Soccer Capsules: New Zealand names squad for Mexico friendly
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand football coach Ricki Herbert has disregarded objections from Rory Fallon and his Plymouth Argyle club by including the English-based striker in his squad for next month's World Cup warmup match against Mexico.
Herbert also named Ipswich defender and former England youth international Tommy Smith in his 17-man squad on Monday for the March 3 friendly at Los Angeles.
Smith recently switched allegiance from England to New Zealand and was immediately included by Herbert in his squad for the World Cup in South Africa.
Fallon sought to be excused from the match to stay with Plymouth Argyle as it battles to avoid relegation from England's second-teir League Championship.
Plymouth also pressed New Zealand Football to allow Fallon to miss the match, but Herbert has insisted on naming his strongest possible squad.
Fallon will take his place in a strong New Zealand attacking lineup which includes A-League scoring leader Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen, who recently transferred from Glasgow Celtic to Middlesbrough, and West Bromich Albion's Chris Wood.
Only two players are missing from the New Zealand team that beat Bahrain 1-0 in September to qualify for the World Cup finals.
Goalkeeper Mark Paston is injured while defender Ivan Vicelich is under suspension.
U.S. Soccer
David Beckham Academy shuttered in U.S., Britain
CARSON, California — The David Beckham Academy in Carson and another location in Britain have closed, although the Los Angeles Galaxy star is working to develop another soccer coaching program for children.
Both camps were jointly run by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy, and 19 Entertainment, Beckham's management team.
AEG spokesman Michael Roth said Monday that the Carson location was closed before Christmas. He said AEG is working with Beckham to develop a program and coaching model that would not be limited to a single location and could reach more children worldwide.
The Daily Breeze of Torrance originally reported the Carson shutdown, saying it cost a handful of full-time staff their jobs. There was no public announcement.
Beckham's Web site said the lease on the location in Greenwich, England, had expired.
Galaxy's Mathis out after having knee surgery
CARSON, Calif. — Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Clint Mathis will miss four to six weeks after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
The team said Monday that Mathis was hurt in training last week and had the surgery Friday in Santa Monica.
Mathis was re-acquired by the Galaxy in January from MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake. The 32-year-old midfielder, in his third stint with the Galaxy, has already started his rehabilitation and could return to full training before the end of preseason.
Mathis is expected to be ready for the March 27 season opener against New England.
League News
Arsenal needs to end slide against Liverpool
LONDON — Since climbing to the top of the Premier League, Arsenal has taken only one point from three games, slipped to third and been knocked out of the FA Cup.
Now Arsene Wenger's young players face a tough home game against reviving Liverpool, and another defeat could leave them with little chance of winning a title they last captured six years ago.
"I feel that we are not in the best position but we will not give up," Wenger said after Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea left his side nine points off the lead.
"We were a bit unfortunate as well in the same period to play Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on the trot. If you lose one game, it is very difficult with the psychological implications for the next game. I believe that is a little bit of a disadvantage."
At the same stage of last season, however, Arsenal slipped off the title pace by drawing five games in a row — four of them 0-0 — although it didn't face any of its traditional title rivals during that run.
Wenger's team hopes to bounce back by beating Liverpool at home on Wednesday. But it will face a Liverpool side that has lost only one of its last nine league games, beat neighbor Everton 1-0 on Saturday and has not conceded in its last four outings.
Arsenal has scored only one goal in its last three games — a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United — and Wenger's team rarely troubled Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech despite having far more possession.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba scored both goals and rattled the crossbar with a free kick, and the team's defense was just as outstanding.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti singled out John Terry for praise for a commanding performance two days after having the England captaincy taken off him by Fabio Capello. The England coach took the action with Terry the subject of newspaper allegations that the Chelsea defender, who is married, had an affair with the former girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.
"John is the perfect captain for Chelsea," Ancelotti said. "My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in every game. It is very important for the team to have this leadership. He was always in control of the game. He has a strong mentality.
"He is working for his club and we are happy to have this performance from him in this moment. The England captaincy was not my decision and I do not want to judge about this decision."
Terry injured a thigh in Sunday's game but hopes to be fit to face ninth-place Everton at Goodison Park with Chelsea now two points ahead at the top of the standings.
Everton's defeat to Liverpool was its first defeat in 10 league games since a 2-0 home loss to its Merseyside neighbor on Nov. 29. Saturday's game was a bruising confrontation and both managers hope they can send out the strongest available lineups for Wednesday's games.
Second-place Manchester United comes off a 5-0 victory over last-place Portsmouth but now has a tougher game at Aston Villa, which is seventh in the standings and has conceded the fewest goals at home — seven — in the Premier League. United is level with Arsenal for the most goals away from home, with 25.
In Wednesday's other games, Hull hopes to continue its revival with a victory at Blackburn, having drawn with Chelsea and beaten Manchester City to climb out of the relegation zone and up to 14th.
West Ham slipped back into relegation trouble after a 2-1 loss at Burnley and now hosts eighth-place Birmingham. Wolves, which lost 2-1 at Birmingham to slip to next-to-last, hosts fifth-place Tottenham.
On Tuesday, it's: Fulham-Burnley; Manchester City-Bolton; Portsmouth-Sunderland and Wigan-Stoke.
-- Robert Millward
Godoy Cruz draws Independiente 0-0
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Godoy Cruz missed the chance to extend its winning start to the season after playing out a scoreless draw with Independiente in the Argentine Clausura tournament on Monday.
