal from four-time world player of the year Lionel Messi, saw their beloved Team Melli lose 1-0 to Argentina. "We were robbed," cried an overwhelmed Atieh, dressed in Iran's national shirt. He was not kind to Serbian referee...

>BELO HORIZONTE Brazil (Reuters) - Argentina captain Lionel Messi, whose last-gasp goal against Iran sent the South Americans through to the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday, said his team would improve as the tournament progresses and peak at the right time. The Argentines eked out a wafer-thin 1-0...

>BELO HORIZONTE Brazil (Reuters) - Argentina will need to improve in their next World Cup games despite having "genius" Lionel Messi, who scored a last-gasp winner in the 1-0 win over Iran on Saturday to send them through to the knockout stage, coach Alejandro Sabella said. "We want to improve...

>Abandoning the caution they showed in the first half of their opening game against Bosnia, four-times world player of the year and Argentina captain Lionel Messi starts up front with Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. The last member of Argentina's so-called "Fab Four", Angel Di Maria, completes one of the...

>(Reuters) - Individual genius triumphed over collective organization as Lionel Messi’s magnificent stoppage time goal for Argentina cruelly left Iran with nothing after an outstanding defensive display from Carlos Queiroz’s team. For 90 minutes the Iranians had held firm against one of the tournament favorites and nullified one of the...

England are out, Costa Rica's crazy run continues, and Martin O'Neill gets shirty live on television - it's our daily look at the World Cup!

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The World Cup kicks off Thursday in Sao Paulo with home team Brazil going up against Croatia in the opener of the world’s most popular sporting event. All 64 soccer matches will air in English in the United States on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. Univision...

Iraq's military claimed Saturday that it had regained key northern territories from extremist Sunni Muslim militants and asserted it remained strong and capable against the radicals who have suddenly destabilized the country, a military spokesman sai...

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's the fog of diplomacy.

You might expect Sunday to be a day of rest in a predominantly Roman Catholic country like Brazil. But the World Cup offers as good a reason as it gets to make an exception.

One by one, Iraqi cities seem to be falling to a militant group bent on continuing its march forward. What's happening in Iraq now has all the makings of a civil war -- and a full-blown foreign policy crisis.

>CUIABA Brazil (Reuters) - World Cup newcomers Bosnia must prove coach Safet Susic's belief that they are good enough to reach the knockout stages by beating Nigeria on Saturday, he said. After a hard-fought 2-1 defeat to Argentina, Susic said he believed his squad - the lone debutants in Brazil...