Soccer Capsules: U.S. to play Australia in South Africa on June 5
CHICAGO — The United States will play Australia in a friendly in South Africa on June 5, the Americans' final game before their World Cup opener against England a week later.
The U.S. Soccer Federation said Monday that the match will be played at Ruimsig Stadium in the Johannesburg suburb of Roodepoort. It will be only the third matchup between the nations following a 1-0 Australia victory at Orlando, Florida, in June 1992, and a 1-1 draw at San Jose, California, in November 1998.
The game could produce a matchup of U.S. attacker Clint Dempsey facing his Fulham teammate, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, and American goalkeeper Tim Howard and midfielder Landon Donovan going up against Tim Cahill, their teammate at Everton this season.
It also involves rival nations trying to win rights to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
The 18th-ranked U.S. plays the No. 25 Czech Republic at East Hartford, Connecticut, on May 25 and meets No. 41 Turkey four days later at Philadelphia before traveling to South Africa, where the Americans are in a first-round group with eighth-ranked England (June 12), 27th-ranked Slovenia (June 18) and 32nd-ranked Algeria (June 23).
Australia, ranked 23rd, is in a first-round group with fifth-ranked Germany (June 13), 28th-ranked Ghana (June 19) and 13th-ranked Serbia (June 23).
Chicago Fire signs 2 defenders
CHICAGO — The Chicago Fire has signed defenders Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Steve Kinney.
Watson-Siriboe was drafted in the second round this year (26th overall) from the University of Connecticut. Kinney was selected by the club in the third round (45th overall) out of Elon.
Watson-Siriboe played four seasons at Connecticut and was named 2009 Big East Co-Defender of the Year. Kinney started 78 games at Elon, earning First Team All-Southern Conference three times during his four-year tenure.
Champions League
Mourinho returns to Chelsea in Champions League
LONDON — Jose Mourinho's return to Chelsea looks set to overshadow Barcelona's continued defense of the Champions League title this week.
Barcelona needs only to stop Stuttgart scoring to progress to the quarterfinals but most of the attention from media and neutral fans has centered upon Mourinho's visit to Stamford Bridge with Inter Milan.
A Champions League winner with FC Porto, Mourinho led Chelsea to its first two league titles in 50 years before leaving the English club in 2007.
He is on the verge of a third straight Italian league title with Inter and will have the chance Tuesday to salute the fans who adored him during his time in west London.
"I'm sure it will be a major sideshow and, quite rightly, he will get a fantastic reception," Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. "He is the most successful manager in our history and fans will want to pay their respects to him.
"Our fans will give him a great reception but, when the game starts, they will want to win. It's simple."
Chelsea's lineup is still mostly that employed by Mourinho during his three-year stint with the club, with Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic the only first-team regulars to join since his acrimonious departure.
The Blues have not won the Premier League since Mourinho left, but trail defending champion Manchester United by just two points with a game in hand this season.
Chelsea is coming off a 4-1 win over West Ham and has no new injury problems to contend with, although leftback Ashley Cole is still out and third-choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull will probably play because of injuries to Petr Cech and Hilario.
Inter won the first game of the home-and-away round-of-16 match 2-1 two weeks ago, so Chelsea must at least score to have a chance of progressing.
"I don't think we have to score early," Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We need to play well, in a game with balance, because then we can still score in the last minute of the game."
Chelsea has not failed to score in 15 matches since Dec. 26 and is up against an Inter side reeling from its third and most shocking Serie A loss of the season.
Sicilian club Catania, coached by former Inter player and assistant coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, overturned a 1-0 deficit to beat Inter 3-1 on Friday with three late goals.
Inter drew 0-0 with Genoa in its previous Serie A game
"Evidently it's a period in which we're having a tough time finding the necessary focus," Inter technical director Marco Branca said. "Evidently we're not the same team from a month ago, but we know well how to bounce back.
"This 3-1 loss to Catania shouldn't make us worried. Actually, it should provide extra motivation for the Chelsea game."
Mourinho will be free to sit on the bench after completing a three-game ban in Serie A.
Inter captain Javier Zanetti looks set to play in midfield, where the out-of-form Dejan Stankovic could be replaced by Thiago Motta.
Wesley Sneijder sat out training Sunday with a cold but should be ready to start in attack, just behind Diego Milito and Samuel Eto'o.
Eto'o's old club, Barcelona, hosts Stuttgart on Wednesday with a crucial away goal in its favor after a 1-1 draw in Germany two weeks ago.
Olympiakos is at Bordeaux seeking to overturn a 1-0 deficit in Wednesday's other match, while Sevilla needs only to stop CSKA Moscow scoring in Spain on Tuesday to progress.
Sevilla drew 1-1 in Russia in the first leg with a goal by Alvaro Negredo.