Atletico Tucuman drew 0-0 at home against Huracan in the day's other match.
After three rounds, Velez Sarsfield is the early league leader with 7 points, ahead of Godoy Cruz on goal difference.
Defending champion Banfield has made a slow start to its title defense with 3 points from 2 games, while Boca Juniors and River Plate are mid-table with 4 points from 3 games.
At Mendoza, Independiente had the chance to go top of the table but failed to take advantage of a second yellow card for Cesar Carranza in the 74th minute that meant Godoy Cruz finished the match with ten men.
Leandro Gracian hit the far post with a curling effort from the edge of the box for Independiente in the 53rd minute and Dario Gandin headed a second opportunity against an upright in the 73rd minute.
In the day's opening match, Atletico Tucuman survived Sebastian Longo's red card in the 61st minute to share the points with Huracan.
In results from Saturday and Sunday matches it was: Lanus 3, Argentinos Juniors 6; Newell's Old Boys 4 Boca Juniors 2; Velez Sarsfield 2, Gimnasia La Plata 1; Tigre 2, Colon de Santa Fe 2; Chacarita Juniors 2, Banfield 1; Estudiantes La Plata 2, San Lorenzo 0; River Plate 0, Rosario Central 0; Racing Club 2, Arsenal de Sarandi 4.
Elsewhere
Indonesia's bid for 2022 World Cup in question
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's bid to host the 2022 football World Cup grew increasingly uncertain Tuesday as the deadline for the country's government to file a letter of support for the bid loomed.
Prospective hosts must file a letter by Tuesday showing government support for the bids.
Minister of Youth and Sport Andi Mallarangeng was quoted by the Jakarta Globe newspaper Tuesday saying that the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has to first focus on improving the standard of football in the country.
"We have to pull ourselves to the top of the Southeast Asian region again, then we'll have to be one of Asia's best. After that, we can talk about the World Cup," Mallarangeng told the paper.
Mallarangeng declined to answer when asked if that meant the government would not support the bid.
Calls to Mallarangeng were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Joseph Tortulis, committee chairman of bidding for PSSI, said it had not withdrawn its bid, but inferred from Mallarangeng's comments that the government would not be issuing the letter of support.
"We understand that the government has said bidding for the (2022) World Cup host is not a priority, and asked PSSI to improve its performance first," Tortulis said. "If that is the case, then we can't do anything other than just wait and see what FIFA will do."
-- Irwan Firdaus
Franck Ribery doubtful whether Bayern can keep him
PARIS — Franck Ribery doubts whether Bayern Munich is good enough to compete with Europe's biggest teams and this may prompt him to leave the German club at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old Ribery has been heavily linked with a move away to either England or Spain.
Ribery is worried that Bayern is falling behind and may not be able to challenge for European honors.
"Bayern is still a big club. It's one of the biggest in the world but I find that our team is not as strong as other teams, like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester united, Chelsea," Ribery said Monday on RTL radio. "Maybe we will have trouble competing against these teams."
Ribery is expected to announce whether he will stay at Bayern before the end of the season.
"I want to win trophies and to enjoy myself. I'm not 20 any more," Ribery said. "I am closer to the end (of my career) than the beginning."
Ribery admits he could be tempted to join up with France teammate Thierry Henry at Barcelona.
"I get on really well with him. I know he would also like to see me there," Ribery said. "I know a lot of people would like to see me stay (at Bayern). Whether I stay or go it won't be an easy decision."
Diarra to miss 2 games with thigh injury
BORDEAUX, France — Bordeaux midfielder Alou Diarra is expected to miss at least two games due to a torn thigh muscle.
The defending French champion said on its Web site that the 28-year-old Diarra has a "small tear" in his left hamstring. He limped off during the first half of Saturday's 4-2 loss at Rennes.
Coach Laurent Blanc is unlikely to risk him in Wednesday's French Cup game against Monaco or in Sunday's league game against Saint-Etienne.
Bordeaux, aiming for a domestic treble, leads the French league by three points from Montpellier and is in the League Cup semifinals.
Bolton's Cahill out for 'months' with blood clot
BOLTON, England — Bolton defender Gary Cahill may miss the rest of the Premier League season because of a blood clot in his arm.
Cahill was treated in hospital over the weekend to dissolve the clot but needs more treatment.
Manager Owen Coyle says Cahill "wanted to play on Saturday, but we took the decision out of his hands because his well-being is of paramount importance."
Coyle says Cahill will be out for "a number of months," likely ending any chance he had of making England's World Cup squad.
Stoke's Fuller arrested over 'nightclub incident'
STOKE, England — Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller was arrested over the weekend over what the Premier League club calls "an incident in a nightclub."
Stoke says that Fuller was arrested by police in the early hours of Sunday in the Hanley suburb of Stoke.
Fuller had played in Saturday's 3-0 win over Blackburn without scoring.
Fuller scored 11 Premier League goals in 2008-09 but has just one in 22 games this season.
Ivory Coast to face South Korea in London friendly
LONDON — World Cup teams Ivory Coast and South Korea will face each other in a friendly in London next month.
The March 3 game will be at the Loftus Road home of second-tier club Queens Park Rangers and played in the early afternoon as it will be broadcast live to Korea.
South Korea will face Argentina, Nigeria and Greece at the June 11-July 11 World Cup, at which Ivory Coast will play North Korea, Brazil and Portugal.