League News
Liverpool beats Portsmouth 4-1 in Premier League
LIVERPOOL, England — Fernando Torres scored twice as Liverpool beat Portsmouth 4-1 in the Premier League on Monday to keep the team's hopes alive of qualifying for the Champions League.
The Spain striker scored in the 26th and 77th minutes at Anfield either side of goals from Ryan Babel in the 28th and Alberto Aquilani in the 32nd. It was Aquilani's first goal for Liverpool since joining last year.
"We knew that it was a must-win game. Fortunately we did it and performed really well," Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina said. "When the team is playing well, we can score any time."
Nadir Belhadj scored a consolation goal back for Portsmouth in the 88th minute.
Liverpool improved to 51 points, one behind fourth-place Tottenham in the last Champions League position but Spurs have played a match less. Manchester City has 50 points and has played two less games than Liverpool.
Portsmouth remains last with 19 points and is almost certain to be relegated.
"It was a good game. We were trying to play well for the fans and score goals," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. "It was an important goal in an important week.
"It was really good for Aquilani and really good for the team. He has shown he has quality and he will have more confidence and that is good. We have seen a lot of players playing well today and that is good for me because it gives me more (selection) problems."
Jurado's goal gives Atletico 1-0 win over Osasuna
MADRID — Jose Manuel Jurado's late goal gave 10-man Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win against Osasuna on Monday in the Spanish league.
Jurado received the ball on the edge of the area and curled his shot past goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez in the 79th minute at Atletico's Calderon Stadium.
Atletico midfielder Simao Sabrosa was sent off for a second yellow card in the 57th after a clumsy challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta.
The result lifts Atletico to 10th place on 34 points. Osasuna is 13th on 31 points.
Real Madrid and Barcelona share 65 points with Madrid top on goal difference.
In other games played over the weekend, it was: Getafe 3, Mallorca 0; Sporting Gijon 0, Athletic Bilbao 0; Sevilla 1, Deportivo La Coruna 1; Villarreal 2, Xerez 0; Tenerife 4, Espanyol 1; Racing Santander 0, Zaragoza 0; Almeria 1, Malaga 0; Barcelona 3, Valencia 0; and Valladolid 1, Real Madrid 4.
In the 24th, the unmarked Antonio Lopez headed just wide from Sabrosa's corner. Soon after, a swift Atletico counterattack led to Forlan finding some space but his shot was anticipated by Lopez.
For Osasuna, Nacho Monreal nearly surprised goalkeeper David de Gea in the 50th with a lob that went just over the bar.
With striker Sergio Aguero unusually quiet, Atletico threatened only sporadically. In the 61st, Ibrahima Balde replaced Diego Forlan in attack as Atletico adjusted following Sabrosa's dismissal.
Osasuna nearly scored when De Gea stretched to push a shot by Krisztian Vadocz over the bar.
IFK Goteborg takes early lead in Swedish league
STOCKHOLM — IFK Goteborg, last year's runner-up, topped the Swedish league after the opening round was completed Monday in subzero temperatures.
Orebro moved into second place with a 2-0 win over promoted Atvidaberg, while GAIS and Malmo FF drew 0-0 after Malmo goalkeeper Johan Dahlin saved a penalty. Gefle-Elfsborg also ended in a scoreless draw.
In earlier matches, defending champion AIK of Stockholm was held 0-0 at home by promoted Mjallby, while IFK Goteborg won 3-0 at Kalmar FF.
Tobias Hysen, last year's top scorer in the Allsvenskan league, scored twice before Hjalmar Jonsson headed in Goteborg's third goal.
Mattias Lindstrom scored to give Helsingborg a 1-0 win over Brommapojkarna. Hacken beat Djurgarden 2-1, while Halmstad and Trelleborg drew 0-0.
Due to the long Scandinavian winter, the Swedish Allsvenskan league starts in the spring unlike most other European leagues. This year the Swedish season started earlier than usual because of the World Cup break in June.
Elsewhere
Hull fires Brown in bid to stay in Premier League
HULL, England — Hull lost patience with Phil Brown on Monday with the club in danger of relegation from the Premier League, firing the manager who memorably berated his players on the pitch at halftime in a match.
Brown was fired less than two years after guiding Hull into the top division for the first time in its 104-year history.
Despite being a firm favorite to be immediately relegated, the north east club survived in 2009. But Brown's side has won only five matches this season and is three points adrift of safety.
Hull chairman Adam Pearson has repeatedly warned of the dire financial consequences of relegation since returning to the club last year to replace Paul Duffen.
"Retention of Premier League status is paramount and the board believes that a change in managerial direction is the correct option at this time," Pearson said.
Hull, which is second last in the standings, has put Brian Horton and Steve Parkin in temporary charge. The favorites to replace Brown fulltime — Gary Megson and Alan Curbishley — are both out of work, so Hull wouldn't have to pay any compensation.
Brown took over as manager in January 2007, succeeding Phil Parkinson, and kept them in the second tier that season, finishing one place and seven points above the relegation zone.
The following season, he led the team to promotion after beating Bristol City in the League Championship playoff final at Wembley.
Hull achieved six wins from its first nine Premier League matches, including a victory over Arsenal, and Brown was starting to be touted as a possible successor to England coach Fabio Capello.
But Brown's problems mounted from December 2008, when he sat his players down on the pitch at Manchester City with Hull trailing 4-0 and gave a public team talk.
"I am obviously very disappointed with the club's decision and the fact that I will now not have the opportunity to secure Hull City's status in the Premier League for a third consecutive season," Brown said. "I am very proud of my achievements during my time as manager, especially having led the team into the top flight of football for the first time in the club's 104-year history and ahead of schedule."
NKoreans helping to spruce up World Cup stadiums
SEOUL, South Korea— North Korean laborers are working on football stadiums across South Africa, including the venue where their national team will play Ivory Coast during its first World Cup appearance since 1966.
Some 1,000 construction workers from reclusive North Korea, which maintains strict control on its citizens' travels, have been sent to help build and renovate stadiums across South Africa, the Seoul-based JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Monday, citing unidentified sources.
South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed that North Koreans were working in South Africa. Spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said she had no information about how many were helping with World Cup construction.
North Korea has been exporting workers to Russia, the Middle East and Mongolia as part of efforts to earn much-needed foreign currency, she said. North Korea has sent up to 30,000 workers to 45 countries around the world, the JoongAng Ilbo report said.
Impoverished North Korea has relied on outside aid to help feed its 24 million people since natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its economy in the mid-1990s. The country's economic woes are believed to have worsened after the regime was punished with tightened sanctions in the wake of its nuclear and missile activities over the past year.
North Korea is expected to earn tens of millions of dollars from construction projects in South Africa, the JoongAng Ilbo said. It is North Korea's first major export of laborers to South Africa since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1998, the report said.
Among the World Cup venues utilizing North Korean labor are Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, site of the opening and closing ceremonies and final match, and Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, it said.
North Korea takes on Ivory Coast at Mbombela Stadium on June 25, after matches against Brazil and Portugal. North Korea has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since its surprising run to the quarterfinals in 1966.
AP sources: CAA leads Chelsea naming-rights search
LONDON — Chelsea's search for a stadium naming rights deal is being led by an American sports agency that recently hired the Premier League club's former chief executive.
Creative Artists Agency, whose European operation is headed by Peter Kenyon, is tasked with finding a sponsor to attach its name to Stamford Bridge, three people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because neither Chelsea or CAA is discussing the situation publicly.
Chelsea hopes the sponsor will pay 10 million pounds ($15 million) annually, but no imminent announcement is expected.
News of the deal with CAA was first reported by Sports Business Journal's online edition.
-- Rob Harris
Juventus goalkeeper Manninger out 15-20 days
TURIN, Italy — Alex Manninger will miss another 15-20 days with a right thigh injury, adding to Juventus' goalkeeping worries with starter Gianluigi Buffon already out for a month with a similar injury.
Juventus reported Monday that medical tests on Manninger revealed a muscle strain.
Third-choice Antonio Chimenti played in Juve's 3-3 draw with Siena on Sunday and will likely get the nod for the Europa League return game with Fulham and Juve's next Serie A match against Sampdoria.
Also, Juve defender Jose Martin Caceres has an abdominal problem and will head to Barcelona for tests Tuesday since the Spanish club holds his rights.
England, opponents can't agree on Euro 2012 games
ZURICH — England and its four opponents in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship have failed to agree on a match schedule.
Group G rival Wales said team officials from the five nations — including Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro — could not settle on a program at a meeting in Zurich on Monday.
Tournament organizer UEFA will perform a draw to decide the schedule at its annual Congress in Israel next week.
Only the group winner is assured of a place at the 16-team Euro 2012 tournament, which will be played in Poland and Ukraine.
AC Milan defender Nesta has surgery
ROME — AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta has had successful surgery on his right knee.
The operation was carried out at the Villa Stuart hospital in Rome.
Nesta missed Milan's 4-0 loss to Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday and was diagnosed with a torn tendon Friday. He will be out for the rest of the season.
The center back has had several serious injuries in his career, beginning with one to his right knee at the 1998 World Cup. A left foot injury stopped him at the 2002 World Cup and a muscle problem plagued him at the 2006 World Cup. He played only one game last season while he dealt with a bad back.
Huddlestone signs new 5-year contract with Spurs
LONDON — Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone has signed a new five-year contract with the Premier League club.
Huddlestone scored three goals in 34 appearances this season before injuring his ankle in a 2-1 win over Everton last month. He has played a total 147 club appearances and made his England debut against Brazil in November.
